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

POSTED BY: MathewJ
UPDATED: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 23:12
VIEWED: 13859
PAGE 4 of 5

PREV PAGE 1 2 3 4 5 NEXT PAGE

ERELLEVENT

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 4:28 AM

Hey all just came across this site but iv been watching firefly since it was on fox. this looks like a good website and u even got our own fox exec posting on here (bamadave). anyways i just wanted to say i realy like the show and cant wait for the movie its going to rock.

HAPLO721

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 5:06 AM

Well, if people want to completely sacrifice any chance at a social life, then yes, they can stay home every Friday at 8. Otherwise, you tape/TiVo the show or miss it. In either case, it only matters if you have a Neilson box on your TV.

Early: You ever been raped, Kaylee?
Kaylee: You know, it's funny you should mention that... ever heard of the Fox network?

RKLENSETH

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 5:08 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by bamadave:
to answer your original question as to why this show was cancelled, because nobody f'ing watched. all the other reasons are just excuses meant to obscure the fact that the fans of the show let it down.

aired out of order - so what. watch the episodes in their intended order and the story is still told out of order. they flash back or reveal details later in the series that you don't get in the pilot. also, each episode stands well enough on its own that it doesn't require seeing the previous one.

pre-empted for baseball - who cares? sci-fi fans can wait 16 years between star wars films and still manage to figure out when to go to the theater in record numbers, but can't seem to figure out that firefly will be on again in two weeks?

time slot of death - well either it is a great show or it isn't. if people can't be bothered to make time to watch it on a friday night, they must not really think it is a great show.

didn't know it was on - one of my favorites. is the network supposed to come to your house and change the channel for you? every newspaper and countless websites all have tv grids. people can't take one minute out of their day to see what is on?

fox just wants to make more reality crap - close, but missing the point. fox just wants to make money. they had to hire extra people to rake up all the cash that american idol show is bringing in. there is not an evil plot at the network to only make bad tv. they are there to make a profit, and you can bet that if firefly was getting top 20 numbers that they would be more than happy to keep flying.

etc etc etc. this might seem harsh but i think it is worth pointing out. firefly was cancelled because the fans let it down. they didn't watch, and that is what you get. sadly, since people would rather say f fox and the people at fox are morons and any other thing besides 'it's our fault', it will happen again and again. rather than focus all of that energy tilting at the fox windmill, they should be trying to figure out why it is that sci-fi fans couldn't be bothered to tune in. until that is figured out, it will just keep happening. ask the fandoms at dark angel, odyssey5, the lone gunmen, millenium, harsh realm, space above and beyond, veritas the quest, american gothic, etc. etc. etc.

hey, look over there at that clever new wonderfalls show that nobody is watching. then again, people probably don't know when it is on. or they are too busy on friday. or it might have been advertised wrong. or fox might really want it to fail. or this. or that. or the other.

I think the fans of the show proved you wrong. We kept the show alive. Look at the DVD sales. I know for one that I watched the show when it was aired. Now we are getting a movie. If the fans let it down then how is it that it is still alive today?

Oh, and play Cantr II at www.cantr.net.

BAMADAVE

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 6:10 AM

RKLENSETH,

i think you are missing my point. the question was why was this show cancelled. it is a question that has been asked on this board, and many others, many times. i think it is time that we admit why it was cancelled.

the fan support after the fact has been remarkable. but it was too little too late. getting a movie is amazing, and you can bet that i will see it multiple times.

still, by the time the movie hits theaters two and a half seasons will have passed with no firefly. can you honestly say that two hours of a movie in lieu of 53 episodes is a victory? 53 freaking episodes! if all of the support that has brought about the dvd sales and the deal for the movie was there when it was on the air, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

FIREFLYTHEMOVIE

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 6:36 AM

You failed to mention the lack of advertising. Star Wars fans know to show up at the theater because (a) they know a new Star Wars film is out there due to the ridiculous amount of advertising put out there and (b) they know how to look up movie listings. A new show on a Friday night (when not many people are channel surfing) with no advertising to speak of, and what little there is being incredibly poor? How could that possibly fail?

BAMADAVE

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 7:14 AM

quoting my original post

"didn't know it was on - one of my favorites. is the network supposed to come to your house and change the channel for you? every newspaper and countless websites all have tv grids. people can't take one minute out of their day to see what is on?"

you might not agree with it, but i mentioned it.

i would also disagree with the idea that it got no advertising. i remember seeing commercials for it. it is also worth noting that i have seen both the no advertising reason for the cancellation, and the it was advertised wrong reason. now, it can't be both.

and i stand by the argument that all of these only serve to obscure the obvious. the fans were not there in sufficient numbers to keep it on the air.

if everyone is so bent on sending fox a message, how about all of the firefly fans tune in to wonderfalls and support tim minear? he's a part of firefly. do something positive for a fellow browncoat. one of the major players having a successful show on the air isn't going to hurt things when they start shopping the relaunch of the series.

ZORIAH

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 7:25 AM

Actually, the only people that your post applies to are those nielsen box owners who didn't tune in to the show.

There are only 5100 households with those things and they are the ONLY people who count as far as ratings go unfortunately.

If 10 million fans watched but only a few had the all important distinction of being a nielsen family.....well then.

So please don't berate people for not watching the show, I'm sure the majority of us would do anything to take part in ratings reporting so that quality shows like Firefly and Angel would stay on the air.

People have now galvanised to try and get everyone to support and watch Wonderfalls (which is in that timeslot of death on Friday), however in the end the networks will do what they want to do.

Angel was cancelled and it had nothing to do with its ratings(the only WB returning drama to show a ratings gain from last year). Tru Calling seems to have been given a chance when Firefly wasn't.

BAMADAVE

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 7:31 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Haplo721:
Well, if people want to completely sacrifice any chance at a social life, then yes, they can stay home every Friday at 8. Otherwise, you tape/TiVo the show or miss it. In either case, it only matters if you have a Neilson box on your TV.

ah yes, the i don't have a nielsen box excuse. i had almost forgotten about that one. once again all of the excuses seem to trip over each other.

as was pointed out earlier, look at what the fandom has done. keeping the show alive. sales of the dvds. getting a movie made. and we are right back to what would have happened if all of these people were gathering new viewers for the original series? think they might have tripped over some nielsen families? could they have indirectly helped to bump the ratings? i think so.

and you also fail to ask the more important question, why weren't the sci-fi fans that do have nielsen boxes watching firefly? that is the point of all of this. as much as this is about firefly, it is also about the next really good show that is going to get the shaft from a lazy/can't be bothered sci-fi community.

and i am well aware that when you point a finger, three more are pointing right back at you. i count myself as part of that community. i just saw babylon 5 for the first time this year. i dropped the ball on that one. but i now also make it a point to know when new shows are coming out. like wonderfalls (i'm shameless). and to tune in and give them a fair shot.

the point i want to make is that there is something to be learned from all of this, and it isn't new ways to make fuq fox palatable for censored message boards. it is that there will be another show almost as good as firefly at some point, and everyone should be watching it from the start.

wonderfalls

ERELLEVENT

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 7:37 AM

Well bamadave i guess it will be ur fault if wonderfalls gets canceled cause u didnt do enough.

ZORIAH

Wednesday, March 24, 2004 8:47 AM

Bamadave, trying to make people feel guilty collectively and accusing them of making excuses is not a great way to get them on board with your ideas.

However, (I could be wrong) I think I get the gist where you are coming from. So often people don't get behind a show until it's too late. The buzz starts happening after the show's already on the bubble or even stopped airing altogether. I think that fans of quality shows are starting to realise that fan hype and buzz are very important, even prior to a show premiering, and that with the internet as a ready resource it's important to not only keep informed but also to inform others of shows worthy of our attention and support.

There was no way I could have helped Firefly by watching it when it aired as I live in New Zealand and do not get Fox here, but as soon as it came out on DVD I ordered myself a copy.

You are talking about being more proactive rather than reactive I think.

PREV PAGE 1 2 3 4 5 NEXT PAGE