Serenity, The Movie...

[Zakhal]

I watched 9 seasons of stargate in one sitting (sleep in between of course) year ago during the summer holiday. That was just awesome. There are lots of other good series too but nowadays many good scifi series get shut down for almost no reason. Its rare to have a series last that long.

The best thing about long series is the continuity. Its the kind of goodness that no movie or short series can have.

[Kuokkanen]

ORIGINAL: Zakhal

The best thing about long series is the continuity. Its the kind of goodness that no movie or short series can have.

I've gotta point out that some series have cross-references to each others. It's nice too and make universe feel bit bigger. Star Trek series and movies are good example.

[rhondabrwn]

ORIGINAL: carnifex

It's good the series ended when it did. As a matter of fact I would have cut out one or two episodes out of the original run, because they slowed down the main plot. Firefly/Serenity works better as a miniseries than a regular multi-season episodic show imho. Less is more. If the show ran three seasons or something the plot would have gotten tired and the characters stale and the series would have fizzled out like so many others, but this way it's nice and compact and you don't need to sit through a lot of nearly-worthless content to get to the gems.

I would have to disagree. I love the characters and this series could definitely move beyond the original plotline (pretty much resolved in the movie) and into an extended series of adventures just as the various Star Trek incarnations did. Even the original storyline could still be fodder for an extended and continuing pursuit and evasion scenario along with a continuing development of the characters. I don't think that it's all a neatly wrapped package, finished, and ready to be put on the shelf. Lots more could be done, many more stories could be told, many new worlds to be visited.

[JosephL]

For the record I talked to Ron White (the guy who plays the priest) and his exact words on any addition things after the move was "incredibly unlikely."  Sorry guys, but according to Ron the Firefly series is dead.
 
Still my second favorite sci-fi series (next to SG-1)... and I got his autograph
 
-Joe

[Rainbow7]

Yeah, but that might have been a reply to the likelihood of his character returning, which we know can't really happen.

[mjk428]

ORIGINAL: Rainbow

Yeah, but that might have been a reply to the likelihood of his character returning, which we know can't really happen.

In a Whedon universe anything can happen.

But I think the problem here is that he should have been talking to Ron Glass...


PS - I agree it's highly unlikely that we'll see any more feature films anytime soon. Although I'm still (irrationally) holding onto the slightest glimmer of hope for a Sci-Fi Channel series.

[Rainbow7]

White ... Glass ... didn't catch that.

[rhondabrwn]

Well, remember that getting the Serenity movie project done was also an incredible "long shot" so never give up hope. And, as pointed out, Ron's character bit the dust in the movie so he's out of it anyway (which is sad, because they never explained his past, and how his ID got him immediate medical treatment in that one episode of the series). Has anyone ever read any explanations or reasonable speculations regarding his past?

[Tomus]

I heard the film did not do that well at cinemas despite absolute top notch reviews.....

[rhondabrwn]

ORIGINAL: Tomus

I heard the film did not do that well at cinemas despite absolute top notch reviews.....

It didn't get a whole lot of promotion. I didn't even know about the series until I stumbled across the movie in the NetFlix "New Releases" section. Once I watched it, I was hooked and the Firefly series soon followed. Out here on the Rez, it is a very popular title in my free lending library and is usually out on loan continually. Sci-Fi is very popular with the Navajo, at least here in Tsaile.

One thing though, the fact that many of the colonial worlds that they land on are very primitive, very "wild west" and so the production costs aren't nearly as much as for your typical Sci-Fi futuristic world type environment. So much more of the action takes place on Serenity (a reusable set) so the movie didn't need to be a huge blockbuster to make a profit. I'm still betting on a Sci-Fi channel project at some point.

Fingers, toes, and legs crossed [:D]

[JosephL]

Haha, ron glass, ron white, same guy!  Yeah it was Ron Glass, I must have been off my rocker   the point still stands.  I suppose he may have been speaking in reference to HIS character.... but there you have it.  

[IronManBeta]

From what I understand Fox never should have been in the sci fi business at all. Much to their surprise each episode cost far more than a reality tv show to produce and the guys at the top just didn't get it. Fox didn't publicize it, played the episodes out of order, and then dropped it as quickly as they could.

The funny thing is that the DVD sales of the series were awesome and fans started holding "Firefly" parties all over the place. There was great web support and a real community formed around the series. This was enough to get the movie made and the shooting went very smoothly because the guys upstairs at Universal Studios apparently didn't want to be associated with it. As I recall it was released in the latter part of August which is famously the time when dog movies are released by studios if they are going to be released at all. The summer blockbuster season is over and the fall one has yet to begin. People are tired of movies and receipts are always low that time of year. It was supported by a perfunctory marketing effort but nothing more and disappeared from the theaters within a couple of weeks. It quickly went to DVD and I don't know for sure but I think DVD sales have been awesome thanks mainly to word of mouth.

The movie's total world wide gross (which I presume includes DVD sales here and abroad but I could be wrong) was $39 million US. The cost to make the movie was $39 million US. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=serenity.htm

My conclusion? Hollywood politics were very much at play here and nothing is going to change it. It would be wonderful if the Firefly production could break away and find a new sugar daddy, but the business case for that would be awfully hard to make until the price of cutting edge special effects falls a great deal more. It is the only thing on TV I have enjoyed for five years or more and the movie enchanted me and I would love to see it get going again. Like a lot of good things though there is no point to actually holding your breath until it does.

P.S. I bought a rules book for a Serenity role playing game at Origins at the end of June. It is officially licensed and very well done with lots of detail and photos. I believe it won a GAMA award too. RPGs aren't my thing but I just had to have this. There may be other extensions coming out too. The RGP is written by Jamie Chambers and published by Margaret Weis Productions. I talked with the person at the booth briefly and he seemed very encouraged by the uptake.

Oddly, the credits acknowledge a chinese translation and the mind reels at what that might portend. The Firefly universe after all was controlled by the descendents of the Chinese and all that swearing in the shows was mock ("Gorram") Chinese. Maybe they know something we don't.... Will the next movie be in Chinese with English sub-titles?

Cheers all, Rob.

[Kuokkanen]

ORIGINAL: RobertCrandall

The Firefly universe after all was controlled by the descendents of the Chinese

Check out movie special features again. Star system is controlled by union of americans and chinese.

[rhondabrwn]

ORIGINAL: JosephL

Haha, ron glass, ron white, same guy! Yeah it was Ron Glass, I must have been off my rocker the point still stands. I suppose he may have been speaking in reference to HIS character.... but there you have it.

I just realized that he was Detective Harris in "Barney Miller"

[mjk428]

ORIGINAL: rhondabrwn

I just realized that he was Detective Harris in "Barney Miller"

On Firefly his character is named "Book". On Barney Miller his character is the author of "Blood on the Badge".

Coincidence?

I think so.

[rhondabrwn]

ORIGINAL: mjk428

ORIGINAL: rhondabrwn

I just realized that he was Detective Harris in "Barney Miller"

On Firefly his character is named "Book". On Barney Miller his character is the author of "Blood on the Badge".

Coincidence?

I think so.

Interesting bit of trivia. It might not be a coincidence though.