Firefly (television series)

Firefly is a science fiction television series that premiered on television in the United States and Canada on September 20, 2002. It was created by Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel fame. Whedon and Tim Minear were the executive producers. The series concept presents a story in the style of classic "Westerns" combined with elements of science fiction. The show applies naturalistic science fiction concepts, such as showcasing flawed characters in humble circumstances.

Episode airing and cancellation

The fourteen episodes of the series are, in the order originally intended:

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• "Serenity" (pilot)
• "The Train Job"
• "Bushwhacked"
• "Shindig"
• "Safe"
• "Our Mrs. Reynolds"
• "Jaynestown"
• "Out of Gas"
• "Ariel"
• "War Stories"
• "Trash"
• "The Message"
• "Heart of Gold"
• "Objects in Space"

Though the show had a loyal following during its original broadcast, it was cancelled by FOX in December 2002. Low ratings were blamed for the cancellation after only 11 episodes aired in the USA and Canada. In the hopes of getting another network such as UPN to pick up the cancelled show, fans formed the Firefly Immediate Assistance campaign. They were unsuccessful in promoting the show's continuance. Three members of the Firefly cast appeared on Joss Whedon's other TV series as villians. Fillion was cast in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, while Torres and Baldwin took on recurring roles on Angel. In addition, Jewel Staite appeared in several episodes of the Tim Minear produced "Wonderfalls".

Related Topics:
FOX - December 2002 - UPN

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Fans attributed the low ratings in part to actions of the FOX Network. Firefly was promoted as an action-comedy rather than the more serious character study it was intended to be. Episodes were occasionally preempted for sporting events, and episodes were not aired in storyline-chronological order as the creators had intended. Most notably, the two-hour episode "Serenity" was intended to be the pilot episode and therefore contained most of the character introductions and back-story. However, FOX decided that "Serenity" was not a suitable pilot, and so the second episode, "The Train Job", was rushed into production to become the pilot episode.

Related Topics:
Serenity - Pilot episode - Back-story

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The sequence of episodes aired varied by locality:

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• In the USA and Canada, starting on September 20, 2002, Fox broadcast the episodes on Fridays at 20:00 (except for the second hour of the pilot which was shown at 21:00). The order was 2-3, 6-8, 4-5, 9-10, 14, 1; with 11-13 unaired in the USA.
• In South Africa, starting on 2003-04-15, the SABC3 broadcast the episodes on Tuesdays at 19:30. The order was 2-3, 6-8, 4-5, 9-10, 14, 1a-1b, 11-13.
• In Mexico and South America, starting on 2003-04-19, MundoFOX broadcast the episodes on Saturdays at 18:00. The order was 2-3, 6-8, 4-5, 9-10, 13, 11, 14, 12; the pilot episode was not shown.
• In the United Kingdom, starting on May 12, 2003, Sci Fi Channel (United Kingdom) broadcast the episodes on Mondays at 21:00 (except for the first hour of the pilot which was shown at 20:00). The altered episodes of the first season were shown in the originally intended order.
• In Australia, starting on November 10, 2004, the Seven Network broadcast the episodes on Wednesdays at 12:30am. The order was 2, 1a-1b, 3-14.
• In Switzerland, TSR1 (Swiss French channel) showed the whole series in three weeks starting on July 25, 2005, one episode per weekday; dubbed in French on one sound channel, and the original English on the other.
• In the United States, starting on July 22, 2005, Sci-Fi Channel has been airing the show on Fridays at 19:00 Eastern/Pacific. The episodes are being aired in their originally intended order. It took the slot previously occupied by '. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/newswire.cgi?id=6906