I checked the IMDb message board for the show and it's the most active board I've ever seen for a show that's been off the air for 5 years. It's amazing. Anyway, someone posted a FAQ thread for anyone new to the board. Here it is:
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1) I just got the DVD's and the episodes look like they might be out of order. What's going on? And what about the movie Serenity?
The show's creator, Joss Whedon, meant for the show to be aired in this order:
Serenity - Part 1 & 2 --Originally aired 12/20/02
The Train Job --Originally aired 09/20/02
Bushwacked --Originally aired 09/27/02
Shindig --Originally aired 11/01/02
Safe --Originally aired 11/08/02
Our Mrs. Reynolds --Originally aired 10/04/02
Jaynestown --Originally aired 10/18/02
Out Of Gas --Originally aired 10/25/02
Ariel --Originally aired 11/15/02
War Stories --Originally aired 12/06/02
Trash --Never Aired
The Message --Never Aired
Heart Of Gold --Never Aired
Objects In Space --Originally aired 12/13/02
Serenity - The Movie
2) Then why were the episodes not shown in that order? Also, why was the intended pilot aired last?
Fox was shown the intended pilot, called "Serenity" and did not find it acceptable. They gave Joss Whedon & Tim Minear a weekend to write a new one that was shorter and had more action. The result was "The Train Job" which Joss Whedon had never intended to make. Fox seems to have aired the other episodes in a way that it felt made the most sense.
I have heard theories that Fox wanted a show much closer to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and/or Angel which Joss Whedon was known for and felt that by moving things around like this then they could make this show more like those. I do not know whether or not this is true.
3) Why was the show cancelled?
Arguments have been made for many factors. Here are most of them. That it was shown on Friday nights, so a lot of people went out instead. That the pilot episode aired is not as good as the originally intended pilot, since it was written in only one weekend. Therefore, since the pilot was not as good, then not as many people stuck around for the following episodes. This was also Fox's most expensive show to produce, so there was more pressure on it to perform well. Firefly aired before Fox had a huge hit in American Idol and so not as many people watched Fox in general. Firefly premiered in September while Fox was showing mostly Major League Baseball Playoffs and therefore not as many potential viewers were paying attention. The trailers were uninteresting and/or misleading and so did a poor job of attracting potential viewers.
4) If the show was cancelled so quickly, then how were they able to make a movie?
The movie Serenity (also called The Big d*mn Movie) was made because of the support of fans, the love that the people in the cast and crew had for this project, the support of a different studio - Universal and most importantly, the efforts of it's creator Joss Whedon.
A DVD documentary that discusses all of this, called "Done The Impossible: The Fans' Tale of Firefly & Serenity" can be found here:
www.amazon.com/Done-Impossible-Fans-Firefly-Serenity/dp/B000IJFJDG/ref =sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1207451019&sr=1-3
5) What is the chance that there will be another TV show, (on Fox or another newtork) another movie or another live action project like a Direct To DVD project or Web project.
Right now, there is nothing coming on any of these possibilities. These ideas have been discussed and there are problems with all of them. Most of those problems are money problems and are therefore not easily solved. However, the creator Joss Whedon really loves this project, as it seems does all the actors involved, and the DVD's sell very, very well and the odds of the first movie were pretty small too, so it definitely could happen. For further detail, here's a question posed to Joss, and his answer, from August 7, 2007:
Q: What do you think it would take to get another Serenity movie made?
JW: Profit. They're putting out the Collector's Edition DVD, because the DVD is selling so very well. That's something that maybe, some time from now, someone will look at the numbers and go, "Well, that was worth it. Let's do that again. Let's do it smaller, let's do it different." I'd do it on radio. As long as I could write dialogue for those actors, I'd be in a happy place.
6) If money is the problem, is it possible that we could all get together and contribute to help fund another project?
This is a good question and it's been discussed also. Here's another quote from the same interview:
Q: A while back, a group of fans started to try and organize a "fan fund" to get a second season of the show made. Do you think that model could ever work?
JW: You know, I've had the model described, and I believe there is a way in which it could work, but I don't think that the way entertainment is structured right now, that people are ready for it to work that way. I do think that the level of fan involvement in getting things put on will start to extend well beyond letter-writing campaigns. I've very intrigued by the concept of involving the fans at ground level. Saying, "This is what we want to do. Anyone want to see it?" Instead of saying that to a bunch of guys in a room, saying it to the world. I think that could be very fascinating.
To my knowledge, there is not yet a Joss Whedon supported site to send money to. So it's possible and it could happen, but I am not going to suggest to anyone where to send money for such a project. Please be cautious when sending money anywhere.
7) How many versions of the TV series and/or the movie are there?
Only one DVD version of the Tv Show. As for the movie, there is a regular edition
www.amazon.com/Serenity-Widescreen-Nathan-Fillion/dp/B000BW7QWW/ref=ta g_tdp_sv_edpp_t
and a Collector's edition
www.amazon.com/Serenity-Collectors-Nathan-Fillion/dp/B000Q9IZ5C/ref=ta g_tdp_sv_edpp_t
8) I have seen the TV show & the movie. What else is there?
Many people collect the Official Companions of which there are two volumes:
www.amazon.com/Firefly-Official-Companion-Joss-Whedon/dp/1845763149/re f=tag_tdp_sv_edpp_t
www.amazon.com/Firefly-Official-Companion-Joss-Whedon/dp/1845763726/re f=tag_tdp_sv_edpp_t
As well as a Serenity Movie Companion:
www.amazon.com/Serenity-Official-Visual-Companion-Whedon/dp/1845760824 /ref=pd_sim_b_title_2
In addition, there are two comic series of three issues each that tell original stories of Firefly. Both are co-written by Joss Whedon. The first one called "Those Left Behind" is meant to serve as a connector between the end of the TV show and the start of the film. It has been collected here:
www.amazon.com/Those-Left-Behind-Serenity-Whedon/dp/1593074492/ref=tag _tdp_sv_edpp_t
The second comic series is set during/after the TV show and is based on a screenplay for the TV show that was never produced. It is called "Serenity: Better Days" and is being released monthly for three months, beginning March 12, 2008. It will be collected and available as of October 29th, 2008. If you wish to purchase it or find more information sooner then go to:
www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=15-190
9) What is a Browncoat?
Browncoat is a slang term for a fan of the show.
10) Is there any place that gives more info on and translations of the Chinese language used in the show?
In another thread I found this website posted by Scotty_UK.
http://fireflychinese.kevinsullivansite.net/story.html
11) What else has Joss Whedon done?
His major projects have been Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel and the upcoming The Dollhouse (premiering in early 2009). But, if you do an IMDb search then you'll find everything. IMDb is Great!
12) Is there anything out there similar to Firefly?
It depends on your tastes. I've heard a lot of opinions, but I feel that much of it depends on what aspects of the show really catch your interest. There's a lot of elements in it and different aspects appeal to different people. I've seen some good threads that discuss this, but since this is really open to interpretation then I would suggest you look for one or start your own!
13) I sometimes see people discussing Serenity film screenings, how does this happen?
There is a charity raisng program called "Can't Stop The Serenity". Every year they attempt to organize screenings of the movie in various U.S. cities. Here is their goal:
"Equality Now was founded in 1992 to work for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women around the world. Working with national human rights organizations and individual activists, Equality Now documents violence and discrimination against women and mobilizes international action to support their efforts to stop these human rights abuses".
www.cantstoptheserenity.com/
14) Very, very rarely someone who is a fan of the Jesscia Alba TV show "Dark Angel" will come to the Firefly Board with a grudge. There is a connection between the two shows, so I will explain it.
At the end of the Spring 2002 TV Season, Fox was on the fence about whether or not to renew the expensive Dark Angel TV show. It had unexpectedly (to Fox) slid in the ratings after having been moved from a Tuesday night time slot to a Friday night time slot. [Gee, a sci-fi show geared towards a younger audience and they wonder why it had less viewers on FRIDAY nights? [[Fox=Dumb]] [[roll]] Anyway, Fox was very interested in picking up the also expensive to produce Firefly TV project, but they couldn't afford both shows. Obviously we know what Fox picked.
Following this, Dark Angel was cancelled. While nearly all Dark Angel fans can be mature enough to see that Firefly was not at fault, others unfortunately blame Firefly partially, or a lot. I think that it's pretty clear that Fox is the one to blame (and for many, many other great shows too). But occassionally there will be Dark Angel fans that visit here at Firefly and write posts like "Dark Angel was cancelled for this crap?!?" [[sigh]] Fortunately, not very often.
15) Anything else I should know?
-- A really good place to visit is Joss Whedon's site
http://whedonesque.com/
-- Firefly fan David_Blue, who has a big interest in the weapons used on the show, recomended this site:
http://www.fireflywiki.org/Firefly/CategoryWeapons
It looks pretty good to me and discusses many other aspects of the show as well. So it might well be worth a look for any Firefly fan.
-- There are several recommendations of good books and websites from Browncoat Ajones47. I had already mentioned a few of his suggestions, but here are the others, including his comments which are in parentheses:
The first recommendation goes to the book Finding Serenity, "A series of Essays written by experts who love Firefly, Jewel Staite (Kaylee) and one of the writers which explores some of the themes of Firefly, and gives you a general idea of where it might have gone".
http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Serenity-Anti-Heroes-Shepherds-Hookers/d p/1932100431/ref=pd_bbs_4/102-5406018-8775363?ie=UTF8&s=books& qid=1174668283&sr=8-4
I found it to be an eclectic but interesting book myself and there's a sequel too, Serenity Found, which includes writings by Nathan Fillion (Mal) and renowned Science Fiction Author Orson Scott Card:
http://www.amazon.com/Serenity-Found-Unauthorized-Whedons-Universe/dp/ 1933771216/ref=pd_sim_b_title_3
"The Signal Podcast. A podcast by Browncoats all about Firefly, Serenity, the 'verse and other related developments".
http://signal.serenityfirefly.com/
"The unofficial fansite for the Firefly MMORPG - slated for release late next year".
http://fireflymmo.com/
"Songs from the Black" - an album comprising of songs about Firefly and Serenity. Really great for anyone who loves the musical feel of Firefly."
http://signal.serenityfirefly.com/shownotes.php?e=2240
"I know it's just FanFiction, but some of it is of the caliber of publishable stuff. Check out Mokibobolink's Wash fics!"
http://www.fanfiction.net/tv/Firefly/
And that's the end of Ajones47's recommendations!
There's probably some other things to know, but I think those are the essential ones, and besides I can't tell you EVERYthing
Have A Shiny Day!
