ôSerenityö to be supported by B5 fans?

[rallytbk]

Yesterday (27 September 2005) I called in sick from work and got to watch the Firefly marathon on the Sci Fi channelà Now, I have seen a few episodes of Firefly when it was being broadcasted back in 2002, but with Babylon 5, Space: Above and Beyond, Voyager and Deep Space Nine playing at the same time, this little known show was obviously missed, because there where just too many shows on TV at the time.

Fast forward to 2005 and ironically Network television got rid of all Sci Fi shows and opted for reality shows. Why? I donÆt know (maybe I will ask Justin, lol).

Thanks to the fans and Universal ôFireflyö has a chance at redemption. The show was really good and with the new movie coming out soon this may spin off a resurrection similar to that of the ôFamily Guyö.

I do plan on watching this movie to show continued support for a show loved by their fans and to show network executives (the power that be) that there is more to a show than just itÆs NielsenÆs ratings. This show and the ôFamily Guyö showed that their rating system sucks, DVD sales showed them that.

For now, I am a little jealous that this didnÆt happen with Babylon 5: The Memory of Shadows. What can I say? Only wishful thinking and some action would get something going for anything Babylon 5 related.

So for us, we have to support and look at the success of ôSerenityö. Hope itÆs success help bring a Babylon 5 movie the way JMS and the fans wants it and not have it corrupted by suits too interested in fast money to invest in a great franchise.

I for one am tired of the Tom Cruise and Will Farrell movies... Any way, what are you thoughs on the subject.

<Reply requested>

[Spoo Junky]

I'll be seeing Serenity when it comes out. I watched the shows a few weekends ago and they were okay. If it helps to make a Babylon 5 movie someday, I'll be there!

I'm sure They'll get to B5 eventually. They've worked their way up to the late '70s and early 80's with Dukes of Hazzard and Charlies Angels. Hopefully we won't have to sit through Growing Pains, Golden Girls or Kate & Allie movies first - that would be excruciating.

Just a few more "ABCD... - The Movie" until they get to mid-1990's and hopefully B5. Of course, B5 will be far superior to most of those other movies, if we have anything to say about it

[Jan]

Serenity is one of the few movies I'll brave the opening weekend crowds for. Partly because I enjoyed the show and want to see it have a new lease on life and partly because I have every intention of writing to WB and pointing out that there's this really cool, successful SF movie, based on a TV show, with no 'name', 'movie' actors from another studio and...hey, WB, you've got a show that'd fit that recipe really well...it's called Babylon 5.

So yeah, I'm supporting it.

Jan

[WorkerCaste]

I've seen it!
I'm going again come Friday!
I may even go yet again the following week!

I don't usually see movies more than once at the theatres. About once every two years or so something comes along that I want to see more than once on the big screen. This is one of those. I found it highly entertaining. I don't know if its success might help other TV to Movie projects, and if it does, that's fine, but I would recommend this movie to any SF fan on its own merits. Even in the reviews, the most common "negatives" are accessibillity to non-fans and that to some reviewers it feels more like an extended TV episode rather than a feature film.

As far as accessibilty to non-fans goes, when I saw one of the advanced screenings we had two people in our group that had never seen an episiode. They both loved it and plan on going to see it again. Anecdotal, I know, but still... If someone hasn't seen Firefly, I wouldn't hesitate to tell them to go see "Serenity" anyways. They might miss some fine points and in jokes, but the majority of the movie doesn't really need all the back deatil, IMO.

On the other issue, I didn't feel that way, myself, but YMMV. The most TV-like thing I found in the movie was the size of the main cast. Larger casts help TV, but you don't see them as often in movies because it's so hard to give each character enough time. What many critics seem to foget is that Joss Whedon (creator/writer/director) has written for successful movies before. He was a script doctor for many years.

For what it's worth, "Serenity" has my recommendation.

[Laiden]

I'm going but for more or less the same reasons as Spoo Junky. I thought the concept of the story was intriguing, but the writing and acting wasnt all to worth while to watch. When I have been watching the show on fridays, I usually have the show muted till it looks like an important part then I pause my music and listen to what they have to say

this movie looks signifigantly better than the show's quality and if it helps obtaining the goal of a B5 movie, I'm there

[Dr Maturin]

I don't expect Serenity to do spectacular numbers at the box office, but remember, in this day and age DVD sales are as important a factor as box office take is in determining whether or not a movie deserves a sequel, or in this case, a renewed series.

That said, if Firefly does return to the boob tube, I say put it on F/X. Forget Fox, forget Sci-Fi. They can use four-letter words and use more realistic violence on F/X. Well, they could on Sci-Fi, too, but Sci-Fi are wusses.

It's gonna be hard to find time to see the movie this weekend what with the big Bikes, Blues and BBQ festival going on.

[DGTWoodward]

Yesterday (27 September 2005)
So for us, we have to support and look at the success of ôSerenityö. Hope itÆs success help bring a Babylon 5 movie the way JMS and the fans wants it and not have it corrupted by suits too interested in fast money to invest in a great franchise.

I for one am tired of the Tom Cruise and Will Farrell movies... Any way, what are you thoughs on the subject.

<Reply requested>

I am with you on that. It certainly looks very good from the trails that i have seen. Let's see if WB start to see a trend - but don't hold you breath!

As for the midget, his movies are all designed JUST to make him look good, but why? He has no discernible acting talent - just that schnozel filling up the screen. As for Will Farrell...why is he even famous? I'd rather get hit by a truck carrying dog-shit - driven by an axe murderer that had just wiped out my whole family and pets. Or something like that....

[SpooRancher]

I'll be there this weekend! A few times, maybe! And my wife is hooked, too, thanks to me buying the DVD's a few months back.

I can't wait to see Inara and Kayle 20 feet tall.

[vacantlook]

I'll be going to see it this weekend. My best friend is taking me for my birthday. My mom and I'll probably also go see it next week since my mom also enjoys Firefly, particularly Jayne. So that's at least twice I'll see it.

[jahkneebee]

I'll be going or not, depending on whether they show it here. The last opening I wanted to see was Hitchhiker, and it never even showed on my little island.

I'll be buying the DVD regardless, so eventually.....

Who is Will Farrell, anyway?

<No Reply Requested>

[rallytbk]

I do plan on watching this movie to show continued support for a show loved by their fans and to show network executives (the power that be) that there is more to a show than just itÆs NielsenÆs ratings. This show and the ôFamily Guyö showed that their rating system sucks, DVD sales showed them that.

This movie production should open doors for other worthwhile projects in the future... We all know that movies are catered to the lowest common denominator; anything to change that perception would greatly improve our viewing experience. While my disappointments are recently too many to mention in this post I am going to state that I am tired of going to the movies, paying good money for a movie I thought would challenge my wit and senses (action with a plot) and dealing with kids too stupid to understand anything note worthy to explain action sequences.

So with this little step, I hope this opens doors for better productions.

[WorkerCaste]

I'm going but for more or less the same reasons as Spoo Junky. I thought the concept of the story was intriguing, but the writing and acting wasnt all to worth while to watch.

Actually, I really liked the writing and the acting. The science wasn't always stellar, so to speak, but I thought the dialog was fast paced and witty. I liked the mix of Wild West, Old England, Chinese and invented dialog. Thought it had a fun feel to it. A couple of the stories were cliches or a bit over the top, but that's hardly uncommon for the first few weeks of a series. I also really liked the character depth and development and thought the actors delivered on it. I thought the actors playing the Doctor and the Companion were probably the weakest, but then again, they only had the roles for half a season. There was improvment in that time and I think they would have grown stronger in their portrayals.

[Laiden]

Is it safe to say that when you make a new show, and you film the first episode or "pilot" for the series, then the networks say "no" and you end up placing that episode somewhere else and have to film a different episode in its place . . . is it safe to say that is a bonafied Cancellation?

Ok, maybe not.

But with Crusade, thats what JMS had to do, and same with Firefly, if you read on it, the pilot episode is actuall the last 2 episodes they aired wasnt it? just a funny conincidence.

[WorkerCaste]

Is it safe to say that when you make a new show, and you film the first episode or "pilot" for the series, then the networks say "no" and you end up placing that episode somewhere else and have to film a different episode in its place . . . is it safe to say that is a bonafied Cancellation?

Ok, maybe not.

But with Crusade, thats what JMS had to do, and same with Firefly, if you read on it, the pilot episode is actuall the last 2 episodes they aired wasnt it? just a funny conincidence.

Interestingly enough, Star Trek TOS began life with two pilots, too. The network thought the first was too cereberal. In that case, the first one was pretty much trashed and a whole new one with a much changed cast was created. The original pilot did wind up being used, though. It was the historical view in "The Menagerie." Any other SF out there that had two pilots?

BTW, with Firefly, the PTB felt that it wasn't action oriented enough, but they couldn't scrap a two hour show. They asked Whedon and crew to create a new pilot and pretty much gave them a weekend to come up with the script. Never understodd why they felt they should hold the original pilot until the end of the broadcast run. Just another network decision that made no sense.

[Dr Maturin]

I just finished the second season of The Shield. They did something interesting with an episode called "Co-Pilot." It basically told the story of the events leading up to the pilot.

Now, if TNT didn't like JMS's Crusade pilot because it didn't "introduce the characters," they could have had him do something like this later on without ruining his "en media res" method.