Firefly Canon To Expand With Series of Original Books (ew.com)

More Firefly stories are on the way. Entertainment Weekly: EW can exclusively report that Titan Books and Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products have teamed up to publish an original range of new fiction tying in to Joss Whedon's beloved but short-lived TV series Firefly. The books will be official titles within the Firefly canon, with Whedon serving as consulting editor. The first book is due in the fall. Starring Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, and Alan Tudyk, the western-tinged space opera ran from 2002 to 2003 on Fox. Exploring weighty moral and ethical questions, Firefly centered on a collection of characters living on the fringes of society, joined together in the pioneer culture of their star system in the wake of a civil war. It lasted just 14 episodes, but in the decade and a half since it went off the air has amassed a significant cult following.

Comments

Bronies too

[goombah99]

I hear that to expand the readership they will have the horse/western aspect fold in bronies.

Really, I love firefly but I love it as it is.

Re:Bronies too

[uCallHimDrJ0NES]

Whatever the new authors want to do. Canonicity is something fans use to make themselves mad and start fights. It's a fun time for some, and an alternately funny or sad thing to watch. Look at what's happened to Star Wars fan dialogue because of notions of canonicity interacting with personality worship. Bronies welcome, anti-bronies welcome too, is what I say. Whatever the author wants to do, as long as characters are true to their natures, it should all work out.

Re:Bronies too

[elrous0]

Alternatively, you can just accept that the show ended, treasure the one season we got, and console yourself with the fact that it could have ended up just meandering for several seasons past its prime.

Ask yourself this. Would you have lamented The Simpsons getting cancelled in 1998, if you had known then what you know now?

Either way, comic books, novels, videogames, etc. are no substitute for the real thing. Just let it go, man.

Re:Bronies too

[trabby]

Simpsons cancelled in 1998? That would have been a blessing.

Stopping after the first 8 or 9 seasons would have been just fine with me.

https://deadhomersociety.com/z...

Will it become over saturated like ST/SW/XF?

[mykepredko]

If you're an aspiring Sci-Fi writer, I think the basic first step has become to write a Star Trek/Star Wars as well as (with less numerous) X-Files "canons".

The early books in these were generally pretty readable by pretty good writers but they've proliferated beyond all belief, basically becoming Harlequin Romances for Nerds. Most (used) book stores I go to now have sections devoted to these titles and they're crowding out original Sci-Fi.

I liked the characters and setting of Firefly, but the TV episodes' stories never really grabbed me. There are a few that are memorable but most felt pretty pedestrian to me - maybe a few good books would help move the series forwards.

Re:Will it become over saturated like ST/SW/XF?

[jwhyche]

The early books in these were generally pretty readable by pretty good writers but they've proliferated beyond all belief, basically becoming Harlequin Romances for Nerds. Most (used) book stores I go to now have sections devoted to these titles and they're crowding out original Sci-Fi.

This is the exact reason I stopped reading Star Trek books. The early books where actually very good. Even the weak ones where readable. Some where even fantastic, Yesterday's Son comes to mind. They where not even afraid to take risk.

Then they took a nose dive sometime in the '90 with hack writers like Michael Jan Friedman and plots just didn't make any sense. Even for Star Trek. I was reading the book Dyson Sphere and the plot go so stupid I tossed in the trash halfway through it and didn't read another Star Trek book for 10 years.

I picked up one at the grocery store because the back looked interesting. My mistake. Instead of all the books containing complete individual stories like the episodes. Now they all tie into arcs and if you want to know what is going on in this book, you have to read these book. Fuck that.

Re:Will it become over saturated like ST/SW/XF?

[novakyu]

Um, the books aren't canon. You heretic.

Sad memories

[duke_cheetah2003]

It's painful to see this brought up. Firefly was an amazing series that was cut short. So much time and effort was put into probably one of the best Sci-Fi series we've seen in a good while, and it was given an early unwarranted death and a crappy movie to appease fans.

For me? Nothing short of a reboot of the series will satisfy. Like many modern humans, reading books isn't something I'm terribly keen on doing.

So yeah, if they want to bring this back, do a deal with Netflix or some similar entity. Fuck books. Recast everything, start back from the beginning and hopefully give us many pleasing seasons of Sci-Fi drama!

Re:Sad memories

[Baron_Yam]

>Firefly was an amazing series that was cut short.

In its short run, it had a couple of fairly weak episodes that didn't bode well for a long run. As awesome as the good bits were, I think we're suffering from the effects of advice they were forced to follow: "Always leave them wanting more".

>Nothing short of a reboot of the series will satisfy.

Too soon. I know I remember the original well enough that I would be disappointed no matter what they did. I'd rather somebody just come up with a vaguely similar premise and slap a different name on it, with 'inspired by Firefly' in the closing credits or something.

Re:Sad memories

[PCM2]

Like many modern humans, reading books isn't something I'm terribly keen on doing.

Jesus Christ, is that what passes for a "nerd" today? I'm glad I don't know you, dude.

Re:Sad memories

[Anonymous Coward]

>Firefly was an amazing series that was cut short.

In its short run, it had a couple of fairly weak episodes that didn't bode well for a long run. As awesome as the good bits were, I think we're suffering from the effects of advice they were forced to follow: "Always leave them wanting more".

It was, in fact, a silly premise that took such great delight in being silly that it was a hell of a lot of fun. It was a western set in space, and they didn't even try to pretend it was anything else but-- in one case, they have a spaceship making a train robbery (yow-- they have spaceships in this universe-- why in the world are they transporting a valuable medicine by train??)

That sillyness would wear off pretty quickly-- what makes Firefly delightful precisely is because it only had one season.

The part about "uh, nothing in here makes any bit of sense" works... for one season. Uh, a high price prostitute that has her base on, basically, a tramp freighter, that might be going of to anywhere at any time, so that her high-price customers don't even know what planet she will be on? What's that about? Oh, it's about the fact that the western has a stereotype prostitute with a heart of gold, of course.

Re:Sad memories

[bigdavex]

I loved the show. A reboot would annoy me. Anything that borrows from the original show's ideas would be better without the baggage of expectations.

Imagine, instead of the original Firefly, Joss Whedon made the Han Solo movie. Would it be better because of the Star Wars franchise? I don't think so.

Re:Sad memories

[jwhyche]

Jesus Christ, is that what passes for a "nerd" today? I'm glad I don't know you, dude.

He isn't. I don't know how that got modded up to +4 ether.

Everyone know one of the true signs of nerddom is the love to read, with scifi and fantasy at the top. I don't know one true nerd that doesn't have a well stock library, physical or virtual. One of the reasons I got my android tablet was so I could have all my favorite books with me at all times, and have access to an infinite supply at the touch of a button.

I deny his nerddom.

Re:Sad memories

[Kjella]

Well it depends on whether it's a book turned series/movie or series/movie turned book. A few I've done both, like LotR or Fire & Ice. But as far I as know/care, something like Star Trek has always been TV. If there's spin-off books of James T. Kirk or Jean-Luc Picard I don't really care. And some series like the Sword of Shannara the series is to me a completely different beast. I only saw Firefly as a TV series... to me, that's my canon. So if there are follow-up books... meh.

Re:Sad memories

[duke_cheetah2003]

Everyone know one of the true signs of nerddom is the love to read, with scifi and fantasy at the top. I don't know one true nerd that doesn't have a well stock library, physical or virtual. One of the reasons I got my android tablet was so I could have all my favorite books with me at all times, and have access to an infinite supply at the touch of a button.

Oh I love to read, just not books. I just... I just would rather read my screen or play video games, or do something at my computer, rather than sit down with a dead tree. I enjoy books, I like to listen to audio books while gaming. Not that I really need to justify my existence to you or anyone else. I'm fine not being a 'nerd', I'm just a computer guru whom doesn't really like to sit with a book. I think labels are for fools anyway. I'm just a disgruntled human, nothing more or less.

Re:Sad memories

[jouassou]

I can relate to what he's saying. At work, I spend all day working with text in some form or another: reading and writing scientific papers, simulation code, email correspondence, etc. That's usually 10-12 hours per day working with different kinds of text. When I get home, I'm too exhausted to read anything else for fun, regardless of whether it's prose or just a newspaper. I do however love to sit down and chill with a good sci-fi/fantasy series on the evenings.

Re:Sad memories

[denzacar]

Try audio books.

Re:Sad memories

[jwhyche]

I find your explanation to be acceptable, and I retract my denial of your nerd hood. :)

I don't do the dead tree thing any more ether. I do all my reading on a tablet or screen too. Audio books are good too. I find that more people are turning to them too.

Re:Sad memories

[Anonymous Coward]

In its short run, it had a couple of fairly weak episodes that didn't bode well for a long run.

Every Joss Whedon show had a weak first season. They all got better, not worse, in subsequent seasons.

Re:Sad memories

[Rei]

You could always go meta and watch a TV show with someone reading in it ;)

River reads a story, surrounded by little injured children:

River: (sweet voice) "And the beautiful princess every night prayed for her handsome prince... "

River: (later, continuing) "... to fight through the terrible ivy of thorns and climb up to her room and slay all the wicked, evil demons... "

River: (much later, sweetly sing-songy) "And then the beautiful princess got tired of waiting for her handsome prince and tried to escape, but they found her and to punish her they locked her in a smelly, white, cold room where the evil blue demons strapped electrodes to her face and started to shock her. Zap, zap, zap, until she couldn't stop screaming. Only no one could hear."

(River remains smiling; the kids not so much. In fact, they're just a little bit freaked out by the story and by the freaky lady telling it)

Re:Sad memories

[jareth-0205]

In its short run, it had a couple of fairly weak episodes that didn't bode well for a long run. As awesome as the good bits were, I think we're suffering from the effects of advice they were forced to follow: "Always leave them wanting more".

No and yes. Creative development doesn't work like that - missteps happen in a new series while it's finding its feet, and some of the longer term stuff set up just begged to be developed... the worse things can just be dropped. Remember Star Trek TNG season 1? Amazed that made it out alive...

>Nothing short of a reboot of the series will satisfy.

Too soon. I know I remember the original well enough that I would be disappointed no matter what they did. I'd rather somebody just come up with a vaguely similar premise and slap a different name on it, with 'inspired by Firefly' in the closing credits or something.

Agreed, that and I doubt Whedon would go there again, it's not really his style to recast and restart, more likely to move on to something new.

Re:Sad memories

[Comrade Ogilvy]

You are conflating superficial detail and foundational concepts by lumping them together as "premise".

For example, at the superficial level, both versions of Battlestar Galatica are the same. At a deeper level, the first is a romp of a space western with a few cheap Cold War and Christian mythic references thrown in to spice up the drama, and second is gritty True Horror (the exploration of what humanity really means through extremely ugly moral dilemmas).

At the superficial level, Firefly was a western. At a deeper level, it is about a ship filled with wounded birds, bravely living the consequences of their choices and wondering if there might be a better life, if only they could get past the challenge of the week.

Inara herself is a classic trope at the superficial level -- Whedon chose that first impression because it is easy to understand. At a deeper level, she is more than that. At the cusp of fabulous success of her chosen career, she realized it will not bring her happiness. The kooky career shift is a desperate means to explore who she really is while keeping one foot in the door of the world where she can fall back on her successes. It does not quite make sense and she knows it; but it can sort of work for a few years.

On one condition

[nitehawk214]

As long as Alan Tudyk narrates the audiobooks.

Be Like Elsa

[CanHasDIY]

... and let it freaking go.

It was a great show for the season that it lasted, but that was almost 15 years ago. Fillion isn't giving up the rights, nor is he going to do anything with them (other than maybe sue anyone who creates Firefily-based media).

Come up with an original idea maybe, rather than riding the coat-tails of decades-old sci-fi.

Re:Be Like Elsa

[uCallHimDrJ0NES]

...Fillion isn't giving up the rights...

This made me laugh. Does CanHasDIY know something I don't? Does Fillion own the rights? Funny stuff if true, funny stuff if false.

Just bring it back already

[mike2006]

No lack of material for a few new episodes with these new stories. They would need to find some excuse how the real Wash survived or just have add a new pilot character or characters.

Re:Just bring it back already

[McPierce]

It's so strange to see this today given that I just finished rewatching "Serenity" while working today!

Re:Just bring it back already

[CohibaVancouver]

I just finished rewatching "Serenity" while working today!

I want your job.

Re:Just bring it back already

[Rei]

You're a very "up" person.

Re:Just bring it back already

[McPierce]

That's an odd way to describe Ruby programming... :D

Re:Just bring it back already

[McPierce]

I work from home as a programmer. I like to have stuff playing in the background, like Sirius XM. When the Howard Stern show finishes I tend to put on Netflix or Vudu in the background. :D

Cowboy Bebop

[mykepredko]

I could read a few books based on the Cowboy Bebop characters (before Spike dies, of course).

Forget that..

[Anonymous Coward]

Look at what has happened to Star Wars between the novels in the 70s until TPM came out, then look at how bad it has gotten post-TPM.

Disney's sequels have shat all over the non-canon 'canon' for the vast majority of old Star Wars fans. The ones who are fans now are mostly children and people who might've been casual fans in decades past. But much like religion and various other bits of popular culture, the new fans never go through old material chronologically and instead start at the newest and work back, invalidating old works rather than choosing a point to schism based on where the newer works started to diverge.

Same thing happened with Star Trek when TNG came out and retconned the klingons, who had a whole culture built up between pre-TNG TOS era klingon fiction and RPG source books.

Re:Forget that..

[uCallHimDrJ0NES]

Thanks for proving my point, Coward. It's fun to watch. At first.

Re:Forget that..

[Rei]

What, are you afraid that Disney will get ahold of the rights to Firefly or something? ;)

Re:Forget that..

[Gr8Apes]

Look at what has happened to Star Wars between the novels in the 70s until TPM came out, then look at how bad it has gotten post-TPM.

I hate to break it to you, but RotJ was already a major let down for us "real fans". Everything since RotJ, and actually including RotJ, was a major letdown. The cartoons were... bad. Since you're a cartoon fan, I'm guessing you weren't around when there were calls for Lucas to either direct Foster's Splinter of the Mind's Eye, or step aside and allow it to be made, because the whole Ewoks thing was so... stupid. It's been too long, but I'm guessing that Lucas reined in the rights for distributive works when he went on to create that terrible series of cartoons that almost no one but children watched, the same target as the He-Man generation.

Disney's sequels have shat all over the non-canon 'canon' for the vast majority of old Star Wars fans. The ones who are fans now are mostly children and people who might've been casual fans in decades past. But much like religion and various other bits of popular culture, the new fans never go through old material chronologically and instead start at the newest and work back, invalidating old works rather than choosing a point to schism based on where the newer works started to diverge.

Disney has actually injected some reasonable life into the SW property. Rogue One was fantastic, and everything that Ep 1-3 wasn't (good, engaging, build up of an intertwined story line) Granted, TFA was a rehash, but then so was RotJ. TFA was far better, IMHO (no stupid Ewoks, yes, I really disliked them to the point that they distracted from the story line almost as much as Jar-Jar) and I thought TLJ was a fitting end to the old guard. Disney effectively brought back the story line and then set it up to move along without any of the original characters. The "world" has been setup, some things were clarified, and now the storyline can move forward unhindered.

Same thing happened with Star Trek when TNG came out and retconned the klingons, who had a whole culture built up between pre-TNG TOS era klingon fiction and RPG source books.

Actually, TNG was fine, and no one cares about RPG source books - they're a deviation from the main story universe by definition. TNG was set a hundred plus years after TOS, given how things change and the lifespans implied in the movies, there's no chance that the universe changed over that time and that the Klingons made peace with the ever strengthening Federation? Now DS9 and Voyager both lost me - those were in your face moralistic with not enough storyline to keep me interested. Much like the rebooted BG seasons 2+, far too much yappity yap oh noes crap, and too little action or driving storyline.

Re:Here's a weighty question...

[Rei]

Purple elephants are flying.

Excerpt

[q4Fry]

Alan Tudyk narrates the board room meeting where your idea is discussed:

"And we will call the series 'Firefly Canon'"
"I think we should call it 'Cash Grab'"
"Ah! Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"
"Ha ha ha. Mine is an evil laugh. Now BUY!"