Are the Browncoats to blame for Serenity's lack of success?

POSTED BY: telewill
UPDATED: Friday, November 4, 2005 07:33
VIEWED: 12315
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TELEWILL

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 4:31 PM

I am sure I am beating a dead horse, but I have something I want to say. Feel free to flame and hurl whatever afterwards, but I think I need to say this and get it done.

I loved Firefly on DVD and was very anxious to see Serenity. I was not able to make it to the early screenings in the summer so I did everything I could to stay away from spoilers until opening night. I told all my friends about the movie. I told people at school and work. My wife and I bought Jayne-Hats and waited in line on 9/30 and then watched the movie. We gathered from what we saw that the lack of Book in almost any trailer (trailers and the Sci-Fi inside looks were the only "spoilers" we allowed ourselves) spelled doom for him. We were hopeful that he was not to be offed, but not surprised when it happened. But when Wash was killed for NO reason other than to prove that the Reavers were "dangerous" (duh) we were stunned. As we walked out we graded the movie "95 out of 100" , "the only thing I did not like was Wash dead". As we talked more and more about it, Wash dominated the discussion. Then we had trouble remembering what we loved about the movie. We started to lower our grade of the movie. As the weekend wore on, we became more and more disappointed that a character was killed off for no reason other than shock value.

Friends asked us what we thought of the movie. We had been telling them for weeks about how much they would love it, now we couldn't recommend it. It was too much of a bummer to think of seeing it again. We had and have no doubt this is the major reason for the plummet in the box office earnings, and the reason the movie failed to generate any significant interest in the public.

We talked recently about the summer screenings. Why weren't the other fans the same way? Why didn't the word get back to TPTB that this was not a good ending. Screenings happen all the time where test audiences show displeasure about an ending (read about the ending of various movies, such as "Sweet Home Alabama") and the producers have it changed. Why didn't the browncoats get this done? How could this not have been seen as a major flaw? I give credit to the fans for getting behind FireFly and making a movie possible, but this ending spells the ruinous end to this franchise.

The box office is so poor (less than $25 million domestic, less than $8 million worldwide with openings being cancelled across the globe) that a sequel is impossible. Movie studios don't spend $40 million in the hopes of making their money back with DVD sales, which is all that will happen if the Serenity DVD sales the same as the Firefly (500,000 copies * $14 dollars = 7 million). There will be no sequel, no new TV series of a movie that failed at the box office based on a TV show cancelled after a few episodes.

This could all have been avoided if the word was put out back to TPTB that the ending needed reworking. There were plenty of people who saw this over the summer in plenty of cities. If they thought the movie was fine as it was, or if they said nothing, they are every bit as much at fault for the failure of Serenity as Joss is.

DONCOAT

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 4:35 PM

More with the negative waves!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ain't about you, Jayne. It's about what they need.

STAKETHELURK

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 4:39 PM

A couple of things:

--Maybe the reason the word didn't get back is because the majority of browncoats enjoyed the film and were not overly concerned by the ending? I'm not trying to downplay the feelings of those who were disappointed, but you have to admit that is a very plausable explanation.

--Joss Whedon has done similar things on his other shows. Everytime, disaffected fans have lobbied him to correct it somehow. To paraphrase Joss in an interview: "If I kill someone and people keep saying 'You have to bring that character back, you have to bring that character back,' I know I've killed the right character. If I kill someone and people just shrug, I know I've made a mistake." So, Joss would not bow to fan pressure even if there had been a substantial amount; which I'm guessing there wasn't.

--Check out the thread "A suit's eye view on Serenity and sequels" for the opinions of someone in cost management about the possibility of sequels. Here's a hint: they're optimistic.

In short, the Browncoats weren't to blame and shouldn't blame themselves. I'd say more, but I gotta go.

EARLY

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:23 PM

**Spoilers**

Well it does suck that you end up not liking a movie that you waited so long for. But don't assume that everyone shares your view. Another thing, when telling friends its not that good of a movie, remember that they haven't seen the show and won't have the emotional attachment to Wash that you do. Lets be honest, his role in Serenity was small. So they won't be as hurt as you, and might even feel like his death was good for the movie.

INSANITYLATER

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:24 PM

I must admit when I saw Serenity for the first time I was totally shocked at Wash's death.. Book's I saw coming 10 million miles away. I was angry that he would kill off Wash as he was the character I could relate to most personally, and I did have about a thousand scenarios I thought about where he could be brought back, but after seeing the movie for the 4th time I think.. I realized that Wash's death was not without purpose, it gives River the chance to evolve and become part of the crew instead of just cargo. And with River as the pilot it still leaves room for Wash to be sitting right next to her telling her what to do in ghost form that only she can see and argue with. That is if it ever goes any further, which I hope it does.

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"Serenity NOW!!! ... Insanity later."

BALLAD

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:31 PM

Insanity later: I think that is my favorite idea for Wash coming back EVER. Sitting there talking to River, going "Now you need to trim a little-oh, yeah, there ya go" etc. etc.

That said: Everybody's acting like Serenity was this big flop! it wasn't! Just because it wasn't a huge blockbuster doesn't mean it bombed. It was a solid movie that made most of it's money back, sat in the top ten, and has a massive, loving, expandable fan base. The Serenity/Firefly franchise is money in the bank for Universal and whoever grabs hold of it after.

--Ballad

They weren't cows inside. They were waiting to be, but they forgot. Now they see the sky, and they remember what they are.

BROWNCOAT1

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:36 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by StakeTheLurk:
A couple of things:

--Maybe the reason the word didn't get back is because the majority of browncoats enjoyed the film and were not overly concerned by the ending? I'm not trying to downplay the feelings of those who were disappointed, but you have to admit that is a very plausable explanation.

Well said!

I don't think for a minute that the "failure" as Telewill put it has a single thing to do w/ the browncoats. I think the reason it hasn't done worse is nearly solely because of efforts of the fans.

I think low #s at the box office have more to do w/ the following points:

- September/October are notoriousl slow for theatre attendance. Look at "Doom" & "North Country". It's not just "Serenity".

- No "big name" actors to draw the celebrity chasers.

- Heavy reliance on viral marketing for promoting the movie.

Quote:
Originally posted by StakeTheLurk:
--Joss Whedon has done similar things on his other shows. Everytime, disaffected fans have lobbied him to correct it somehow. To paraphrase Joss in an interview: "If I kill someone and people keep saying 'You have to bring that character back, you have to bring that character back,' I know I've killed the right character. If I kill someone and people just shrug, I know I've made a mistake." So, Joss would not bow to fan pressure even if there had been a substantial amount; which I'm guessing there wasn't.

Exactly! Joss hit it right on the head.

I would not want Joss to feel he has to clear his every move, twist, and character death w/ every single fan before he can move forward w/ the story. It is his 'verse people, we are just visiting. We have every right to love the characters & story, but none to dictate who lives & dies. That is Joss' right alone.

If Joss did bow to the pressure of some of the fanbase & came up w/ some convoluted way to resurrect Wash I think the story would lose something & I think you would find that many would lose faith in Joss' ability to convey the story.

__________________________________________

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Fans:

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/richmondbrowncoats/

http://www.richmondbrowncoats.org

HKCAVALIER

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:37 PM

Hrm, no. I'm sure test screeners who didn't like the ending made all the noise they could. Joss wanted it to end the way it did. So, why ain't ye blaming Joss for not making the movie that all the browncoats could love? Seems just a little morbid and creepifying, to kill two main characters if you want to jump-start a dead series. People point to Joss and say, "But he had to tell the story as if this is all he'd get to tell; he's always done it this way." And I ask, "Why?" Maybe Joss should learn to adapt to circumstances; maybe he should grow a little optimism about his property. I know he wanted to tell as much of the story as he could, but I'm sure there was plenty of story to tell with out tacking on "oh, and Wash dies" to the end of it. Would Star Wars have been quite as big a hit if Han Solo got blown up along with the Death Star?

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.

HKCAVALIER

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:43 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by StakeTheLurk:
To paraphrase Joss in an interview: "If I kill someone and people keep saying 'You have to bring that character back, you have to bring that character back,' I know I've killed the right character. If I kill someone and people just shrug, I know I've made a mistake."

So by that criterion, judging from the lack of reaction, killing Book was a bad idea. And killing Mr. Universe was unforgivable.

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.

UNICORN

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:45 PM

Wash's death also served a strong dramatic purpose, as has been discussed elsewhere on these boards; in a nutshell, his death makes even die-hard fans think "Oh God, Oh God, they're all going to die!" and ups the ante on the last 25 minutes of the film tremendously. Joss grabs us by the short hair and asks us what we care about.

And it's not like we aren't warned. When Mal makes his 'Aim to misbehave' speech, he specifically warns his crew that he's going "to be askin' more of you than I have, *maybe all* (emphasis mine)."

That said, I share the grief felt by the poster who started this thread, felt by a good friend of mine who was angered by the ending. It's a bitter pill, no doubt about it. Even if the series came back tomorrow, it would never be the same. But I guess that's what Joss was letting us know, after all. Things can never be the same.

There is no such thing as a weed.

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