Faded Boxers

When regulars on some of the message boards I frequent started drooling all over the trailer of a movie called Serenity, I started to feel a little left out.

Curiosity got the better of me so decided to see what all the fuss is about. Unfortunately, when I checked out the trailer I was underwhelmed. It wasn’t a bad looking trailer, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure why it deserved the fanboi reaction it was getting.

I gave a mental shrug and decided to chalk it off as another thing that I was never gonna get—like how nobody has killed Michael Bay yet.

Still, there’s something to be said about geek culture and how it has never led me astray before. So at the very least, I was intrigued.

With a little digging around, I found out that Serenity was the big screen continuation of the critically-acclaimed, yet short-lived cult TV show Firefly. Apparently, it got cancelled despite a very loyal following because it didn’t get the support from its network that it should have gotten.

FOX—home of doomed TV shows like Arrested Development, Futurama, and Family Guy—did not need another show they could lose money over. As it is, American Idol was probably the only show they were making money out of since The Simpsons has been steadily losing steam; and the glory that once surrounded The X-Files is nothing more than a distant memory.

So when they got Joss Whedon (of Buffy, and Angel fame) to create a new show for them, it was only natural for the network to expect high ratings. Apparently high expectations doesn’t necessarily translate to faith.

When Joss Whedon delivered the 2-hour pilot episode Serenity, the network execs got nervous because they were expecting a sci-fi series complete with the action sequences that the genre is known for. What they got instead was a slow moving episode which took its time in introducing the 9 main characters and their corresponding back stories.

Corporate mentality being what it is, the network put pressure on Whedon and crew to write and produce another episode which would eventually serve as the pilot episode that the suits wanted. They were given a weekend to write the new episode which would eventually become The Train Job. While the episode was by no means sub par, it didn’t make a lot of sense for most of the people who tuned in to see what the show was all about.

While maintaining a loyal following, the show was never able to get the expected ratings. Fox never aired the episodes in order, therefore confusing those who were following the show, while alienating any potential fan. On December 2002, just two months after it started airing, it was cancelled by the network. Only 11 episodes saw the light of day with 3 episodes left unaired.

When I finally got my DSL connection, the first thing I did was to download the whole series (I don’t have enough money to buy the DVD yet. Sue me–or not, it’s up to you) to see if it lives up to everything it’s known for.

So now I’ve watched the whole series from beginning to end. What do I think about it? Fan-fucking-tastic. Never before had a TV show made me care about so many characters. The closest TV experience I can compare this with was when I was heavily into Neon Genesis Evangelion. But my Firefly experience pushed that in second place because I had full knowledge of what would happen to the show while I was watching the series; thereby making it a much more emotional experience.

Although I was skeptical at first (critical and commercial success notwithstanding, Buffy and Angel are two shows that I can never get in to), I was getting more addicted to the series with each episode. Whedon weaves a story infused with the right amount of intelligence, emotional depth, humor, and campiness that just works for me. By the time I was watching the final episode Objects in Space, I was silently cursing those executives at FOX for killing what could have been one of the greatest shows in existence.

Anime fans get an added treat as we get to point out similarities and heavy influences (intended or otherwise) that Cowboy Bebop, and Trigun had on the series.

I hope the network execs realize that had they given Whedon full creative control, then things could have turned out differently. I’ve heard of people who caught the series during its original run attest to the amount of effort needed to stay interested when the events were not shown in order. These same people have noticed a world of difference after seeing the show again on DVD, in the order that its creator has intended. No wonder the DVD boxed set has been on Amazon’s best seller list despite the show’s less than stellar run.

I now understand all the fanboi adulation usually reserved for true genius. Because that’s exactly what the show is; true genius.

Now, Whedon along with the crew of Serenity are embarking to face a whole new challenge in another venue. Fans are hoping that if the movie does well, it could result in a couple of sequels that could resolve a lot of the issues raised in the series. Alan Tudyk mentioned in an interview that Universal Pictures has signed a three picture deal with Joss Whedon. Fans are hoping that apart from a potential movie trilogy, a resurrection of the series may very well be a possibility. At the very least, the strong DVD sales could get some people to thinking.

Still, I can’t help but wonder if anybody who has never seen the series would have the same reaction to the trailer as me. Am I just an isolated case or an accurate indication of how the general public would receive the movie? I sincerely hope that it’s not the latter. I’m pretty sure that the fans will get behind the movie with everything they have, but only time will tell if it’s enough.