The Silent Vengence of The "Firefly" Crew

There is a group of actors that has slowly been creeping back into the spotlight. You may know them, you may not. But for those of us who have ever enjoyed a certain prematurely cancelled televison show, these characters have been around for a long while, and are finally getting their just due. But I digress...

Allow me to introduce you..."Firefly" was a FOX show that premiered for only one season. Yea, you heard me right, one season. In 2002, creator Joss Whedon ("Dollhouse","Angel" & "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") read 'The Killer Angels', a novel chronicalling the Battle of Gettysburgh, and a cult classic was born. I would begin to describe it, but I would rather let main character Capt. Malcolm Reynolds do it:

"Here's how it is: The Earth got used up, so we moved out and terraformed a whole new galaxy of Earths. Some rich and flush with the new technologies, some not so much. The Central Planets, thems formed the Alliance, waged war to bring everyone under their rule; a few idiots tried to fight it, among them myself. I'm Malcolm Reynolds, captain of Serenity. She's a transport ship; Firefly class. Got a good crew: fighters, pilot, mechanic. We even picked up a preacher for some reason, and a bona fide companion. There's a doctor, too, took his genius sister outta some Alliance camp, so they're keepin' a low profile. You understand. You got a job, we can do it, don't much care what it is."

Fox took a chance on a sci-fi show, and to show just how much confidence they had in it, the show was placed on Friday night at 8pm. What is affectionately called the "Friday Night Death Slot", a time that most people are out socializing, not home watching T.V. (Bare in mind, this was before DVR. I KNOW! CAN U IMAGINE?!) So naturally, the show was cancelled after airing only 11 of the filmed 14 episodes. That pissed some people off.

The loyal fans, self-styled "Browncoats", (don't worry, you'll get it when you watch the show) tried to save the show. They took out an ad in Variety magazine, and organized a postcard writing campaign. As a result, the release date of the series DVD set was pushed forward, and while unsuccessful in finding another network to continue the show, the uproar was enough to begin the filming of a motion picture. In 2005, "Serenity" opened, and did not do as well as hoped, never ranking higher than number two at the box office, and making only $40 million worldwide. (The movie rocks too, but we'll save that for another time)

But the fans weren't done yet. They raised over $14,000 to put a copy of the series and film DVD set onto 250 U.S. Navy ships for recreational viewing. Astronaunt Steven Swanson took both DVDs with him on Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-117 in June 2007and left it on the International Space Station, where it still resides.

Convinced yet? "Firefly" is available on amazon used for as low as $16.99. And for some reason, there is always at least one brand new copy of the show and the film on shelves at Best Buy for $29.99. I wonder why that is? It is a spectacular thrill ride, the characters stay with you long after you turn them off. The writing is brilliant, the special effects are award winning, and though I am a fan of the FOX channel, I have to say, they dropped the ball on this one. Bigtime. Watch the show first, and allow yourself adequate time. Because this is one of those shows that will have you saying "Just one more episode..." over and over. Now if, you'll excuse me, I have to go put in disc one. Keeper!