Now here's the thing.

It was hard to find a copy of the new Serenity DVD tonight. Had to go a few places, and when I found it, had to take the second-last copy off what had been a very full shelf. This is not because the movie has exploded into the popular consciousness in money-making bravado that will guarantee Serenity II (Serenity: The Wrath of Saffron) through IX (Serenity: Insurrection); this is not because of any particular signal that can or cannot be stopped. This is not because of anything more dramatic than simple underestimation - yet again - by the reasoned peoples of the world who look at the movie and see no stars, no box office, and thereby no reason to order DVDs. Compound this with the fact that in the Browncoats, Universal has found the one fan base that can be successfully double-dipped with likely a 90% retention rate, and you get some sold-out shelves.

But let's compound that, if I may, with the fact that the movie is just fucking great.

Come on, admit it. The fans are (at this point) annoying as fuck, and the box office was humiliating and whatnot, and Serenity is certainly not the greatest motion picture of all time. But it is fucking great. And like Firefly - which, too, was pretty fucking great, and whose quality attracted fans who never once saw it air on network television - Serenity has grown its audience after the fact, too. I know people who have only seen this flick on DVD. I know people who saw it for the first time at Can't Stop the Signal this past June and are out buying the DVD today (having been told to wait by sage Browncoats who flanked them out of the theatre). I know people who are currently in possession of my copy of the first DVD release, and if they don't like it, they'll pass it to someone who does. This isn't some big vindication or validation that the Browncoats want it to be; I'm just offering up the one small smile. This thing survived, man. Five years past its disastrous first airing on Fox, we should not be having this conversation at all. And yet here we are.

At the end of that canned intro he sent along to all the preview screenings back in early '05, Joss Whedon attains a beatific, understated joyfulness, when he looks back into the camera at the conclusion of his speech and simply says, "welcome to Serenity." In those three words he conveys every moment of muscle and sweat that got him (and us) there, and the almost indescribable explosion of pride in what resulted. I'm right there with him.

Tell you what: if this has interested you at all, go and buy it. It's only twenty bucks and if you don't like it, you can give it to someone who will. If you already own the first DVD, trade up. Pass the old copy on - send it somewhere it'll be appreciated. Take it from one who knows, it feels pretty good to give someone Serenity.