Firefly: Resurrection?!

I'm not a swooning Joss Whedon fanboy and I absolutely abhor TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (which I desperately wanted to like). That said, Whedon did create another underdog show that started off slow and quickly grew into something special: the 2002 series "Firefly." Described as something of an anti-"Star Trek," the series was the adventures of a rag-tag group of misfits who worked upon a Firefly transport ship named Serenity. "Firefly" was sort of a quirky futuristic sci-fi western dramedy, and Fox really unceremoniously jerked it around (for example, the establishing feature-length pilot episode was amongst the last aired) before canceling it. Two years later, Whedon did the impossible and made the feature film "Serenity," which not only played phenomenally as a stand-alone movie, but it also tied up countless loose ends from the series. The film did respectable business, but it wasn't the hit that the studio hoped for and plans for a follow-up never materialized. But still, there's been nagging, persistent talk of resurrecting the show in some way. (And it's also worth noting that Walmart stores still keep DVDs in stock, which is highly unusual for an older series -- so it must be a helluva seller.)


Although all of the cast/crew have professed their love of the project, I don't think anyone has supported the show more than star Nathan Fillion (aka Captain Mal). In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Fillion made an off-the-cuff remark: "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." Guess what? Fans have decided to take him up on that....


Now, there's definite obstacles in the way. Fillion is currently starring in "Castle" (renewed through 2012), Adam Baldwin is on "Chuck," Morena Baccarin is the villain on "V," Summer Glau is on "The Cape" (though there's little question of that show's imminent cancellation), and (SPOILER) a pair of series regulars were killed off in the movie. So reassembling the cast would be tricky. Pair that with legal hurdles, distribution, etc., and we're facing something that may potentially never happen. But on the other hand, they've already done the impossible once, and fans have been responsible for resurrecting other shows in the past ("Futurama," "Star Trek" spin-offs, "Family Guy," etc.). And Whedon himself had a hit (albeit not a profitable one) with the giddy internet-original film "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," which eventually wound up airing on TV and released on DVD/Blu-Ray. So what if...


A game strategy is still being planned, but go check out Help Nathan Buy Firefly.com for further information (including a FAQ). If it appears feasible that these guys may actually get the show back in production, I know I'll certainly chip in some money and do whatever else I can to help! And it's also worth noting that "Firefly" begins airing March 6 on The Science Channel, with new wrap-ups by "Sci-Fi Science"'s Dr. Michio Kaku, who'll be discussing “theoretical science behind the show’s sci-fi concepts.” Sounds cool!

_________________________

_________________________