The Pop Pirate

A lesson in persistence (part 1 of 2)

It all started in 1992 with a fairly bland teen/horror/action/comedy movie. It did a paltry $16 million dollars and was bound for obscurity. But the man behind the movie wasn't happy with the film, and thought his idea deserved another chance. It was an interesting genre experiment: the cheerleader becomes the action hero. In addition, the movie did not represent his vision- his vision was darker, more character driven, and more human. Through force of will, this failed movie became an extremely successful and beloved television series. The show was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the man was Joss Whedon. Mr. Whedon led Buffy through seven seasons and its spin-off, the slightly less successful Angel, through five. So when Mr. Whedon began his third network show, the expectations were high.

Unfortunately, however, Firefly was not so successful. The critics loved it, and it generated a lot of excitement within Buffy and Angel's existing fanbase, but there was trouble. There was a definite conflict between the creative elements behind the show(Whedon and crew) and the network (FOX). The two hour pilot was deemed not action packed enough, and a new first episode was written in a weekend. The decision to not air the episode that is in so many ways the "mission statement" for the series was indicative of a mistrust that began to sabotage the show (That's right- I'm placing the blame fully on the network, it certainly was not the quality). In the end the show was cancelled after 11 episodes. The end, right?

For a lesser man or a lesser show, perhaps. Not for Joss Whedon and not for Firefly. The premise was too good, the characters too special, and the fans... well, the fans were too loyal. In December 2003, Firefly came out on DVD to very strong sales. More people were introduced to the series, and the existing fans became even more... well, fanatic. Then something truly extraordinary happened. It was announced that this cancelled sci-fi/western was going to be a movie. Not a straight to video last-gasp, but a full-on studio feature. And there was much rejoicing (yaay!)

Next: The movie becomes the guinea pig for an exciting new marketing technique.

posted by Jeff @ 3:26 PM