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Firefly Coming to DVD
Kaypro writes "According to the scoop over at Ain't it Cool, it seems that Fox has decided that there's not enough viewers to keep the Firefly series on the air, but somehow there's enough fans to make money off DVD sales. Go figure. Included in the set will be the entire season plus unaired episodes and the original pilot in full 16:9 format. Extras I assume are included as well. No release date has been set as of yet." The missing episodes will be nice. In order will be nice. Such a good show. The last couple of episodes were just awesome.
I give FOX a thumbs up for this. I mean they could have release Joe Millionaire on dvd....
I live in a backwater communist country (read Sweden), so I haven't had the chance to see it yet. We're usually a year or two behind everyone else. It's quite annoying actually, since you usually manage to spoil half of the episodes just by reading stuff on the net.
Anyone with a well-paid job in the states who want to switch lives with a law-student in Stockholm? I have a cute girl-friend that would be included. Anyone?
It's apparently cost effective to release them for series that weren't on the air long and which will therefore be difficult to find even in syndication (which has traditionally at least demanded that shows be on the air for three years or so to sell). The other short-lived Fox show I'd like to see come out on DVD is Action.
Fox didn't handle Firefly particularly well but I'm sort of doubtful that was the reason for its demise at the end of the day. I sort of enjoyed it and found the characters generally appealing, but the whole literal Western in space thing took a REALLY massive suspension of disbelief. The whole economic system the show portrayed just didn't make sense (e.g. paying for an interstellar trip by hauling some cattle around). Etc. And it was reputedly a very expensive show to make.
Stop and think about it for a second.
Cost to produce new TV shows and air them? Lots
Cost to release existing shows on a cheap meduim? Not a lot.
It's very simple.
"...it seems that Fox has decided that there's not enough viewers to keep the Firefly series on the air, but somehow there's enough fans to make money off DVD sales. Go figure."
I'm going to be uncharacteristically non-cynical for a moment, and suggest an alternate theory. Perhaps Fox will see how many DVD sets are sold, and if sales are surprisingly high, continue the series.
TV production houses now undoubtedly see DVD sales as a huge revenue earner, most likely beginning to rival their traditional advertising and subscription income. Now, even if the series doesn't cover costs while being broadcast, the money from DVD sales could potentially more than make up for that. In that scenario, a series like FireFly would have a huge chance at success - but it would all depend on how much the fanbase truly does value the show.
The future of TV could become little more than DVD advertising, with the episodes shown on the air little more than fodder to lure people in. DVD sets then become the real product, and are sold riddled with bonuses, extra scenes, and eventually, as in this case, extra episodes.
So, maybe Fox will think there's enough viewers - if you cough up for the DVDs.
(Then again, what do I know? I've never watched FireFly, I have no experience with American cable TV at all! Armchair analysis is fun!)