Browncoats rejoice: Firefly is returning to basic cable — and Nathan Fillion has something to say about it.
The Science Channel has acquired the rights to the cult-hit and will air the series in its short-lived entirety, plus some new extras. Science Channel will wrap each episode with interstitial segments starring renowned physicist Dr. Michio Kaku, who will discuss the theoretical science behind the show’s sci-fi concepts.
According to Firefly studio 20th Century Fox, this will mark the first time Firefly has aired on a fully distributed basic cable channel since 2008, when it ran on USA Network.
In honor of this occasion, star Nathan Fillion took a brief break from shooting ABC’s Castle today to jump on the phone and answer five Firefly questions — including whether he’d ever reprise the role of Captain Mal again. That interview and more details about Science Channel’s Firefly plans below:
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was the part about playing the character?
NATHAN FILLION: It was my favorite job ever. What wasn’t great about it? I got to wear a low-slung holster. I got to ride horses. I got to have a spaceship. I got to act mean and curmudgeonly. [Creator Joss Whedon] is really good at kicking characters in the nuts so the other characters would have laughs at my expense and that was great too.
If Castle had its series finale tomorrow and Fox said to you and Joss: “We screwed up, let’s try doing Firefly again.” Would you do it?
Yes. Yes. I would examine very closely Fox’s reasoning — I’m a little gun-shy. 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.
What’s the most common thing Firefly fans say to you?
No. 1, “Is there going to be more?” No. 2, “Why was it canceled?”
Why do you think the show has had such an enduring appeal?
It’s a great question. We’re the most story-literate society the world has ever seen. What Joss tends to do is twist story conventions into reality. Whereas the story goes like this, real life goes like this, and that’s what Joss has mastered.
Do you ever watch the show nowadays or is that just weird?
It’s not weird. I haven’t watched it in a long, long time and I would like to revisit it.
Firefly premieres on Science Channel on March 6 at 8 p.m., with the two hour pilot, followed by the first episode at 10 p.m. Following that, Firefly episodes will air every Sunday — and, yes, in their original intended order and upgraded to high definition.
Posted without comment.
EDIT: PLEASE NOT THAT IT IS RERUNS NOT NEW EPISODES.
Last edited by Todeswind on 2011-02-17 09:24pm, edited 2 times in total.
I don't see how. 'Firefly to air' indicates that, well, Firefly is to air, nothing more. Don't get me wrong, I too hoped for them picking up the series again, but the tread title nor the OP said anything but that the series would be back on air again.
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
In that case, I apologize to Stofsk as I never saw the original thread title apparently.
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
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A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------ My LPs
Whoever says "education does not matter" can try ignorance
------------
A decision must be made in the life of every nation at the very moment when the grasp of the enemy is at its throat. Then, it seems that the only way to survive is to use the means of the enemy, to rest survival upon what is expedient, to look the other way. Well, the answer to that is 'survival as what'? A country isn't a rock. It's not an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for. It's what it stands for when standing for something is the most difficult! - Chief Judge Haywood
------------ My LPs
The Weather Channel shows weather disaster movies. It's not all about sticking to your niche, but what will bring in the ratings. And in this case, they're doing themselves well by having wraparounds with real scientists examining the science behind the series. That is an excellent way to expand content without straying too far from your mission statement.
LionElJonson wrote:Well, with Sci-Fi Sifi going down the crapper, someone's going to exploit that niche.
Syfy is all about high-quantity and low-quality. They will take the budget for one really fucking epic flick and make three dozen pieces of shit.
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LionElJonson wrote:Well, with Sci-Fi Sifi going down the crapper, someone's going to exploit that niche.
Syfy is all about high-quantity and low-quality. They will take the budget for one really fucking epic flick and make three dozen pieces of shit.
True, but in the process they've created an opening for anyone who wants to portray science fiction that isn't shit. If all you produce is pieces of shit, then yeah, someone's going to take advantage of the audience that doesn't want to watch your shit.
Am I the only one who couldn't care less? I own the series, everyone I know who's a fan owns the series and anyone interested in it has just rented it. Or watched it online. I suppose this could bring in new viewers, but it's not going to do anything for the series that years of DVD releases haven't. Meh.
"To make an apple pie from scratch you must first invent the universe."
— Carl Sagan
Erik von Nein wrote:Am I the only one who couldn't care less? I own the series, everyone I know who's a fan owns the series and anyone interested in it has just rented it. Or watched it online. I suppose this could bring in new viewers, but it's not going to do anything for the series that years of DVD releases haven't. Meh.
It is, if nothing else, a sign that the broadcast industry at least remembers the thing exists. It probably won't make any difference, but then, most of the stuff talked about in threads here doesn't.
Science Channel will wrap each episode with interstitial segments starring renowned physicist Dr. Michio Kaku, who will discuss the theoretical science behind the show’s sci-fi concepts.
Does anyone have any idea what the "theoretical science" behind Firefly would be ?
I sure as hell don't, but won't it be fun to watch the guys over at that Science channel desperately try to come UP with any?
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
Losonti Tokash wrote:Something about uniting electromagnetism and gravity to remove inertia and give ships a kick in the ass so they go faster with less propellant.
That kind of actually explains Firefly verse ships. They are all living space and cargo areas wrapped around huge engines. No giant propellant tanks are to be seen anywhere. Obviously they figured out some way to move ships fast without requiring half the vessels volume to be propellant.
I have to tell you something everything I wrote above is a lie.
Stofsk wrote:Another one would be the super-system which has dozens of inhabitable/terraformable planets and moons.
I agree, it was a bit jarring when the movie's opening sequence "revealed" that the entire series took place in one incredibly complex solar system.. and the shots of the ship flying away leaving that awesome sparkly trail wasn't FTL.
There was also the fact that the movie ignored a lot of the character development built in the series (Jayne starting to grow a conscience, Mal coming to accept the Tams as part of his crew), but I guess I could accept that the movie needed to be understandable to people who didn't watch the series.
Fucking awesome show, at any rate.
Why was it canceled, again?
"..history has shown the best defense against heavy cavalry are pikemen, so aircraft should mount lances on their noses and fly in tight squares to fend off bombers". - RedImperator
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"It would just be Unicron with pew pew instead of nom nom". - Vendetta, explaining his justified disinterest in the idea of the movie Allspark affecting the Death Star
Interestingly I watched the movie first then got the show on DVD. I found the movie highly entertaining, one of the best scifi experiences of the last decade. So whatever sacrifices to the plot integrity they made for the movie must have payed off for me.
That said after watching the series entirely the jarring points of Serenity do become more obvious.
I have to tell you something everything I wrote above is a lie.
I think the best Firefly could hope for is to become another TOS. The original Star Trek was a short lived series that was kept by alive by a devoted fanbase. Eventually it culminated in the return of Star Trek in 80s.
Perhaps Firefly can achieve the same in 10-20 years. It won't be the same Firefly we know (the actors ageing) but something in the TNG vein.
I have to tell you something everything I wrote above is a lie.
bilateralrope wrote:
Does anyone have any idea what the "theoretical science" behind Firefly would be ?
Theoretically it was the best show on television but in reality hardly anyone watched it.
"If it's true that our species is alone in the universe, then I'd have to say that the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little." -George Carlin (1937-2008)
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