Why is Firefly a 'Hard Sell'?

POSTED BY: SergeantX
UPDATED: Saturday, October 4, 2003 22:04
VIEWED: 9407
PAGE 2 of 3

PREV PAGE 1 2 3 NEXT PAGE

EVANS

Sunday, January 5, 2003 2:25 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by selnyc:
As far as tape sets go, Joss and Tim Minnear (his co-producer) have promised that, if the show goes no further, there will be a DVD set of all 15 episodes, which of course, includes the three we're not certain Fox is gonna show.

They have said they will do their darnest. They have not promised they'll succeed. It requires FOX's positive attention, which we've already seen is not a sure thing.

m.
------------------------------------------------
"But ... not boring, like she made it sound." Wash, in ARIEL
"None of it means a damn thing." Mal, in OBJECTS IN SPACE

GUNNAR

Sunday, January 5, 2003 3:16 PM

I'll make this quick and to the point. I've just signed a petition and found I'm the 84th person to sign it. ONLY 84? Is there something wrong here or have I signed the wrong petition. Is this site the one to save "Firefly"? Please enlighten me.

Keith A. McArthur

RADEGUND

Sunday, January 5, 2003 3:35 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Gunnar:
I'll make this quick and to the point. I've just signed a petition and found I'm the 84th person to sign it. ONLY 84? Is there something wrong here or have I signed the wrong petition. Is this site the one to save "Firefly"? Please enlighten me.

Keith A. McArthur

www.fireflysupport.com is the best place to check for "save Firefly" activities, and they're running a postcard campaign, not an online petition. One hundred individual postcards makes more of an impression than one petition with a hundred signatures. That's not to say you shouldn't sign the petition, just don't let that replace also sending postcards.

Radegund

GUNNAR

Sunday, January 5, 2003 4:45 PM

Radegund, thanks for your help. I had viewed that page ( www.fireflysupport.com) but had not realized its importance. A personal view, I would hope that each person who becomes a member of this site sends in an old fashioned post card. E-mails are easy but they don't have the bulk or receiving value as a post card.

And by the way, does anyone out there have any taped episodes they might want to help build into a full set? Unfortunately I only have one episode to offer.

Keith A. McArthur

ZSAIQAIS

Sunday, January 5, 2003 4:51 PM

Quote:
Most people have a basic desire to fit in (to be popular).

So what happens when something new and different appears on the scene? No one wants to be the first to try it. And worse yet, they don't want to find out that they are the only ones who like it. So if they do watch the show they are predisposed to nitpicking every little detail that doesn't conform to what is considered to be popular. And as soon as one person starts complaining they all jump on the bandwagon. Once the popular opinion has been established, it is very difficult to get people to change their minds. People who never even saw the show will be completely convinced that it is not worth seeing.

Being 13 years old, I can tell you it's pathetically true. Nobody wants to talk to the new kid because he/she might be a prep/skater/schoolgirl and thus ruin your image if seen talking to them.

Fox is a dull, pathetic network which doesn't really have anything on. I got into Firefly by watching John Doe, but found out that Firefly was the better show! I think John Doe is some weird wannabe Pretender thing...

But really, I only watch Fox because of Firefly, and the Sunday evening line-up. Their Saturday morning line-up was good, but they scrapped it, and put in all these wierd anime shows that no ones ever heard of...

BUt seriously, the pilot was supposed to draw people in, but since they didn't air it, alot of people didn't watch it, cause "The Train Job" didn't make any sense. My mom made me watch Firefly after that, because it was too confusing.

Another TV show that had some problems of the 'Hating it before you've seen it' variety was Stargate: SG-1's Jonas Quinn. Believe me, that guy had some serious opposition...

Enterprise is getting stale. Farscape is being cancelled. Stargate has 'problems'. I need my Firefly fix!

Oh, and I didn't know who Joss Whedon was before this, either. The first (and last) time I saw Buffy, I was 8 years old, it was Halloween night, and I had eaten WAY too much candy. And now that I'm old enough to enjoy the show, I can't jump into it, cause it's on it's last season.

ZsaiQais, running around in circles.

Hey, do you like the emoticons?

FOX is going to hell.

Fox

FOX Firefly
(or should it be the other way around?)

FOX

FOX's nightmare: Firefly's retribution

Another nightmare of retribution

my attitude toward FOX.

EVANS

Sunday, January 5, 2003 6:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ZsaiQais:
The first (and last) time I saw Buffy .... And now that I'm old enough to enjoy the show, I can't jump into it, cause it's on it's last season.

Jump in anyway; you will like it, I think. The first two seasons are out on DVDs, and they're not expensive (especially compared to Farscape!). The third season DVD set is coming soon. Reruns are shown all the time. There are many good Websites that have spoilers galore and character/episode discussions. My personal favorite is www.buffyguide.com.

m.
------------------------------------------------
"But ... not boring, like she made it sound." Wash, in ARIEL
"None of it means a damn thing." Mal, in OBJECTS IN SPACE

HKCAVALIER

Tuesday, January 7, 2003 5:32 PM

I've been thinking. "Trekkies" and sci-fi fans in general would probably come under the heading of "urban intellectuals." What is it that urban intellectuals can proverbially agree on? Isn't it true that the vast, vast majority of such people hate country music? Country music is the epitome of uncool in such circles. Isn't it an utter cliche, "I like all kinds of music--besides rap and country?" This is why it doesn't seem to me such a great idea to market Firefly just to sci-fi fans. What happened next was all that I-hate-the-westernness-of-Firefly on all those sci-fi measage boards. Bad, bad word of mouth. At the very least, don't show The Train Job first, arguably one of the most utterly "western" of the Firefly eps. (I know it's been said a million times but "Serenity" would have been such a better choice. It would have de-emphasized the western stuff, put it in the proper sociological context, and it had one of the best action sequences--the Reaver chase--on T.V.)

My button says: WWFT? (What Was Fox Thinking?)

HKCavalier

Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean, because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

SERGEANTX

Tuesday, January 7, 2003 6:03 PM

Yeah,

You're right, country music gets a pretty bad rap (hehe) from the urban intellectual types, but that just goes back to my original post concerning expectations. The fact is, for those willing to look for it, there's a lot of really good country music out there. It never gets played on the radio, and the artists lanquish in obscurity, but for some of us, there's nothing quite so moving as a harmonica, banjo, acoustic guitar, violin(fiddle).... simple music that lets the lyrics shine. I'll grant you, the overwhelming message of most mainstream country music is "ain't it great to be stupid". But anyone who thinks that's all there is needs to look up Whiskeytown, Uncle Tupelo, John Prine, Nanci Griffith, Jeff Black, Ryan Adams, Robbie Fulks... Its all a matter of taste I suppose, but is also a matter of expectations -- a lot like Firefly.

SergeantX

"..and here's to all the dreamers, may our open hearts find rest." -- Nanci Griffith

GUAILO

Tuesday, January 7, 2003 7:25 PM

i gotta go all the way back to SargeantX's original post (mainly cause I haven't read any others but that one soo far...so sue me...lol) to really give my version of an answer to the question raised: "Why is Firefly a 'Hard Sell'?"

Quote:
I first heard about Firefly on slashdot.org. I remember, that while the article was positive, a majority of the follow up posts were critizing the concept and obviously not pre-sold fans. Their comments, and most of the negative comments I've seen since about Firefly, had a consistent thread. Most of them were really just saying that Firefly wasn't what they expected, therefore they didn't like it. Rarely have those critical of the show tried to make a claim that the acting was poor, or that the scripts weren't well written or anything else substantial.

I've read many of those types of posts mostly in the initial stages of Firefly's existance, and I gotta say I agree with them 100% - it wasn't what I expected.

Why it wasn't what I expected is really the issue I thing, however. Remember the scene...

Quote:
(MAL, ZOE and JAYNE standing on a ridge awaiting a meeting with gangsters expecting a 'double cross'. JAYNE tests the communication gear)

JAYNE: Testing Testing...
MAL: I'm right here Jayne.
JAYNE: Yeah, you're commin' in loud and clear too.
MAL: That's...'cause I'm standing right here.

Great scene, and what I expected to see when I tuned in that first night for the series premier.

Not what I got.

What I got was good, but I recalled things seeming a little fractured and sometimes inconsistant, although I couldn't put my finger on exactly why. Came to find out after about four or five episodes aired that they were out of order, that the original pilot (the episode with the above scene) wasn't going to be aired by Fox (at least not yet) and that Fox had decided to rearange the episodes in a more appropriate order because of that.

Also, most of the subsequent commercials for the show followed the "From the creator of Buffy" track, which may have turned some folks off. I would have done so for me had I not been aware of Joss's Sci Fi and action film work (Alien4 and Speed to touch the tip of that iceberg).

As the show continued to aire, I realized (probably around 'Out of Gas') that this show was destined to be really great. All the episodes after that seemed to really gel the crew. I found out after that, that the original inteded airing order had been reestablished...no wonder it made more sense.

Fox should have re-run the season until the Fall Sweeps in February, starting with a re-airing of the 2hour pilot (the actual pilot that is) and then with each episode in succession as originally intended to air, in order. Joss's order. The man has yet to screw up a franchise and the reality is just the opposite - failing franchises have had a resurgeance because of his work. Fox simply took matter into thier own hands and decided to market the show as "Buffy in Space", which frankly had me turned off until I saw the longer trailers advertising wild west style adventures in space.

That's what I expected, and that's eventually what I got. Too bad Fox couldn't see past thier own hype.

LIVINGIMPAIRED

Tuesday, January 7, 2003 11:43 PM

.... Hey guys! Just got back from vacation and WHAT THE !#$%#$^@#!!!!! I go away for a couple of weeks, and the show gets cancelled.

A previous poster is right. Fox is going to Hell. I will never watch them again... not even for the Simpsons, which I love.

Now excuse me while I go into a corner and cry.

________________

BOOK: Afraid I might be needing a preacher.
MAL: That's good. You lie there and be ironical.

PREV PAGE 1 2 3 NEXT PAGE