Cancelled too soon: Firefly

Firefly was a series which could have its main character chase down a futuristic hovercraft while riding a horse. It featured its own legalised version of interplanetary prostitution. Chinese phrases too offensive for broadcast in English rolled off the tongues of its lead actors without them batting an eyelid.

“Quirky” is one word often used to describe Firefly, but “daring” is a better one. It isn’t for everyone, and in retrospect, Firefly was cancelled for some fairly compelling reasons. However, there was one feature of the little show that deserved to be continued: it was utterly fantastic. The eccentrically eclectic series was orchestrated by none other than Joss “Buffy” Whedon, and painted the portrait of an outcast crew of smugglers who found themselves on the wrong side of a solar system-wide civil war. Its science fiction elements give way to a compelling drama between nine very different characters.

Unfortunately, the powers that be saw it differently. The Fox network deemed it their duty to refuse to air Firefly’s double-length pilot episode until the show had already been cancelled. To compound matters, its timeslot was changed several times during its run to the confusion of viewers. Inevitably, this led to poor ratings, and Fox saw fit to pull the plug on Firefly. Last week’s ‘cancelled too soon,’ Arrested Development, managed to get through 53 episodes before cancellation. Fox killed Firefly after just 14: it didn’t even make it to the end of its first season.

This, of course, is where the story gets interesting. From here I could argue that the depth of character development and extensive back-story deserved to have been continued, or that its widespread critical acclaim merited more episodes. These statements, though not untrue, are not the best way to illustrate why Firefly was cancelled too soon.

The best way is to look at the show’s legacy. After any chance of reviving the show had slipped away, the Firefly DVDs saw huge success at retail, and ardent fans (dubbing themselves “browncoats”) clamoured for more. Universal Studios took notice, and the film Serenity came into being. It continued the abruptly ended story of Firefly with the entire original cast reprising their roles, and, crucially, with creator Joss Whedon as both writer and director. Regrettably, the film failed to perform well at the box office, despite near universal critical acclaim.

References to Firefly abound even today, from throwaway lines in The Big Bang Theory, to Google naming a piece of experimental software “Wave,” after the method of communication used in the ill-fated show. Diehard fans still organise annual screenings of Serenity across the globe, from which all proceeds go to charity; the 2010 tally is currently at $129,577. It is now over eight years since the original 14 episodes were produced, but Firefly has managed to live on in the hearts and minds of those who have been captivated by it in that time. There is no doubt that it was cancelled too soon, but that doesn’t dim the glow of this remarkable series.

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