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''Firefly'' is an American
space Western Space Western is a subgenre of science fiction that uses the themes and tropes of Western (genre), Westerns within science-fiction stories in an outer space setting. Subtle influences may include Deep space exploration, exploration of new, law ...
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
television series, created by writer and director
Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...
, under his
Mutant Enemy Productions Mutant Enemy Productions is an American production company founded in 1996 by Joss Whedon to produce ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. The company also produced the ''Buffy'' spin-off, ''Angel'', and his two short-lived science fiction series, the s ...
label. Whedon served as an
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
, along with Tim Minear. The series is set in the year 2517, after the arrival of humans in a new star system called The Verse, and follows the adventures of the renegade crew of '' Serenity'', a "''Firefly''-class" spaceship. The
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...
portrays the nine characters living aboard ''Serenity''. Whedon pitched the show as "nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things." The show explores the lives of a group of people, some of whom fought on the losing side of a
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, who make a living on the fringes of society as part of their star system's pioneer culture. The two surviving superpowers, the United States and China, united to form the central federal government, called the
Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...
. According to Whedon's vision, "Nothing will change in the future: Technology will advance, but we will still have the same political, moral, and ethical problems as today." ''Firefly'' premiered in the United States on the
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
network on September 20, 2002. By mid-December, it had averaged 4.7 million viewers per episode and was 98th in
Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
. It was canceled after 11 of the 14 produced episodes were aired. Despite its short run, it received strong sales when it was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
and has large fan support campaigns. It won a
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
in 2003 for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series. ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' ranked it No. 5 on their 2013 list of 60 "shows that were canceled too soon". The show's post-airing success led Whedon and
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
to produce '' Serenity'', a 2005 film that continues the story from the series. The ''Firefly'' franchise expanded into other media, including
comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
and two
tabletop role-playing game A tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG or TRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a kind of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech and sometimes movements. Participants d ...
s.


Premise


Backstory

The series takes place in the year 2517, on a variety of planets with numerous habitable moons. The TV series does not reveal whether these celestial bodies are within one star system, only saying that ''Serenity''s mode of propulsion through space is a "gravity-drive". Each episode begins with either Book or Captain Reynolds providing the backstory. Book's narration runs as follows: The film '' Serenity'' reveals that the planets and moons are in an extensive system, and production documents related to the film indicate that there is no
faster-than-light Faster-than-light (superluminal or supercausal) travel and communication are the conjectural propagation of matter or information faster than the speed of light in vacuum (). The special theory of relativity implies that only particles with zero ...
travel in this
universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...
. The characters occasionally refer to "Earth-that-was", and the film establishes that long before the events in the series, a large population had emigrated from
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
to a new
star system A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars that orbit each other, bound by gravity, gravitational attraction. It may sometimes be used to refer to a single star. A large group of stars bound by gravitation is generally calle ...
in
generation ship A generation ship, generation starship or world ship, is a hypothetical type of interstellar ark starship that travels at sub- light speed. Since such a ship might require hundreds to thousands of years to reach nearby stars, the original occup ...
s: "Earth-that-was could no longer sustain our numbers, we were so many." The emigrants established themselves in this new star system, with "dozens of planets and hundreds of moons", and many of these were terraformed, a process that was only the first step in making a planet habitable. The outlying settlements often did not receive support in the construction of their civilizations. This resulted in many border planets and moons having forbidding, dry environments, well-suited to the Western genre.


Synopsis

The show takes its name from the "''Firefly''-class" spaceship '' Serenity'' that the central characters call home. The ''Firefly''-class ship, some 40,000 still in use, is so named for the resemblance to the shape of a
firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
, complete with a tail section that lights up during acceleration, analogous to the
bioluminescent Bioluminescence is the emission of light during a chemiluminescence reaction by living organisms. Bioluminescence occurs in multifarious organisms ranging from marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms inc ...
insect's
abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...
. The ''Serenity'' was named for the Battle of Serenity Valley, where Sergeant Malcolm Reynolds and Corporal Zoe Alleyne were among the survivors on the losing side. It is revealed in "Bushwhacked" that the Independents' loss at the Battle of Serenity Valley was widely considered as sealing their fate. The Alliance governs the star system through an organization of core planets, following its success in forcibly unifying all the colonies under one government. DVD commentary suggests that the Alliance is composed of two primary systems, one predominantly
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
, the other pan-Asian, explaining the blended linguistic and visual themes of the series. The central planets are firmly under Alliance control, but the outlying planets and moons resemble the
American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...
, under little governmental authority. Settlers and refugees on the outlying worlds have relative freedom from the central government but lack the amenities of high-tech civilization found on inner worlds. The outlying areas of space ("the black") are inhabited by the Reavers, a cannibalistic group of nomadic humans. The captain of ''Serenity'' is Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds. The episode " Serenity" establishes that the captain and his first mate Zoe Washburne (née Alleyne) are veteran "Browncoats" of the Unification War, a failed attempt by the outlying worlds to resist the Alliance. A later episode, " Out of Gas", reveals that Mal bought the spaceship ''Serenity'' to travel increasingly distant reaches of space, beyond Alliance control. Much of the crew's work consists of cargo runs or
smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...
. In the original pilot, "Serenity", Simon joins the crew as a paying passenger, smuggling his sister River Tam aboard as cargo. River is a child prodigy whose brain was subjected to experiments by Alliance scientists at a secret government institution; she displays symptoms of schizophrenia and often hears voices. It is later revealed that she is a "reader", one who possesses
telepathic Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
abilities. Simon gave up a career as an eminent trauma surgeon in an Alliance hospital to rescue her, and they are fugitives. As Whedon states in an episode of a DVD commentary, every show he does is about creating a 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.


Signature show elements

The show blends elements from the
space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes Space warfare in science fiction, space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, i ...
and Western genres in a grounded depiction of humanity's future. ''Firefly'' takes place in a multi-social future, primarily a fusion of Western and East Asian societies (and in particular those of
mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
), where there is gross class inequality. As a result of the Sino-American Alliance,
Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...
is a common second language; English-speaking characters in the show frequently curse in Mandarin. The show features slang not used in contemporary culture, such as adaptations of modern words or new words. "Shiny" is frequently used as the real world slang "cool", and "gorram" is used as a mild swear word. Written and spoken Chinese, as well as Old West dialect, are also employed. As one reviewer noted: "The dialogue tended to be a bizarre
purée A purée (or mash) is cooked food, usually vegetables, fruits or legumes, that has been ground, pressed, blended or sieved to the consistency of a creamy paste or liquid. Purées of specific foods are often known by specific names, e.g., appl ...
of wisecracks, old-timey Western-paperback patois, and snatches of Chinese." Tim Minear and Joss Whedon pointed out two scenes that articulated the show's mood clearly: In the original pilot "Serenity" when Mal is eating with chopsticks with a Western tin cup by his plate; and in "The Train Job" pilot when Mal is thrown out of a
holographic Holography is a technique that allows a wavefront to be recorded and later reconstructed. It is best known as a method of generating three-dimensional images, and has a wide range of other uses, including data storage, microscopy, and interfe ...
bar window. The DVD set's "making-of" documentary explains the distinctive frontispiece of the series (wherein ''Serenity'' soars over a herd of horses) as Whedon's attempt to capture "everything you need to understand about the series in five seconds." Whedon struggled with Fox over the tone of the show, and especially over the character of Malcolm Reynolds. Fox pressured Whedon to make Mal more "jolly", as they feared he was too dark in the original pilot, epitomized by the moment he suggests he might "space" Simon and River, throwing them out of the airlock. Fox was unhappy that the show portrayed "nobodies" who "get squished by policy" instead of actual policymakers.


Cast


Main

''Firefly'' maintained an ensemble cast that portrayed nine crew members and passengers of the ship, ''Serenity'', dealing with criminals and schemers, Alliance security forces, the utterly psychotic and brutal Reavers, and the mysterious men with "hands of blue"—operatives of a secret agency possibly aligned with The Blue Sun Corporation. The crew is driven by the need to secure enough income to keep their ship operational while keeping a low profile to avoid their adversaries. Their situation is complicated by the differing motivations of the individuals aboard ''Serenity;'' the show's brief run hampered further
characterization Characterization or characterisation is the representation of characters (persons, creatures, or other beings) in narrative and dramatic works. The term character development is sometimes used as a synonym. This representation may include dire ...
. All nine of the main characters appeared in every episode, except " Ariel", from which Book is absent. *
Nathan Fillion Nathan Christopher Fillion (born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian and American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on ''Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on ''Castle''. , he sta ...
as Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds—the owner and captain of ''Serenity'' and former Independent sergeant in the Battle of Serenity Valley. Malcolm grew up on a ranch and was raised by his mother and the ranch hands. In the Unification War, he fought as a platoon sergeant in the 57th Overlanders of the Independent Army, the " Browncoats". He is a cunning, capable leader, and a skilled fighter. Mal's primary motivation is a desire for independence. While he is not above petty theft, smuggling, or even killing to maintain his freedom, he is generally honest in his dealings with others, fiercely loyal to his crew, and adheres to a personal code of honor. He is openly antagonistic toward religion as a result of his experiences during the war. *
Gina Torres Gina Torres (born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. Her starring roles include Zoe Washburne in the science fiction series ''Firefly'' (2002–2003) and its feature film sequel '' Serenity'' (2005), and as Jessica Pearson in the legal dr ...
as Zoe Alleyne Washburne—second-in-command onboard ''Serenity'', a loyal wartime friend of Captain Reynolds, and Wash's wife. Her surname during the Unification War was Alleyne. She was born and raised on a ship and served under Mal during the war as a corporal. Described by her husband as a "warrior woman", she is a capable fighter who keeps calm even in the most dangerous situations. She demonstrates an almost unconditional loyalty to Mal. The only exception noted being her marriage to Wash, which the captain claims was against his orders. *
Alan Tudyk Alan Wray Tudyk ( ; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' (2000), '' A Knight's Tale'' (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' (2004), voice and motion capture for Sonny in '' I, Robot'' (2 ...
as Hoban "Wash" Washburne—''Serenity''s pilot and Zoe's husband. Deeply in love with his wife, Wash expresses jealousy over his wife's "war buddy" relationship and unconditional support of their captain, most particularly in the episode " War Stories", in which he confronts Mal even as the two of them are being tortured. He joined pilot training just to see the stars, which were invisible from the surface of his polluted homeworld, and he joined ''Serenity'' despite being highly sought after by other ships. He is light-hearted and tends to make amusing comments, despite the severity of any situation. *
Morena Baccarin Morena Silva de Vaz Setta Baccarin (; born June 2, 1979) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Adria in season 10 of the TV series ''Stargate SG-1'', Inara Serra in the sci-fi television series ''Firefly (TV series), Firefly'' (20 ...
as
Inara Serra This page lists characters from the television program, television series ''Firefly (TV series), Firefly''. Major characters Malcolm Reynolds Malcolm Reynolds ("Mal"), played by Nathan Fillion, is owner and captain of the Firefly-class spaceshi ...
—a Companion, which is the 26th century cross between a
geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha{{efn, {{IPAc-en, lang, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ., ʃ, ə, {{IPA, ja, ɡei.ɕa, ɡeː-, lang{{cite book, script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典, publisher=NHK Publishing, editor= ...
, and a
courtesan A courtesan is a prostitute with a courtly, wealthy, or upper-class clientele. Historically, the term referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other powerful person. History In European feudal society, the co ...
or
mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...
; she rents and works out of one of ''Serenity''s two small shuttles. As a Companion, Inara enjoys high social standing. Her presence confers a degree of legitimacy and social acceptance that the crew of ''Serenity'' would not have without her on board. Inara displays great dignity, civility, and compassion. There is strong romantic tension between her and Mal, who share many character traits, but each frequently objects to the other's work as "whoring" or "petty theft", respectively. Both refuse to act on their feelings and attempt to keep their relationship professional. * Adam Baldwin as Jayne Cobb—a mercenary who first met Mal on the opposite side of a dispute: Mal, while held at gunpoint by Jayne, offered Jayne his own bunk and a higher cut than his current employer, prompting Jayne to switch sides and shoot his then-partners. In the original pilot, "Serenity", he tells Mal that he did not betray him because "The money wasn't good enough." However, he had previously showed reluctance in betraying the captain to an Alliance agent. In "Ariel", he defends betraying Simon and River by claiming he had not intended to betray Mal. He can be depended on in a fight. Occasional hints of intelligence peek through his oafish façade, giving the impression that he acts dumber than he is. Whedon has stated several times that Jayne will ask the questions that no one else wants to. Even though he is a macho character, he has shown a particularly intense fear of Reavers, more so than the rest of the crew. He sends a significant portion of his income to his mother, again suggesting that there is more to his character than what he presents to the rest of the crew. *
Jewel Staite Jewel Belair Staite (born June 2, 1982) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Kaylee Frye in the series ''Firefly'' (2002–2003) and its follow-up movie '' Serenity'' (2005), and as Jennifer Keller on science fiction television ...
as Kaywinnet Lee "Kaylee" Frye—the ship's mechanic. In the episode " Out of Gas", Kaylee reveals she's had no formal training, but keeps ''Serenity'' running with an intuitive gift for the workings of mechanical equipment. Jewel Staite describes Kaylee's character as being wholesome, sweet, and "completely genuine in that sweetness", adding "She loves being on that ship. She loves all of those people. And she is the only one who loves all of them incredibly genuinely." She has a crush on Simon Tam. Kaylee is the heart of the ship; according to creator Joss Whedon, if Kaylee believes something, it is true. * Sean Maher as Simon Tam—a trauma surgeon of the first caliber (ranked 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. The episode "
Safe A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable enclosure used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body ...
", reveals that he and River had a privileged upbringing with access to the best education. By rescuing River in spite of his father's severe objections, Simon gave up a highly successful future in medicine. His bumbling attempts at a romantic relationship with Kaylee are a recurring subplot throughout the series. At every turn, he unwittingly foils his attempts at romance. His life is defined by caring for his sister. * Summer Glau as River Tam—smuggled onto the ship by her brother. She is a brilliant, compassionate, and intuitive
child prodigy A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...
. Experiments and invasive brain surgery at an Alliance secret facility left her delusional, paranoid, and at times violent—though her uncanny ability to seemingly sense things before they happen leaves questions as to where the delusions end and reality begins. The experiments seem to have made her a
psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use powers rooted in parapsychology, such as extrasensory perception (ESP), to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance; or who performs acts that a ...
. The experiments also gave her an innate knack for hand-to-hand combat, and she is capable of killing or incapacitating several opponents with ease. She gets frequent fits of anxiety and experiences post-traumatic flashbacks of her time in the Alliance facility. Her mental instability and uncanny abilities, paired with several erratic and violent acts, are a recurring source of fear and doubt among the crew, especially with Jayne, whom she once slashed with a knife. Jayne frequently requests that River and Simon be taken off the ship. * Ron Glass as Derrial Book—a Shepherd (equivalent to a pastor). Although presented as a devout Christian, Book has profound, unexplained knowledge about criminal activities, police corruption, and military strategy, tactics, and weapons. In "
Safe A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable enclosure used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body ...
", he was shown to have sufficient status in the Alliance to receive emergency medical treatment from an Alliance ship. He is also proficient in hand-to-hand combat and the use of firearms. He maintains his objection to violence even during a rescue mission, joining the fight while stating that although the Bible specifically disallows killing, it is "somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps." Book is a moral guide for Mal and the rest of the crew, a voice of reason, conscience, and spirituality. He also gets along well with the amoral mercenary Jayne, with the two spotting each other while working out using a
bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...
. His hidden backstory would have been gradually revealed had the series continued but was instead explored in the 2010 comic book '' The Shepherd's Tale''.


Recurring

Despite the series' short run, several
recurring character A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main f ...
s emerged from the inhabitants of the ''Firefly'' universe: * Mark Sheppard as Badger—an established
smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...
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 initially written with Whedon himself playing the role. Badger appeared in the original pilot "Serenity" and in " Shindig", with a return in the comic book series '' Serenity: Those Left Behind''. * Michael Fairman as Adelai Niska—a criminal kingpin with a reputation for violent reprisals, including severe, prolonged
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
against those who fail him or even irritate him. He appeared in "The Train Job" and "War Stories". * Christina Hendricks as "Saffron"—a
con artist A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibi ...
whose real name is unknown. She first appeared in the episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds" as Mal's involuntarily acquired wife. She has a habit of marrying her
marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...
in the process of scamming them. She returns in the episode " Trash", where Mal jokingly addresses her as "YoSaffBridge", from the three of her aliases known within the show: "Yolanda", "Saffron", and "Bridget". * Jeff Ricketts and Dennis Cockrum as "The Hands of Blue"–two unnamed men wearing suits and blue gloves who pursue River, apparently to return her to the institute from which she escaped, as shown in "The Train Job", "Ariel", and the ''Serenity: Those Left Behind'' comic. They kill anyone, including Alliance personnel, who had contact with her, using a mysterious hand-held device that causes fatal hemorrhaging in anyone at whom it is aimed. River, during anxiety attacks or psychological meltdowns, has repeated the phrase "Two by two/hands of blue" in a way that resembles poetic meter. This suggests that River has had close experience(s) with them.


Episodes


Production


Origin

Whedon developed the concept for the show after reading '' The Killer Angels'' by Michael Shaara chronicling the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...
during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. He wanted to follow people who had fought on the losing side of a war, their experiences afterward as pioneers and immigrants on the outskirts of civilization, much like the post-American Civil War era of
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
and the
American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...
.Whedon, ''Serenity: The Official Visual Companion'', p. 8 He intended the show to be "a ''Stagecoach'' kind of drama with a lot of people trying to figure out their lives in a bleak pioneer environment". Whedon wanted to develop a show about the tactile nature of life, a show where existence was more physical and more difficult. Whedon also read a book about Jewish partisan fighters in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Whedon wanted to create something for television that was more character-driven and gritty than most modern science fiction. Television science fiction, he felt, had become too pristine and rarefied. Whedon wanted to give the show a name that indicated movement and power and felt that "Firefly" had both. This powerful word's relatively insignificant meaning, Whedon felt, added to its allure. He eventually created a ship in the image of a firefly.


Format

During the pilot episode filming, Whedon was still arguing with Fox that the show should be displayed in widescreen format. Whedon filmed scenes with actors on the edge of both sides so that they could only be shown in widescreen.Whedon, ''Firefly: the complete series: "Serenity" commentary'' This led to a few scenes on the DVD (and later Blu-ray) where objects or setups that were not visible in the original 4:3 broadcasts were displayed—such as the scene in the pilot where Wash mimes controlling the ship with a non-existent
yoke A yoke is a wooden beam used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, used in dif ...
. The Fox executives rejected the pilot, who felt that it lacked action and that the captain was too "dour".Whedon, ''Firefly: the complete series: "Train Job" commentary'', track 1 They also disliked a scene in which the crew backed down to a crime boss since the scene implied the crew was "being nothing". Fox told Whedon on a Friday afternoon that he had to submit a new pilot script on 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". At the direction of Fox, they added "larger than life" characters such as the henchman "Crow" and the "hands of blue" men, who also introduced an ''
X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to May 19, 2002, on Fox, spanning nine seasons, with 202 episodes. A tenth season of six e ...
''-type ending.Whedon, ''Firefly: the complete series: "Train Job" commentary'', track 7. For the new pilot, Fox made it clear that they would not air the episodes in widescreen. Whedon and company felt they had to "serve two masters" by filming widescreen for eventual DVD release but keeping objects in-frame so it could still work when aired in
pan and scan Pan and scan is a film editing technique used to modify widescreen images for display on a fullscreen screen. It involves cropping the sides of the original widescreen image and panning across it when the shot's focus changes. This cropping c ...
full frame.Whedon, ''Firefly: the complete series: "Train Job" commentary'', track 6 To obtain an immersive and immediate feel, the episodes were filmed in a documentary style with hand-held cameras, giving them the look of " found footage", with deliberately mis-framed and out-of-focus subjects.Whedon, ''Firefly: the complete series: "Train Job" commentary'', track 3 As Whedon related: "don't be arch, don't be sweeping—be found, be rough and tumble and docu entaryand you-are-there".Whedon, ''Firefly Companion, Vol 1'', 12 Computer-generated scenes mimicked the motion of a hand-held camera; the style was not used when shooting scenes that involved the central government, the Alliance.
Tracking Tracking may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with music tracker software * Eye tracking, measuring the position of ...
and steady cameras were used to show the sterility of this aspect of the ''Firefly'' universe. Another style employed was
lens flare A lens flare happens when light is scattered, or ''flared'', in a lens system, often in response to a bright light, producing a sometimes undesirable artifact in the image. This happens through light scattered by the imaging mechanism itself, ...
s harking back to 1970s television. The need for this particular style resulted in the director of photography ( David Boyd) favoring cheaper lenses over cutting-edge equipment. ''Firefly'' portrays space as silent, as sounds cannot be transmitted in the vacuum of space.


Set design

Production designer In film and television, a production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Work ...
Carey Meyer built the ship ''Serenity'' in two parts (one for each level) as a complete set with ceilings and practical lighting installed, as part of the set that the cameras could use along with moveable parts.Whedon, ''Firefly Companion, Vol 1'', 11 The two-part set also allowed the second unit to shoot in one section while the actors and first unit worked undisturbed in the other. As Whedon recalled: "you could pull it away or move something huge so that you could get in and around everything. That meant the environment worked for us and there weren't a lot of adjustments that needed to be made". This design allowed the viewers to feel they were really in a ship. For Whedon, the design of the ship was crucial in defining the known space for the viewer and that there were not "fourteen hundred decks and a holodeck and an all-you-can-eat buffet in the back."Whedon, ''Firefly Companion, Vol 1'', 10 He wanted to convey that it was utilitarian and "beat-up but lived-in. Ultimately, it was home." Each room represented a feeling or character, usually conveyed by the paint color. He explains that the colors and mood progress from extremely warm to cooler, as you move from the back of the ship in the engine room, toward the front of the ship to the bridge. Besides evoking a mood associated with the character who spends the most time in each area, the color scheme also alludes to the heat generated in the ship's tail. Whedon was keen on using vertical space; having the crew quarters accessible by ladder was important. The set design allowed the actors to stay in the moment and interact, without having to stop after each shot and set up for the next, helping contribute to the documentary style Whedon aimed for. The set had several influences, including the sliding doors and tiny cubicles reminiscent of Japanese hotels. Artist Larry Dixon has noted that the cargo bay walls are "reminiscent of interlaced, overlapping Asian designs, cleverly reminding us of the American-Chinese Alliance setting while artistically forming a patterned plane for background scale reference."Dixon, "The Reward, the Details, the Devils, the Due", ''Finding Serenity'', 8 Dixon has also remarked on how the set design contributed to the storytelling through the use of color, depth, composition, lighting, as well as its use of diagonals and patterned shadows. Their small budget was another reason to use the ship for much of the storytelling. When the characters did leave the ship, the worlds all had Earth atmosphere and coloring because the production team could not afford to design alien worlds. "I didn't want to go to Yucca Flats every other episode and transform it into
Bizarro World The Bizarro World (also known as Htrae, which is "Earth" spelled backwards) is a fictional planet appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Introduced in the early 1960s, Htrae is a cube-shaped planet, home to Bizarro and compani ...
by making the sky orange", recalled Whedon. As Meyer recalled: "I think in the end the feel was that we wound up using a lot of places or exteriors that just felt too Western and we didn't necessarily want to go that way; but at some point, it just became the lesser of two evils—what could we actually create in three days?"


Music

Greg Edmonson composed the musical score for the series. He stated that he wrote for the emotion of the moment. A reviewer stated that he also wrote for the characters: "Edmonson has developed a specialized collection of musical symbolism for the series."Goltz, "Listening to ''Firefly''", ''Finding Serenity'', 209–215 To help illustrate the collection, the reviewer gave
leitmotif A leitmotif or () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is a partial angliciz ...
s, or "signatures", various names, noting that "Serenity" recalls the theme of the show and is used when they return to the ship, or when they were meeting in secret; it was "the sound of their home". The slide guitar and fiddle used in this piece are portable instruments that fit the lifestyle of the crew: "the music they make calls up tunes played out in the open, by people who were hundreds of miles away yesterday. 'Serenity' conjures the nomadic lifestyle the crew leads and underlines the western aspect of the show." Another emotional signature was "Sad Violin" used at the end of the Battle of Serenity Valley but also to set up the joke when Mal tells Simon that Kaylee is dead in the episode " Serenity". The most memorable use of "Sad Violin" is at the end of " The Message", when the crew mourned the death of Tracey. This was also the last scene of the last episode the actors shot, and so this was seen by them and Edmonson, as ''Firefly'' farewell. To denote danger, "Peril" was used, which is "a low pulse, like a heartbeat, with deep chimes and low strings". The reviewer also noted character signatures. The criminal Niska has a signature: Eastern European or Middle Eastern melodies over a low drone. Simon and River's signature was a piano played sparsely with a violin in the background. This contrasts with the portable instruments of "Serenity": the piano is an instrument that cannot be easily moved and evokes the image of "the distant house and family they both long for." The signatures were mostly established in the first pilot, "Serenity", and helped enhance the narrative. Whedon's use of music in his television shows has been regarded as "filmic", as during pivotal moments the music reminds viewers of earlier events, resulting in a tighter continuity throughout the season. The musical score expressed the social fusion depicted in the show. Cowboy guitar blended with Asian influence produced the atmospheric background for the series. As one reviewer stated: The show's 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 can be found on the DVD release. The soundtrack to the series was released on CD on November 8, 2005, by
Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and cast recording, original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as ...
. Fox Music released a 40-minute soundtrack in September 2005 as a digital EP. "The Ballad of Serenity" was used by NASA as the wake-up song for astronaut Robert L. Behnken and the other crewmembers of STS-130 on February 12, 2010.


Casting

The series was picked up in December 2001, and casting started in January 2002. In casting his nine-member crew, Whedon looked first at the actors and considered their chemistry with others. Cast member Sean Maher recalls, "So then he just sort of put us all together, and I think it was very quick like right out of the gate, we all instantly bonded."Whedon, ''Firefly Companion, Vol 1'', 132 All nine cast members were chosen before filming began; while making the original pilot "Serenity", Whedon decided that Rebecca Gayheart was unsuitable for the role of
Inara Serra This page lists characters from the television program, television series ''Firefly (TV series), Firefly''. Major characters Malcolm Reynolds Malcolm Reynolds ("Mal"), played by Nathan Fillion, is owner and captain of the Firefly-class spaceshi ...
, and shot her scenes in singles so that it would be easier to replace her.
Morena Baccarin Morena Silva de Vaz Setta Baccarin (; born June 2, 1979) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Adria in season 10 of the TV series ''Stargate SG-1'', Inara Serra in the sci-fi television series ''Firefly (TV series), Firefly'' (20 ...
auditioned for the role and two days later was on the set in her first television show. "Joss brought me down from the testing room like a proud dad, holding my hand and introducing me", Baccarin recalled. Whedon approached
Nathan Fillion Nathan Christopher Fillion (born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian and American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on ''Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on ''Castle''. , he sta ...
to play the lead role of Malcolm Reynolds; after Whedon explained the premise and showed him the treatment for the pilot, Fillion was eager for the role. Fillion was called back several times to read for the part before he was cast. He noted that "it was really thrilling. It was my first lead, and I was pretty nervous, but I really wanted that part, and I wanted to tell those stories."Whedon, ''Firefly Companion, Vol 1'', 26. Fillion later said he was "heartbroken" when he learned the series had been canceled. Fillion has called his time on ''Firefly'' the best acting job he ever had, and compares every job he has had to it.
Alan Tudyk Alan Wray Tudyk ( ; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' (2000), '' A Knight's Tale'' (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' (2004), voice and motion capture for Sonny in '' I, Robot'' (2 ...
applied through a casting office and several months later was called in for an audition, where he met with Whedon. He was called back to test with two candidates for the role of Zoe (Wash's wife) and was told that it was down to him and one other candidate. The Zoes he tested with were not selected (Gina Torres eventually received the role), and Tudyk was sent home but received a call informing him he had the part anyway. His audition tape is included in the special features of the DVD release.
Gina Torres Gina Torres (born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. Her starring roles include Zoe Washburne in the science fiction series ''Firefly'' (2002–2003) and its feature film sequel '' Serenity'' (2005), and as Jessica Pearson in the legal dr ...
, a veteran of several science fiction/fantasy works (''
Cleopatra 2525 ''Cleopatra 2525'' is an American science fiction television series that aired in syndication for two seasons, from January 2000 to March 2001. Produced by Renaissance Pictures and distributed by Studios USA Television Distribution, many stat ...
'', ''
The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, L ...
'', '' Alias'', '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys''), was at first uninterested in doing another science fiction show but "was won over by the quality of the source material".Whedon, ''Firefly Companion, Vol 1'', 40 As she recalled, "you had these challenged characters inhabiting a challenging world, and that makes for great storytelling. And no aliens!" For Adam Baldwin, who grew up watching westerns, the role of Jayne Cobb was particularly resonant. Canadian actress
Jewel Staite Jewel Belair Staite (born June 2, 1982) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Kaylee Frye in the series ''Firefly'' (2002–2003) and its follow-up movie '' Serenity'' (2005), and as Jennifer Keller on science fiction television ...
videotaped her audition from
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
and was asked to come to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
to meet Whedon, at which point she was cast for the role of Kaylee Frye, the ship's engineer. She was asked to put on weight for the role. Sean Maher recalls reading for the part and liking the character of Simon Tam, but that it was Whedon's personality and vision that "sealed the deal" for him.
Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received List of awards and nominations ...
also read for the part of Simon. For the role of Simon's sister, River Tam, Whedon called in Summer Glau for an audition and test the same day. Glau had first worked for Whedon in the ''Angel'' episode " Waiting in the Wings". Two weeks later, Whedon called her to tell her she had the part. Veteran television actor Ron Glass has said that until ''Firefly'', he had not experienced or sought a science-fiction or western role. Still, he fell in love with the pilot script and the character of Shepherd Book.


Production staff

Whedon selected Tim Minear to be the
show runner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...
, who serves as the head writer and production leader. According to Whedon, " inearunderstood the show as well as any human being, and just brought so much to it that I think of it as though he were always a part of it." Many of the other production staff were people Whedon had worked with in the past, except the director of photography David Boyd, who was the "big find" and who was "full of joy and energy".Whedon, ''Firefly Companion, Vol 1'', 8. The writers were selected after interviews and script samplings. Among the writers were José Molina, Ben Edlund, Cheryl Cain, Brett Matthews, Drew Z. Greenberg and
Jane Espenson Jane Espenson (born July 14, 1964) is an American television writer and producer. Espenson has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and shared ...
. Espenson wrote an essay on the writing process with Mutant Enemy Productions. A meeting is held and an idea is floated, generally by Whedon, and the writers brainstorm to develop the central theme of the episode and the character development. Next, the writers (except the one working on the previous week's episode) meet in the anteroom to Whedon's office to begin breaking the story into acts and scenes. One of the key components to devising acts for the team is deciding where to break for commercial and ensuring the viewer returns. "Finding these moments in the story help give it shape: think of them as tentpoles that support the structure." For instance, in " Shindig", the break for commercial occurs when Malcolm Reynolds is gravely injured and losing the duel. "It does not end when Mal turns the fight around when he stands victorious over his opponent. They're both big moments, but one of them leaves you curious, and the other doesn't." Next, the writers develop the scenes onto a marker-filled whiteboard, featuring "a brief ordered description of each scene". A writer is selected to create an outline of the episode's concept—occasionally with some dialogue and jokes—in one day. The outline is given to showrunner Tim Minear, who revises it within a day. The writer uses the revised outline to write the first draft of the script while the other writers develop the next. This first draft is usually submitted for revision within three to fourteen days; afterward, a second and sometimes third draft is written. After all modifications are made, the final draft would be produced as the "shooting draft".


Costume

Jill Ohanneson, ''Firefly''s original costume designer, brought on
Shawna Trpcic Shawna Trpcic (; née Leavell, October 18, 1966 – October 4, 2023) was an American costume designer. Biography Shawna Trpcic was born in Artesia, California, on October 18, 1966. She got her start in the industry with the 1990 film '' Megavill ...
as her assistant for the pilot. When the show was picked up, Ohanneson was involved in another job and declined ''Firefly'', suggesting Trpcic for the job. The costumes were chiefly influenced by
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, the American
Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...
, and 1861
samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...
Japan. Trpcic used deep reds and oranges for the main cast to express a feeling of "home" and contrasted that with grays and cool blues for the Alliance. Since the characters were often getting shot, Trpcic would make up to six versions of the same costume for multiple takes. * For River, mostly jewel tones were used to set her apart from the rest of the ''Serenity'' crew. River had boots to contrast with the soft fabrics of her clothes, "because that's who she is—she's this soft, beautiful, sensitive girl, but with this hardcore inner character", recalled Trpcic. * The designers also wanted to contrast Simon, River's brother, with the rest of the crew. Whereas they were dressed in cotton, Simon wore wool, stiff fabrics, satins, and silk. He was originally the "dandy", but as the show progressed, he loosened up slightly. * For Kaylee, Trpcic studied Japanese and Chinese youth, as originally the character was Asian. Other inspirations for Kaylee's costumes were
Rosie the Riveter Rosie the Riveter is an allegorical cultural icon in the United States who represents the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. These women sometimes took entirely n ...
and Chinese Communist posters. * Inara's costumes reflect her high status and are very feminine and attractive. * Trpcic designed and created the clothes for the minor character of Badger with Joss Whedon in mind since he intended to play that part. When Mark Sheppard played the role instead, he could fit into the clothes made for Whedon. * For the Alliance, besides the grays and cool blues, Trpcic had in mind
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, but mixed it with different wars, as the first sketches were "too Nazi". The uniforms of the Alliance soldiers are from the 1997 film ''
Starship Troopers ''Starship Troopers'' is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in ''The Magazine of ...
''. * In the commentary for the pilot episode, Whedon points out that "bad guys wear hats, good guys don't."


Unproduced episodes

Since the cancellation of the series, various cast and crew members have revealed details they had planned for the show's future: * Alan Tudyk had the idea for an episode about a planet that is always day on one side and night on the other. On the night side, Jayne accidentally spills a type of pheromone on himself and the crew, which attracts many dogs. The crew is chased back to the ship by these dogs. There River uses her mind powers to domesticate the dogs. * Adam Baldwin wanted to make an episode in which Jayne goes up against Mal as captain of his ship. * Tim Minear revealed the secret of Inara's syringe, as seen in the
pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
; she is infected with a deadly disease. There would have been an episode where Reavers gang-rape her. Because she injected herself with the syringe, all of the Reavers on the ship die. * According to Nathan Fillion, there was an episode in which the crew land on a dying planet. The inhabitants try to steal ''Serenity'' after explaining to the crew about their need to get off the planet. The problem is that unless they were to run into another ship along the way, with the extra passengers, ''Serenity'' would not have enough fuel and oxygen to make it to the closest destination. While everyone else is asleep, Mal takes the ship himself and discovers that help would never have arrived.


Broadcast history

''Firefly'' consists of a two-hour pilot and thirteen one-hour episodes (with commercials). The series originally premiered in the United States on Fox in September 2002 on Friday nights. Three episodes, including the original pilot, were aired out of the production order. Although Whedon had designed the show to run for seven years, low ratings resulted in cancellation by Fox in December 2002 after only 11 of the 14 completed episodes aired in the United States. The three episodes unaired by Fox eventually debuted in 2003 on the Sci Fi Channel in the United Kingdom. Prior to cancellation, some fans, worried about low ratings, formed the online ''Firefly'' Immediate Assistance campaign whose goal was to support the production of the show by sending in postcards to Fox. After it was canceled, the campaign worked on getting another network such as
UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...
to pick up the series. The campaign was unsuccessful in securing the show's continuation. ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' cited several actions by the Fox network that contributed to the show's failure, most notably airing the episodes out of sequence, making the plot more difficult to follow. The double episode "Serenity" was intended as the
premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...
, and therefore contained most of the character introductions and
back-story A backstory, background story, background, or legend is a set of events invented for a plot, preceding and leading up to that plot. In acting, it is the history of the character before the drama begins, and is created during the actor's preparat ...
. Fox decided that "Serenity" was unsuitable for opening the series, and "The Train Job" was specifically created to act as a new pilot. In addition, ''Firefly'' was promoted as an action-comedy rather than the more serious character study it was intended to be, and the showbiz trade paper '' Variety'' noted Fox's decision to occasionally preempt the show for sporting events. Fox remastered the complete series in
1080i In high-definition television (HDTV) and video display technology, 1080i is a video display format with 1080 lines of vertical resolution and Interlaced video, interlaced scanning method. This format was once a standard in HDTV. It was particular ...
high-definition for broadcast on
Universal HD Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of ...
, which began in April 2008. On March 12, 2009, the series was the winner of the first annual Hulu awards in the category "Shows We'd Bring Back". The
Science Channel Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, manu ...
began airing the series on March 6, 2011. All episodes aired in the intended order, including episodes "Trash", "The Message" and "Heart of Gold", which were not aired in the original Fox series run. Along with each episode, Dr.
Michio Kaku Michio Kaku (; ; born January 24, 1947) is an American theoretical physicist, Science communication, science communicator, futurologist, and writer of popular-science. He is a professor of theoretical physics at the City College of New York and ...
provided commentary about the real-life science behind the show's science fiction.


Home media releases

A box set containing the 14 completed episodes (including those which had not yet aired in the United States) was released on region 1
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
on December 9, 2003; region 2 on April 19, 2004; and region 4 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 Anamorphic format is a cinematography technique that captures widescreen images using recording media with narrower native Aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios. Originally developed for 35 mm movie film, 35 mm film to create widescreen pres ...
transfers and
Dolby Surround Dolby Pro Logic is a surround sound processing technology developed by Dolby Laboratories, designed to decode soundtracks encoded with Dolby Surround. The terms Dolby Stereo and LtRt (''Left Total'', ''Right Total'') are also used to describe so ...
audio. By September 2005, its DVD release had sold about 500,000 copies. The series was re-released on
Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...
on November 11, 2008, comprising three discs; exclusive extras to the Blu-ray release include extra audio commentary from Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, and Ron Glass for the episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds"; as well as an additional featurette, ''"Firefly" Reunion: Lunch with Joss, Nathan, Alan and Ron''. On September 19, 2017, the series was reissued on Blu-ray as a ''15th Anniversary Collection''. The set included new packaging that came with character cards and a fold-out map of the
planetary system A planetary system is a set of gravity, gravitationally bound non-stellar Astronomical object, bodies in or out of orbit around a star or star system. Generally speaking, systems with one or more planets constitute a planetary system, although ...
in which the series is set.


Reception


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the series has an approval rating of 77% with an average score of 7.8 out of 10 based on 44 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Firefly'' earns its audience's adoration with the help of Nathan Fillion's dry delivery, a detailed fantasy world, and compelling storylines – even if it doesn't stand with creator Joss Whedon's most consistent work."
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
collected 30 reviews and calculated an average score of 63 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Many reviews focused on the show's fusion of Wild West and outer space motifs. ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
''s Matt Roush, for instance, called the show "oddball" and "offbeat" and noted how the series took the metaphor of space operas as Westerns. Roush opined that the shift from space travel to horseback was "jarring", but that once he got used to this, he found the characters cleverly conceived and the writing a crisp balance of action, tension, and humor. Several reviewers criticized the show's setting; Tim Goodman of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' felt that the melding of the western and science fiction genres was a "forced hodgepodge of two alarmingly opposite genres just for the sake of being different" and called the series a "vast disappointment", and Carina Chocano of
Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive and liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, includ ...
said that while the "space as
Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...
" metaphor is fairly redundant, neither genre connected to the present. Emily Nussbaum of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', reviewing the DVD set, noted that the program 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''". The ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' described ''Firefly'' as a "wonderful, imaginative mess brimming with possibility". The review further notes the difference between the new series and other programs was that those shows "burst onto the scene with slick pilots and quickly deteriorate into mediocrity ... ''Firefly'' is on the opposite creative journey." Jason Snell called the show one of the best on television, and one "with the most potential for future brilliance". Tim White, writing for '' The Objective Standard'', focused his review on the show's depiction of heroism. He concludes that "''Firefly'' is not perfectly accurate in its attempts to depict the essential natures of heroism and villainy, but its successes are much more uplifting than its failures are problematic. It's also consistently funny, skillfully written, and passionately acted." Reviewers compared ''Firefly'' to Whedon's other series, ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...
''. Chocano noted that the series lacks the psychological tension of ''Buffy'' and suggests that this might be attributable to the episodes being aired out of order. MSN, on the other hand, pointed out that after viewing the DVD boxed set, it was easy to see why the program had attracted many die-hard fans. "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". Reviewers have also drawn comparisons and parallels between ''Firefly'' and the anime
media mix A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...
''
Outlaw Star is a media franchise#Japan, Japanese media mix primarily consisting of an anime Television show, television series produced by Sunrise (now a division of Bandai Namco Filmworks) and a corresponding Seinen manga, ''seinen'' manga series w ...
''. Princess Weekes from '' The Mary Sue'' stated that she "really enjoyed" the series, but wrote that, "it lacks Chinese actors, so if it's going to be brought back, that's a really easy fix." Writing for Syfy, Alyssa Fikse described the show as a "problematic fave", calling the lack of Asian characters in the show "negligent at best, racist at worst".


Fandom

''Firefly'' generated a loyal base of fans during its three-month original broadcast run on
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
in late 2002. These fans, self-styled Browncoats, used online forums to organize and try to save the series from being canceled by Fox only three months after its debut. Their efforts included raising money for an ad in ''Variety'' magazine and a postcard writing campaign to
UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that operated from 1995 to 2006. It was originally a joint venture between Chris-Craft Industries (later sold to News Corporation)'s subsidiary, United Television, ...
. While unsuccessful in finding a network that would continue the show, their support led to a release of the series on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
in December 2003. A subsequent fan campaign raised over $14,000 in donations to have a purchased ''Firefly'' DVD set placed aboard 250 U.S. Navy ships by April 2004 for recreational viewing by their crews. These and other continuing fan activities eventually persuaded Universal Studios to produce a feature film, ''Serenity''. (The title of ''Serenity'' was chosen, according to Whedon, because Fox still owned the rights to the name 'Firefly'). Numerous early screenings of rough film cuts were held for existing fans starting in May 2005 as an attempt to create a buzz to increase ticket sales when the final film cut was released widely on September 30, 2005. The film was not as commercially successful as fans had hoped, opening at number two and making only $40 million worldwide during its initial theatrical release. On June 23, 2006, fans organized the first worldwide charity screenings of ''Serenity'' in 47 cities, dubbed as Can't Stop the Serenity or CSTS, an homage to the movie's tagline, "Can't stop the signal". The event raised over $65,000 for Whedon's favorite charity,
Equality Now Equality Now is a non-governmental organization founded in 1992 to advocate for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls. Equality Now works through public policy channels to create a just world for women and girls. Th ...
. In 2007, $106,000 was raised; in 2008, $107,219; and in 2009, $137,331. In July 2006 a
fan-made Fan labor, also called fan works, are the creative activities engaged in by fans, primarily those of various media properties or musical groups. These activities can include creation of written works (fiction, fan fiction and review literature) ...
documentary, '' Done the Impossible'', was released. The documentary tells the story of the fans and how the show has affected them, and features interviews with Whedon and various cast members. Part of the DVD proceeds are donated to
Equality Now Equality Now is a non-governmental organization founded in 1992 to advocate for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls. Equality Now works through public policy channels to create a just world for women and girls. Th ...
.
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
Browncoat
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...
Steven Swanson took the ''Firefly'' and ''Serenity'' DVDs with him on
Space Shuttle Atlantis Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' (Orbiter Vehicle designation: OV‑104) is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. ''Atlantis'' was manufactured by the Rockw ...
's
STS-117 STS-117 (ISS assembly sequence, ISS assembly flight 13A) was a Space Shuttle mission flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis, Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'', launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39, pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center on June ...
mission in June 2007. The DVDs were added to the media collection on the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
as entertainment for the station's crews. A fan-made, not-for-profit, unofficial sequel to ''Serenity'', titled ''Browncoats: Redemption'', premiered at Dragon*Con 2010 on September 4, 2010. According to the film's creator and producer, Whedon gave "his blessing" to the project. The film was sold on DVD and Blu-ray at the film's website, with all proceeds being distributed among five charities. The film was also screened at various science-fiction conventions across the United States, with admission receipts similarly being donated. All sales ended on September 1, 2011, one year after its premiere, with total revenues exceeding $115,000.


Cult status

In 2005, ''
New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organ ...
'' magazine's website held an internet poll to find "The World's Best Space Sci-Fi Ever". ''Firefly'' came in first place, with its cinematic follow-up ''Serenity'' in second. In 2012, ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' listed the show at No. 11 in the "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years", commenting, "as it often does, martyrdom has only enhanced its legend."
Brad Wright Brad Wright (born May 2, 1961) is a Canadian television producer and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of the television series ''Stargate SG-1'' (with Jonathan Glassner), ''Stargate Atlantis'' (with Robert C. Cooper) and '' Star ...
, co-creator of ''
Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrig ...
'' has said that the 200th episode of ''SG-1'' is "a little kiss to ''Serenity'' and ''Firefly'', which was possibly one of the best canceled series in history". In the episode, "Martin Lloyd has come to the S.G.C. targate Commandbecause even though ' Wormhole X-Treme!' was canceled after three episodes, it did so well on DVD they're making a feature ilm. The follow-up film, '' Serenity'', was voted the best science fiction movie of all time in an '' SFX'' magazine poll of 3,000 fans. ''Firefly'' was later ranked #25 on ''TV Guide''s Top Cult Shows Ever. The name for the Google beta app
Google Wave Google Wave, later known as Apache Wave, is a discontinued software framework for Collaborative real-time editor, real-time collaborative online editing. Originally developed by Google and announced on May 28, 2009, it was renamed to ''Apache Wa ...
was inspired by this TV series. In an interview on February 17, 2011, with ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'',
Nathan Fillion Nathan Christopher Fillion (born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian and American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on ''Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on ''Castle''. , he sta ...
joked that: "If I got $300 million from the California Lottery, the first thing I would do is buy the rights to ''Firefly'', make it on my own, and distribute it on the Internet". This quickly gave rise to a fan-run initiative to raising the funds to purchase the rights. On March 7, 2011, the organizers announced the closure of the project due to lack of endorsement from the creators, with $1 million pledged at the time it was shut down. Joss Whedon, Tim Minear, and cast members Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Summer Glau, Adam Baldwin, and Sean Maher reunited at the 2012
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
for a 10th-anniversary panel. Ten thousand people lined up to get into the panel, and the panel ended with the crowd giving the cast and crew a standing ovation. A tenth anniversary special, ''Browncoats Unite'', was shown on the
Science Channel Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, manu ...
on November 11, 2012. The special featured Whedon, Minear, and several of the cast members, in a discussion on the series' history. According to ''
Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...
''s Julian Sanchez, ''Firefly''s cult following "seems to include a disproportionate number of libertarians". The story themes are often cautionary about too-powerful central authority and its capacity to do bad while being considered by the majority as good. The characters each exhibit traits that exemplify core
libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...
values, such as the
right to bear arms The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a legal right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, as well as ...
(Jayne, Zoe), legal prostitution (Inara),
freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
(Book), logic and reasoning (Simon), and anti-conscription (River). Joss Whedon notes this theme, saying "Mal is, if not a Republican, certainly a libertarian, he's certainly a less-government kinda guy. He's the opposite of me in many ways."


Podcasts

''The Signal'' is a ''Firefly'' and ''Serenity''-focused podcast developed by fans of the Joss Whedon property. Hosted by Kari Haley and Les Howard, ''The Signal'' is a fan-driven podcast dedicated to
Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...
's short-lived TV series ''Firefly'' (2002) and its film ''Serenity'' (2005). Initially created as
guerrilla marketing Guerrilla marketing is an Advertising, advertisement strategy in which a company uses surprise and/or unconventional interactions in order to promote a Product (business), product or Service (business), service. It is a type of publicity. The ...
to promote ''Serenity'', the podcast features discussions about the franchise's
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
,
fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...
as
audio dramas Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
, and interviews (e.g. with PJ Haarsma,
Jane Espenson Jane Espenson (born July 14, 1964) is an American television writer and producer. Espenson has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and shared ...
, and Marc Gunn). Haley and Howard described the podcast's purpose as " oingwhatever we can to see that more new ''Firefly'' is created in any format." In early 2006, Mur Lafferty described the show as " PG-rated", about an hour long, and publishing an episode every two weeks. That December, ''The Signal'' released a
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
of
filk music Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to Science fiction fandom, science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-197 ...
that had previously featured on the podcast: ''Songs from the Black''; the album featured music by Luke Ski, Lich King, and Greg Edmonson. In 2006, ''The Signal'' received a People's Choice Podcast Award in the categories of "TV & Film" and "Best Produced"; it received the former again in 2008. ''The Signal'' was awarded the 2007 Parsec Award for "Best Fan Podcast", and in the category of "Best Speculative Fiction Fan or News Podcast (Specific)", it won the 2010 and 2012 Parsecs. Writing for Maximum Fun, Ian Brill praised ''The Signal'' as surprisingly professional with well-produced segments, though he unflatteringly compared Haley and Howard to Whedon's character
Xander Harris Alexander Lavelle Harris is a fictional character created for the action-horror/fantasy television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003). He was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the television series by Nicholas Brend ...
: "They say mildly clever and cutesy things to each other and then sound tremendously satisfied with themselves while saying it."


Awards

''Firefly'' won the following awards: *
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
: '' Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series'', 2003 * Visual Effects Society: ''Best visual effects in a television series'', 2003 (episode "Serenity") *
Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...
: ''Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award, Male'', 2003 (Nathan Fillion) * Saturn Award: ''Saturn Award for Best DVD Release (television)'', 2004 * SyFy Genre Awards: ''Best Series/Television'', 2006 * SyFy Genre Awards: ''Best Actor/Television'' Nathan Fillion, 2006 * SyFy Genre Awards: ''Best Supporting Actor/Television'' Adam Baldwin, 2006 * SyFy Genre Awards: ''Best Special Guest/Television'' Christina Hendricks for "Trash", 2006 * SyFy Genre Awards: ''Best Episode/Television'' "Trash", 2006 The series was also nominated for the following awards: * Visual Effects Society: ''Best compositing in a televised program, music video, or commercial'', 2003 * Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA, "Golden Reel Award": ''Best sound editing in television long form:
sound effect A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. In m ...
s/ foley'', 2003 *
Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...
: '' Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form'', 2003 (episode "Serenity") * 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) * Golden Satellite Award: ''Best DVD Extras'', 2004


Ratings

At the time the series was canceled by Fox, it averaged 4.7 million viewers and ranked 98th in
Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
.


In popular culture

The cancellation of ''Firefly'' is a running gag in the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
sitcom, ''
The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes. The show originally centered on five charact ...
'', which ran from 2007 to 2019. The character
Sheldon Cooper Sheldon Lee Cooper, B.S., M.S., M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D., is a fictional character and one of the protagonists in the 2007–2019 CBS television series ''The Big Bang Theory'' and its 2017–2024 spinoff series ''Young Sheldon'', portrayed by act ...
is a fan of the show. When he and
Leonard Hofstadter Leonard Leakey Hofstadter, Ph.D. is a fictional character portrayed by Johnny Galecki and one of the protagonists in the 2007–2019 CBS sitcom, ''The Big Bang Theory.'' Leonard is an experimental physicist who shares an apartment with his c ...
discuss their roommate agreement, they include a passage in which they dedicate Friday nights to watching ''Firefly'', as Sheldon believes it will last for years (season 3, episode 22). Upon its cancellation, he brands
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
, the owner of
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
, a traitor. During the show's second season, in episode 17 ("The Terminator Decoupling"), Summer Glau appears as herself, encountering Sheldon, Leonard, and their friends on a train to San Francisco. When Raj tries to hit on her, he says that although he is an astrophysicist, she was actually in space during the shooting of ''Firefly''. Glau chides him for believing this, and Raj backtracks, saying, "Those are crazy people!" In season 8, episode 15, Raj and Leonard recognize Nathan Fillion in a café and insist on taking a selfie with him, though he denies being the ''Firefly'' star. On the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
comedy ''
Community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
'', the characters
Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
and Abed are fans of the show. They have an agreement that if one of them dies, the other will stage it to look like a suicide caused by the cancellation of ''Firefly'', in the hopes that it will bring the show back. In the 2003 ''
Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...
'' miniseries/pilot, a ship resembling ''Serenity'' appears in the background of the scene with Laura Roslin (
Mary McDonnell Mary Eileen McDonnell (born April 28, 1952) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She received Academy Awards, Academy Award nominations for her roles as Stands With A Fist in ''Dances With Wolves'' and May-Alice Culhane in ''Pas ...
).David Bassom (2007), ''Battlestar Galactica: the official companion'', p. 148 ''Serenity'' is one of several spaceships inserted as cameos into digital effects scenes by
Zoic Studios Zoic Studios is an American visual effects company based in Culver City, California, specializing in visual effects for feature films, episodic television, commercials, video games, advertising design, and interactive online media, the company ...
, the company responsible for digital effects in both ''Firefly'' and ''Battlestar Galactica''. The television series ''
Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
'', where Fillion plays the lead character
Richard Castle Richard Edgar "Rick" Castle (born Richard Alexander Rodgers) is a fictional character on the ABC crime series ''Castle''. He is portrayed by Nathan Fillion. The name Richard Castle is also used as a pseudonym under which a set of real books ...
, has made ongoing homages to ''Firefly''. Castle has props from ''Firefly'' as decorative items in his home, has dressed up as a "space cowboy" for Halloween ("You wore that five years ago", cracked his daughter), speaks Chinese that he learned from "a TV show eloved", and has made rapid "two-by-two" finger motions while wearing blue surgical gloves. He has been humorously asked if he has ever heard of a spa known as "Serenity", and ''Firefly'' catchphrases such as "shiny", "special hell", and "I was aiming for the head" have been used as punchlines during various dramatic scenes in ''Castle''. He has worked a murder case at a science fiction convention with suspects being the cast of a long-cancelled space opera that only ran for a season, and has had direct and incidental interaction with people portrayed by ''Firefly'' cast members. ''
Con Man A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibi ...
'', a 2015 comedy web series created by Tudyk and co-produced by Fillion, draws on the pair's experiences as cult science fiction actors touring the convention circuit. Though it is not autobiographical, the show's fictional ''Spectrum'' echoes ''Firefly'' and Tudyk's and Fillion's roles reflect their own ''Firefly'' roles. Staite, Torres, Glau, Maher, and Whedon made guest appearances. Maher played himself as a former ''Firefly'' actor.


Media franchise

The popularity of the short-lived series served as the launching point for a
media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...
within the ''Firefly'' universe, including the feature film '' Serenity'', which addresses many plot points left unresolved by the series' cancellation. Additionally, there are two comic-book mini-series, '' Serenity: Those Left Behind'' (3 issues, 104 pages, 2006), '' Serenity: Better Days'' (3 issues, 80 pages, 2008) and a one-shot hardcover '' Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale'' (56 pages, 2010), along with the one-shots ''Serenity: Downtime and The Other Half'' and ''Serenity: Float Out'' in which Whedon explored plot strands he had intended to explore further in the series. The comics are set, in plot terms, between the end of the TV series and the opening of the feature film. The two mini-series were later published in collected form as hardcover and paperback graphic novels. A six-issue series titled ''Serenity: Leaves on the Wind'' began in January 2014 and the series takes place after the events of the film. A six-issue series titled ''Serenity: No Power in the 'Verse'' began in October 2016 and the series is set about 1.5 years after ''Leaves on the Wind''. In July 2018,
Boom! Studios Boom! Studios (stylized as BOOM! Studios), is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher. They are headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The company is a subsidiary of Random House division of Penguin Random House sin ...
announced that they had acquired the comic book and graphic novel publishing license to ''Firefly'' with plans to release new monthly comic book series, limited series, original graphic novels, and more. In July 2014, the release of the video game '' Firefly Online'' was announced that planned to have the cast reprise their roles. Although never officially cancelled, there have been no updates about the game's release since March 2016. In January 2018,
Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cine ...
announced that they would begin publishing original canon ''Firefly'' novels. Nine books have so far been released. In January 2020, Fox's entertainment president Michael Thorn said that a revival series had been considered, but decided that since ''
The Orville ''The Orville'' is an American science fiction comedy drama television series created by Seth MacFarlane, who also stars as the protagonist Ed Mercer, an officer in the Planetary Union's line of exploratory space vessels in the 25th century. It ...
'' was on the air it would not make sense for the network to have two space franchises at the same time.


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * *


External links

*
''Firefly''-''Serenity'' Chinese Pinyinary
English translations of the Chinese words and phrases used in ''Firefly'' and ''Serenity'' {{Authority control 2002 American television series debuts 2002 American television series endings Television series set in the 26th century Television shows adapted into films 2000s American science fiction television series American English-language television shows Fox Broadcasting Company television dramas Libertarian science fiction Saturn Award–winning television series Space adventure television series Space Western television series Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television series created by Joss Whedon Television series set on fictional planets Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television series set in the future Television shows adapted into comics