Firefly Discussion (Merged)

[JacktheRabbit]

Did anyone else wonder why the Reavers attacked the transport?

They killed all the people but one and they left all of the cargo. Serenities engineer was also able to scrounge valuable plarts so the Reavers didnt take those either.

So what was the point of the attack? It would have made sense if they had at least taken some of the cargo.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Did anyone else wonder why the Reavers attacked the transport?

They killed all the people but one and they left all of the cargo. Serenities engineer was also able to scrounge valuable plarts so the Reavers didnt take those either.

So what was the point of the attack? It would have made sense if they had at least taken some of the cargo.

No point at all unless it was 'no trespassing' and they became the sign. I don't they they have to have a reason, they see, they attack.

 

[WizarDru]

No point at all unless it was 'no trespassing' and they became the sign. I don't they they have to have a reason, they see, they attack.

Or quite possibly, there is a reason, but it's not something easily comprehended by an outsider. It's obvious the fear of the Reavers has risen to the almost supernatural amongst the average Alliance member, seen either as 'bogeymen' or as a very real threat that is neither human nor easily comprehended. I'm gald we didn't actually see any Reavers in this episode...it would've removed the tension from them too quickly.

I suspect that Hand of Evil has the right idea: it may have just been a terror attack. The Reavers appear to be a completely unknowable enemy to the characters, and the horror of the derelict helped reinforce it. There may have been another motive, but if so, we won't learn it for a while.

 

[Umbran]

About Reavers...

While I thought this came through in the episode, here's a bit from an interview Joss Whedon had recently with SciFi magazine...

"On the other side he has mindless savages called Reavers, which are a lot less complicated. You see them and you run. They're not monsters. What they are, are people who went out into space, saw the extraordinary nothingness and went completely out of their heads. They've become cannibalistic marauding savages. They're kind of like the Comanche in the old movies except without playing it as a racial thing at all, or even a cultural thing. It's a very personal thing. These are men who just gave up on the concept of humanity and are the scariest, worst, most awful serial-killing pirates who ever sailed around in burnt out ships in space. Everybody is terrified of them — Yeah, they're really fun [laughs]."

 

[Whodat]

A bumpy ride

The Nielsen ratings for the week of September 16-22 are in, and the numbers for Firefly don’t look very promising. The premier (the train robbery episode) scored a 4.0, and was tied for #66 with two other shows.

In contrast, John Doe received a 6.0 rating and was tied with two other shows for #35.

According to the site that tracks these numbers, one ratings point represents 1,022,000 households.

I think it’s too early to project anything definite, but (with the exception of the Fox Movie of the Week) Firefly was the lowest listed Fox program on the list for that week.

 

[Umbran]

What teh ratings mean probably depends on Fox's expectations. While 4.0 may be poor for a Fox show in general, it's actually pretty good for a sci-fi genre show. Also, it's on Friday, and Fridays are notoriously hard on ratings. Given that, it's showing may not be considered so bad.

 

[WizarDru]

Well, there's the rub, eh? X-files took a while to garner a following, but then became a powerhouse, and it was on Friday nights, once upon a time. Dark Angel had a good following, but Fox found that if they swapped in a rerun of something else, it did about as well, so they decided to can it.

Fox has shown, in general, to have no logical or discernable long range goals or plan. They continually shoot from the hip, particularly in the realm of program direction.

My suspicion is, despite my feelings otherwise, is that Firefly will be this seasons Brisco County Jr. (which I loved by the way). They'll show all or most of it, maybe hold some back for a later date when they need to trot something out (vis a vis Family Guy, for example), but unless Fox is uncharacteristically generous, it's sinking fast. This is the network that cancels shows after two episodes, after all.

 

[RatPunk]

Fox has shown, in general, to have no logical or discernable long range goals or plan. They continually shoot from the hip, particularly in the realm of program direction.

- - - - -

This is the network that cancels shows after two episodes, after all.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Network Programming.

Don't just single out Fox, though. Both of these statements apply equally to every other network on American television. In fact, I have yet to see a network that DOESN'T operate like that.

 

[WizarDru]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Network Programming.

Don't just single out Fox, though. Both of these statements apply equally to every other network on American television. In fact, I have yet to see a network that DOESN'T operate like that.

Agreed, but Fox has actually cancelled shows literally before the neilsens for the second episode have arrived. That's a new record. If a show is underperforming that badly, you shouldn't have paid money for it in the first place.

 

[DanMcS]

I think, even if it were cancelled (which is sadly likely, given the Fox Friday Timeslot of Doom), Joss Whedon has enough experience to work something out. They're probably rather ahead in the shooting, if they're working the way they do for buffy and angel, so at least the 2 hour original pilot, the two eps we've seen, the one for this week, and a couple more already have been filmed.

I would hope he worked the contract so that he gets control of the show if fox drops it, and he can DVD what has been done, perhaps even enough to be like the short Buffy first season, which was only 12 hour-episodes (more like 9 hours of film). I'd would buy it. Or maybe hawk it to another network, or SciFi.