Is it is a good thing there was only one season of Firefly?

[IdiotJed110]

It couldn't have supported itself for ten years, but simply from reading interviews I've heard enough unused ideas to form a great season 2. And obviously there were plenty more ideas. I believe Joss said he had enough story planned for eight seasons, and while he does tend to stretch the truth, that can't be too far off.

 

[walkthruthefire]

firefly is AMAZING!!!! ok, so buffy is slightly better, but i think thats an opinion thing not a quality thing. i love kaylee (anyone with me there?) and wish they had a chance to finish it.

 

[MonsterHunter]

I wanted more seasons , agree that it wasn't Buffy's quality but it was pretty good.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

Generally, the sweet spot is five seasons. After five years, the actors get restless, the writers start running out of ideas, everyone starts to burn out, and looking for the next series becomes the important thing. There are exceptions, of course, but most series are better served with a shorter run.

 

[katmobile]

I'd say five to seven depending on the show but I've lost interest in a few shows around season four - both GOT and True Blood.

 

[Dora]

I dislike Star trek so as Firefly which I thought was just a cross between that and dodge city , I didn't like it . Really peeved that Firefly got a film and not Buffy......Joss's little baby abandon Buffy to make it

 

[one eyed chicklet]

I dislike Star trek so as Firefly which I thought was just a cross between that and dodge city , I didn't like it . Really peeved that Firefly got a film and not Buffy......Joss's little baby abandon Buffy to make it

Buffy had 144 episodes and a movie, Firefly only had one season and was cancelled (due to being aired in the wrong order). I think firefly deserved a movie.

 

[fauxindigo]

you hit the nail on the head OP. People always want more, esp after only 1 great season. 1 t.v. season, 1 cinematic film, Multiple comics... leads to cult status.
Also it didn't have time to decline (not that it necessarily would have), but I would NOT have been happy to see Inara die had Firefly had more than 1 season. I could forgive Joss for killing Kendra to get Faith, Tara to get Dark Willow, Fred to get Illyria... even killing Joyce & Cordelia... but to kill the courtesan/escort from a disease (presumably from being a whore) would have just been cruel and lazy writing- no matter how statistically plausible it may be for such a thing to happen. I wanted Mal & Inara to live happily ever after.

 

[Dora]

Buffy had 144 episodes and a movie, Firefly only had one season and was cancelled (due to being aired in the wrong order). I think firefly deserved a movie.

The film was before the cast of Buffy and was can we say not great
The comics came along ,but I believe this was just Joss milking the Buffy money cow
Some of the things Joss wanted for the 2nd season of Firefly was shall we say was controversial, like the gang rape
How many people watched it ? ....that's probably why it only had one season, production costs etc
Always felt Joss finished with Buffy at the end of S5 after that just a money spinner for him
Buffy needed a film on what happened after S7 it could not have been worse than the firefly film almost equal to the buffy film in lack of greatness

 

[one eyed chicklet]

The film was before the cast of Buffy and was can we say not great
The comics came along ,but I believe this was just Joss milking the Buffy money cow

And it would be if there was a film too...

Some of the things Joss wanted for the 2nd season of Firefly was shall we say was controversial, like the gang rape

Okay but there wasn’t a season 2. Season 1 left on a cliffhanger, Serenity was to give it a suitable end of the series.

How many people watched it ? ....that's probably why it only had one season, production costs etc

Actually it was because the network didn’t want it longer than one season so they got rid of any chance it would have a second season, so they aired it in the wrong order, therefore it didn’t get a chance from the get go.

Always felt Joss finished with Buffy at the end of S5 after that just a money spinner for him

Apparently there was no plan to end with season 5 - I checked. And it’s not like he didn’t get money from the early seasons.

Buffy needed a film on what happened after S7 it could not have been worse than the firefly film almost equal to the buffy film in lack of greatness

Not really, Buffy was finished with Sunnydale and moved on, even if you don’t like the comics, it’s a suitable ending. And also the reason it ended is because SMG was done with Buffy and wanted to move on with her career (as well as the gruelling 16 of work a day and intense training), I’m sure you probably wouldn’t like to see another actress play Buffy. There was literally no need for a film.

 

[katmobile]

The film was before the cast of Buffy and was can we say not great
The comics came along ,but I believe this was just Joss milking the Buffy money cow
Some of the things Joss wanted for the 2nd season of Firefly was shall we say was controversial, like the gang rape
How many people watched it ? ....that's probably why it only had one season, production costs etc
Always felt Joss finished with Buffy at the end of S5 after that just a money spinner for him
Buffy needed a film on what happened after S7 it could not have been worse than the firefly film almost equal to the buffy film in lack of greatness

You do not have a window into Joss's head you're just making a truckload of assumptions. I wish you'd stop thinking you know the motives of the writers when its pretty obvious you're projecting. If you want a discussion PM me.Yeah season seven would have his last on TV but there's at least some stuff in the comics about Frey on he was invested in that.

 

[Dora]

You do not have a window into Joss's head you're just making a truckload of assumptions. I wish you'd stop thinking you know the motives of the writers when its pretty obvious you're projecting. If you want a discussion PM me.Yeah season seven would have his last on TV but there's at least some stuff in the comics about Frey on he was invested in that.

It was plain what was in joss head . it not rocket science , Buffy move stations for more money just that more money ,
Marti noxon takes over Buffy as Showrunner in S6 josh did not because of firefly .S6 a season that was supposed to be more adult with adult problems , noxon openly admits she had a large say in what happen , much more vocal , they tried adult themes ( flooded ) thought it boring and decided to go with the horrid sex which she later admits they went to far
How many episodes did joss write in the last two seasons if I remember correctly 3 and altered Spikes speech in the church to make it Buffy's fault
Sarah has said that joss was never in his office , and if they did have a verbal exchange ( its hard to talk to Joss when he shouted at her ) ( Charisma says she never saw joss on set after spin the bottle )
David fury said that Sarah felt under appreciated by joss , and Joss felt that Sarah did not appreciate him enough( there is a interview where FPJ says that Sarah would not be coming back for S8 because of all the nonsense she has to put up with )
I think these indicate that Whedon had all but finished with Buffy after S5 and his time was taken up with Firefly which you say failed because it was shown out of sequence ,proof ? ./...maybe it was not firefly why he abandon Buffy maybe it was those needy young actresses, employees , fans and friends that ate up his time
Back to topic
I felt firefly was rubbish and that not enough people was watching it hence one season and Serenity movie ( which I own ) is not good at all , maybe its a mental thing knowing/ believing Whedon dumped buffy to work on Firefly

 

[one eyed chicklet]

Buffy move stations for more money just that more money

It was never stated that it was going to end at season 5. Buffy moved stations for more seasons and yes, more money because that's what happens when the show has more seasons.

I think these indicate that Whedon had all but finished with Buffy after S5 and his time was taken up with Firefly which you say failed because it was shown out of sequence ,proof ?

Here is a link to an article written about it. Literally just google it, it will show you hundreds of articles.

I felt firefly was rubbish and that not enough people was watching it hence one season and Serenity movie

Not enough people were watching it because it was aired in the wrong order but still had enough of a following for a movie to tie up loose ends.

Whedon clearly took too much on at once with 3 TV shows, it doesn't mean that any of them were particularly bad though. Season 4 of Angel and 6 & 7 of Buffy are very polarising but all three have some of the best episodes of the shows they were involved in. Although season 6 is a bit grim people do relate to it because of themes like depression and addiction (and lets not forget the gems that are Once more, with feeling, Tabula rasa as well as some of the best opening episodes of the show's run).
I've never seen Firefly, but I know it has a fairly large following (clearly enough to get a movie out of it at the time), I might not like it, but there are a lot of good TV shows that I personally didn't enjoy that a lot of people love like seasons 1-3 of Veronica Mars, I just don't like them, it doesn't mean it is actually bad.

 

[BuffyNvrForgets]

I think it should have gotten at max, 4 seasons. I feel they still had quite a bit of story to tell, and could survive quality wise, as long as they knew where they were going. They definitely should have had a season 2 (the reveals in the movie would have happened at the end of season 2) and then probably a season 3. It could then end at season 3, or go on for a grand finale season 4.

I think a lot of the times, shows dive in quality when they don’t have an actual story to tell, and his don’t know where they are going. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D did this a lot, where they didn’t actually have a real story after a point (I mean, the show was made literally just to bring Coulson back and make fans be quiet) so they ended up doing a bunch of (in my opinion) stupid things like time travel and going to space.

Firefly could have lasted a few good seasons, because between the Tams/the Academy, and the reavers/alliance, they have some strong stories set up just in season 1 alone.

they definitely wouldn’t last 15 seasons though, no way.

 

[Dora]

Mmmm if firefly was not a pile of poo why did no other tv station take up the reins?, Buffy moved stations why not Firefly ,I wonder if cancelling firefly is down to Whedon personality after all it was this that got Angel cancelled
Yes programs get stale and repetitive, but Buffy had started a whole new arch with the world wide triggering of the potentials, new hell mouth etc , I often wonder how more there was to tell and that it is a pity it ended how and when it did

 

[Mr Trick]

Mmmm if firefly was not a pile of poo why did no other tv station take up the reins?, Buffy moved stations why not Firefly ,I wonder if cancelling firefly is down to Whedon personality after all it was this that got Angel cancelled
Yes programs get stale and repetitive, but Buffy had started a whole new arch with the world wide triggering of the potentials, new hell mouth etc , I often wonder how more there was to tell and that it is a pity it ended how and when it did

Its possible. But from what I hear Fox excs were messing about with the show from the off. It sounds more like politics to me. Like they just weren't confident the movie length pilot Whedon shot would be a good selling point for the show (clearly it should have been the first episode), so stuck it later in the season. Don't forget this is still at least 2-3 years before Angel was canned. It could have been moved to the different network, but I guess at the time they went with Fox hoping it would be successful enough to run multiple seasons.

 

[Stake fodder]

Do you think that the fact that there are so few episodes of Firefly is a good or bad thing? Did that keep the quality high, because it didn't have time to decline? Did it contribute to its "cult status" and thus make it spread more by word of mouth?

A bad thing. Sure, it would probably have declined in quality, as many or most shows do. And surely it is more of a cult show, because it was cancelled. And I don't like a couple things I read above about plans for future seasons (gang rape?!).

But there were so many plot threads left unraveled.
- Was Book really a shepherd (Jubal Early hinted he wasn't)? What was his connection to the Alliance?
- Why was Inara, apparently a highly-ranked Companion, traveling around the frontier planets?
- What was the purpose of River's "Academy" time/torture?
- A more minor issue, but did her parents know and agree to what was happening to her?
- Would Simon and Kaylee get together? Would Mal and Inara?
- I would have liked more about Wash, who got the least attention as a character.
- And finally, would Jayne ever make a right decision on his own?

I didn't feel the movie addressed any of these issues at all, or at least to my satisfaction. It made it seem that the Alliance was pursuing River purely because they feared her knowledge of Miranda, which seemed a red herring to me. And I didn't think the Reavers needed to be explained, as they worked much better as a mysterious terror.

So, I wouldn't care if it got driven into the ground, I want more seasons!

 

[Mr Trick]

I'd rather risk a bit of a decline in quality for the more fleshed out characters and extra depth to the Universe. If there was a clear plan for the direction of the show chances are the weak episodes would be very rare.

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

This is an interesting question! I was so mad about Firefly getting cancelled I never really thought to ask myself if that was a good thing.
I think that it could have definitely benefited from another season, assuming Joss had some good ideas for storylines, and it would have been nice to have some closure. Thank god we have the movie.

I don't think it would have affected its cult status. I believe it developed into a cult show not just because it was cancelled, but because it was a series with such a unique premise and because it was by Joss. Getting cancelled so apruptly certainly contributed to its notoriety, but that certainly wasn't the only reason it's a cult show now.

I mean, a lot of shows have been cancelled and didn't become cult favorites.

 

[thetopher]

That might have been because Serenity was used to tie everything together and give the fans the ending they missed from the series. Like a proper series finale it was more of a pay-off to what had come before than something that was going to break new ground. Finale's very rarely have too many surprises.

To clarify I meant lack of surprise to the resolution of 2 principal questions set up by the TV show 1) Why the Alliance was hunting River and 2) The origin of the Reavers. To me the obvious answer to the Alliance's denial of Reavers existence is because...*gasp/yawn* they created them and River knew that they created them.
It was really predictable and I think if this 'surprise' had been drawn out of 1 or 2 seasons it would've sucked.

To me the strengths of Firefly was never the plot/setting but the characters and how they were explored. I would've liked to know more about Anara or Book's respective backgrounds and how they came to be where they were rather than the rather unoriginal stuff that we got from the movie.

The other rumored future plot stuff; the horrific Anara ideas, Wash & Zoe eventually breaking up because 'drama', etc, doesn't convince me that we have a lost masterpiece on our hands, only that Firefly benefits from the 'martyr' effect; cut down in its prime before it had time to disappoint the fans.

Then again, I guess I'm more cynical towards Joss these days.