Exploring why FF/ Serenity wasn't more popular...

POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Monday, April 10, 2006 01:38
VIEWED: 5177
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FOLLOWMAL

Friday, April 7, 2006 7:51 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by nuclearday:

(And Sci-Fi AND Western? Those are my two favorite genres... that just went down like peanut butter and jelly to me :)

Me too..

" You hold. Hold til I get back." Mal

CATHERA

Saturday, April 8, 2006 2:57 AM

What's funny is I watched this show from the beginning and all the changes Fox made. I know I was disappointed when it went off the air.pissed: I never watched Buffy or Angel and had no idea who Joss was. I don't remember the advertising much but I love scifi stuff so I was in. I'm not a western fan and believe it or not I didn't realize it was until my husband pointed it out when we bought the DVD set and he watched it (for the first time). When Serenty came out I about died. I told him it was Firefly with a different name. I KNEW!!! it was the show. Fox is good at killing shows. They didn't do much with Sliders, kept moving it's time and date around. I rented Sliders when it hit DVD and realized I never watch it after the first season, because it was moved around. They did the same thing with Fastlane. There are other shows too but I can't think of them right now. Fox really has no imagination. They used to be a good channel when they were new and now I don't watch it anymore (except for Family Guy so happy it returned). I really think if we did what FG fans did the show would return, even if it was on another station. I mean when FG was trying to come back it was a bidding war between Fox and Cartoon Network. Fox won because it realized what a mistake it made.
Firefly was a great show. Not like most of the crap on TV today. Surface and Lost are two that are close to Firefly in how they made you think and actually watch the show totally.
Ok I'm rambling now but I keep hoping for new Firefly episodes.

Under a Blag Flag We Shall Sail

RMMC

Saturday, April 8, 2006 6:33 AM

Okay, I admit it. I watched Hercules. I do do brainless fluff...as long as it's fun brainless fluff. Yeah, Gina's character (a Sumerian princess/pirate whose name is escaping me) actually married the little blonde guy (Iolaus). Then he got killed and had his body posessed by the Big Bad.

Fox's schedualing was so bad, I had to get copies of some eps from people on my Buffy list.

I think the herd mentality is drummed into us pretty young by a couple of ways one of which is peer pressure. As a kid you either go with the herd or get ostracized. (Guess which catagory I ended up in? ) Unfortunately many of those people never learned to break from the herd ie: think for themselves, because they still equate the self worth and place in society as being dependant on doing what everyone else does.

The other way the herding mentality gets drummed into people are their parents and teachers. Being told to 'not make waves,' 'why can't you be like so-and-so,' and having activities being dependant on popular opinion ('no, I'm sorry, we can't do X, because you were out-voted.') A lot of our society is actually geared towards the 'majority' ruling.

It took me some years to shake off a vast portion of the 'mass brainwashing' but I unfortunately still have it pop up and odd intervals. Unfortunately there are lots of people who either don't shake it off or don't want to.

Hey, I'm no brain trust here, beleieve me. I just want to be treated like I actually have a working brain instead of a temporary sensory repository with a wallet.

Quote:
NUCLEARDAY said:
(And Sci-Fi AND Western? Those are my two favorite genres... that just went down like peanut butter and jelly to me :)

I felt much the same (I actually likened having spaceships in my western as haing chocolate topping on my sundae.

)

Sitcoms? Heck, I haven't watched any of those on a regular basis in 15 years or more. I can live with recycled plots, as long as the writing's good. I haven't seen a well-written sitcom in ages. I've finally just given up completely and stick with dramas and documentaries.

Geeze...recycled plots. I remember when the hollywood hack writers would come up with a plot and it would surface on every show on every network that season. Gads, was that ever sad.

****
RMMC

RMMC

Saturday, April 8, 2006 6:49 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by FollowMal:

Has Stephen Spielberg joined the "herd mentality" folks?

I heard on CNN this morning that Spielberg is developing a "reality" show for FOX.

but c'mon... Spielberg?????!!!!!

The man has won Academy Awards, fer cryin' out loud!

I was kinda wondering about him after watching War of the Worlds this past year. That was a herd movie. I expected better from him and was vastly disappointed. It was too predictable (yeah, yeah its a remake, I know, but the tact he was trying to take should have been better) I spent too much time doing the same thing you do at 'b' monster movies, wondering how could someone be so dim as to do 'x' or not see 'y' coming.

WotW was not his best effort. Actually it didn't look like he put much effort into it at all, which was a pity because I think there was a really good movie in there somewhere wanting to get out.

It also makes me wonder if he's doing this stuff as a trade-off so he can do something else that he would put effort and talent into that he's afraid the GP may not go for.

Then again, it may just be that the money's nice. As I don't have much of that $$$) myself, I can't argue with if that's the reason. I'll just grouse.

BTW, FollowMal, I hear you are the person to see for one of those shiny browncoats. May I have one?

****
RMMC

FOLLOWMAL

Saturday, April 8, 2006 1:10 PM

I aree about War of the Worlds RMMC, and me not being a big fan of Tom C. didn't help either.
The movie had the same ho hum predictability that you never expect from Spielberg. Poor outing for him. Shades of things to come from him? Oh, dear, call Nathan stat to star in the next Indy movie, cuz I'm afraid for it now.

Well, maybe not go that far, although I'd sure be likely to watch it!

Yes, RMMC, you may have a shiny browncoat-

*shakes out and helps RMMC shrug into a new and shiny browncoat*

I am honored to give it to you.

Glad you're here with me holdin' til Mal gets back .... in a wonderful movie directed by a wonderful director who LOVES what he's doing.

" You hold. Hold til I get back." Mal

RMMC

Sunday, April 9, 2006 5:33 AM

Ah, Mr. Cruise...I was originally going to mention tha he's got all the acting abilities of wet belly button lint, but then decided against it. I will however admit, this is probably the closest to acting he's ever likely to get.

It isn't the first time I've been disappointed by Mr Spielberg..that dishonour goes to Temple of Doom(ed). Talk about a pointless two hour commercial for computer games. That movie is the reason I don't have Raiders or Last Crusade on DVD: I can't get them without also paying for that piece of gos se.

These reasons are why I have severe trepidation about the next Indy movie. Especially if Mrs. Spielberg is slated to be in it. I'll probably go and see it, but at this point, I'm not expecting much.

Oooo....*takes coat happily* Thank you, FollowMal! *puts coat on* I will do my best as a browncoat to recruit others to our cause...and to enjoy watching our Captain in all his endeavors. I'll definately hold until he (and the Evil Genius, Joss) get back.

****
RMMC

SEBA

Monday, April 10, 2006 1:38 AM

I don't have time to re-read this entire thread, but simply put, Firefly wasn't popular because it wasn't given a chance, and also, because of poor marketing. Firefly was treated terribly by the network, and as such people who would have been incredibly interested in this sort of story (my fiancee and I included) were unaware of it. I think that is at least 70% of the issue here is that people just didn't know about it, and largely, that's still the problem.

My fiancee who watches television constantly and keeps up with absolutely everything interesting on TV ( and is a fan of Buffy/Angel ) didn't hear about it at all in 2002, and heard nothing until the film came out. This is seriously a huge deal. I don't know anyone who watches more TV than her. haha

As far as poor marketing, I think it largely is the fault of the show's originality -- the network/studio continues to try and market Firefly/Serenity in the context of existing scifi/action properties, instead of marketing it based on its own uniqueness and truly great qualities. Take the tagline for Serenity: "A passenger with a past, six rebels on the run, an empire in pursuit." I'm sorry, but this makes Serenity seem like a second-rate Star Wars, and we all know it isn't. Firefly should have been advertised as the truly great Dramatic Action Space Western Comedy Noir Romance that is is, the first truly realistic sci-fi, a character-driven, brilliantly written, serious and hillarious show about regular people trying to get by in a future world that doesn't disillusion itself with romantic notions of human nature.

Not to mention the innovative visual effects and camera work that make the viewer feal as if they are right there with the actors, viewing CG space-ships as if they were filmed on location with a hand-held camera, and the reality that THERE IS NO SOUND IN SPACE, and Firefly is STILL the only science fiction in film or television to actually get this right, furthur adding to the reality. And of course, there's the peerless fusion of musical styles that actually have a direct relationship to the fantasy of the story, making every situation seem all that more real, played with instruments that actually fit into the context of the show.

Yes, I'm preaching to the choir, but there has to be a better way to communicate the greatness of this program to more people, in a way above and beyond what Universal/Mutant Enemy/Fox has managed to come up with. It's a fantasy world that is more real than anything before it, something that everyone, everyone, can relate to, a "sci-fi" program that could EASILY move beyond the boundaries of its primary audience . And it was cancelled.

-- sigh --

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