Just finished the watching the final episode on the Firefly DVD Set as well as most of the Special Features. There should be a word for “overwhelmed by a loss of potential future greatness that you can do nothing about”. I wonder if the Germans have one — they seem to have words for all sorts of complicated communications.
In case you haven’t seen me beaming about Firefly before, listen up. It’s the best first season of a science fiction show ever. Thing is, if you look back, that really isn’t saying much, except perhaps the original Star Trek series. But other than that, take a look:
Star Trek: TNG’s first season was uneven, unfun, and plastic looking. Later on after the actors and writers felt more comfortable with the characters it became a fine show.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s first season was pretty good, but they seemed to be searching for the show’s soul.
ST: Voyager, ugh, let’s not go there.
Babylon 5 which overall I count as one of the finest TV series ever had a pretty mediocre first season. Every time I’d see Sinclair I thought he had something shoved up his butt causing him to move and act so stiffly. But after that season, WOW.
But Firefly…
Firefly didn’t even get through a whole season thanks to the ineptitude and visionlessness (is that a word?) of the FOX TV execs. The show is (or sadly, was) great from the get-go and simply screamed of potential for even more greatness. This was a series that proved that television was a legitimate method of telling great stories, much like Babylon 5 and Buffy The Vampire Slayer were.
If you haven’t picked up the Firefly DVD set, go get it. You’ll become the owner of a show that will make you overwhelmed-by-a-loss-of-potential-future-greatness-that-you-can-do-nothing-about, and that’s really something.
And hey, maybe if the set sells enough, FOX will come to its senses and revive the show without us having to wait for the (planned) Firefly motion picture to do well first. Don’t get me wrong, a Firefly movie would be mighty fine (yes, the western lingo has rubbed off on me a might) but that’s one and a half hours every three years, while a TV series back in production would give me over twenty hours of Firefly per YEAR. Movies simply can’t compete.
I’ll leave you all with the Firefly theme lyrics
Take my love.
Take my land.
Take me where I cannot stand.
I don’t care,
I’m still free.
You can’t take the sky from me.
Take me out to the black.
Tell ‘em I ain’t comin’ back.
Burn the land
And boil the sea.
You can’t take the sky from me
(Music Interlude)
Have no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can’t take the sky from me.
What a world, where Starhunter flourishes, but Firefly gets canned. Maybe Joss Whedon should have produced the show in Canada…
I, too, just watched the Firefly DVD set. And I am ever depressed to think that there would be no more episodes. There are so many really bad sci fi shows out there that made it - not to mention the other garbage that is on TV. How could this brilliant show have been treated so shabbily?
Joss Whedon should not give up on Firefly. We should not give up on Firefly.
This is an awsom show… First saw it on Sci-Fi Channel and was watching it avidly. Only to find out after watching 10 or so episodes (missed the first few) that I was now watching the last ever episode of Firefly… OMG i was so upset I went on about it to family and friends for weeks (not that they care they have not seen it) I hope that Joss can get the stone (Fox) rolling again.
Zukunftspotentialverlustueberwaeltigung would be a candidate as an expression of your, sorry, our, feelings.
It’s bascially a translation made into one word, but until I come up with someting better, it’d make a nice URL for a German Firefly page, right?
Joss is so right in the dvd-extras when he says “the people that watch it [FF], are the people that get it.” Why don’t studio execs get ‘it’?!? They killed the show with their stupid out-of-order broadcasting from the get-go.
Firefly forever!
I’m taking a break from watching the set right now (don’t have to work today:)
I had heard of Firefly but had not watched it. The first time I saw an episode was after stumbled upon the DVD set at the Barnes & Noble store near my home. It is truely delightful and was worthy of better treatment than it received from Fox. Network executives don’t view a series in the same way we do. We want quality entertainment. They want a show that makes money; if it is also high quality, so much the better, but they are more likely to support a show that follows a proven pattern, ala the Star Trek shows.
Firefly was character-driven and looked different– very much on purpose. In this it was similar to Farscape. Farscape, however, was fortunate to have, for a while, the support of the Sci-Fi network, giving its fans more of the story, albiet not all of it. Firefly was truely a victim of infanticide.
One can only speculate how things would have progressed if it had run longer. No doubt the feature film SERENITY will be welcomed by the fans, but there will still be much that could have been told, but was not.
Periapt
anyone have a mp3 of that music?
thiagodecnop@hotmail.com
please send me !
me either ktoos@o2.pl thanks
I LOVE Firefly we have the DVD at home and the whole family watches it but i was wondering if you could tell me who wrote this song i think it is wonderful and i wont let my parents fast forward through the intro song if you could e-mail me back with the answer at caitlin.murphy.home@verizon.net if you know who wrote it
Joss Whedon wrote the theme song. If you watch the DVD commentary on the first episode you’ll hear him talking about it and if you watch the Special Features you can even hear a recording of him singing it (and playing guitar!)
I’m a firefly fan and I happened to stumble on your blog while searching for firefly lyrics. I just wanted to comment and say I know exactly how you feel.
“overwhelmed by a loss of potential future greatness that you can do nothing about”
Is EXACTLY my reaction at the end of the season. I just recently even HEARD of Firefly and never saw it on TV. I’m sure I’m not the only one who falls into that category. Its so tragic to see such a great show end with no hope of coming back.