Firefly (TV series)

This is an article about the television series Firefly. For other uses, see Firefly (disambiguation).

Firefly
Created by	Joss Whedon
Starring	Nathan Fillion Gina Torres Alan Tudyk Morena Baccarin Adam Baldwin Jewel Staite Sean Maher Summer Glau Ron Glass
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	14
Production
Executive producers	Joss Whedon Tim Minear
Running time	45 minutes per episode
Original release
Network	FOX
Release	September 20, 2002 – December 20, 2002

Firefly is an American science fiction television series that premiered in the United States and Canada on September 20, 2002. It presents an atypical science fiction narrative in a naturalistic future setting modeled after traditional Western movie motifs. It was conceived by writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, who served as executive producer with Tim Minear.

Firefly was broadcast on the FOX network but was cancelled after only eleven of the fourteen produced episodes were aired. It won an Emmy in 2003 for "Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series." Strong sales of the series' DVD collection and an unprecedented fan support campaign led Whedon and Universal Pictures to produce a film based on the series, titled Serenity after the fictional spacecraft featured in the show.

The series is set in 2517 AD and deals with the adventures of the renegade crew of Serenity, a Firefly-class spaceship. It features an ensemble cast of nine regular members who wound up on Serenity for various reasons. The show explores what happens to people who fought on the losing side of a civil war, as well as the pioneer/frontier culture that exists on the fringes of their star system. To add a twist, it is a future where the only two surviving superpowers are the United States and China (which formed the Alliance), so it is rife with cultural fusion. According to Whedon, nothing has changed in the future: there are more people with greater technology, but they still have the same problems politically, morally and ethically.

Production

The titular Firefly-class spacecraft Serenity digitally rendered by special effects house Zoic Studios.

The idea of the show came about when Whedon had finished reading The Killer Angels, which was about the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, and was struck with wanting to portray people who had fought on the losing side of a war and their experience as pioneers and immigrants on the fringe of civilization. Another influence was a book he had read shortly after The Killer Angels about Jewish partisan fighters in World War II. As far as the name of the show, Joss Whedon wanted something that had both strength and motion and the word "firefly" had both. The fact that it was also something insignificant that had a powerful name added to its allure. From there, it naturally progressed to creating the ship in the image of a firefly.

At the time of shooting the pilot, Whedon was still in a dispute with FOX on whether the show should be in widescreen format and so he purposely shot scenes with actors on the extreme edge of both sides so that they would have no choice. This pilot, however, was not acceptable to the FOX executives, who thought it did not have enough action and the captain was too "dour". They also did not like a particular scene involving the crew and a crime boss in which the crew backed down, since the scene was about the crew "being nothing". Because of this, FOX told Whedon on a Friday afternoon that he had to have a new pilot script to them first thing Monday morning or the show would not be picked up. Whedon and Tim Minear closeted themselves for the weekend to write what became the new pilot, "The Train Job". In this new pilot, the captain was more "jolly" and, at the direction of FOX, they added "larger than life" characters. These larger than life characters manifested themselves in the henchman "Crow", and the "hands of blue" men, which also introduced a creepy X-Files-type ending.

When they were shooting the new pilot, FOX made it clear that they would not air the episodes widescreen. Whedon and company felt they had to "serve two masters" by shooting widescreen for eventual DVD release but keeping objects in frame so it could still work when aired in pan and scan full frame. In addition, to give the feeling that the audience was with the characters, the episodes were shot in a documentary style with hand-held cameras, giving them the look of "found footage." This style was not used, however, when shooting scenes that involved the Alliance. Tracking and steady cameras were used to show the sterility of this aspect of the Firefly universe. Another style employed was lens flares, harkening back to 1970s TV. This style was so desired that they sent back the state-of-the-art lenses, which naturally compensated for light flares, for cheaper ones.

The ship Serenity was built in two parts as a complete set, with ceilings and practical lighting installed as part of the set that the cameras could use. They wanted to not only make it feel like they were really in a ship, but it also allowed the actors to stay in the moment and interact, without having to stop after each shot and reset up for next shot.

During the series, it was not made completely clear whether the planets and moons seen were in one star system or many (or whether Serenity's mode of propulsion was sub-light or faster-than-light). The film Serenity makes it clear that all the planets and moons are in one large system, and production documents related to the film indicate that there is no faster-than-light travel in the Firefly/Serenity universe.

Reception

Critics appeared to dismiss the show after the first two episodes, "The Train Job" and "Bushwhacked". In its October 3, 2002, review, Salon.com stated:

Whedon's new relativist characters seem a little lost. Admittedly, this is the point, but the show lacks the kind of psychological tension that makes "Buffy" snap. As much as the space and western genres have in common, "Firefly" could have probably done without the western soundtrack and the vague "Bonanza" look too. It's not just that the "space as Wild West" metaphor is somewhat redundant, but that neither genre binds the series to the present.

— Carina Chocano, Salon.com

The reviewer conceded, however, that with only two episodes, it was worth giving Whedon the benefit of the doubt and that the inability to gel could be the fault of FOX for not airing the original pilot. By the time the show was cancelled, however, subsequent episodes had drawn more favorable reviews:

Firefly is an absolutely brilliant show, perhaps the best sci-fi show on television today -- and certainly the one with the most potential for future brilliance. In the weeks since its weak opening episodes, the series has run off a string of seven strong shows that would be the envy of any other TV show on the air today.

— Jason Snell, teevee

When the DVD was released in time for Christmas the following year, The New York Times had this to say:

the show featured an oddball genre mix that might have doomed it from the beginning: it was a character-rich sci-fi western comedy-drama with existential underpinnings, a hard sell during a season dominated by 'Joe Millionaire.'"

— Emily Nussbaum, New York Times

Another reviewer commented:

Despite its brief run, Whedon-aholics embraced it and fought to keep it on the air. After watching the DVD box set, it's easy to see why. All of Whedon's fingerprints are there: The witty dialogue, the quirky premises and dark exploration of human fallacy that made "Buffy" brilliant found their way to this space drama.

— MSN.com

In 2005, New Scientist magazine's NewScientistSpace.com website held an unscientific poll to find "The World's Best Space Sci-Fi Ever". Firefly came in first place, with its cinematic follow-up Serenity in second.. Also currently (Sep, 2006) it is the highest rated Sci-Fi Show of all time According to tv.com

The show generated a following during its short lifetime. When it was released on DVD, it generated even more fans. A website, Fireflyseason2.com, has been created in order to spur interest in a possible second season of Firefly. The site's goal is that its survey can be used to convince a TV network to pay for the production and distribution of the series.

On May 9, 2006, all of the Firefly episodes were added to the iTunes Music Store for download as part of FOX Television Classics along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost in Space. This is notable as it proves the cancelled show Firefly remains popular and salable. The episodes were originally listed in the order FOX originally aired them, but due to comments from fans in the Store, the episodes were re-ordered into the order in which Whedon originally intended.

June 23, 2006 was considered Serenity Day, on which fans bought — and got others to buy — copies of the Serenity and Firefly DVDs in hopes of convincing Universal that creating a sequel was a good business decision. On this day, Serenity and Firefly were ranked 2nd and 3rd, respectively, on the DVD Best Sellers list. June 23, 2006 was also the date of worldwide charity screenings of Serenity, organized by fans, dubbed Serenity Now/Equality Now.

Brad Wright, co-creator of Stargate SG-1 has said that "200", the 200th episode of SG-1, is " A little kiss to "Serenity" and Firefly, which was possibly one of the best cancelled series in history." In the episode, "Martin Lloyd has come to the S.G.C. because even though "Wormhole X-Treme!" was cancelled after three episodes it did so well on DVD they're making a feature [film]."

• Won the Emmy Award: Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series, 2003
• Won the Visual Effects Society: Best visual effects in a television series, 2003 (episode "Serenity")
• Won the Saturn Award: Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award, Male, 2003 (Nathan Fillion)
• Won the Saturn Award: Saturn Award for Best DVD Release (television), 2004
• Nominated for Visual Effects Society: Best compositing in a televised program, music video, or commercial, 2003
• Nominated for Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA, "Golden Reel Award": Best sound editing in television long form: sound effects/foley, 2003
• Nominated for Hugo Award: Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, 2003 (episode "Serenity")
• Nominated for Hugo Award: Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, 2004 (episodes "Heart of Gold" and "The Message", which at that time had not been shown on television in the USA)
• Nominated for Golden Satellite Award: Best DVD Extras, 2004

Plot

Back story

The series is set in the year 2517. In the film Serenity, it was established that long before the events in the series, a large population had emigrated from Earth to a new star system in multi-generational spaceships that traveled much faster than today's ships, but not faster than the speed of light. The emigrants established themselves in this new star system, with "dozens of planets and hundreds of moons." Many of these had been terraformed, a process in which a planet or moon is altered to resemble the Earth. The terraforming process was only the first step in making a planet habitable, however, and the outlying settlements often did not receive any further support in the construction of their civilizations, with the result that many of the border planets and moons consist of forbidding, dry environments, well suited to the Western genre. The characters occasionally refer to "Earth-that-was". The opening narration of Serenity states that "Earth that was could no longer sustain our numbers, we were so many" and humanity was forced to leave.

Synopsis

File:Fireflyserenityhorses.jpg

Mal and Zoë in the original pilot "Serenity". It depicts the harsh environment and the frontier culture.

The show took its name from the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity that the central characters call home. Somewhat resembling an insect in general arrangement, the ship's name comes from the fact that the ship's tail section (analogous to an insectoid abdomen) lights up during acceleration, causing it to resemble a firefly.

Throughout the series, it is established that the star system is governed by the Alliance, an organization of "core" planets that had succeeded in forcibly unifying all of the colonies under a single government. (DVD commentary suggests that two primary "core" planets comprise the Alliance, one predominantly Anglican/Occidental in culture, the other pan-Asian, justifying the series' mixed linguistic and visual themes; see Signature Show Elements below.) Although the central planets are well under Alliance control, the outlying planets and moons resemble the 19th century American West, with little governmental authority. Settlers and refugees on the outlying worlds have relative freedom from the central government, but lack the amenities of the high-tech civilization that exist on the inner worlds. The captain of the crew of Serenity is Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and the episode "Serenity" establishes that the Captain and his first mate Zoë (Gina Torres) are veteran "Browncoats" of the Unification War, a failed attempt by the outlying worlds to resist the Alliance's assertion of control. A later episode, titled "Out of Gas", reveals that Mal bought the spaceship Serenity in order to continue living beyond Alliance control. Much of his and his crew's work consists of cargo runs or smuggling. One of the main story arcs is that of River Tam (Summer Glau) and her brother Simon (Sean Maher). River was a child prodigy subjected to experiments from the Alliance before her brother rescued her. They join the crew in the original pilot "Serenity", and as a result of this rescue, they are both wanted criminals.

Signature show elements

The show, featuring a blend of elements from the space opera and Western genres, depicted mankind's future in a way that is uncharacteristic of many contemporary science fiction programs: there were no alien creatures or space battles. Firefly took place in a multi-cultural future, where the divide between the rich and poor was great. As a result of the Sino-American Alliance, Mandarin Chinese is a common second language for many people; it is used in advertisements, and characters in the show frequently use Chinese words and curses. According to the DVD commentary on the episode "Serenity", this was explained as being the result of China and the United States being the two superpowers that expanded into space. The show also features words and phrases such as shiny which are not used in contemporary culture. Some of these words are adaptations of current words, others seem to have been made up for the show. An interesting intrusion of Japanese can be noted in the form of katakana script throughout the television series and the film. In contrast to many shows, Firefly was filmed using a handheld camera style, with deliberately misframed or out-of-focus subjects, in an attempt to give scenes an immersive and immediate feeling; computer-generated scenes mimic the motion of a handheld camera. Exterior shots of action taking place in the vacuum of outer space realistically lack sound effects, an approach that stood in contrast to many contemporary science fiction films and television series.

Themes

Both Tim Minear and Joss Whedon have picked out several scenes that they said articulated the mission statement of the show. One scene was during the original pilot "Serenity", when Mal is eating with chopsticks and a Western tin cup is by his plate. The other was during the pilot that aired ("The Train Job") when Mal was thrown out of a bar window and the window was a hologram. In addition, it was about the tactile nature of things, when life was physical and things did not come easy to people like they do today.

One of the struggles that Whedon had with FOX was the tone of the show, especially with the main character Malcolm Reynolds. FOX pressured Whedon to make his character more "jolly", as they feared he was too dark in the original pilot. In addition, the show was about the "underbelly" - not the people who make policy but those who "get squished by it". They are "nothing" in the scheme of things. This also did not appeal to FOX.

As Whedon states in an episodic DVD commentary, every show he does is about creating family. By the last episode, "Objects in Space", the fractured character of River has finally become whole, partly because the others decided to accept her into their "family" on the ship. Finally, the DVD set's 'making-of' documentary reveals the series' distinctive frontispiece (wherein Reynolds' ship, Serenity, soars over a corral of unshod horses) as Whedon's attempt to capture "everything you need to understand about the series in five seconds."

Cast

Main characters

File:Firefly cast.jpg

The cast of Firefly on the set. Left to right: Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Ron Glass, Sean Maher, Morena Baccarin, Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Summer Glau.

Firefly maintained an ensemble cast. The show's plot pits these characters against various criminals and schemers, Alliance security forces, the utterly psychotic and brutal Reavers, and the mysterious men with "hands of blue" — who are apparently operatives of a secret agency which is part of the megacorporation referred to in the DVD commentary only as The Blue Sun Corporation. The crew is driven by the need to secure enough income to keep their ship operational, set against the need to keep a low profile to avoid their numerous adversaries. Their situation is greatly complicated by the divergent motivations of the individuals on board Serenity. The show's brief run did not allow full elucidation of all the complex interrelationships of the cast and their external contacts.

• Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds, played by Nathan Fillion, is Serenity's captain and former Independent sergeant in the pivotal Battle of Serenity Valley.
• Zoë Alleyne Washburne, played by Gina Torres, is second-in-command onboard Serenity, loyal wartime friend of Captain Reynolds, and wife to Wash.
• Hoban "Wash" Washburne, played by Alan Tudyk, is Serenity's gifted pilot and Zoë's somewhat timid husband. He expresses jealousy over his wife's unconditional support of their captain, most particularly in the episode "War Stories".
• Inara Serra, played by Morena Baccarin, is a Companion, which is the 26th century equivalent of a courtesan or geisha. Like her Renaissance counterparts, Inara enjoys high social standing. She and Mal have a strained relationship, with unspoken romantic tension playing a significant part in several episodes.
• Jayne Cobb, played by Adam Baldwin, is the hired muscle. He joined the crew for mercenary reasons, is often the "main gun" for jobs and is someone that can be depended on in a fight. He is a "lummox" but thinks he is the smartest guy in space. As Whedon states several times, he is the person that will ask the questions that no one else wants to talk about.
• Kaywinnit Lee "Kaylee" Frye, played by Jewel Staite, is the ship's mechanic. In the episode "Out of Gas", it is established that she has no formal training, but keeps Serenity running with an intuitive gift for the workings of mechanical equipment. A carefree and bubbly young woman, Kaylee has a crush on Dr. Simon Tam. Kaylee's character is the soul of the ship: According to creator Joss Whedon, if Kaylee believes something, it is true.
• Dr. Simon Tam, played by Sean Maher, is a medical researcher and trauma surgeon of the first caliber (top 3% in his class at a top core planet institution), who is on the run after breaking his sister River out of a government research facility. His bumbling attempts at a relationship with Kaylee are a recurring subplot throughout the series, and at every turn he seems to find a way to unwittingly foil his own romantic desires. His life is defined by caring for his sister.
• River Tam, played by Summer Glau, was smuggled onto the ship by her brother. River is a child prodigy of unparalleled genius, but she was experimented upon at the hands of Alliance doctors, leaving her delusional and erratic. Still, she displays uncanny agility and hand-eye coordination, especially in one particular fight scene in "War Stories", where she shoots three men with her eyes closed.
• Derrial Book, played by Ron Glass, is a "Shepherd", which is the equivalent of a reverend, minister or pastor. In the episode "Safe", it is revealed that he has priority status in the Alliance for unspecified reasons, and throughout the series, he demonstrates a peculiar depth of knowledge about firearms and criminal activities, such as an electromagnetic field ("net") that disables ships and leaves them vulnerable in space in the episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds".

Three members of the Firefly cast appeared on Joss Whedon's other TV series as villains. Fillion was cast in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, while Torres and Baldwin took on recurring roles on Angel in its fourth and fifth seasons respectively. (Summer Glau had appeared in the third-season Angel episode "Waiting in the Wings" before she was cast in Firefly.) In addition, Jewel Staite appeared in several episodes of the Tim Minear-produced Wonderfalls.

Recurring characters

Main article: List of minor characters in the Firefly universe

Despite the short run of the series, some recurring characters emerged from the colorful inhabitants of the Firefly universe:

• Badger, played by Mark Sheppard, is an established smuggling middleman on the planet Persephone. He provided jobs for Serenity on at least two occasions. In the DVD commentary for the episode "Serenity," it was revealed that this part was originally written with the intention of Whedon himself playing the part. He appeared in the original pilot "Serenity" and in "Shindig", with a return in the comic book series Serenity: Those Left Behind.
• Adelei Niska, played by Michael Fairman, is a criminal kingpin who has a reputation for violent reprisals, including severe, prolonged torture, against those who fail him or even irritate him. He appeared in "The Train Job" and "War Stories".
• "Saffron", played by Christina Hendricks, is a con artist whose original name is unknown. In the series she also used the aliases "Bridget" and "Yolanda", leading Mal to jokingly refer to her as the compound "YoSaffBridge" in the episode "Trash". She has a habit of marrying her marks in order to achieve her scams. She first appeared in the episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds".
• "The Hands of Blue": Two anonymous men wearing suits and blue gloves who pursue River (apparently to return her to the institute she escaped from), as shown in "The Train Job", "Ariel", and the Serenity: Those Left Behind comic. They have a cameo at the beginning of the Serenity film, in the Academy's security recording, attempting to stop Simon and River's escape. They have a tendency to kill off anyone, including Alliance personnel, who had contact with her, using a mysterious handheld device that causes fatal bleeding to anyone in its proximity. How they shielded themselves from the device's effects is unknown.

Episodes

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

File:FireflyPoster.jpg

Nathan Fillion as Malcolm Reynolds featured in a print advertisement for Firefly in 2002.

#	Title	Airdate
1.	"Serenity"	December 20, 2002
2.	"The Train Job"	September 20, 2002
3.	"Bushwhacked"	September 27, 2002
4.	"Shindig"	November 1, 2002
5.	"Safe"	November 8, 2002
6.	"Our Mrs. Reynolds"	October 4, 2002
7.	"Jaynestown"	October 18, 2002
8.	"Out of Gas"	October 25, 2002
9.	"Ariel"	November 15, 2002
10.	"War Stories"	December 6, 2002
11.	"Trash"	June 28, 2003
12.	"The Message"	July 15, 2003
13.	"Heart of Gold"	August 19, 2003
14.	"Objects in Space"	December 13, 2002

Although the show had a loyal following during its original broadcast, it was cancelled by FOX in December 2002 after only 11 episodes aired in the USA and Canada due to low ratings. Worried about the low ratings, fans formed the Firefly Immediate Assistance campaign whose goal was to support the production of the show by sending in postcards to FOX. After it was cancelled, the campaign worked on getting another network such as UPN to pick up the cancelled show. The campaign was unsuccessful in securing the show's continuation.

Fans (self-named Browncoats) attributed the low ratings in part to actions of the FOX Network — most notably the fact that FOX had aired the episodes out of chronological order, making the plot much more difficult to follow. For instance, the two-hour episode "Serenity" was intended to be the series' premiere episode, and therefore contained most of the character introductions and back-story. However, FOX decided that "Serenity" was unsuitable to open the series, and so the second episode, "The Train Job", was rushed into production to become the first episode aired. In addition, 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.

The sequence in which the episodes originally aired varied by locality. In the USA and Canada, starting on September 20, 2002, Fox (and Global in Canada) broadcast the episodes on Fridays at 8:00 p.m. (except for the second hour of the pilot which was shown at 9:00 p.m.). The order was 2, 3, 6 – 8, 4, 5, 9 – 10, 14, 1; with 11 – 13 unaired in the USA during the series original run (these episodes remained unaired in the USA until they were broadcast on the Sci Fi Channel in late 2005 shortly before Serenity premiered in cinemas). In addition, Canada's Space has been regularly airing the series in the originally intended order since September 8, 2003, including a marathon of the entire series on September 5, 2003. In a lead up to the Serenity movie release, starting on July 22, 2005, the Sci Fi Channel (United States) aired the show on Fridays at 7:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific in their originally intended order. Following a marathon on January 6, 2006, Firefly was removed from the Sci Fi Channel line-up.

In South Africa, starting on April 15, 2003, the SABC3 broadcast the episodes on Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m.. The episode order was 2, 3, 6 – 8, 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 1a, 1b, 11 – 13. The series was rebroadcast from October 20, 2003 on Mondays at 1:00 a.m.. On June 7, 2006, actionX started showing the series on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m., rebroadcasting them on Sundays at 4:00 p.m. and Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. in their originally intended order. In South America and Mexico, starting on April 19, 2003, MundoFOX broadcast the episodes on Saturdays at 6:00 p.m.. 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 9:00 p.m. (except for the first hour of the pilot which was shown at 8:00 p.m.). The altered episodes of the first season were shown in the originally intended order. In addition, The Sci-Fi channel aired the episodes as a marathon run over the first weekend of October 2005. This was timed to celebrate the release of the film Serenity. The channel also aired a marathon of the first eight episodes (in chronological order) on March 10, 2006, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., EST.

In Australia, starting on November 10, 2004, the Seven Network broadcast the episodes on Wednesdays at 12:30 a.m. The order was 2, 1a, 1b, 3 – 14. In New Zealand, starting on December 21, 2004, the show was aired on TV3 in the order 1 – 3, 6 – 8, 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 13, 11, 12 on Tuesdays at 11:00 p.m.

In Sweden, TV400 aired the show chronologically starting on January 14, 2005. In Switzerland, TSR1 (Swiss French channel) aired the entire series in a three week time period, beginning on July 25, 2005, with one episode per weekday. Each episode was dubbed in French on one sound channel, and the original English on the other. In Israel, HOT (cable television) aired the show chronologically starting on October 25, 2005.

In Portugal, SIC Radical aired the show starting on January 12, 2006 until April 20, 2006. A new episode was broadcasted on Thursdays at 11:00 p.m., GMT, and then again broadcasted on Sundays at 6:30 p.m., GMT. The episode order of broadcast was 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 1a, 1b, 13, 11, 12. In Italy, Canal Jimmy (satellite television) aired the show chronologically starting on February 17, 2006 every Friday night at 9:00 p.m., with several repeats during the week. The show was aired in 4:3 format with a very bad adaptation and dubbing in Italian.

Music

See also: Firefly soundtrack

The cultural fusion depicted in the show was carried over into the musical score as well. Cowboy guitar mixed with Asian influence produced the atmospheric background for the show. As one reviewer stated:

Old music from the future — the music of roaring campfires and racous cowboys mixed with the warm, pensive sounds of Asian culture and, occasionally, a cold imperial trumpet, heralding the ominous structural presence of a domineering government. Completely thrilling.

— Steve Townsley, tracksounds.com

The series theme song, "The Ballad of Serenity", was written by Joss Whedon and performed by Sonny Rhodes. Whedon wrote the song before the series was greenlit and a preliminary recording performed by Whedon himself can be found on the DVD release.

The soundtrack to the series was released on CD on November 8, 2005 by Varèse Sarabande. The music was composed by Greg Edmonson.

DVD release

File:Firefly box.jpg

DVD box set.

A box set with the 14 completed episodes, including those previously unaired in the USA, was released on region 1 DVD on December 9, 2003, region 2 DVD on April 19, 2004, and region 4 DVD on August 2, 2004. The box features the episodes in the original order in which the show's producers had intended them to be broadcast, as well as seven episode commentaries, outtakes and other features. The DVDs feature the episodes as they were shot in 16:9 widescreen, with anamorphic transfers and Dolby Surround audio.

By September 2005, its DVD release had sold approximately 500,000 copies and was one of the top movers at both Amazon.com and DeepDiscountDVD.com for months.

At Amazon.com the DVDs had average daily rankings of between 1st and 75th in 2003, 22nd and 397th in 2004, 2nd and 232nd in 2005, and 2nd and 31st in 2006 as of June 27, 2006.

FOX has recently remastered the complete series in 1080i Hi-Definition for release on UHD.

Spin-offs

Joss Whedon said in an April 2003 USA Today interview that he had not given up on the show and hoped to continue it in any format. As a result, several spin-offs from the television series have been released in the years following its cancellation, spanning various forms of media.

Cover to the trade paperback, collecting the series. Art by Adam Hughes.

A three-issue comic book miniseries titled Serenity: Those Left Behind was written by Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews, illustrated by Will Conrad and Laura Martin, and published by Dark Horse Comics. It serves as a link between the final episode of the series ("Objects in Space") and the film Serenity. Each issue of the series featured three different covers, with each cover featuring one of the nine main characters, each by a different illustrator, including Joe Quesada, Bryan Hitch, Tim Bradstreet, John Cassaday and Jo Chen. The first issue was published in July 2005, and the final one appeared in September of the same year. The story focuses on the crew of Serenity taking a salvage job from Badger following a botched theft on a backwater planet, and the pursuit of River by the ominous blue-gloved men seen in two Firefly episodes. The story is considered part of the Firefly canon and bridges the TV show and the movie. The comics quickly sold out on release and both #1 and #2 issues went to second printings. A compilation trade paperback was released in January 2006. It has been recently confirmed that Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews will write more Serenity comics for Dark Horse. The new comics are expected to be released sometime in mid-to-late 2006 or early 2007.

Serenity, a film continuing the cancelled television series, was released in Australia on September 29, 2005, the USA and Canada on September 30, 2005, and the UK and Ireland weeks later. As a form of viral marketing for the film, Whedon released the R. Tam sessions, which are set before the TV series. They were released unofficially by Whedon via the internet from August 16 to September 5, 2005. A role-playing game entitled Serenity, published by Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd, was released in 2005. The first adventure, Out in the Black by Laura and Tracy Hickman, was released on 2006-03-15. At a preview screening for the film, Whedon indicated that he would consider reviving the series if a network purchased the broadcast rights from FOX Television, as he will not work with FOX again. More recently, Whedon has said that he would prefer to continue the stories in films, but if he were offered a television deal and not a film deal, he would probably accept.

Following the motion picture release of Serenity and its subsequent novelization, a Firefly-based book series of original stories will be released. It is not yet known if they will be considered canonical, as is the comic book series, although it is unlikely considering Whedon's comments regarding the film novelization: "I don't have much involvement … I just whistle and look the other way." Keith R. A. DeCandido, author of the Serenity movie novelization, said in an interview in November 2005 that two novels are definitely going to be published. Additional books may follow, depending on the success of the franchise. There is no news on who will write the novels, although DeCandido and Steven Brust hope to publish one, and in fact Steven Brust has both completed and submitted his novel. Brust has done readings of his manuscript at various conventions since November 2005. Details on when in the Firefly timeline they will be set, who will be in the novels, or what the plots will be are also not forthcoming. According to Amazon.com, DeCandido is set to write a 304-page novel known as Mirror Image, which will be set in the Firefly universe, and is to be released on July 1, 2009. However, DeCandido has denied this in several interviews.

A non-fiction book about the series, entitled Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly, was edited by Jane Espenson with Glenn Yeffeth, and was published in paperback on April 1, 2005. Through numerous essays, the book analyzes the various themes and ideas of Firefly. Another book of essays has been proposed; however, these would be scholarly essays about Firefly and Serenity. More information can be found directly at Critical Studies in Television. No specific publisher has been declared for the proposed book. As a follow up to his Serenity: The Official Visual Companion, Joss Whedon has written a two-volume book known as Firefly: The Official Visual Companion. The first volume is 176 pages, and is set to be published by Titan Books and released on September 30, 2006.

References

• Firefly — The Complete Series (DVD). December 9, 2003. ISBN 6308024716 . {{cite AV media}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |distributor= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
• Joss Whedon (2005). Serenity: The Official Visual Companion. UK: Titan Books. ISBN 1-84576-082-4.
• Joss Whedon (2006). Firefly Official Companion, Volume One. UK: Titan Books. ISBN 1-84576-314-9.

External links

• Firefly and Serenity at Wikia
• Firefly wiki
• Firefly at the TV IV
• Firefly and Serenity on Whedonesque
• Firefly timeline
• Chinese words in Firefly
• FireflyFans.net - The primary Firefly fansite.
• Browncoats.com - An unaffiliated Firefly fan community and resource site
• Browncoat board - Forums set up for Browncoats when the Universal forum was closed down
• Firefly at Prospero forums, the original Firefly board (aka OB)
• alt.tv.firefly (Google Groups)
• The Signal - Firefly/Serenity podcast
• Firefly Talk - A weekly Firefly podcast
• Big Damn Board - a listing of discussion boards, fan sites, fan creations and more
• Worlds of Serenity - A hard SF author examines the plausibility of the 'Verse.
• Geekson - podcast interviews Lisa Lassek, editor of the show, and Christina Hendricks, who played Saffron
• Done the Impossible - a documentary about Browncoats and their drive to bring back Firefly