Firefly

[thepaladin]

The whole "cowboy" thing is just a tag. This is the story of pioneering in what is pictured as a possible future. The tightly held (controled) inner planets and the more independant (also poorer and somewhat technilogicaly backward) outer ones (who we are told were defeated in their bid for independence...Mal having been a "Brown Coat" Freedom fighter in the lost cause). Reacting to the word cowboy you only rob yourself of the experince. Star Trek was originally called "Wagon Train" in outer space harkening back to a well known TV program, a western.

Firefly is what it is and it's pretty original as Sci/fi TV (and of course one movie) goes. Great characters, the ability to mix drama with comedy. Had this program been given a little more time it would I believe have had the possibility of a Star Trek like arc. the problem is they never completed enough programs for this one to find its way into syndication.

[Shadow Trooper]

Originally Posted by thepaladin

Reacting to the word cowboy you only rob yourself of the experince. Star Trek was originally called "Wagon Train" in outer space harkening back to a well known TV program, a western.

I had heard that is what the syndicate boss' were aiming for:

The Cage; very much a thought provoking but rejected pilot episode, dealing with manipulation of the mind. Boss reaction: don't like it!

Where No Man Has Gone Before; released second pilot (I know but that is what it was). Unknown situation where members of the crew exhibit God like Powers. There's a fist fight as well as a phaser rifle shoot-out (even a tombstone!). Boss reaction: love it!

[AE35Unit]

Must be just me but i found it annoying. Well not annoying,wrong word. It just jarred somewhat. I don't want to see a western in space. Its like,oh we're reduced to a primitive life style so we must be cowboys then. Very original! But then i suppose thats americas biggest history. Or rather,because of shows like this non americans will tend to think that!

[Rodders]

Stick with it. You'll not be disappointed. It really is superb.

[thepaladin]

Think of it as Australian rather than American if it helps. Stations instead of ranches....it's a word, a tag. I gave the Star Trek analogy (called Wagon Train in space) and it goes on. I never cared for Deep Space 9 much but it was called "Gun Smoke" in outer space. The idea is just a group of people pioneering a new frontier. Bab 5 was compared to westerns it's been used a a comparison in several sci/fi efforts. This is a marvolus program and I wonder how many people missed out on it (and didn't watch thus killing the ratings) because of some preconcieved idea. Any analogy will be flawed. Firefly is an adventure drama/comedy in space. It's one of the best sci/fi shows done. I can list all kinds of problems with the science behind the show and so on, but it doesn't hurt the quality of the program itself. There will of course always be disagreements as to who likes what (I for instence just couldn't get into the recent attempt to resurect Battlestar Galactica...hated it). But don't miss out on a good thing because your hung up on a comparison.

[Connavar]

To me i just took it as a different spin on sf shows on tv that i didnt care if it was cowboys in space or not. The characters was awesome, the guns,the frontier towns etc

I loved everything about Firefly. It was the best characters,fun writing i had seen in a sf tv show. I wouldnt have liked it as much if it was just another Star Trek. It was different.

[Rodders]

Agreed. I always wonder why these Television companies never go for the long view and commission a series in it's entirity. Am i right in beleiving that Firefly was initially conceived as a 5 year story arc?

Look at Babylon 5. Arguably the best thing on TV and look at the way it was handled? Every year it looked like it was going to be cancelled. The final year was awful, purely because of the way that the Studios handled it. In the end, it turned out to be commercially viable. The DVD sales were enough to warrent the making of the lost tales. How much better would this show have been if it wasn't for the meddling of Studio Executives? Farscape, with the loss of it's final series was the same.

These shows still make money from repeats, DVD sales and fan based merchandise.

[Dave]

That, I think, is just the way it works with TV companies in the US. The original series of Star Trek was, for a long time, the only series in which the fan-base was able to reverse the studio decision. Even then they cancelled it after 3 seasons.

The different thing about Firefly was that Fox also aired the episodes in completely the wrong order; an order that some thought deliberately made it less watchable. I think they never even showed some later episodes, which since they had paid for them anyway, just seems odd.

I, in the UK, bought the boxed set and watched them in the order that was originally intended. This has been mentioned before, but I would be quite prepared to buy a second series were it to be made and go straight to DVD. We talked about if money could be made that way or not, and I'm sure it could be given enough advance orders. Sadly, I think the time for that to happen has long passed now.

[Overread]

Firefly was in the Fox (I think) network and if it got enough rating in the first season then it would have got a deal for at whole line of series after (I think four). But it failed the test - and in no small part to the managers of the channel giving it a bad showing slot and also messing up the order of episodes as well. That seriously hampered it getting the needed viewing numbers to warrent a second season - much less a contract for several more seasons.

Only fan donated money allowed the film to be a reality and I doubt we will ever see firefly again The actors are moving on to other things and if they wait too long many will be too old looking to return to their previous roles.

[thepaladin]

I never understood FOX's attitude about this program, they gave it a poor slot...moved it's slot...failed to promote it...

There was a move for a while to fund some stright to video episodes, but I gather they never got enough pledges of purchase.

[clovis-man]

Originally Posted by thepaladin

I never understood FOX's attitude about this program, they gave it a poor slot...moved it's slot...failed to promote it...

They are doing the same thing with Dollhouse. Moved it to Friday along with The Sarah Conner Chronicles. Pretty much a death sentence for a new show. Joss Whedon is in danger of becoming the Rodney Dangerfield of Imaginative show producers: Absolutely no respect.

[K. Riehl]

Firefly is such a cult hit I'm surprised the numbers don't add up to make a straight to DVD movie.
The series box set was in the top 25 in Christmas sales for Amazon for 5 years. No other TV box set has ever been in the top 25 for more than 1 year.
I was part of the fan group that proposed putting up $40 each up front to Joss Whedon to make a straight to DVD movie. In return we would get a copy a month before anyone else. We got about $3 million pledged but Joss told us no thanks. He said that he doubted he could get permission from the studio as well as it would be hard to get all of the actors together again.

[Overread]

K. Riehl the numbers did - that is why we got the film Serenity - which though it glossed over a lot of things and cut a lot of corners did give us an ending (of sorts) to the story.

[AE35Unit]

Originally Posted by thepaladin

Think of it as Australian rather than American if it helps. Stations instead of ranches....it's a word, a tag. I gave the Star Trek analogy (called Wagon Train in space) and it goes on. I never cared for Deep Space 9 much but it was called "Gun Smoke" in outer space. The idea is just a group of people pioneering a new frontier. Bab 5 was compared to westerns it's been used a a comparison in several sci/fi efforts. This is a marvolus program and I wonder how many people missed out on it (and didn't watch thus killing the ratings) because of some preconcieved idea. Any analogy will be flawed. Firefly is an adventure drama/comedy in space. It's one of the best sci/fi shows done. I can list all kinds of problems with the science behind the show and so on, but it doesn't hurt the quality of the program itself. There will of course always be disagreements as to who likes what (I for instence just couldn't get into the recent attempt to resurect Battlestar Galactica...hated it). But don't miss out on a good thing because your hung up on a comparison.

Yes i know but why does it have to be stetson wearing cowboys on horses,yee ha-ing it! I must ask you to stand down,or I will shoot. Was expecting Clint Eastwood's man with no name to turn up any moment. Just comes across as unimaginative and cliched. They even had a train robbery for god's sake! I cringed when I read that in the Info box!

[Wybren]

I really think Joss needs to market his shows to some one other than Fox, they just have no appreciation for tallent over there.