I watched the first two episodes available on Netflix. The pilot was an hour and a half long, which almost discouraged me when I started watching it, but I guess I'm glad I let it keep going. The first half hour was a little slow, as sci-fi isn't a series I normally dabble in, so the environment wasn't immediately appealing to me and it took some adjustment. After that, though, it was enjoyable. Some intense scenes, but enough lightheartedness to keep me interested (heavy drama doesn't appeal to me too much).
The second episode improved upon the first. I liked the guy they were doing the job for (Adlai was his name?)--I hope he makes a return (don't tell me if he does please). The situation was a good one, and I enjoyed the exchanges while they were being held by the Sheriff. The confrontation at the end was fun; I like all the fight scenes they've done so far. I'm excited to continue on with the series, though it'll probably be a slow burn since I don't watch 42 minutes shows often.
The characters are all pretty nice so far, the exception being River. She hasn't gotten much development, though, so that's understandable and I haven't ruled out liking her yet. If I had to do a brief ranking:
Mal
Inara
Wash
Zoe
Kaylee
Simon
Shepherd
Jayne
River
I think that's everyone. I like all of them above River, and there isn't much separating them from Wash to Jayne. It's pretty easy to tell that Mal is going to be at the top for the duration of the series. I'm not disappointed by this, as Nathan Fillion is 2/2 in being awesome in what I've seen him in.
I'll probably keep this as a short watchthrough topic. Feel free to tag along, though I ask that people not hint too heavily on what is to come. This kind of show and genre is new territory for me, so I'm interested to see how everything unfolds.
--
http://img.imgcake.com/Ainoxi/zazigifed.gif