I'm with you, Wendy! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_cool.gif) TD/Tim

Me too, I ain't goin' nowhere.

When are you gonna come down
When are you going to land
I should have stayed on the farm
I should have listened to my old man

You know you can't hold me forever
I didn't sign up with you
I'm not a present for your friends to open
This boy's too young to be singing the blues

So goodbye yellow brick road
Where the dogs of society howl
You can't plant me in your penthouse
I'm going back to my plough

Back to the howling old owl in the woods
Hunting the horny back toad
Oh I've finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road

What do you think you'll do then
I bet that'll shoot down your plane
It'll take you a couple of vodka and tonics
To set you on your feet again

Maybe you'll get a replacement
There's plenty like me to be found
Mongrels who ain't got a penny
Sniffing for tidbits like you on the ground

NICE!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_biggrin.gif)

I've always preferred the TV format. I loved the film and all, but looking back on it, it just doesn't do the potential story justice. You can't cram 1 1/2 seasons into a 2 hour film. I mean, you're basically talking, what, 36 hours of footage being chopped down to 2? It just doesn't work as well. We lose one of the things Joss is best at (and known for): character development. This, in turn, makes some of his "emotional beat" moments come across as pure manipulation for manipulation's sake which frankly I don't like. However, I don't mind it when it's done for BOTH the sake of manipulation AND to then explore how a character reacts.

IE: Oz sleeps with another werewolf on Buffy and says "I have to leave." Big tearjerker moment. Ok, clearly emotional manipulation, BUT we then see the after-effects on Willow and how it propels her into another relationship AND leaves her conflicted when Oz returns AND how Oz's decision to leave and Willow's response then affects Oz himself.

That ain't just manipulation there, that's deep exploration of characters. And I dig that. And you just can't do that in a 2 hour movie format.


The problem is, Firefly/Serenity doesn't have the history behind it to justify a network taking a chance on it. For that matter, none of the Firefly/Serenity properties (with the exception of the comics maybe) seem to justify (in the studios minds) spending more money and taking a risk. They're hard to advertise. They don't immediately appeal to people who just want a slam-bang action or sci-fi flick. The show just doesn't fit neatly into a niche. And while shows like Buffy and Angel were far more than just teeny-bopper WB/UPN dramas, they could still be MARKETED that way, and that's I think what the studios care about.

Hollywood and TV-land are extremely risk-averse. They don't like taking chances and most of the time when they do, they end up regretting the decision. Partially that's their own fault for not knowing how to present the show, but I'd say with a show like Firefly, it's pretty darn tough to explain to someone outside of saying "Look, just watch a few episodes, ok?" You can call it a "space western" but that doesn't do it justice. And even if you do, westerns are the red-headed stepchildren of film and TV these days.

Solo4114

True except that when I watched the show Firefly broadcast on FOX and it got shafted I and many other fans got vocal and stayed that way ... and we got Serenity... why would this not work again? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_wink.gif)

Money $$$

Actually I was under the impression that the props were cheap that's why it was so unique to make the show work?


Anyway Goat. I want to make an avatar with Bill and Hillary Clinton shaking hands with Al Gore and Grey Davis wearing blue gloves. What did you use? Paint?

A failed TV series. Now a Movie !!! "We have done the impossiable & that makes us mighty."

Hold !! Gorramit HOLD !!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_evil.gif) There will be more TV or Movies. Stand fast Browncoats. We will prvail. I watched as the Enterprise burned in the atmo. I will not leave Serenity to the same fate. Not on my watch.

OK. Done. How can the PTB overlook all the most excellent acting from the Series & the Movie. How can they?
Nutters. I'm not giving up on Joss or Serenity.


Just my 2 platinums. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_cool.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_cool.gif) Well said, Sera! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_cool.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif) TD/Tim

hmm Ok then explain Broken Trail? This is coming out soon. This also confirms my point about Holywood. Is this another risk they're taking?

Read about Broken Trail here http://www.fulcrum-books.com/productdetails.cfm?SKU=605-8

Westerns do still get made. They just don't do particularly well. And no, Brokeback Mountain doesn't count as a western in the genre sense.

Honestly, I think there are two huge enemies in terms of getting more FF/S:

1.) Time. The longer it takes to get something back, the harder it is to get all your ducks in a row to bring the cast and (ideally) crew back together. Writers, crew, cast, all can end up committed to other gigs -- possibly long-running ones. Morena, for example, has been appearing on the OC. I think she's a regular even, though I'm not sure (I don't watch the show). Alan's career is taking off some and while, yeah, Wash is dead and all, there could still be issues as far as flashback/hallucination/dream episodes. Personally, I'd love to see him return as a recurring hallucination for Zoe as she slowly looses her mind over the course of a season while trying to deal with the grief. But that's as may be.

Anyway, the longer it takes, the harder it is to pull it all together. That's not to say it's impossible, just that it IS harder. Plus, contracts can expire so having the cast under contract for two more films (if they even are) is tricky.

2.) Stupid suits. Like I said, Hollywood sucks in many many ways. Weigh your options as a TV/Film studio exec: I can go with (a) another Jack Black/Ben Stiller/Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn comedy, (b) a superhero comic book film/show, © a clone of an existing successful format (cop drama, courtroom drama, etc.), or (d) a product that has commercially failed (in my executive studio boss's eyes anyway) not once but twice in different formats -- not only that, but one that's a pain in the ass to market since I can't simply put up posters that shows Rob Schneider as a human stapler, or a simple superhero logo, or whathaveyou.

As a Stupid Suit ™, I'm far more likely to take the safe bet every time. Not only because I am devoid of creativity or originality, but also because it's my neck on the line when I have to explain why I backed said "failed project" for a THIRD time and had it fail again because my marketing department is as doofy as I am and couldn't figure out how to get people's asses in the proverbial chair to watch this product.

So, safe bet or risk....safe bet or risk....hmmmmmm.....

Call me cynical, but I'm guessing the Stupid Suits ™ go with safe bet most of the time.



Now, personally, if Joss was interested, I'd say THE way to go with FF/S to make actual money off the product is D2DVD. TV DVD box sets sell pretty well these days. If the budget can be juggled properly, D2DVD product of the same general level as network TV (in terms of production value), but unfettered by censors or the whims of advertisers (IE: "If you show this episode where [a character turns gay/guns are shown in schools/people drink Pepsi instead of Coke], we're pulling our ads."), can really shine I think.

Sadly, those same Stupid Suits ™ probably don't want to be associated with the same medium that basically brought us such high art as the Carnosaur series. Sooner or later someone will wake up, though. Maybe not with FF/S, but hey, maybe Joss will be tapped to do a D2DVD series of some other sort.

DVD would be a great move! And you know sales would be very good. Hmm let’s do the math. $30.00 for a season series times 4 million viewers willing to buy the product minus Universals office supply needs of over 10 million per year not including miscellaneous overhead that comes out to some profit… not great! But Good! It’s a step into the right direction.

I think the last thing Joss needs to do is to sicken the money men by constantly going at them with Firefly/Serenity pitches - let him make a few more flicks that get killer reviews and more importantly make massive profits THEN let him say "Hey remember Firefly, check this script out ...?" and see what happens.

Does anyone have any idea what it would cost to have a life-size replica of Serenity made? If fans could find a respectable and trustworthy savings account, and donate to it until the money was raised, I think that would speak far louder to anyone in charge than anything. Think about it, im sure it would cost in excess of $1,000,000, but gorram, if each single fan donated $1 a week to the fund that money would be raised in no time. Once it was built, it would be pretty damn hard to deny fans the reward of new filmage. Not to mention, it would utterly prove that people were more than willing to pay for more. Could even be used as a tourist attraction to make money for charity (that is, when it wasnt in use for the current filming, gorrammit).

Am I the only person so obsessed?

I can't be...

The fan donation thing has been tried before, about 6 months ago. One of the producers got it closed down as legally, they couldn't take the money even if they wanted to (there's all sorts of rights issues and such).

Not sure about the cost of building the set, though. It really depends how fast you'd want it built - they built the Serenity set in a matter of weeks, but I know it cost an absolute fortune - plus it used Universal's biggest sound stage to house it.

How could anyone, rights or no, prevent people from donating money to a bank account? Perhaps the donations weren't being sent to a bank account? I see how the Serenity Logo could very well be considered copyrighted, but if a private developer chooses to build his own Titanic or life size Enterprise, noone could stop them unless they profited from it and they used copyrighted symbols and such.

The only problem I forsee is having a person who everyone trusts keep honest tabs on the money (I mean, the obvious perfect person to oversee such an account would be Joss, but thats even further delusional wishing).

I have no delusions about how long it would take, as creating a lifelike replica would probably take the better part of a year to complete, if not longer. Dont matter, it would be worth it a million times over.

If I ever get a million dollars, im gonna build that gorram ship, and Ill be very happy. And Ill invite the planet. Ha. Of course, if I was the sole person doing it, id live in the ship from then on, put a very functional electric generator in the engine room, hahaha, boy am I a dork.

I'm gonna HOLD but if buying serenity stuff will help I will do that also!