An open letter to Joss Whedon about Firefly

[Kelvin Mace]

Dear Joss:

We miss the damn show. Fox totally screwed you and the cast with the ham-handed way they handled the series.

That said, we thank you and the studio for the movie, but were left rather depressed at the ending.

We want our Firefly back!

Yeah, we know. Impossible.

Well, if I may suggest you consider following up on your wildly popular "Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog" idea, while taking a lesson from Dr. Who fans across the puddle.

Audio stories.

Big Finish Productions in the U.K. got a license from the BBC back in 1999 and has been producing Dr. Who audio dramas ever since. Previously only available on CD by Air Mail (about $30 in the U.S.), Big Finish now allows downloads of their episodes for about $12 a pop.

http://bigfinish.com/Doctor-Who

Big Finish records the stories with the actual actors who played the Doctor and his companions in the past, so the episodes are "authentic" and a delight for Whovians everywhere.

Now, I wouldn't expect an ambitious schedule like Big Finish has from you (A new episode every month), since you are busy on many other projects, but maybe you could manage four a year, or maybe just two, Hell, I would be happy for just a single REAL Firefly story per year. As you know, doing voice work is nowhere as expensive, time consuming, or involved as movie/TV production, so your production costs would be lower. The stories could take place in the time before the movie (admittedly, Doctor Who, being a time lord, has an easier time of this from a continuity stand point), which mean the Wash and the Preacher could be in the stories. Maybe we would finally find out about the Preacher's secret past?

A single two hour audio adventure each year? I'd pay $25 for that!

And who knows, if this worked, maybe you could bring back Buffy too!

So, let me, here and now, plead/beg/cajole you into actually taking a single day to explore this possibility. Maybe you could cut a deal with Big Finish (they are also producing Stargate SG-1 episodes, though not with the original cast) and they could do the heavy work for you.

But we miss our show. Firefly never got the respect it deserved, never got the chance to develop the way it needed to, and this could be its second chance to bloom.

I hope anyone reading this will pass along this open letter, post it to their blog, post it to any relevant news group, discussion board, web site, or email list. Hell, print it up and pass it out at conventions.

We miss the show!

With respect,

David Allen

[Captain Hilts]

1. Naming a movie "Serenity" didn't exactly reach out to a broader base. nt

[Kelvin Mace]

2. No

but a good, if sad movie, none the less... :)

[Deja Q]

21. It tried, which may have been why it failed...

Or failed worse than it should.

A great movie overall, and why 'mass audiences' are seen as superior when loyal niche audiences are going to be around far longer and provide a steadier income... but the "Mr Universe" fluff was embarrassing to sit through, never mind the hollywuss big fight cliche ending... (though some decent dialogue and acting between Mal and the Operative does rise above the obvious corniness of the setting...)

[Fire Walk With Me]

3. As a fan of all of the mangled, abused, and just plain cancelledl jms Babylon 5 projects

I sympathize thoroughly :(

Science Fiction doesn't have it easy, does it.

One thing, though: I didn't like Legend of the Rangers. I did want the (theatrical) B5 movie he's been bandying about for a few years...

Here's hoping that you get your wishes!

[Kelvin Mace]

4. I love B-5

"Landing thruster... landing thruster... Now if I were a landing thruster, where would I be?"

[Deja Q]

22. B5 was originally canned after season 4...

JMS, knowing that, rushed his plot and closed story arcs... never mind ignoring the fate of Bestor...

Anyone who thinks sci-fi can be opened up for mass audiences is no better than PT Barnum on crack. The sci is removed and replaced with excessive 'drama' and 'emo-wank' and anything deemed cerebral or geeky is replaced with "accessible pablum" so the masses can think it's "cool" and then call themselves geeks. (Ironic; only geeks wouldn't watch most of the "sci-fi" made these days.)

Besides, anything creative in general doesn't have it easy. That's why people go for looks and collagen...



Even the tackiest sci-fi is easier to look at... though that's not saying much eiter...

[iamjoy]

5. Can't Forgive Him Serenity (Spoiler Alert)

I didn't really like Serenity. I loved FireFly, but the movie was disappointing.

First of all, it seemed there were some inconsistencies from the series. For one, the way they portrayed River escaping the Alliance - that was different from the way Simon talked about it in the pilot. Then, whatever happened to the Blue Stick guys? All of a sudden there's this other guy with an impalement fettish.

What I can't forgive though, is them killing off Wash. It was bad enough killing Shep, but they always kill off the old guy, so it wasn't as much of a jolt. Killing Wash was just wrong.

And it really kind of makes any hope of a good sequel difficult...

[WriteDown]

8. Disagree....

The movies was great!!! Perfect ending to the series. I can't see them making a sequel.

[Political Heretic]

14. I disagree as well. (also spoilers)

One of the things I appreciated most about the movie is that it wasn't a stereotypical cut-and-past sci-fi. It was a serious blow, and shock when Walsh was killed. It's a loss that we fans really felt. But it was that feeling and that intensity that actually made the movie that much more meaningful to me. The fact that the movie was not all happy-parie-skipping where you know everyone is going to be OK at the end made the movie an edge-of-my-seat experience. In the final battle, things were looking extremely grim and because of the story line I was geuninely unsure if anyone was going to make it out alive.

When they did, it made the whole journey rewarding and more captivating. It was incredibly sad to see both Walsh and Book go - I loved them both. But I think it made for an extremely great story.

As for the inconsistencies - meh... he said from the beginning that he was going to have to change a few things in order to tell a movie story and give new-comers a short enough backstory to get the movie.

[JHB]

6. Shiney! But I think...

...it's going to be decided along the lines of: Will this actually be worthit and revive (and expand) interest in the show? Or will it be a distraction from (insert Next Big Project)?

[Kelvin Mace]

16. I think it would help keep the franchise alive

1-4 new stories a year would keep the home fire burning. Knocking of a two hour show takes about a week in the studio for the cast, then 1-3 in post.

Wouldn't interfere with anyone's projects.

[ThatPoetGuy]

7. He has a couple of other projects....

Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, a musical series on the internet:
http://drhorrible.com/

Dollhouse, a new TV show:
http://www.dollverse.com/

[electricmonk]

19. Dr Horrible was great

Just finished watching the last installment. I won't say anything about it to avoid any spoilers but it's definitely a Joss Whedon story. I laughed, I cried, I sang along. Well not really that would be goofy and would scare my cat but I can't wait for the dvd release with the extras.

"ONE WEEK ONLY! AN INTERNET MINISERIES EVENT!

"Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog" will be streamed, LIVE (that part’s not true), FREE (sadly, that part is) right on Drhorrible.com, in mid-July. Specifically:

ACT ONE (Wheee!) will go up Tuesday July 15th.

ACT TWO (OMG!) will go up Thursday July 17th.

ACT THREE (Denouement!) will go up Saturday July 19th.

All acts will stay up until midnight Sunday July 20th. Then they will vanish into the night, like a phantom (but not THE Phantom – that’s still playing. Like, everywhere.) "
http://www.drhorrible.com/plan.html

[Peace Patriot]

9. GREAT sf tv! One of the all-time best! So totally improbable, yet so...what is it?

It's really hard to say "believable," cuz that just isn't it. Was there ever an sf show that tried so little to be "believable," yet, in its very absurdity, makes so much sense?

...and is also a hilarious spoof on every sf and every cowboy show that went before it? ...and convinces you that the spoof is reality? ...and endears you so to the characters in all their spoofiness?

The movie was great, too--an entirely grass roots-driven production!

I hope it is revived in some form!

[halobeam]

10. All his works.... are tremendous!!

I have three series.. btvs, angel and firefly. I haven't re watched any since their original airing, but am waiting for a perfect time, to "travel" back! LOL

Saying he's gifted doesn't even give him justice.. The man can just SPILL his subconscious right onto the screen.. incredible talent.

[Birdiesmom]

11. Name *any* other series that got you emotionally attached to *nine* characters...

...and it hurt when any one of them died. Maybe the Shepherd was old, but it was a kick in the gut when we lost him, too. But yeah, Wash did hurt more.

I do want Firefly back. Even the one-shot two-book comic book series they put out sold like it was gold -- it was a tie-in covering the time between the series and the movie, and explained why the Shepherd and Inarra were not on board the ship at the beginning of the movie Serenity. I think there's another limited comic book series running right now, but I missed the second issue, dammit.

I'd love audio stories. Or novels. Or just about anything Joss could do with the cast. They were sterling.

[Political Heretic]

13. Battlestar Galactica. Thirty-Something (OMG - GARY DIED!!!!)

[Kelvin Mace]

17. The Doctor Who dramas are great

and they have a very good pricing structure. The shows come in four episodes. The first is $0.99, then the remaning three are $11.99 for the set. You can spend a buck, see if you like the story, then buy it if you do.

[Political Heretic]

12. Shiney!! An exceptionally good show, reguardless of one's normal appreciation for sci-fi.

It was incredibly well done, exceptionally well-written, and very unique. I loved the show, and the movie. I heard rumors that another movie was possible, but given the direction of the last movie, it seems that a resurrection of the series would at least look a lot different than it did when the show began.

Also, after years of pleading it seems that the answer is just going to be - no. :(

[Kelvin Mace]

18. This is what would make an audio series

cool.

The episodes can take place before the movie. There are enough gaps in the story line.

[Cheap_Trick]

15. Both editions of "Serenity" have sold extremely well on DVD

And there has been talk of a direct to DVD feature. Nothing much lately. And the plan was that it would be set between the series and the movie so ALL cast would be in it.

There's also plans for some novels, but haven't heard much more about them either. The comics have been selling well, so there are definitely more mini-series planned.

[Puglover]

20. Firefly was genius.

Absolutely incredible ensemble acting. I miss it very much. I have the whole series plus the movie on my Ipod. I watch them all the time.

[Deja Q]

23. Have you ever seen "Blake's 7"?

(BBC, 1978-1981). Some episodes of 'Firefly' and a lot of 'Serenity' pays homage to that series... both have their good points...

Though not so much as to call it a rip-off by ANY measure; 'Firefly' one of those few shows that knows how to properly update a concept and put it to good use, without spitting on what it borrows, and adding additional depth...

[Puglover]

24. Oh yea? Thanks I didn't know that.

I'll be sure to check it out.