Eureka is holding its own surprisingly well. I feel a little guilty about not feeling motivated enough to watch the third season, as it is a fun little show. I miss The Dresden Files, though. 
And, yes, I know Nathan Fillion at least enjoys working with Joss. You don’t do Dr. Horrible just for the paycheck. 
Thanks for the informative reply Elenfair. I thought the movie tanked at the box office.
Blech. The BBC’s sci-fi programming is horrendous. They have no budget, no taste, and it shows. Dr. Who–even now–looks like a radio broadcast that was filmed.
If you can’t do it right, let it die.
Another problem I heard about Firefly and ratings was that college campuses weren’t on the Nielsen radar; a friend of mine works at a local university and said there were about 200 TVs on campus, and from what he saw, they were filled on Friday nights with people watching Firefly.
It made around $38 million, I think, which was right around its break-even point. Whedon is a master at taking a small budget and making it look much larger on the screen.
Comments on NuWho and “taste” aside, I guess there’s just no suiting some people. Does the future always have to have such a glossy veneer?
If “Firefly” is so great, why hasn’t it been resurrected?
Because Wash is dead.
I know **Elenfair **refuses to tell us what shows she’s worked on (and I totally understand why), but as a result of this thread I’ve decided to incubate the delusion that she’s secretly Jane Espenson.
Elenfair, how do you feel about food? 
“Firefly” won’t be resurrected as a TV show, because it isn’t what TV execs want. For the most part, they want something cheap, easy to follow, and easy to sell in a 10-second TV spot, something that can be syndicated endlessly and re-sold to other networks. In essense, they wanted “Joss Whedon’s Star Trek.”
With “Firefly” they got something too expensive, too challenging for the average viewer, hard to sell, and hard to syndicate.
What he needed to do before ever beginning filming was get a five-year contract like JMS did for Babylon 5.
And look how much good it did him. He still had to rush Season 4 because of financing, and that meant Season 5 was the mess it was.
JMS didn’t have a 5-year contract. He also could have gotten canned at any time. In his case, the gamble happened to pay off.
This is what I have wondered. I would have imagined that a high-quality show like Firefly with a loyal fan-following would have been perfect for a cable network like HBO. With the rise of DVD sales I think there is a lot of potential for such shows which is why I am surprised that cult favorites like Firefly and Freaks and Geeks haven’t found a viable model.
BTW I am drooling over the prospect of a Song of Ice and Fire show though actually I think high-quality animation would be a better medium for the subject.Hence the complete failure of arc-story shows like The Sopranos and Lost and Gray’s Anatomy and The Shield and Heroes.
All I’m saying is if Nathan Fillion had been cast as Captain on “Enterprise”, it would still be on the air.
Not necessarily. I’d say there have been a pretty decent nmber of Paris Hilton threads in these very messageboards. The same messageboards where Firefly nerds hang out.
Torn: You’re nuts.
This is an interesting topic to revisit in light of the imminent premier of Dollhouse.
I would hate to be Joss Whedon right now. Given the run up to the new show (pilot changes, shifting nights), every fan is gearing up to mourn the death of his latest creation. Preemptory “save the Dollhouse” fan campaigns are being whispered about amoung the fanbase. Early reviews of the show are starting to filter out, and some of the text feels oddly familiar to when reviews of Firefly first surfaced (it’s not like anything Joss has done before, where is the trademark Jossisms and buffyspeak etc…) And, at least one review is pretty negative (warning, LOTS of spoilers ahead): Futon Critic reviews Dollhouse. I concur with the opinion of one Whedonesque poster that people are suffering from “it’s not buffy” already.
I hope that everyone gives the show time to grow some wings, develop the characters and the universe they inhabit, and give Joss some time to build something great. Looking back at all his shows, the first few episodes of any of his series are not the strongest - he’s a writer who builds a narrative, which is why I love him so very much.
I also hope that there is some way of measuring viewership outside of the traditional models (nielsen ratings, etc). If this show is anything like Buffy, Angel or Firefly, viewing parties will not be an anomoly - on my University campus in Vancouver, we’d get 40-60 people showing up to watch, and we can’t be alone. Not to mention, how many people will catch it online?
I’m cautiously optimistic that Joss will pull this off… if only because I want it so very badly!
Personally I read the premise of Dollhouse and gave it one big meh. I’m sure Joss will make it funny and interesting, but the concept fails to click with me.
Well, what about the premise of a blonde former cheerleader who slays vampires? It’s not the premise–but the execution.
…if only Joss gets time to let the story develop. Which he did not get with Firefly.
The problem with arc shows is that they’re intimidating to the casual viewer. I can turn on CSI and enjoy and follow it even though I haven’t watched a new episode in 2 years. I wouldn’t want to even try that with Lost.