How Firefly’s cancellation transformed TV’s relationship with fans The cancellation of cult TV series Firefly still haunts many sci-fi fans to this day. Joss Whedon’s series was considered […]

The cancellation of cult TV series Firefly still haunts many sci-fi fans to this day.

Joss Whedon’s series was considered among the best of the modern era – yet was scrapped by Fox after just a single season.

Coming off the back of Whedon’s massive success with Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, the show centred on the swashbuckling crew of the spaceship Serenity as they adventured through the stars.

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A space-western with heart, it was as dark as it was comic; as warm as it was harsh.

But it didn’t last.

To tickle your memory

Doomed from the start?

Despite critical acclaim, the show did not pull in impressive viewing figures on its debut in 2002.

Cancellation was on the cards from the very beginning.

“They’d been worried about the possibility since November [that year],” says Amy Pascale, author of Joss Whedon: The Biography.

“While the average rating of 4.7 million was much higher than what Buffy and Angel had ever gotten, it wasn’t great for a network series.”

Whedon also famously butted heads with Fox executives over the marital status of characters Zoe and Wash.

While the show was being developed, the Fox team were keen on a romance plotline between Zoe and series protagonist, Captain Malcolm Reynolds.

Whedon, however, was not.

“The last thing that Fox said was, ‘we will pick up the show, but they can’t be married.’ And I said, ‘Then don’t pick up the show, because in my show, these people are married. And it’s important to the show’,” he said, in the series companion guide.

The show was picked up. But Fox placed it in the notorious ‘Friday night death slot’ for its original US broadcast run. The infamous time in the schedules has been the death knell for over 30 cancelled shows.

The problems didn’t stop there

Furthermore, the broadcasters took it upon themselves to reconfigure the order of the episodes, deciding to broadcast the longer ‘Pilot’ episode last.

Despite each episode having a self-contained storyline, the disjointed order had a jarring effect for the overarching narrative, which confused viewers no end.

The final nail in the proverbial coffin came courtesy of Fox’s marketing campaign. Rather than advertise the show as the space-western it was, Fox took an entirely different route:

“The promotional campaign suggests it was a wacky genre comedy, ‘the most twisted new show on television”, said producer Chris Buchanan.

It even came complete with the tagline, ‘Out there? Oh it’s out there!’

The Firefly story didn’t end with cancellation

Cancellation has only added to Firefly’s myth, adding to the show’s reputation as a cult classic and a ‘TV martyr’.

Fifteen years on, its legacy is arguably enhanced by its early exit.

But it was the way in which fans and creators responded to the show’s troubles that really shifted things in the television landscape.

Whedon, the writers and producers proactively started reaching out to fans through the internet.

“I believe it was one of the first [instances] where the producers reached out and asked fans for their help,” says Pascale.

“That is something that seems so commonplace now, with so many producers, writers and actors who interact with fans on social media.”

Since then, many shows have become more closely supervised by viewers.

People enjoy episodes together, tweeting and commenting along with the action. Pascale notes that fans are “more aware of a series’ status week-to-week”.

It may not have saved Firefly, but in subsequent years the likes of Jericho and Community have been brought back from the brink by petitioning fans.

And the way in which series are conceived has changed since 2002, notes Pascale.

“More networks are doing limited-run seasons, which is a much smaller commitment financially if a series doesn’t catch on.”

‘You can’t take the sky from me’

Whedon was eventually able to give fans, dubbed ‘Browncoats’ in reference to the show, a feature-length follow-up called Serenity in 2005.

But the movie condensed a number of planned plotlines into just 90 minutes.

You could argue that Firefly benefited from its cancellation in the long run. The show never had the chance to outstay its welcome. Nor would it ever fall foul of convoluted plots or a thinning of ideas.

Still, fans will always be left with a bad taste in relation to the battle with Fox.

To quote Malcolm Reynolds himself: “[We] may have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.”