RANTHONY'S BLOG
Failed movies from failed series...?
Friday, January 13, 2006 7:36 PM
That rant I've been meaning to write on the subject of Serenity and it's success...(this is a plain text entry. You'll have to go to Blogger to get the full effect blog, sorry)
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http://ranthonysteele.blogspot.com/2006/01/failed-movies-from-failed-series.html
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Ever heard of a show called "Firefly"? I'm a fan. A hardcore fan. Ever heard of the movie "Serenity"? It's a continuation of the characters and story line in Firefly. Again, I'm a hardcore fan. I just want to get the fact that I LOVE the show(s) in the record before I go where this post starts. Stay with me here.
"Firefly" was canceled due to the infinite wisdom of Fox television. All television executives are omniscient, just ask the guys at NBC who canceled "Star Trek" in the 60's. They knew it was junk and was never going to make any money. Don't let the fact that Paramount has milked millions out of the franchise (and founded the 5th broadcast network with not much more than "Star Trek" to carry it) since that point fool you, "Star Trek" needed canceling. In much the same way, the red-headed (browncoated) stepchild that was Firefly needed canceling, because Fox only agreed to let Joss Whedon do it so that they could keep him for another season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". You don't promote and fund a 'gimme' long term. And they didn't. 13 episodes filmed. 10 episodes aired. No promotion to speak of. You're outta here!
But Firefly wouldn't die, I'm sure the old guard Star Trek fans out there understand why that is. Writing. Talking. Promoting. And lo and behold the show that needed canceling is resurrected as a feature length film. Some said "that doesn't happen" (Trekkies know better, but we let them have their moment. Kids are so cute) and marveled at the feat. And, really it was a feat. An excellent film that preserved the atmosphere of the original show, and completed the main story arc left unfinished by Fox needing to cancel the show. It was on screens all too briefly, and passed onto disk (a copy of which is already in my library) within a few short months.
And then the rumblings started from naysayers, TV executive lakeys, and Hollywood insider wannabes concerning whether Serenity the movie was a success or failure, and whether or not this should "shut the fans up".
Personally, I don't feel like shutting up, and I don't count the show's short time on screen as a failure. Why you say? Because in comparison it's just not.
I'd like to point out a show (no, not Star Trek) that had a similar fate, not so long ago. A critically acclaimed series with a very short life was resurrected as a movie (that was also critically acclaimed) that went out of theaters nearly as fast. What was the show? Twin Peaks. The movie was Fire Walk With Me. My point is this, even with the media circus that surrounded the show and the subsequent movie, if you look at the numbers here or here, you will see that the show did not in fact do an impressive amount of business. A recoup of about half of the 10,000 dollar budget spent on it. But the critics loved it...
In comparison, Serenity's numbers are just rosy here and here. All told, Serenity has made back the money spent on it, and we aren't even done with the video sales yet. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. And still, I hear the "What if's" and the "If only's". What's done is done. The movie came out when it did, competed with the films that were out then, and left the theaters when new films crowded into the fall schedule showed up to push it out. Gotta have all the good films out right before Oscar time. Don't ask me why, it must be that same omniscience that the TV execs have.
So why should we wear long faces and walk silently? I say we crow to the moon and demand a second film! Who's with me?
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