[quote name='Duo_Maxwell']I didn't necessarily mean to lump you in with them directly, I was just attempting to point out how Whedon's fanbase thinks everything he does is flawless and God's gift to TV. I also like how they often never credit the other writers and producers that made these shows so good (When was the last time you heard a Firefly or Buffy fan talk about Tim Minear or David Fury, two guys that actually moved on to do other great TV shows and coincidently Minear is no place to be found in Serenity's credits) and like I said always hail it for being so original and unique. It's a very die-hard fanbase. (and although it has a strong likeness to Outlaw Star and Bebop, the actual anime I think alot of the ideas are taken from, in terms of setting at least, is without a doubt Trigun).
I don't really think Fox was intentionally trying to kill the show from the start (if you want an example of that look no further than what TNT did to Crusade), but I think once they figured out no one was tuning in I do think they stopped trying. It's true, DVD sales have been strong, but lots of TV shows' DVD sales are climbing upward. Sports Night actually sold pretty well on DVD for almost a year, but you didn't see that still on the air or coming back anytime soon.
Also it being placed on the sci-fi channel I think is just publicity for Universal's movies, however a slim chance may remain for a return if the movies see alot of success, but don't expect it to come back to someplace like the sci-fi channel with a similar production budget. I without a doubt think it had a much better shot at success on cable to being with like you said. To be honest I do hope it returns as a regular series, but without some key writers, smaller production funds, and the movie changing the storylines I don't think it will be the same show.
Still, I guess to sum it all up I look at it this way, IIRC Fox did not stand in the way of Firefly being shopped around and so it was, but nobody was biting because nobody was watching. UPN even turned it down I think despite the fact their network was airing other sci-fi shows, one them being Whedon's own Buffy, and their ratings standards are much lower than those of the larger networks. Sometimes series get saved because one exec sticks their neck out, Firefly was unfortunate that Fox or any otehr network didn't really have anyone willing to do that. I admit though, if this was the mid-late 90s and Firefly found it's way onto someplace like TNT or sci-fi channel this could be another discussion entirely.[/QUOTE]
I'm really not a Joss Whedon fan at all, I don't like his other shows. You're right about some of the fans though.
I think Crusade is a pretty good comparison, the network wanted something other than what they were getting and didn't let the show succeed. Scifi channel wanted to pick up Crusade mid season, but didn't have money left in their budget until the following year, and I think Firefly was in a similar spot. UPN didn't even really want Enterprise, they were trying to transition from the Voyager/Enterprise/Nowhere Man network into the Moesha/Girlfriends/The Parkers network. Scifi would love to have both of those shows now in production for their big Friday night lineup. Firefly can't really come back as a series because of logistics at this point though, actors/producers/writers aren't available, Fox still owns the rights, etc. The budget isn't necessarily an issue, an arrangement could be worked out where the overseas networks pick up some of the tab (Scifi and Skyone both pay half for Galactica). But its too late now.
Speaking of Crusade, the B5 Rangers pilot got screwed by the Scifi channel, had to be rescheduled after 9/11, and it was in the same timeslot as the Pats-Raiders snowbowl game. I didn't think it was that good anyway though.
I don't really think Fox was intentionally trying to kill the show from the start (if you want an example of that look no further than what TNT did to Crusade), but I think once they figured out no one was tuning in I do think they stopped trying. It's true, DVD sales have been strong, but lots of TV shows' DVD sales are climbing upward. Sports Night actually sold pretty well on DVD for almost a year, but you didn't see that still on the air or coming back anytime soon.
Also it being placed on the sci-fi channel I think is just publicity for Universal's movies, however a slim chance may remain for a return if the movies see alot of success, but don't expect it to come back to someplace like the sci-fi channel with a similar production budget. I without a doubt think it had a much better shot at success on cable to being with like you said. To be honest I do hope it returns as a regular series, but without some key writers, smaller production funds, and the movie changing the storylines I don't think it will be the same show.
Still, I guess to sum it all up I look at it this way, IIRC Fox did not stand in the way of Firefly being shopped around and so it was, but nobody was biting because nobody was watching. UPN even turned it down I think despite the fact their network was airing other sci-fi shows, one them being Whedon's own Buffy, and their ratings standards are much lower than those of the larger networks. Sometimes series get saved because one exec sticks their neck out, Firefly was unfortunate that Fox or any otehr network didn't really have anyone willing to do that. I admit though, if this was the mid-late 90s and Firefly found it's way onto someplace like TNT or sci-fi channel this could be another discussion entirely.[/QUOTE]
I'm really not a Joss Whedon fan at all, I don't like his other shows. You're right about some of the fans though.
I think Crusade is a pretty good comparison, the network wanted something other than what they were getting and didn't let the show succeed. Scifi channel wanted to pick up Crusade mid season, but didn't have money left in their budget until the following year, and I think Firefly was in a similar spot. UPN didn't even really want Enterprise, they were trying to transition from the Voyager/Enterprise/Nowhere Man network into the Moesha/Girlfriends/The Parkers network. Scifi would love to have both of those shows now in production for their big Friday night lineup. Firefly can't really come back as a series because of logistics at this point though, actors/producers/writers aren't available, Fox still owns the rights, etc. The budget isn't necessarily an issue, an arrangement could be worked out where the overseas networks pick up some of the tab (Scifi and Skyone both pay half for Galactica). But its too late now.
Speaking of Crusade, the B5 Rangers pilot got screwed by the Scifi channel, had to be rescheduled after 9/11, and it was in the same timeslot as the Pats-Raiders snowbowl game. I didn't think it was that good anyway though.
). Why Fox, why?
