Wikipedia:WikiProject Television/Firefly task force
Welcome to our ’verse! This project has been formed to better organize information in articles related to Firefly, Serenity and all articles related to the Firefly ’verse! This page and its subpages contain their suggestions; it is hoped that this project will help to focus the efforts of other Wikipedians. If you would like to help, please inquire on the talk page and see the to-do list on the right.
For more information on WikiProjects, please see Wikipedia:WikiProject and Wikipedia:WikiProject/Best practices.
Create a high-quality body of major articles that cover the most important aspects of Firefly in an encyclopedic way and avoid fancruft.
- Get this project rolling
- Get another article Featured.
- Get an article to be "Today's featured article"
- Rewrite any articles that are written from an in-universe perspective.
- What else?
Check out our shiny new newsletter!
- Firefly (TV Series) has been listed as a FA!
- Both Serenity (film) and Firefly (TV Series) were just listed as GA! Way to go everyone who helped out!
Browncoats
Please feel free to add your name in alphabetical order to this list if you would like to join the project. If you just want to show your support for our project instead, you can sign our Guestbook
- (aeropagitica) (talk · contribs · blocks · protections · deletions · page moves · rights · RfA)
- Arcayne (talk · contribs)
- Almighty Tallest (talk · contribs)
- Barnas (talk · contribs)
- Bethling (talk · contribs)
- Blue.Sun (talk · contribs)
- Briangotts (talk · contribs · blocks · protections · deletions · page moves · rights · RfA)
- Captain Impulse (talk · contribs)
- CheNuevara (talk · contribs)
- danntm (talk · contribs)
- Deafgeek (talk · contribs)
- Doktor Waterhouse (talk · contribs)
- Ennuified (talk · contribs)
- EVula (talk · contribs)
- Fang Aili (talk · contribs · blocks · protections · deletions · page moves · rights · RfA)
- Goltz20707 (talk · contribs)
- Horovits (talk · contribs)
- Jeffq (talk · contribs)
- JQF (talk · contribs)
- Jvincep (talk · contribs) - New to this whole Wikipedia thing... and kinda to this whole Firefly thing, but I'll pop in here and there.
- Icseaturtles (talk · contribs)
- LadySatine (talk · contribs)- Can lend a hand as needed, especially with info and trivia for River and Simon Tam.
- Liam Skoda (talk · contribs)
- Luksuh (talk · contribs) - Creating new articles, as well as expanding upon stubs.
- Medic77 (talk · contribs)
- Million Moments (talk · contribs)
- mooyah (talk · contribs)
- Orangemike (talk · contribs)
- pd_THOR (talk · contribs)
- Plange (talk · contribs · blocks · protections · deletions · page moves · rights · RfA) - I'm usually plange or plangega on FF/Serenity forums
- Quinnzo (talk · contribs)
- Runa27 (talk · contribs)
- Salocin (talk · contribs)
- Shirley Ku (talk · contribs)
- Shsilver (talk · contribs)
- SirNuke (talk · contribs)
- SMcCandlish (talk · contribs)
- Splamo (talk · contribs)
- Tom walker (talk · contribs)
- The Wookieepedian (talk · contribs)
- Three ways round (talk · contribs)
- Tuvas (talk · contribs)
- Ubergenius (talk · contribs)
- WTGDMan1986 (talk · contribs) - Japanese lettering tends me to think of Jun Kazama, but who cares, what the heck? I'm joining because I like the show (besides The 4400)!
- Xornok (talk · contribs)
Style guide
To keep a consistent style to the articles, these guidelines should be followed. Fore more detailed guide see the TV Project guidelines and Writing about fiction. We need to be conscious of not writing for fans as there are already two Wikis for that (Wikicity:Firefly and FireflyWiki), plus Wikipedia frowns on that practice and will keep our articles from achieving GA (or dare we hope FA) status. Let's avoid the label of adding to the fancruft on Wikipedia :-)
General
The following general guidelines reflect standard Wikipedia style policy:
- All article and section titles should follow sentence case, in which only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
- The article name, when first mentioned, should be bold.
- Titles for televisions series, books, and albums, and names of ships, should be italicized. Such a title or name that is also the article name should be both bolded and italicized when first mentioned.
- Titles for episodes, short stories, and songs should be "double-quoted". Such a title that is also the article name should be both "bolded and double-quoted" when first mentioned.
- American English spelling should be used, as these articles are about a U.S. TV show. With the exception of episode synopses and ongoing events, the past tense should be preferred in the main article text.
- Full dates (including month, date, and year) should be linked to allow preference-based formatting. Any of the following formats will accomplish this, and will be displayed exactly the same to any reader, based on their preferences:
- However, conversely, individual years, days, months should not be wikilinked.
- Articles should be categorized in the correct subcategory at Category:Firefly (TV series).
- A List of Quotes is not encyclopedic, and are better added at Wikiquote, for example at q:Firefly. However, if the quote is used to illustrate a point in the article text, then it is allowed.
- Avoid using peacock terms and weasel words.
Episodes
Format for episode articles should be:
- A general description of what the episode/serial is and when it was first broadcast. It should include a teaser synopsis.
- Plot - A more fully detailed Plot.
- Arc significance
- Allusions to earlier episodes
- Foreshadowing
- Production - emphasis on the process of authorship of the shows - who wrote it, when, how long they took, where they got their ideas from, influences, its production etc. things to include are wardrobes, props, budget, casting, direction, lighting, cinematography, sound design, music. there should be discussions of ratings, and dvd sales. If enough sourced material is available, break it out into subsections, i.e.:
- Writing
- Casting - obviously omitting ensemble cast, this is the area to discuss the guest cast, with the name of the character followed by the name of the actor in parentheses. This should be in prose format, not list
- Direction
- Sound Design and music
- Reception
- Themes - only if you have sources
- Influences - if you have cited sources of any influences for the show. Did a particular theme or character owe its incarnation to an earlier work?
- Legacy - how did it influence others? how did the episode change the show? do other works reference this one?
- Notes - where the <references /> tag goes
- References - where the formal citations that appeared in Notes goes
- External links
Screenshots for episode/serial articles should accompany the section on plot, adjusted up and down where necessary so as not to conflict with the info box. We should generally limit ourselves to one screenshot per page, to safely stay within the bounds of fair use.
For an example, see ?
Characters
Format for the main character articles should be:
- Character introduction - This should give some idea of this character's role in the Firefly ’verse. Limit this to one sentence
- Explanation of the character's name - Explain the character's name if it's not immediately obvious. Even a "realistic" name can have a reason behind it beyond "it just sounded good to the author." Such a reason usually includes symbolic significance. If it has no such significance, don't include this section. Also, anything in this section must be referenced. No original research allowed.
- Production details - describe character customes and the actor/writer/director's approach to portraying that character
- Character Biography - should be very brief; two paragraphs at most.
- Major themes - thematic description applicable to this character. ONLY include if this is based on sourced material that is considered canon. If you're basing it on watching the shows, that does not count. Can include:
- Motivation(s) - A broad statement of why the character does what he does and sets the goals that he sets.
- Goal(s) - Goals are much more specific than motivations.
- Conflict(s) - With whom or what is this character in conflict in the course of the episodes or in the movie?
- Relationships - What unique relationships does this character have to other members of the crew.
- Minor irritation(s) - What irritates this character to an extent that does not quite rise to the level of a conflict?
- Epiphany - What things does this character realize during the course of the series or in the movie, and how does that affect the character's actions?
- Reception - description based on the work of TV and film critics and commentators over the years, give citations
- Legacy - if/when this happens, add this section and describe the works that mention this character, or how it has affected popular culture. Must have citations.
- Notes - where the <references /> tag goes
- References - where the formal citations that appeared in Notes goes
- External links
Article assessment
For more detailed information on our new article assessment project see the Assessment page. We need people to help rate articles!
Canon
All articles must be based on objective canon. It excludes fanfic, webcomics, and other unlicensed works. Noncanon material can be discussed but the distinction has to be very sharp, and canon materials take priority. We need to ensure that nonofficial information cannot be mistaken for official information. Here's what we consider canon:
The Firefly canon consists of all Firefly-related works that are created with direct input from Joss Whedon. The canon currently consists of (in chronological story order):
- The R. Tam sessions
- All fourteen episodes of the TV series Firefly
- The comic book series Serenity: Those Left Behind
- The film Serenity
Also included are the three official companion books written by Whedon, and any comments from Whedon himself pertaining to the story or history of the show.
Other elements may be taken into consideration, but not treated as true canon. This includes:
- The Serenity novelization
- The Serenity RPG
Theories worked out on discussion forums are not canon, but are fanon and should be avoided, unless the topic is about fans.
Adopt an article
Similar to the Collaboration of the week, but on a smaller scale, you might want to "adopt" an article. This would involve doing the research, writing, and picture-taking (if possible) for either a non-existent article or a stub. Of course, everyone else can still edit an adopted article, and you can work on other things too, but the idea is to find a focus for a while, to try and build up the number of quality articles the Project has produced.
- Example article: User:Example
The following articles have been adopted/created:
- Into the Black by Ubergenius (talk · contribs)
Templates
What to type | What it makes | What it's for | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
{{WPFirefly}} Talk |
Template:WPFirefly | The project notice designed to be placed in the talk page of any article that has been or should be edited as part of this Wikiproject. | ||
{{Firefly Character}} |
|
For Firefly characters. | ||
{{sf-tv-stub}} | In the absence of having our own stub notice | |||
{{tv-char-stub}} | In the absence of having our own stub notice | |||
{{Cite episode}} | {{cite episode}} : Empty citation (help)
|
for citing a Television episode in an article | ||
{{Firefly}} Talk |
Place this at the footer of articles just above categories. | |||
{{User WPFirefly}} Talk |
|
This can be placed on your user page to show that you are a part of this Wikiproject. | ||
{{User:EVula/Userboxes/Firefly}} Talk |
|
This can be placed on your user page to show that you are a fan of Firefly. | ||
{{User:EVula/Userboxes/Firefly fan}} Talk |
|
This can be placed on your user page to show that you are a fan of Firefly. | ||
{{User:EVula/Userboxes/Firefly browncoat}} Talk |
|
This can be placed on your user page to show that you are a fan of Firefly. |
Categories
Here are some common categories. Be sure to click on the Firefly category to get the appropriate subcategory
- Category:Firefly (TV series)
- Category:Lists of science fiction television series episodes
- Category:Firefly (TV series) fan films
- Add to the list!
Articles
New Wikipedia articles related to Firefly
Please feel free to list your new Firefly-related articles here (newer articles at the top, please).
All Firefly articles
Requests
Have article requests? Put them here!
- Serenity Now (annual charity event) or Can't Stop The Serenity - what do you think? This worldwide movement to show the movie to raise money for charity gained a lot of publicity and shows fans involvement with the outside world (helping a worthy cause), etc. (Suggestion edited by User:Runa27 to include the following): the fact that the event is now an annual one that's raised over US$100,000 is impressive. At least one other editor appears to agree it should have its own article as there's a tendency for some of us to want to add an amount of information that is probably too much for a subsection in Serenity (film), especially considering how long other sections are getting. See WikiProject Talk page for more discussion.
- Bellflower: A Firefly Fanfilm - Was deleted, maybe could be created some time in the future?
- History of the Firefly universe - Same situation as above.
- Carey Meyer - Production designer on Firefly, linked on Firefly page, may need article for FF to become FA
- José Molina - Writer on Firefly, same situation as above.
- Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly - The book about Firefly, referred in FF, but could use it's own page.
- Glenn Yeffeth - Editor on the above book, linked on Firefly, same situation as Carey Meyer and José Molina
- The Signal - The award winning Browncoat podcast could definitely use an article, especially if we're using it for references
- Firefly Talk - Same as above
Resources
List good sources for citing in Firefly articles
- Whedonesque.com
- Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly available on Amazon
- Serenity: The Official Visual Companion available on Amazon
- Firefly: The Official Companion: Volume One available on Amazon
- Firefly — The Complete Series DVD set (ISBN 6308024716)
- Podcasts of interviews at Firefly Talk
- Podcasts of interviews at The Signal
Citing examples
To properly cite sources in articles, use this procedure:
<ref>{{cite web | last=Breznican | first=Anthony | date=[[2005-09-21]] | url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2005-09-21-serenity_x.htm | title='Firefly' alights on big screen as 'Serenity' | publisher=[[USA Today]] | accessdate=2006-06-04}} </ref>
and then make sure you put this under References:
<references />
So that your citations show. If it's being used more than once in the same article, do the full citation the first time, but give the ref tag a name like this: <ref name="USAToday"> and then later in the article you can call this by doing just this: <ref name="USAToday" />. See the article on this procedure for more explanation.
Here are pre-formatted citations of the sources listed above so you can just cut and paste them - but of course replacing year, url and access date to the cited reference, if it's one of the web articles:
Whedonesque:
<ref>{{cite web | date=[[2006-06-30]] | first=HudsonVC | url=http://whedonesque.com/comments/10745 | title='Can't Stop the Serenity': What's next? | publisher=Whedonesque.com | accessdate=2006-07-04}} </ref>
For the books, the relevant pages (or at least the chapter) should be specified. (Don't make other readers hunt through the whole book for the reference.) An optional quote may be included if it illustrates the point but would get in the way of the article text. (Add or remove the pages, chapter, and quote from the examples as needed; the other parameters must be included.)
If you're citing from the same book but from multiple pages throughout, it can get quite cumbersome to have to keep putting in the full cite book template each time, so you can do a simple markup in the ref tag and then make two sections: one called Notes, where you put the <references /> tag; and a References section, where you place the {{cite book}} template citation. See example here: CSS Virginia II. SOOO much easier to cite things that way and cleaner when editing.
Finding Serenity:
<ref>{{cite book | title=Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly | publisher=Benbella Books | location=Dallas, TX | year=2005 | author=Glenn Yeffeth (Editor), Jane Espenson (Editor) | id=ISBN 1932100431}} | pages = p. 33 | chapter = "Asian Objects in Space" | quote = "They can't call it a space opera; it's too dirty for that." </ref>
Serenity: The Official Visual Companion
<ref>{{cite book | title=Serenity: The Official Visual Companion | publisher=Titan Books | location=UK | year=2005 | author=Joss Whedon | id=ISBN 1845760824}} | pages = pp. 85-87 | chapter = | quote = </ref>
Firefly: The Official Companion: Volume One
<ref>{{cite book | title=Firefly: The Official Companion: Volume One | publisher=Titan Books | location=UK | year=2006 | author=Joss Whedon | id=ISBN 1845763149}} | pages = | chapter = | quote = </ref>
Firefly Talk:
Don't just link to the main website, as this forces other editors to hunt for the specific podcast the link is supposed to be citing.
<ref>{{cite podcast|date=[[2005-11-30]] |url=http://fireflytalk.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=37466 |title=Firefly Talk #7, November 30th 2005 |host=? |accessdate=06-24 |accessyear=2006}} </ref>
The Signal:
<ref>{{cite podcast|date=[[2006-06-28]] |url=http://media28a.libsyn.com/ZXeaeJp2m3acfGh%2BmHRtqGyraXmb/podcasts/thesignal/signal_211.5_20060628.mp3 |title=Signal #11.5 |host=? |accessdate=06-30 |accessyear=2006}} </ref>
Citing an episode you saw on air:
<ref>{{cite episode|title = *REQUIRED* |episodelink = |series = |serieslink = |credits = |network = |station = | city = | airdate =|}} </ref>
Citing an episode from the DVD:
<ref>{{cite visual|date=[[2003-12-09]] |title= |director= |producer= |medium=DVD |distributor=20th Century Fox |accessdate=06-30 |accessyear=2006}} </ref>
Awards
Certain contributors may be awarded for their efforts to show the project's appreciation. Be bold and award this to contributors when you think they deserve it. Just add it to their Talk page with this code: {{subst:BrowncoatAward|message=~~~~}}
. If they want, they can then copy it onto their main User page, or use the award userbox. The award is:
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Browncoataward.jpg)
Award holders
The following is a list of project participants who have received the award.
- The Filmaker - awarded by Plange on 11 July 2006 for redoing our synopsis and getting it to a reasonable length.
- User:Deckiller - awarded by Plange on 25 November 2006 for copyediting Firefly (TV series) and getting it to FA status! --plange 04:56, 26 November 2006 (UTC)
See also
Browncoat Wikipedians
These are Wikipedians who have one of our userboxes on their User page.
Parentage
Firefly episode creation sometimes overlaps with WikiProject List of Television Episodes.