You're definitely right about the first two episodes not being the best. I was just talking to a friend and new convert, explaining how episodes 1 and 2 are nothing special. Just wait for 5, 9 and 10. They are genius. And listen to your wife. She has excellent taste.
It seems we agree in principle, if not on the specifics. The mention of a duplication fee over and above media costs and shipping just raised my hackles. Anyway, suffice it to say I love Firefly, and if it weren't for rips on the net, I would never have seen it, because I didn't even know it existed until a few weeks after the last episode (the pilot) aired. And trust me, there is a strong fan community behind Firefly. They aren't up to the level of Farscape fans (producing and broadcasting an ad), but they did take out a $3,000 ad in Variety. It seems you can't view the full-size version anymore.
I think if you read the full posting you'll see that they were actually destroyed. The wording was, "They did not fold and hold them..." They could certainly be rebuilt, though. And the latest glimmer of hope came just last week.
"We did [write a new premiere episode], because they wanted to make sure we could deliver the... show with a little more action and humor than what I had originally pitched," Whedon said. "So Tim Minear and I wrote a script over the weekend. They told us on a Friday night that they wanted it... in order to decide.... They said, 'It needs to be on our desks before we get there in the morning on Monday.' I didn't realize it would be so instrumental in them actually picking up the show. But, yeah, a little pressure. But I love pressure. The two-hour [episode] might be a special event in the middle of the season, instead of shown as a two-hour pilot. I'm not sure if that's a final decision or not." Whedon Details Firefly Flap
I can't tell you whether this is correct or not, but it's a direct quote from a fairly reputable source. You decide.
to cover the cost of the tapes and postage with only a modest fee on top of this
What is this modest fee, eh? How are high-quality rips more unethical than making a profit (albeit a modest one) on someone else's creative effort? Granted, both are illegal, but until the DMCA it was pretty well established that copying copyrighted works when there was no money involved was "fair use". As far as Fox making a wise business decision, you're probably right. I never implied that Firefly was a good business move. That doesn't mean it isn't quality entertainment that should be on the air as we speak.
I want desparately to believe you, and I don't imagine they're totally blind to the possibility, but in this case I doubt that's happening. With an ensemble cast of 9 actors, the chances of being able to get them back together, even after only a year off, would be pretty low. Granted, some of them are relative unknowns, but Adam Baldwin was in Kubrik's "Full Metal Jacket" and "Independence Day".
Wow, you couldn't be more wrong. Yes, you could be right that the show itself is partly responsible because the first two episodes were not as engaging and original as the rest of the show, but Fox scrapped their 2 episode pilot and they were forced to write a new one OVER THE WEEKEND. X-Files survived that slot with worse ratings than Firefly, probably because it was less expensive, and Fox was more of an up-and-coming network.
And as to vcrs, tivos and downloading the show, you're totally off. Fox is a business. They make their money from advertising, and they use Nielsen ratings to decide how many people are seeing their advertising. They know people can avoid watching the commercials if they use a vcr or tivo, and they aren't even there if you download the show. Fox doesn't want to count those viewers.
Finally, there is a groundswell of support for this show, especially given that it ran for only 11 episodes and the pilot aired as the series finale. Check out sites like fireflyfans.net, http://www.immantcreative.com/fireflysos/, and fireflysupport.com. As for ebay, it's pretty unethical to sell tapes. Maybe Firefly fans just have a conscience. There are many high-quality rips in circulation, including 800MB SVCD versions of all episodes. It's nice to see that Fox has at least seen that there's enough of a market for Firefly on DVD to warrant their attention.
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You're definitely right about the first two episodes not being the best. I was just talking to a friend and new convert, explaining how episodes 1 and 2 are nothing special. Just wait for 5, 9 and 10. They are genius. And listen to your wife. She has excellent taste.
I think that's the first time I've ever heard someone say "goddamn" when talking about Firefly.
It seems we agree in principle, if not on the specifics. The mention of a duplication fee over and above media costs and shipping just raised my hackles. Anyway, suffice it to say I love Firefly, and if it weren't for rips on the net, I would never have seen it, because I didn't even know it existed until a few weeks after the last episode (the pilot) aired. And trust me, there is a strong fan community behind Firefly. They aren't up to the level of Farscape fans (producing and broadcasting an ad), but they did take out a $3,000 ad in Variety. It seems you can't view the full-size version anymore.
I think if you read the full posting you'll see that they were actually destroyed. The wording was, "They did not fold and hold them..." They could certainly be rebuilt, though. And the latest glimmer of hope came just last week.
Whedon Details Firefly Flap
I can't tell you whether this is correct or not, but it's a direct quote from a fairly reputable source. You decide.
What is this modest fee, eh? How are high-quality rips more unethical than making a profit (albeit a modest one) on someone else's creative effort? Granted, both are illegal, but until the DMCA it was pretty well established that copying copyrighted works when there was no money involved was "fair use". As far as Fox making a wise business decision, you're probably right. I never implied that Firefly was a good business move. That doesn't mean it isn't quality entertainment that should be on the air as we speak.
I want desparately to believe you, and I don't imagine they're totally blind to the possibility, but in this case I doubt that's happening. With an ensemble cast of 9 actors, the chances of being able to get them back together, even after only a year off, would be pretty low. Granted, some of them are relative unknowns, but Adam Baldwin was in Kubrik's "Full Metal Jacket" and "Independence Day".
Wow, you couldn't be more wrong. Yes, you could be right that the show itself is partly responsible because the first two episodes were not as engaging and original as the rest of the show, but Fox scrapped their 2 episode pilot and they were forced to write a new one OVER THE WEEKEND. X-Files survived that slot with worse ratings than Firefly, probably because it was less expensive, and Fox was more of an up-and-coming network. And as to vcrs, tivos and downloading the show, you're totally off. Fox is a business. They make their money from advertising, and they use Nielsen ratings to decide how many people are seeing their advertising. They know people can avoid watching the commercials if they use a vcr or tivo, and they aren't even there if you download the show. Fox doesn't want to count those viewers. Finally, there is a groundswell of support for this show, especially given that it ran for only 11 episodes and the pilot aired as the series finale. Check out sites like fireflyfans.net, http://www.immantcreative.com/fireflysos/, and fireflysupport.com. As for ebay, it's pretty unethical to sell tapes. Maybe Firefly fans just have a conscience. There are many high-quality rips in circulation, including 800MB SVCD versions of all episodes. It's nice to see that Fox has at least seen that there's enough of a market for Firefly on DVD to warrant their attention.