Okay, well THAT series makes somewhat more sense now.
I still think the lack of any kind of score aside from those sleep-inducing guitar licks and the occasionally pokey editing didn't help, but overall I liked the two hour pilot of Firefly quite a lot. As far as an intro to the characters goes, it certainly was far superior to the episode that Fox insisted on airing that helped cost the series so many viewers from the get-go. And it wasn't remotely the snore-fest that reports from Fox execs made it out to be.
And of course, barring any unexpected developments, this is the last episode we're going to see. Bottom line is, Fox blew this one. From running the show out of sequence to a non-existent ad campaign once the series was on (during FX reruns of "Buffy" they aired only promos for "John Doe." If there's *anyplace* to push a series to fans of "the creator of Buffy," that's the place), it's obvious that there was no one internally at the network pushing or supporting the show. Unusual series always need someone on the inside to go to the mat for it, and clearly no one existed in that capacity for "Firefly."
PAD
Posted by Peter David at December 21, 2002 08:09 AM | TrackBack | Other blogs commentingI agree PEter. I thought it much better then the one they started with. I would have been much more excitted about the show had i seen that one first. You knew who everyone was, and pretty much what they were doing there, and a better idea of what made them tick. The one that ran, the only thing i was clear on is that it was in space and they had Guns. You wern't sure who the crew was or why they were there. Oh well. At least we still have John Doe, although not untill Jan. from what i hear (I just checked TV GUIDE ONLINE and the next 2 weeks Fox is airing movies on Fridays)
well there were three or four people on my "The Sentinel" discussion list who were saying they really liked the show.
The logistical question becomes, should an ordered series have a 2 hour pilot?
If the show has already been ordered, that is, it isn't going to be introduced by a series of tv movies, should the exectuctive producers just decide on a 1-hour pilot?
Granted, you may not get as much back story, but if enough is there to enjoy the present story, perhaps the origins can be revealed as the series progresses?
One project I'm working on is for a science fiction adventure series (not posted on my site because only the outlines are done but not any of the scripts yet), and my co-author and I decided we might try to do the most significant "way back when" epiosdes as flashbacks within a 2-hour (or actually 90 to 95 mins without commercials) format... that is if we're going to introduce the story as a series of tv movie or direct to video and european market release features.
This real situation with Firefly will make me even more attentive to seeing if these can be sucessfully "broken apart" into 1-hour format (44 to 46 mins).
Geez.
"Farscape". "Young Justice". "Firefly". "Supergirl". Giles. Even "Birds Of Prey", for all their incompetence at handling Black Canary and Huntress, I'm gonna miss.
Sigh.
Let's hope 2003 turns out to be a better year.
And let's hope "Farscape" and "Firefly" get picked up by, literally, other channels that'll treat 'em better.
Hooper
There's hope for Farscape. A movie is being shot (for a series with so many plotlines, a 2-hr film just isn't enough!) and the producers are pushing for another network to pick the show up.
I also enjoyed the pilot of Firefly. I think this episode would have interested fans a lot more than they thought.
I totally agree with you. I think not airing this episode first was just a big plot on the part of Fox to send me into paroxysms of confusion and rage. Maybe someone at Fox was a big Dark Angel fan...
*sigh*
Firefly, Supergirl, Young Justice. It's a bad month for things that I like, and aside from the above, I like me too...
Someone hold me, I'm scared...
HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU....
The 2 hour pilot was certainly entertaining. Makes me wonder what Fox was thinking. Glad we got a chance to see it before the end.
And, for anyone who may not have heard, Angel moves to Wednesdays in January, taking Bird's Of Prey's former slot.
Great news ont he Farscape front. I had not heard about the movie.
Bobby
Bobby Nash
Writer @ Large
I wonder if the first bit wasn't added on later to make it more exciting? Because they had those lame gun sounds that the later episodes had, and then later on in the same show, more normal gun sounds.
>I wonder if the first bit wasn't >added on later to make it more >exciting?
Perhaps. In the version of the pilot that was leaked on the Internet, that teaser showing The Battle of Serenity wasn't included. But scenes from it have been in the opening credits of the show from the beginning, so I don't think they were filmed later. When I watched it online, I could *maybe* see how FOX execs thought it was a little too slow and plodding, but adding the battle at the beginning totally fixes that.
Corey
"Bottom line is, Fox blew this one. From running the show out of sequence to a non-existent ad campaign once the series was on (during FX reruns of "Buffy" they aired only promos for "John Doe." If there's *anyplace* to push a series to fans of "the creator of Buffy," that's the place)"
Couldn't the same be said of Captain Marvel or Black Panther,PAD? I mean, aside from the Jemas/PAD/JoeQ mini-skirmishes that may or may not be planned for the purpose of promotion, the books receive little to no "pushing" in any way. I get the whole trickle-down theory that JoeyQ always throws out defensively whenever anyone calls him on not advertising the smaller books, but really. It didn't work when Reagan was throwing it against the wall. Why would it be any more true in comics?
Okay, I must be the only one who didn't care a whit for Firefly, huh?
Actually, there is hope for Firefly yet. Not too long before giving the show the boot Fox ordered three more episodes which have yet to air. So at the very least we'll have those sometime in the spring. My hope is that one of the other netlets will pick the show up, as Whedon has mentioned. I think Firefly would find a much better home on UPN, which already has Buffy.
Trickle-down theory explained-
Two elderly Irish lads were talking over a pint or two. One asks the other to sprinkle a pint over his grave after he is gone. The other agrees, saying "I surely will, after it passes through me kidneys."
Fox is such a waste. After years of taking chances and building audiences, now they are trying to be a "respectable" network. That's a sure way to lose viewers.
Firefly grew on me and despite the fact it may be cancelled, I'm glad I gave it a chance. I certainly hope it gets picked up elsewhere. But as for Fox becoming "respectable" - what about that show similar to The Bachelor - the one where the wealthy playboy is actually dirt poor? Could it get any sleazier? Never mind, I don't wanna know.
Does anyone besides me see similarities between the treatment of Firefly and Babylon 5: Crusade? i.e. running the episodes out of order, no support from the network, etc.
Actually, there is hope for Firefly yet. Not too long before giving the show the boot Fox ordered three more episodes which have yet to air. So at the very least we'll have those sometime in the spring. My hope is that one of the other netlets will pick the show up, as Whedon has mentioned. I think Firefly would find a much better home on UPN, which already has Buffy.
There were 3 SCRIPTS ordered, but i do not believe they were ever filmed. Fox placed a order for scriptes so if they deciced to go ahead it was read, but then the next I heard the show was goinging away, so i doubt those scripts were ever filmed.
Sorry- that should read ready instead of read in the previous post. Peter- can I borrow your proofread to check my postings before i put them up for me?
"There were 3 SCRIPTS ordered, but i do not believe they were ever filmed. Fox placed a order for scriptes so if they deciced to go ahead it was ready, but then the next I heard the show was goinging away, so i doubt those scripts were ever filmed."
Actually there were 6 scripts ordered beyond the initial 13. 2 of the scripts were then ordered to be filmed. Plus 1 of the initial 13 has not yet been shown. So there are still 3 filmed episodes (well, the last is still in post-preduction as filming finished on Friday) for FOX to air sometime during the spring if they so chose or possibly for another network (UPN) to use if they were to pick up Firefly and attempt to pick up right where FOX left off.
I didnīt watched a single episode of Firefly but last week i finally watched the Pilot of John doe ( i just brought that up because Pad bring his name up)
And i kind of like it. It has potential, That Guy who play john Doe needs to pratice his acting a little bit but...
Anyway, I donīt know if someone noticied but that premisse was very similar to the premise of the ( now Defunct) Comic Book * RESSURECTION MAN*, from DC comics.
I mean, a guy seekenig for his Past( Familiar in Both plots) is not actually new, but I dunno, the Fact of John sees everything in Black and White and the RMīs memory Flashbacks were in Black and White made me instentely connect them both.
Also,IMO RM had a good premise for a TV series,maybe even better premise than trying to adapt another of the Batman Mythos for Tv.
Loved this week's Firefly and feel the series was lost the second the PTB's determined not to show us what they'd been promo-ing for weeks (remember the ads that showed "...and a girl in a box").
This week's episode was a huge "Aha!" for me, setting up who the characters are and why they were there, giving the captain a reason for surliness that somehow got lost in later episodes, and seeding the ground for those later episodes so the series would feel like it was building toward something.
Count this one as one of those big opportunities lost thanks to a truly poor decision.
Okay, here's the problem:
Fox wants another X-Files.
And I hate to tell Rupert, John Doe ain't no X-Files.
The longest running show they had on Friday nights was Millenium, and only because they were afraid to piss off Chris Carter (Hey, I loved that show...)
Every decent show they've had on Friday nights, they've canceled. Brimstone, Strange Luck, et al, they've all had potential. If, and I say if, given time, they could have been great.
Firefly had potential (boring for those who have the attention span of a gnat, and who want more explosions not good character interaction and a good plot line, and a wicked dialogue), and already had better characterization than most tv shows out there.
John Doe is a Pretender wannabe.
So because Firefly didn't have stellar ratings. That's Mostly the house that Rupert built's fault. But it had decent enough compared to most others.
So until we get another X-Files (which started on Friday nights, then moved to Sunday, because Friday was bad for ratings... duh) expect the rotating series on Fridays to continue.
Travis
I agree- the pilot was wonderful. Firefly really grew on me- I only watched at first cos of Jewel, who I've known and loved since Space Cases, but by the third ep, I was hooked. Firefly has been a really special show- a website that's amazing and fan-oriented (for once), an amazing cast and creative team who read and posted on the boards, not to mention 12 hours of amazing television. If anyone's actually interested in doing anything in support of Joss's efforts to have UPN pick up the show, check out http://www.fireflysupport.com
I thought the show has been pretty uneven so far, and has a prohibitive time slot, but I think there's potential there. It would be interesting to see what Whedon could do at a network that gave him a little more creative control than he apparently had at FOX.
"Fireflop" has been offically cancelled as reported on the Science Fiction News Of The Week web site, which is part of the Sci-Fi channel's web site. Joss Whedon, the creator was quoted as saying that he got Fox to concede all claims to the show so that he could shop it to other networks. Don't hold your breath, and quite frankly this show doesn't deserve being saved. It was a stinker from day one, even though I watched each episode with the hope that it would improve.
The biggest reason this show failed was that it strayed too far from the science fiction success formula. It didn't have any aliens (strike one), it didn't have any robots, monsters, androids, or other exotic artifical life forms (strike two), it didn't have any geewhiz-golly
wow future techno-gadgets (strike three - you're out!), it didn't have a real iconic hero (strike four), it didn't have any eye popping special effects - required for any sci-fi TV show or movie (strike five), it didn't have any real theme, other than to show that the future is going to be really, really bland (strike six),
and finally it used a lot of "fuzzy" science (strike seven).
With all those strikes against it, is it any wonder that it failed?
Most of the characters in Firefly had "nebulous" backgrounds and motivations. Only Jayne Cobb had any consistant motivation, and the whole show's simulairity to the really bad syndicated show Starhunter probably didn't help either. If you haven't seen Starhunter it has virtually the exact same premise as Firefly. A disillusioned Captain in charge of a ship, a black female first officer, a character with a gender bending name (a girl named Luke, compare that to a boy named Jayne),
no real special effects, and a nebulous quasi-governmental organization as a villain called the "Orchard" (compare that to the villainous "Alliance" from Firefly). The simulairities are so close that one would almost think that they were the same show, except that the acting in Firefly was much, much better.
So, while I agree that the show might have done better in the ratings had Fox aired the pilot first, I am not surprised that it was cancelled. And if the show's creator is out there reading this, your view that aliens don't exist is no longer echoed by Nasa scientists. Read Astronomy magazine, or go to the extra-solar visions web site. The daily discoveries of new planets in other solar systems, along with numerous other astronomical discoveries have led Nasa scientists to conclude that the possibility of life on other worlds
is a foregone conclusion. It's not a matter of if, but when we make first contact with life on other planets.
I'm still baffled as to why Fox decided to air the worst episode (of the ones I saw) first. This whole Fox mess reminds me a lot of what happened with Crusade at TNT (before everything went completely to hell) - they didn't like the pilot and forced the producer to make a more action oriented first episode.