xposted from my livejournal about, well...ya know by DeMadhi

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

xposted from my livejournal about, well...ya know

POSTED BY: DEMADHI
UPDATED: Friday, August 11, 2006 17:28
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Friday, August 11, 2006 5:28 PM

"When you can't run anymore, you crawl. And when you can't do that, you find someone to carry you."

Joss Whedon said, in reference to FireFly and in making a show in general, that he'd rather create a show that 100 people needed to see than a show 1000 people wanted to see.

That's a powerful sentiment. It comes down to the fact that, as a creator, Whedon is more interested in quality rather than quantity. And his fans understand this. Joss Whedon has brought to television multiple series that, for all intents and purposes, should never have succeeded. There just wasn't any existing interest in Vampires and Space Westerns; that is, until he created the shows that created the interest. To quote him (and through him, Malcolm Reynolds, "We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty." He has filled his show with these kind of inspirational sentiments so much, that his fans identify themselves as "Browncoats," the soldiers on the losing, but right side in a civil war. Like the fictional Firefly Browncoats, they (we) are on the losing, but right, side of Network Entertainment.

The cancellation of Firefly only reinforces the vacuum of quality entertainment in television. If X-Files were to debut in today's wintry entertainment climate, it would have been canceled even quicker than Firefly was. Today's tolerance for TV shows parallels with the microwave/fast food generation we've become. I admit, I use my microwave; sometimes, I even get fast food. But when I really want to treat myself, I cook or I go out for a quality meal that I won't mind spending a few more dollars for. But most people's (and my own) meals come out of a microwave, and just like in television, most people want a show that, instead of savoring and truly enjoying, they gobble up and fart out half an hour later. The freezer section in the grocery store has grown larger than the produce section and the advertisers will spend more money on the shows that people will gobble up indiscriminately. That way, the marketers can reach the greatest amount of people in the shortest amount of time. And that doesn't leave much for quality or savoring. Joss Whedon had an uphill battle, an impossible task, from the get go.

I remember as a child, growing up in the 80's, there were plenty of exciting hour long action/dramas with dashes of creative comedy. What's on now? Oh, I'm sure there are a few hour long series like that. I hear, around the proverbial water cooler, that Lost is pretty decent. And eventually, I'll get to it.

That attitude, I'm ashamed to admit, I had for Firefly. It was a show that, eventually, I would have gotten to. Come on, it was on a Friday night (when it was on; you couldn't ever tell with the preempting).

You'd expect this kind of attitude from someone who hasn't been indoctrinated in the ways of Whedon, someone who had never been part of the Buffyverse. But I loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. It is true, I needed some arm twisting to get into those shows (it helped that a cute girl was doing the arm twisting), but once I got into the Buffy/Angel arc in season 2, I was hooked. I saw Whedon's genius. I knew he created and produced quality. I knew I wouldn't be disappointed and I knew that I would love Firefly. But I'm not a live television watcher. As a child, I lived by the TV, scheduling all my daily activities around my favorite shows. But as I moved from television to books and eventually becoming an English major, I shied almost entirely away from television.

It was only at the behest of my dearest and nearest and their constant barrage of pressure to check out this show, that I finally succumbed to Joss Whedon. I had planned on getting into Firefly. I knew that with the pressures of work and school, I couldn't make time for it on a Friday night, but I mentally made a note to catch up during the summer rerun season.

And then it was canceled. And then Angel was canceled. Everywhere I looked, the Whedon Universe was falling away, dropping out of my life.

Then there was the rallying cry. The need to do the impossible. The need to be mighty. The fans heard the message. When a comrade in arms can't run anymore, can't crawl anymore, then you carry them. The Browncoats ceased being a fictional group of losers. The Browncoats rose from the mundane and became mighty; became real. It was the Browncoats, regular people, people you see every day, everywhere, who took a fallen television show and carried it.

Now, there are Browncoat groups everywhere. If you're a fan, look them up. There will probably be a group near you. They meet, they throw "shindigs" and viewing parties. You can tell who they are by the "I am a leaf on the wind" bumper stickers, the kanji t-shirts that translate to "Serenity," and of course, you shall know them by the color of their coats.

It was them that brought us the movie Serenity, an extremely positively reviewed movie (I reviewed it here: [url] http://demahdi.livejournal.com/2005/10/23/]) that only broke even in the box office. I still say go see this movie if you haven't yet, even if you haven't seen the series. But see the series as well. If you don't want the expense, borrow, steal or rent. Chances are you will enjoy it and if you do, buy two copies of each, the movie and the series. One will be for yourself and the others for someone who hasn't seen it yet. Gift it to them, making them promise that if they enjoy it, they'll buy another copy to give away as well. Continue this tradition until everyone has heard the name "Serenity." This is the Browncoat way.

It's the Browncoats that continue to work to bring the 'verse back to the people.

And without realizing it, I had become a Browncoat recently. Last weekend a friend who's been living abroad for the past few years, coincidentally, the same cute friend that I began watching Buffy for, came into town. Not much in the ways of American cinema or television where she was, so while she's heard of Firefly/Serenity, she's never seen it. All weekend, we had been talking about the great movies she's missed and movies that I've demanded that she see. When she finally admitted that she hadn't seen Firefly/Serenity it all stopped. With sacrificed sleep and the possibility of missing a plane, she became indoctrinated in the 'verse. Now she says, "Shiny."

And everything now is.

This awakened my inner Browncoat. I began internet searches for Firefly and was pleased to discover some startling new developments.

I've already mentioned, and will mention again: [url] http://www.fireflyseason2.com/[/url]. Yes, it is true! While the link is to only a poll, it is still steps in the right direction to giving us Whedonites what we want.

There's also some very nicely done fan generated scripts for the rest of Season 1 and a Season 2, with the promise of continuing as long as the fans want at [url]stillflying.net[/url].

And yet another site promoting their own (yet unreleased) TV show with a different ship and crew, but still part of the 'verse at [url]intotheblack.ca[/url].

And finally, some hometown promotion; if you're a reader in the Houston area, check out [url]houstonbrowncoats.com[/url].

Let's all be mighty.

"I am a leaf on the wind; watch how I soar." -- Wash will always be the man.

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