Why was this show ever cancelled? just finished watching the set

POSTED BY: MathewJ
UPDATED: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 23:12
VIEWED: 13859
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MATHEWJ

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 1:15 PM

I agree that had I known this had "western" flare I might not have been inclined to watch it, even though in some cases I do enjoy westerns (Clint Eastwood, Toumbstone, the new HBO series). I always thought it was odd that in the future there would be a return to the western way of life, but the more I watched the show the more it grew on me...

I will try and do my best in bringing new people to the show.

TRASK43

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 1:42 PM

I know its been talked about before but I think overall the main problem the show had is its just such a hard sell. I have to admit when I first heard of the show I wasn't really interested in seeing it and even now its still pretty hard to describe it to someone and get them interested straight away. But as we all know as soon as someone has sat down and watched a few eps their hooked.

www.summer-glau.com

BROWNCOAT1

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 1:54 PM

Welcome to the board MathewJ. Good to have another fan w/ us.

I personally like the "Ballad of Serenity". I have never really cared for that sort of music, and the first time I heard it, I just kind of shrugged and went right into watching the show. The second time I heard it, I thought it was kind of catchy and that it was okay. It grows on you. Now I love it, and sing right along everytime I watch one of the episodes on DVD.

You know as much as we do on why Fox execs in their infinite (or would that be finite?) wisdom decided to cancel the show. They claim bad ratings caused them to cancel the show, but one need look no further than poor handling by Fox to see why the show did poorly. The scrapped the original pilot, "Serenity", and made Joss come up w/ a new pilot to fit a one hour time slot in one weekend; that episode was "Train Job". They then aired episodes out of order, and preempted the show several times for baseball. Add to that the time slot of death, Friday nights at 8 EST. Not sure how they thought they would reach their target demographic at that time.

Anyway, on to the positive. Yes, the movie has been greenlighted by Universal. The budget is 35 million, and it appears that w/ the exception of Alan (Wash) & Ron (Book) everyone is onboard to do the movie. Joss is promising great things, and Universal had him write the new script in such a way as to "springboard" into a new TV series.

Things are far brighter now then they were in the winter of 2002-2003 when we were kneedeep in postcards during the campaign to save the show. You have come at a good time.

Look around, post, and make yourself at home.

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

KALIMEERI

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 2:18 PM

Actually, when you think about it, a return to the way our civilization progressed is not so wild. Settlers would have to use what was cheap and available, and what had worked in the past. If you have no regular supplies of fuel, etc. coming in, animals serve a multitude of purposes. Not to mention that the 'old west' is a romantic concept and ingrained in the common imagination. People who were "born 40 years too late", so to speak, might embrace an opportunity to play cowboy.

Jen dao mei.

KALIMEERI

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 2:22 PM

I sing it, too. Every time.

Jen dao mei.

METAPHORE

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 3:53 PM

Heck i find myself singing it in elevators, in line at the grocery store, during se....errr great song!

CARTAGIA

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 4:02 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by kalimeeri:
Actually, when you think about it, a return to the way our civilization progressed is not so wild. Settlers would have to use what was cheap and available, and what had worked in the past. If you have no regular supplies of fuel, etc. coming in, animals serve a multitude of purposes. Not to mention that the 'old west' is a romantic concept and ingrained in the common imagination. People who were "born 40 years too late", so to speak, might embrace an opportunity to play cowboy.

Jen dao mei.

I'm not certain but I think it was Robert Heinlein who first came to the conclusion that frontier civilization would resemble what we think of as 'western' civilization. When you are all alone out on the fringe, with your life and those of your family depending upon the equipment you have, you want to know that it will almost never break and that if you are unlucky enough for it to happen, then you or one of your neighbors can fix it themselves, not have to ship it back to some tech shop to get repaired in a month or so, if you are lucky.

Simon: I've never shot anyone before.

Book: I was there, son. I'm fair sure you haven't shot anyone yet.

SERENA

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 4:35 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by trask43:
I know its been talked about before but I think overall the main problem the show had is its just such a hard sell. I have to admit when I first heard of the show I wasn't really interested in seeing it and even now its still pretty hard to describe it to someone and get them interested straight away. But as we all know as soon as someone has sat down and watched a few eps their hooked.

That is my experience exactly. If I try to describe it to them, it sounds lame, but I know if they'd just watch it they'd love it. The difficulty is getting them to watch.

And, welcome MathewJ! Sit down and gab with us for a while. We like gabbing

Please help Haken keep this site running by clicking on a google ad on the side of the page!

BROWNCOAT1

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 4:59 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Serena:
Quote:
Originally posted by trask43:
I know its been talked about before but I think overall the main problem the show had is its just such a hard sell. I have to admit when I first heard of the show I wasn't really interested in seeing it and even now its still pretty hard to describe it to someone and get them interested straight away. But as we all know as soon as someone has sat down and watched a few eps their hooked.

That is my experience exactly. If I try to describe it to them, it sounds lame, but I know if they'd just watch it they'd love it. The difficulty is getting them to watch.

And, welcome MathewJ! Sit down and gab with us for a while. We like gabbing

Too true.

It seems the second you say "sci fi" you lose part of your audience, and when "western" slips out, the other part loses interest. They seem to be two very odd formulas to mix together, but as we all know, they worked great together. Kind of like chocolate and peanut butter.

I have given it quite a bit of thought and quite honestly, the western theme seems to me to be the most likely way that frontier civilization would be in reality. It just makes sense. The same spirit that settled the Old West here in America would be the same spirit that settled frontier worlds.

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

SBWATCHER

Tuesday, March 23, 2004 5:52 PM

hi fellow browncoats,

long time reader first time post. As soon as I heard Joss was having a new show, I knew I was going to love it based on my experience with BtVS and, to a lesser extent, Angel. Like the rest of you, I wept when Firefly was cancelled, rejoiced when the DVD set was released, and blubbered for joy when the movie was announced.

I can count my sister-in-law as a convert, but she is mad at us for addicting her to a cancelled show and I loaned disk 1 to my chinese lab-mate. I often ask her to translate for me.

As far as the theme song goes, I love it, loved it from the first time I heard it. It never gets old and I listen to it every time I watch an episode -- which is often! My sister-in-law was visiting recently and we were watching "Heart of Gold". When the song started, I closed my eyes and began swaying (I can't believe I just admitted that). She looked at me and said "all you need is a lighter!"

Very much looking forward to 2005 and, hopefully, a shiny new series after that. Wish we could all watch it together. If there are any browncoats in the South Bend, IN area, drop me a line.

take care ...

"What's sanguine mean again?"

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