Firefly Swatted by Networks

Posted on January 17, 2003

Joss Whedon's innovative and critically well-received series Firefly has been turned down by ABC, CBS, NBC, UPN and the SCI FI Channel, according to Christopher Buchanan, president of Joss Whedon's production company, Mutant Enemy. With production costs of around $2 million per episode, the show is finding it difficult to find a new home mid-season, although reportedly, Whedon hasn't yet given up finding a home for the series.

The SF/Western drama originated by Joss Whedon, the talented creator of the hit television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, was never really given a chance by Fox. First, Fox brass decided that the two hour season premiere "didn't have enough action," and so never aired it until the end of the first season, which made for some continuity problems. I'm not sure what the Fox brass were smoking; if there were any more action in the exciting and well-written two hour premiere, it would have been yanked off the air by network censors. The show drew decent ratings for the dreaded Friday night timeslot, especially given the total lack of promotion for the series. Given a little support, it easily could have grown into its own. The Nielsen Galaxy Report for 12/16/02 - 12/22/02 showed Firefly as the fourth most popular SF show, pulling a 2.7 HHR Rating. (The HHR, or household rating, is the average number of households that watched a specific show expressed as a percentage of all television households.)

Fan support has been overwhelming. The FireflySupport website (no longer available) was launched by loyal followers of the show, who purchased a full-page ad in Variety, and has been engaged in an active letter-writing campaign urging network execs to pick up the show. But after the latest rounds of pitches to other networks were unsuccessful, even diehard fans are losing hope for a last-minute resurection of the show.

With excellent writing, well-rounded characterization, exciting action and some excellent CGI work, Firefly deserves to be picked up and promoted properly. This is the kind of unique and quality programming that we need more of. With the loyal fan base, it's clear that this could be a money maker, given a decent time slot and a competent publicity campaign. I know I'd tune in.