Rebroadcasting Firefly episodes during Summer 2005

Saturday, November 27, 2004 4:38 AM

With the recent announcement of Serenity's big screen debut being pushed back until Sept. 30th, I have given some thought as to how Firefly's marketing dept could best make use of the time leading up to the big day. A thought occurred to me that I would like to get down before I forget it entirely.

Essentially, I think it would be best for everyone if the entire season of Firefly was shown, in proper order, on network television during the summer months. The plan would be to have an episode aired each week during a primetime slot and would last up until September. With 15 episodes to choose from, you could start at the begining of June and, even airing both parts to 'Serenity' back-to-back in one night, you would still have enough footage to take you to the begining of September. A special episode just for this occasion featuring Joss, Tim, and the Serenity crew could be made with them waxing all poetical about the mysteries of life and aired the week before the big damn movie is to occur.

The benefits of this idea are pretty simple. You get the word spread about your movie by utilizing the time slots traditionally occupied by insipid summer re-runs and sub-par programming. As a result, assuming the word was adequately spread about it, Firefly would destroy any other show placed in the competing time slot. I am sure that one of the big three (ABC, NBC, CBS) would love to get a nice summer boost to their ratings which they could use to push whatever new programs they have come up with for the fall. Also, Firefly DVD sales might also benefit from a summer airing, since we all know how addictive the show is.

There are several obstacles from making this happen, however. Firstly, I am not sure on this, but I believe that Fox still has the rights to airing Firefly on television. Thus, it would be impossible for my idea to occur without their blessing. Since we have already witnessed the manner in which Fox handled Firefly previously, it is safe to assume that they would be at best reluctant to help out in this situation. In addition, the Olympics are occurring in late summer, so episode scheduling may conflict with some of the more popular sporting events. Finally, it might be difficult to convince the networks to take a chance airing episodes of a show that has historically proven to be a 'flop'. (Calm down, we all love Firefly with every fiber of our being, but facts are facts). It might take some monetary diplomacy in order for them to seriously consider the proposition and that might ammount to a figure far beyond the Firefly marketer's price range.

Anywho, I just wanted to put this thought into some sort of formal medium so as to ensure its livelihood. I think I will spread it around my local Firefly support group and see what sort of reaction it gets before I think about posting it elsewhere.

-Oxy

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