Serenity/FireFly

[catfish]

Lol Rick!

I'm watching a show on the science channel and guess what I saw. Starting march 6th they will broadcast the series.

[Ryan Ruck]

Cool! I rewatched it a couple months ago but will watch it if it's on TV. Did they say if they are running a marathon or just doing weekly airings?

This show and Jericho are the only ones I really enjoy watching multiple times!

[catfish]

Cool! I rewatched it a couple months ago but will watch it if it's on TV. Did they say if they are running a marathon or just doing weekly airings?

This show and Jericho are the only ones I really enjoy watching multiple times!

Sounds like a weekly airing, no new shows, hopefully in chronological order. Although I recently learned that the pilot shown on fox was not the original pilot the creators wanted. This explains why the first few shows didn't seem to make chronological sense. It will be interesting to see if the science channel plays them in the order intended.

[Ryan Ruck]

Indeed. Usually when it is played on SciFi they do play them in the correct order and they play the originally unaired episodes.

[Ryan Ruck]

Some more information...

'Firefly' Returning To Cable; Fillion Says He'd Play Mal Again

February 18, 2011

Browncoats rejoice: Firefly is returning to basic cable — and Nathan Fillion has something to say about it.

The Science Channel has acquired the rights to the cult-hit and will air the series in its short-lived entirety, plus some new extras. Science Channel will wrap each episode with interstitial segments starring renowned physicist Dr. Michio Kaku, who will discuss the theoretical science behind the show’s sci-fi concepts.

According to Firefly studio 20th Century Fox, this will mark the first time Firefly has aired on a fully distributed basic cable channel since 2008, when it ran on USA Network.

In honor of this occasion, star Nathan Fillion took a brief break from shooting ABC’s Castle today to jump on the phone and answer five Firefly questions — including whether he’d ever reprise the role of Captain Mal again. That interview and more details about Science Channel’s Firefly plans below:

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was the part about playing the character?
NATHAN FILLION: It was my favorite job ever. What wasn’t great about it? I got to wear a low-slung holster. I got to ride horses. I got to have a spaceship. I got to act mean and curmudgeonly. [Creator Joss Whedon] is really good at kicking characters in the nuts so the other characters would have laughs at my expense and that was great too.

If Castle had its series finale tomorrow and Fox said to you and Joss: “We screwed up, let’s try doing Firefly again.” Would you do it?
Yes. Yes. I would examine very closely Fox’s reasoning — I’m a little gun-shy. If I got $300 million from the California Lottery, the first thing I would do is buy the rights to Firefly, make it on my own, and distribute it on the Internet.

What’s the most common thing Firefly fans say to you?
No. 1, “Is there going to be more?” No. 2, “Why was it canceled?”

Why do you think the show has had such an enduring appeal?
It’s a great question. We’re the most story-literate society the world has ever seen. What Joss tends to do is twist story conventions into reality. Whereas the story goes like this, real life goes like this, and that’s what Joss has mastered.

Do you ever watch the show nowadays or is that just weird?
It’s not weird. I haven’t watched it in a long, long time and I would like to revisit it.

Firefly premieres on Science Channel on March 6 at 8 p.m., with the two hour pilot, followed by the first episode at 10 p.m. Following that, Firefly episodes will air every Sunday — and, yes, in their original intended order and upgraded to high definition.

[catfish]

Cool, thanks for the update Ryan. I'm a huge fan of Dr. Kaku, I have all his books. Can't wait to set the DVR for this!

[Ryan Ruck]

Another Easter Egg in last night's Castle!

Seems like they are putting one in almost every episode now, LOL!

[Luke]

Castle's Mother and daughter going on a "Serenity" retreat? Ms. Luke was sure I had gone insane when I laughed out loud.

[Ryan Ruck]

"You've heard of Serenity, haven't you?"

*Nathan Fillion turns and looks deadpan (almost) at camera*

I loved it!

[Ryan Ruck]

Amazing that this show aired 9 years ago and there is still such a fighting spirit!

Internet-Savvy 'Firefly' Fans Fly Back Into The Fight

True Browncoats, like the fictional freedom fighters they named themselves after, don't give up easily.

Those diehard fans of "Firefly," the 2002 cult TV hit, have a history of turning to the internet to buck improbable odds in defense of their favorite show.

Now, they're at it again.

Just days after an apparently offhand comment from Nathan Fillion, who played Capt. Malcolm Reynolds on the short-lived Fox series, the Web has once again lit up with efforts to revive the sci-fi franchise.

Last week, Fillion, who now stars in ABC's "Castle," told Entertainment Weekly he'd love to play Mal again. Then, he ratcheted things up a notch.

"If I got $300 million from the California Lottery, the first thing I would do is buy the rights to "Firefly," make it on my own, and distribute it on the internet," Fillion told EW, a CNN.com partner.

Then, some possibly surprising online reactions started rolling in.

The next day, former "Firefly" writer Jose Molina wrote on Twitter: "For what it's worth, I've told him I'd drop what I was doing and follow."

Then, Jane Espenson, who wrote an episode, chimed in: "I'm there, if needed," she tweeted.

Jewel Staite, who played ace mechanic Kaylee on the show, had a simple answer when a Twitter follower asked if she'd be on board: "Is the Pope Catholic?"

That was more than enough for fans (whose "Browncoat" nickname, by the way, comes from the Western-style dusters worn by Fillion and others on the show).

A website, "Help Nathan Buy Firefly," popped up, under the title "Let's get the Captain his money."

The goal? To set up a means of collecting pledges that would turn into donations if a revived "Firefly" looks like it could become a reality.

The pledge system hadn't been officially created as of Tuesday, but fans were already writing in the site's comment section that they're willing to pony up.

In five days, the site's Facebook group had picked up more than 33,000 members -- about 10,000 of them in the past 24 hours.

The two creators of the site are remaining publicly anonymous for now. In an email to CNN (which came from an address linked to the site and was mentioned on the group's Facebook page), they said they work in the nonprofit field but "have no credentials to speak of" in the TV/film industry or "Firefly" community.

They acknowledged that the odds that Fillion was serious about buying the show's rights are "pretty low," but hope the community's willingness to support some sort of revamped "Firefly" will encourage creator Joss Whedon or someone else with the proper clout to make a move.

"Joss paid out of pocket to make [Web series] 'Dr. Horrible,' and it's not only paid him back, it's paid the folks involved," they said in the email. "We'd like to see him be willing to let fans become his pocket and revisit ['Firefly']."

They say they "won't take a penny" from anyone until someone like Whedon or Fillion gets involved in an effort to revive the show and would look to set up a not-for-profit foundation or something of the sort if that happens.

Other devotees of the cult favorite say they're not surprised by the quick Web action.

"I couldn't believe it when I first read the story," said Brian Harvard, co-creator of the 25,000-member-strong "Bring Back Firefly" Facebook page. "Then, all of a sudden, everyone's posting these links to the 'Help Nathan Buy Firefly' page and I said, 'We've got to help get the word out about this.' "

Even before "Firefly" was officially sacked in 2002, fans had taken to the Web to try to save it. Using the online tools of the early 2000s -- message boards, fan sites, chat rooms and LiveJournal blogs -- they organized. Call it an early example of crowd-sourcing.

They collected money for an ad in Variety, organized a postcard-writing campaign to Universal Pictures and, when the DVD box set was released, raised $14,000 to put copies on 250 Navy ships for the crews to watch.

The fan base's self-styled guerrilla marketing is widely considered to have helped Whedon get funding for 2005's "Serenity," a feature film that draws together some of the loose ends from the series.

"On the internet, that was one of the first times you've seen such a drive to bring something back," Harvard said. "Now, with the advent of Facebook? My goodness -- that's probably the most useful tool, next to the internet itself, to really bring some fire under this movement."

Harvard acknowledges that Fillion's comment sounds like an off-the-cuff quip. (And 20th Century Fox, which owns the rights to "Firefly," hasn't expressed any desire to sell them.)

But he says that doesn't mean nothing will come out of the internet reaction to it.

"Even if this project goes nowhere, at least it's something to show the powers-that-be that there's a product there that could be making them some money," he said.

Fillion was talking about the series after the Science Channel announced they'd be airing reruns of the original series. The episodes, which begin airing at 8 p.m. March 6, will include segments with the network's Dr. Michio Kaku commentating on the science portrayed in the show.

[Ryan Ruck]

You all will appreciate this...

YouTube: She Don't Like Firefly

[Ryan Ruck]

Science Channel is running a Firefly marathon with the last episode airing during its regular time tonight!

[catfish]

I'm about 20 minutes into tonite's episode and as Ryan said It's also the last. This was just such a great show, I really love the writing and characters, I'm gonna miss it, again. Damn you Fox network for not giving this show a proper chance!

[catfish]

Watching "Serenity" on the sci-fi channel, started about half way through it. I wished I knew it was going to he on, I would have DVR'd it. It would have been perfect to wrap up watching the show that ended last Sunday on the Science channel, oh well.

[Ryan Ruck]

Just a heads up, I was just looking at my DVR schedule and it looks like there is going to be a Firefly marathon all day on the Science Channel on October 1st.

[Ryan Ruck]

Was listening to NRA News earlier and was surprised to hear a story on Firefly! Apparently NRA News host, Cam Edwards, is a fan.

Insult To Injury: Quote From Sci-Fi Classic ‘Firefly’ Censored On Campus

September 26, 2011

December 20th, 2002, is a date that lives in infamy to me and many of my fellow geeks. On that (presumably) dark and gloomy day, Fox aired the last episode of Joss Whedon’s brilliant space western Firefly. The impatient network canceled the show after barely half a season of episodes — aired in the wrong order, no less. With this reckless, senseless act all of my plans for the series — weekly Firefly parties, my planned Reaver Halloween costume, my letter-writing campaign to link up the cast members with their soul mates the Phenomenauts, my ambitious scale model of the statue of Jayne from Jaynestown — were dashed.

And just when these wounds were finally starting to heal, along come bureaucrats at the University of Wisconsin-Stout to tear them open again.

On September 12, 2011, UW-Stout theater professor James Miller posted this tribute to the captain of the star boat Serenity, Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds (once called “Captain Tight Pants” by the ship’s mechanic) on his office door.

Oh, Mal. This is classic: tough, macho, but also Mal’s way of saying that he is a man who plays fair. It’s also funny, in context, because the character probably didn’t really mean it. In my perfect world, the UW-Stout campus would have been so overwhelmed with the memory of the super-awesomeness of Firefly that the administration would have canceled classes so every student could study the DVD box set.

But that’s not exactly how it worked.

Like overzealous Alliance officers, UW-Stout administration officials just could not let Mal be free. Instead, they called the cops on Professor Miller to tear down the poster. Miller was contacted by Lisa Walter, the chief of police/director of parking services, and informed that “it is unacceptable to have postings such as this that refer to killing.” She also warned the astounded professor that any future such posts would be removed and would cause him to be charged with disorderly conduct.

You don’t have to be a First Amendment lawyer to know that posting Mal’s quote or even that super-scary death-oriented quote from The Princess Bride is a far cry from any legal definition of disorderly conduct. And Miller, like a true browncoat, did not take this lying down. On September 16th he posted this:



Censor that, Alliance stooges!

Of course, that’s exactly what UW-Stout did. In a feat of intentional misunderstanding of the kind that is unfortunately all too common on campus, the university reinterpreted Professor Miller’s protest as being essentially pro-fascist and advocating violence. The police tore down this poster, too, with Chief Walter claiming this time that the problem was that the poster “depicts violence and mentions violence or death.” She went on to say that “it is believed that this posting also has a reasonable expectation that it will cause a material and/or substantial disruption of school activities and/or be constituted as a threat.” Seriously.

I am frequently impressed by the level of creativity people show in justifying their desire to quell criticism of themselves. This one deserves some kind of Rationalization of the Year award. Essentially, what Walter is saying is this: “I’ve chosen to understand your poster implying that my actions were reminiscent of evil governments that in the past have killed people to mean that you have announced your plan to kill people, as that interpretation works out well for me.”

These days, people are quick to uncritically evaluate any claim that someone else might be a threat for some reason and give leeway to the authorities accordingly. Those who read my writing already know of the case of Hayden Barnes, but here is an oldie but goodie on the abuse of “threat” rationales on campus. This rush to judgment is a bad habit, and here it’s easy to dismiss.

No one was threatened by the Firefly poster, and no reasonable person would understand the second poster to be anything other than a rebuke of Walter’s heavy-handed action in the first place. The university overreacted to a poster and then decided to double down rather than admit error when the professor decided to make fun of that overreaction.

Professor Miller has twice been censored in a way that the Constitution would never allow, he has been threatened with punishment, and he’s being investigated by the university’s threat assessment team. My organization, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), has written to protest, but so far UW-Stout has refused to back down. Miller faces a meeting on Friday with the dean to discuss the threat assessment team’s “concerns.”

I therefore call on the teeming masses of Firefly fans to stand up for free speech on campus, for Professor Miller, and for Mal Reynolds’s right to eternally kick ass according to his own code of honor. We Firefly fans are a passionate and tenacious bunch and there is nothing we can’t do together. Well, except get the series un-canceled. But here’s our chance to redeem ourselves! As Patrick Henry once more or less said: “Give Mal liberty or give me death!” Which would have, of course, made him guilty of disorderly conduct at UW-Stout.

Also, if anyone's interested, none other than Adam Baldwin is supposed to be on the 9/27/2011 NRA News show. You can listen/watch online.

[Ryan Ruck]

Victory At UW-Stout: Chancellor Folds After Censorship Of 'Firefly' And Anti-Fascism Posters

October 4, 2011

Under pressure from FIRE, national media, and actors Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin, the University of Wisconsin-Stout (Stout) has reversed its censorship of theater professor James Miller's poster featuring a line from Fillion's character in Joss Whedon's television series Firefly. Campus police had threatened Miller with criminal disorderly conduct charges, and he was reported to the "threat assessment team." After Stout censored his second poster, which stated, "Warning: Fascism," Miller came to FIRE for help. Torch readers can learn more about Miller's case here.

Miller's troubles at Stout began on September 12, 2011, when he posted outside his office door an image of Fillion in Joss Whedon's sci-fi series Firefly and a line from an episode: "You don't know me, son, so let me explain this to you once: If I ever kill you, you'll be awake. You'll be facing me. And you'll be armed." On September 16, Stout Chief of Police Lisa A. Walter notified Miller that she had removed the poster because it "refer[s] to killing." After Miller replied, "respect my first amendment rights," Walter wrote that "the poster can be interpreted as a threat." Walter also threatened Miller with criminal charges of "disorderly conduct" if he posted any similar poster.

In response to Walter's censorship, Miller placed a new poster on his office door on the 16th. The poster read, "Warning: Fascism" and mocked, "Fascism can cause blunt head trauma and/or violent death. Keep fascism away from children and pets."

Astoundingly, Walter escalated the absurdity. On September 20, she wrote that this poster, too, had been censored as a "threat" because it "depicts violence and mentions violence and death." She added that Stout's "threat assessment team" had made the decision. College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Interim Dean Raymond Hayes then scheduled a meeting with Miller about "the concerns raised by the campus threat assessment team."

Miller then came to FIRE for help. On September 21, FIRE wrote Stout Chancellor Charles W. Sorensen, citing Supreme Court precedent to explain that the posters were not a true threat, nor would a reasonable person expect them to cause a substantial disruption. Sorensen did not respond to FIRE, and FIRE launched a national campaign on September 26 to restore fundamental rights to Stout's campus. Later that day, Hayes canceled his meeting with Miller.

Sorensen, however, dug a deeper hole. Together with Provost Julie Furst-Bowe and Vice Chancellor Ed Nieskes, Sorensen defended Stout's censorship in an email to all faculty and staff on September 27.

At least 1,000 people wrote Sorensen in defense of First Amendment rights at Stout, and dozens of articles about the case appeared in the national media. Today, Baldwin (co-star of Firefly) wrote about Stout's apparent double standard in censorship. Baldwin noted that earlier this year, Stout apparently had no problem with "Kill the Bill" posters based on the film Kill Bill, which depicted Uma Thurman with a sword and advocated against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's budget bill.

Finally, in a letter to all faculty, staff, and students today, the three senior administrators announced that Stout had reversed its decision, is developing a new protocol for handling such cases, and "will schedule workshops and/or forums during this academic year on First Amendment rights and responsibilities in higher education."

As Adam stated in today's press release, "It takes humility to recognize one's mistakes, and UW-Stout's senior administration now deserves praise for making the right call." Nonetheless, Stout could have acknowledged its errors more directly. FIRE will continue to monitor the state of free speech at Stout, and we hope this controversy has become a learning experience for the administration.

[Ryan Ruck]

Firefly Season 1 available on Blu-Ray for $16.75 shipped!

http://www.deepdiscount.com/blu-ray/Firefly-1st-Season/

[Ryan Ruck]

Firefly Comic-Con Reunion Will Air As Science Channel Special

July 11, 2012



As we speak, hordes of hyper, sweaty, excitable people are sitting in line in San Diego, just waiting for the chance to get a first-hand glimpse at something they love. Some hope to get an early look at upcoming flicks like Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel or Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim. Others want the dope on what’s to come in shows such as The Walking Dead or Game of Thrones. But one of the more passionate groups is gathering to celebrate a show that only aired one season and has been off the air for a decade. If you’re a loyal Browncoat all broken up that you won’t be in San Diego to see the Firefly reunion panel, fear not: you’ll get a chance to see it later on TV.

This week’s Firefly panel is going to be filmed for use as part of a Science Channel special entitled Browncoats Unite. Delving into behind-the-scenes stories and examining the legacy of Joss Whedon’s “space Western,” Browncoats Unite is set to air on November 11th. The panel will include appearances from pretty much the entire Firefly line-up: creator Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Alan Tudyk, Summer Glau, and writers Tim Minear and Jose Molina. The special will also include a behind-the-scenes roundtable interview hosted by Entertainment Weekly’s Jeff Jensen.

“Why is this airing on the Science Channel?” you might ask. The network has been airing Firefly reruns for a while now, and will ramp up to the Browncoats Unite premiere with a marathon of Firefly episodes. Here’s what Debbie Myers, General Manager and Executive Vice President of the Science Channel, had to say:

FIREFLY is a landmark work of science fiction and a favorite with our viewers. Ever since it premiered on SCIENCE, fans have asked us to do something special to mark its 10-year anniversary. With this signature celebration, punctuated by BROWNCOATS UNITE, we will connect the minds behind this classic franchise with its legions of passionate fans.

The Firefly panel will go down on Friday, July 13th, beginning at 12:30 PM PT in Room 20. If you’re not already in line, you’re probably screwed. As for the rest of us, now we have to figure out where the hell Science is on our channel line-up.

[Ryan Ruck]

'Firefly': First Look At Science Channel's Reunion Special -- VIDEO

October 12, 2012

The Firefly 10th anniversary special is inching closer to air and EW.com has the exclusive first clip from the Science Channel program’s roundtable discussion. Below is a scene where star Nathan Fillion explains what the crew of the Serenity means to Captain Malcolm Reynolds (touching, and an unsurprisingly Reynolds-centric worldview).

Several Firefly cast members will take the stage at New York City’s Comic-Con tomorrow at 6:15 p.m. for a panel titled “Firefly Tenth Anniversary Special Event: First Look.” EW’s own Kyle Anderson will moderate the panel (I would give you Kyle’s Twitter handle, but as he points out, he’s the only entertainment reporter in America who’s managed to escape Twitter’s gravitational pull). Plus, look for NYCC coverage on EW.com this weekend from Darren Franich.

The Science Channel’s Browncoats Unite special airs Nov. 11 at 10 p.m. The one-hour program taped this summer in a hotel in San Diego when the cast was on hand for SDCC (and you remember how Firefly-gasmic that panel was, right?). The roundtable special, like the SDCC panel, is moderated by EW’s Jeff Jensen. Here’s your clip:

Sorry, no embed option on the video. See the link.

This post made while watching "Ariel".