If only Firefly was airing now... it would be renewed so easily when you see all these mediocre shows without a steady audience be renewed for 3 seasons at least....
Killjoys, Dark Matter, The expense... really, not one merits 3 seasons. Expecially compared to a great show like Firefly with nearly perfect chemistry between the characters, great stories, great feel.... So frustrating Fox is such an ass network.
If it was on Fox, it is still 50/50 to share the same fate it had before. Syfy or any other cable network would be a slightly better chance though.
Genre shows don't really work on networks like Fox, ABC, NBC, or CBS. The only genre shows that work are more episodic and procedural. It's just how the industry works.
Of course it would have to be aired on new broadcast network like Netflix, Amazon, hbo or other specific network...
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The problem Firefly had when it first aired was people in the United States not knowing when it aired or even it existed. How it did in other countries didn't matter at the time. Despite that enough people loved it to get a movie made meaning the love of Firefly came before the movie Serenity. But none of the matters because Firefly's main problem changed.
Firefly ended in 2002. The Serenity got released in 2005. Only the comic continues and I have no idea how many people still care. For most people Firefly is over.
The problem Firefly has is lack of content. We don't know how good future seasons could have been so we romanticize them. People obsess over the unrealized potential not the show they got.
The problem with Firefly was it wasn't well received at the time. I remember a lot of Buffy and Angel fans watched it 'cause it was made by Joss Whedon and didn't like it 'cause it wasn't like the other 2 shows.
Firefly is OK, but not as good as Dark Matter. The problem with Firefly is that it follows the same formula and is too predictable. After watching the first few episodes, most people got bored. Cancellation is no surprise.
shareFirefly got cancelled because of the 2002 Major League Baseball postseason messed with Fox's schedule.
shareCome on man. I like Dark Matter, but it's a cheap soap opera compared to Firefly.
shareAgreed. Whedon always manages to include some really compelling drama. Dark Matter is following paths already trodden by series and movies in the past, but I like it; I love the characters (specially the ladies; the replacement of the bland pseudo-Corso with Nyx was a net win, and also losing the junkie), I want to know how their lifes will move forward.
I cannot wait until Five is treated more like a grown up, though. She might be 16 in universe but she's 22 IRL. Damn Dawson casting.
(I still cannot believe she's the missing girl in the pilot of John Doe! She's grown nicely.)
After watching the first few episodes, most people got bored. Cancellation is no surprise.
Wow, let's keep crying about a cancelled show from a decade and a half ago. Or pretend to be grown up.
Where is the madness that you promised me? Where is the dream for which I paid dearly?
The problem with Firefly was that it was terrible, boring stories, cheesy dialogues. And it wasn't even sci-fi. It was a (soapy) western, not a quarter as good as Deadwood.
The problem with you is you don't like Firefly. That means you have no taste and your opinions on anything else cannot be trusted.
Heathen.
Firefly suffered from the concept of long seasons. Mid season shortly before the cancelation they started to develop the arc, a lot like the Lone Gunmen. It lacked a certain density, but I guess they wanted to draw in some crowd and set the tone before limiting the accessability by applying an elaborate story, something not necessary anymore in the time of streaming.
Also choosing a deliberatly camp setting probably came a tad too early. Cowboys in space is fun, but it takes a bit to get it in a world where AAA shows like Star Trek established a different tone. Even the brilliantly plotted Babylon 5 had to fight with those issues and was canceled before its time, so I don't think Firefly fans should take this endless bath in selfpity. The odds were against it and mistakes were made, the creators knew the rules. Also it still got that movie (which apparently also bombed...).
That said, I agree, Firefly made today would survive on some level, especially with the lower cost for the VFX scenes and the ability to make camp look less cheap.
I am not sure it plays in the same league as The Expanse, which is a well though through neo-noir show and classic science fiction, but Dark Matter looks a lot like they studied Firefly well.
Firefly suffered from the concept of long seasons.
Guess why... test audiences already reacted unfavourable. Or do you think a network spends millions on a show and then abandons it although it is a potential suprise hit?
Now one can discuss whether those audiences really help and whether "test conditions" can do justice to really new ideas, but nonetheless the problem still is the same: it took too long for the hook to appear. Maybe that is part of the "to early" problem as well, but the creators knew those rules and could not make it work, so blaming it on the people who paid for it and who have to make those decisions (one of which made Firefly appear at all) is a bit shortsighted.
I completely disagree. If you watch the show in its correct order you get engaged early. It is a great show.
However if you show the episodes in the order as aired you get no sense of continuity or story.
Doh...
Fox screwed the pooch here.
"I care about the law. It's justice I don't give a toss about." Cleaver Greene
You disagree to the test audience, which at that time was the only tool to measure the acceptance of the show. So, well, the only thing I can tell is: they did not get engaged. Maybe they were all wrong. Maybe the show simply did not have a chance to get an audience.
The problems of the continuity might have had an impact on the final performance on TV, but the whole cowboy thing and the camp factor attached just did not grab audiences at that point. I think you overrate the impact of characters acting different, especially in a time when one was used to watch shows in the wrong order as one was used to episodic arcs and different series running on repeat all the time.
Also there is a big "what if" in the room: you take for granted the show would have found its audience at the end. But just the cancelation and the cult around it gave the show that cult-factor. Whether it would have gained an audience within its run is unclear.
Or do you think a network spends millions on a show and then abandons it although it is a potential suprise hit?
So your argument is kind of invalid.My argument was that Fox based their decisions on test audiences which were unimpressed and not just cancelling it out of sheer thoughtlessness, as you fanboys seem to believe. In what way did this get invalid?
Sorry but Firefly had series flaws. The bad guys sucked for one ... the best part of the show is the exchange between the cast on the ship. Good show, but insanely over-rated.
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