Roleplaying Inspiration

I have recently seen Serenity (a lot) and am reading Snow Crash. Both are making me want to roleplay.

Serenity (and Firefly)
I have fallen in love with Serenity. It is an excellent movie but beyond that watching it makes me want to jump in and play a character in that world. The character interactions remind me of conversations I have heard around a gaming table. One example is the exchange between Mal and Jayne:

Mal: Do you want to run this ship?
Jayne: Yes!
Mal:Well... you can't...

That is exactly the kind of dialog I would expect to hear around the table. The character interactions are also reminisce of roleplaying situations I have seen. The characters don't always get along. They bicker and fight and in some cases are mean to each other. This type of behaviour gets worse in the Firefly series when the characters actively act against each other.

The characters are also not "white hat" heros. They are scoundrels and scumbags. They are criminals that do good only when there is no other option. They all have an unexplored back story that makes them feel more like a roleplaying characters I have seen. This is in part because the series was cancelled.

So I hope Serenity roleplaying is in my near future.

Snow Crash
Snow Crash is a "cyberpunk" novel, but is more light hearted and upbeat than any other book I have read in the genre. I would describe it as Sienfeld meets Neuromancer. This does not do the book justice though. The plot is rich. The characters are well done. The interaction of the characters in the real world and inside computers is except. I think the saving the world aspect of the book resonates with the gamer in me. I can very easily see my buddies coming over and playing in this world.

The tongue in cheek nature of the setting screams roleplaying to me. The main character "Hiro Protagonist" delivers pizza for the mob. The in jokes and cliches make me think of characters I have met at the game table.

My Inspiration
Both these stories are roleplaying inspirations but in different ways. I wish I could GM a game like Serenity. The characters interact smoothly, even when they disagree. The plot moves quickly, but the pace doesn't feel rushed. In my games an in character disagreement drags the game to a halt. Hours can be spent convincing the other characters to participate. Bribes and threats fly. The mood is broken and the pace of the game is destroyed.

I wish I could play in a world like Snow Crash where the characters and setting are off beat without the silliness spiral starting and leading directly to a game ending Monty Python revival. Maybe I need to stop recruiting players that read Critical Miss ;)

I know I could do these things but I lack something that would make the game a success.

I am not sure why these stories affected my roleplaying drive so much more than usual. These stories have rekindled a writing and story telling drive in me and I have started an online freeform game. The game is immensely fun and has been very well received. I also dragged out a old project that I have been working on on and off unsuccessfully for 5 years. I finally started to make some solid progress.