Fox Screws Actors and Us
POSTED BY: Succatash
UPDATED: Saturday, March 8, 2003 06:21
VIEWED: 6281
PAGE 2 of 2
Quote:
"Firefly was the ultimate reality show, about beleivably real characters, living a real life, even though it might be in the future, Firefly was incredibly original...people you can relate to, and no all powerful super person."
We keep coming back to this. The crew of Serenity was a family we could know and love. People with faults, with principles, with weaknesses, and with their own mental dragons to slay. No superheroes, no supermodels, and no simple stereotypes. Reality shows tend to be edited to take a human and flatten her out to be a stereotype. Joe Millionaire was set up to work off of stereotypes from the ground up: lying scum seeks favors of pretty, successful, women dreaming of Mr. Right. I didn't watch enough of it to critique it properly, and what I did see didn't tell me anything about any of the players' characters. I keep wondering: who was cheaper, the man or the women?
"Is there any way I'm gonna get out of this with honor and dignity?" Zoe, War Stories
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Mebbe FOX would have kept the show if they'd shown more of Inara. And I don't mean more face time. Look at what took Firefly's time slot: Fastlane. The opening sequence features a simple shot around a swimming pool where myriad women are walking around in bikinis. For no reason.
Burn the land, boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
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I'd like to disagree with many of the above mentioned statements.
First, Firefly is not the ultimate reality show. Reality shows are bad. They involve real people, instead of actors.
Reality TV shows thrive on viewers without lives, who need to live vicariously through their neighbor.
A really good fiction story can have well-developed characters, with strengths and weaknesses, and they can seem real. But that does NOT mean it is a Reality show.
Please do not confuse good acting and writing with Reality TV.
Has YOUR mom seen Firefly, lately?
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i think part of My personal point is that the crew of firelfy in many ways are portrayed as being more real, then anyone in those reality shows. What i wanna know? how did anna nicole smith get a SECOND season and firefly didnt get a full first one? i cant believe she gets better ratings then firfly did.
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No shit, it makes me feel sick. I understand what you meant about "real".
How can such garbage be tolerated? I wish I wasn't smart, so I could live a stupid happy sheep Reality TV loving piece of shit life, ready to go to war and kiss G.W.'s ass.
Has YOUR mom seen Firefly, lately?
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Since we are on a disagreeing note, I have to just mention this,
Quote:
Originally posted by Succatash
Reality shows are bad. They involve real people, instead of actors.
Personally, I think both show have actors. Firefly just has better actors, better plot, and well, better everything. Oh, and Joss, that always helps.
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Jayne: Hey, I didn't fight in no war. Best of luck, though.
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You are absolutely right.
They get paid. They get told what to say and HOW TO ACT. It's scary how everyone accepts it as REAL. Half of them are out of work actors, and the rest are wanna be actors.
I wouldn't feed my dog Reality TV.
Has YOUR mom changed the channel on Reality TV, lately?
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Concerning "reality" shows, some of you may find some agreement with my analysis of "Firefly," in my letter to Gail Berman of a month ago. (Letter, not email, and I sent copies to four top Fox execs. And got zero response.) So here's my now-open letter to Fox:
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Dear Ms. Berman:
I recently watched the "Firefly" pilot for the third time -- though at my age I seldom watch anything more than once -- and enjoyed it thoroughly once again. That show leaves a taste in the mouth akin to that of the finest wines. "Firefly" gives us undercurrents of many flavors that demand another taste, and then another, each as satisfying as the first, all to be enjoyed with respect over the fullness of time.
This magically crafted drama could easily be the highlight of the decade in excellent TV broadcasting. It has vast potential. Many millions of intelligent viewers would flock to Fox for "Firefly," if only they knew about it. I suspect your advertisers would love to tap into an intelligent audience paying rapt attention to everything that goes on during the broadcast, most of whom have more-than-adequate incomes.
Looking back, I realize Fox advertised "Firefly" poorly. There was little mention of it during the World Series. Fox failed "Firefly," not the reverse.
Mr. Whedon is a master story-teller, and his art should be viewed in correct sequence. What fun is it to jump into the middle of an intricate story, with no idea of the characters, their background, or the factors that brought them together? Would you like that treatment?
What does Fox have to lose by rerunning the existing "Firefly" episodes, plus the three unaired ones, all of them in correct order, preceded by serious and pertinent advertising? Advertising must address the key of this yarn: "Firefly" is about heart-rending passion. It's about honor. It's about life. It's far closer to "reality TV" than any of the garbage that is offered under that dubious banner. Intelligent viewers will respond, and their intelligent friends will respond to excellent television, and they'll do it season after season. Word is already spreading from those who have seen "Firefly" to those who now wish they had, if only they had known about it. "Firefly" is excellence defined. It has a vast potential audience. Cannot Fox understand that?
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
(Rxtn)
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Forum members, I get TV in my remote corner of the mountains via satellite. I signed up for Fox knowing "Firefly" was coming. I signed off of Fox completely the day after the final ep showed.
Best wishes to you all, and especially to Joss, and HUGE kudos to Eliza Dushku for her brilliant performance on Angel.
Ruxton
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Very well written Ruxton. I applaud your effort to make the blind see, but I fear it is an effort in futility. I do not even hold out hope that FOX will even air the episodes it has already aired, let alone the three unaired ones.
"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."
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