Firefly Discussion (Merged)

[JacktheRabbit]

Very cool episode. Gives nice background on several of the characters. I love how they gained their merc, bought him out litterally while under the gun.

I noticed that the show is making sure to be very non Star Trek. The ship works and I am fairly sure we will never see our cute little engineer realigning the dilithium crystals or anything else techno-babble related.

As for the show being very episodic right now. I am sure that is intentional. STNG was that way the first seasion, as was Babylon 5. Basically you use unrelated episode format to let people get to know the main characters and to let them learn a bit about the world they exist in.

 

[Umbran]

I noticed that the show is making sure to be very non Star Trek. The ship works and I am fairly sure we will never see our cute little engineer realigning the dilithium crystals or anything else techno-babble related.

Huh? The main plot device was an engineering problem. A widget broke, the ship was doomed if it didn't get fixed. The whole episode revolved around a ship's technical problem. How is that not technobabble?

 

[John Crichton]

Huh? The main plot device was an engineering problem. A widget broke, the ship was doomed if it didn't get fixed. The whole episode revolved around a ship's technical problem. How is that not technobabble?

I can see what the Doc means. The episode did revolve around a techincal problem but because it was something that we could actually see rather than mostly hear about (very Trek, something that no one has ever heard of braking or "going out of phase/alignment"). The widget was very much like a car part and while still in the vein of "tech issue" it wasn't very Trek-ish. More like a car breaking down which is easier to relate to. IMHO, of course.

 

[Mistwell]

BTW that last episode was originally going to be the series premiere. However they decided it was too low on action, and to high on character development, to be the premiere. So they pushed it back. I think it was a good decision, since we care about the characters more now, and actually want to know how they joined the crew. Great episode.

 

[Chun-tzu]

BTW that last episode was originally going to be the series premiere. However they decided it was too low on action, and to high on character development, to be the premiere.

Yes and no. The unaired pilot is a two-parter called 'Serenity' (I've seen part 1) and it wasn't anything like this episode 'Out of Gas,' but this one does incorporate parts of the unaired pilot.

BTW, I notice this episode was written by Tim Minear, as was the episode about the Reavers (the best two episodes of the season).

 

[Whodat]

Firefly is still alive!

The second round of cancellations have been announced, and it looks as though FOX is sticking to its guns regarding Firefly!

Cancellations thus far:
ABC has cancelled Push, Nevada (ranked #90, 2.9 rating); That Was Then (no rating, already cancelled)

CBS has cancelled Bram & Alice (ranked #73, 5.0 rating)

NBC has cancelled Providence (ranked #39, 7.5 rating … and the show is being cancelled?!)

FOX has cancelled Girls Club after only two episodes. (ranked #82, 4.1 rating)

WB has cancelled Off Centre (ranked #113, 1.5 rating)


Shows whose fates have yet to be determined:
ABC: MDs

CBS: Presidio Med; Robbery Homicide Division

NBC: In-Laws;

FOX: Cedric the Entertainer Presents; Fastlane; John Doe; and Firefly

WB: Birds of Prey;

UPN: Haunted

PAX: Body & Soul; Just Cause


And a little more good news:
This week's ratings for Firefly are actually up! (ranked #90, 2.9 rating)

Unfortunately this also means that the show is still in the "danger zone", but up is good. More up-ness!

 

[Mistwell]

Re: Firefly is still alive!

And a little more good news:
This week's ratings for Firefly are actually up! (ranked #90, 2.9 rating)

Unfortunately this also means that the show is still in the "danger zone", but up is good. More up-ness!

I thought the last ratings period had them at a 3.3.

2.9 is BAD. It's below UPN shows like Buffy. It's below cancelled shows on the same network like Girl's Club! This is bad. It's such a great show!

 

[Umbran]

Re: Re: Firefly is still alive!

2.9 is BAD. It's below UPN shows like Buffy. It's below cancelled shows on the same network like Girl's Club! This is bad. It's such a great show!

2.9 is bad... depending on your expectations, and context.

For one thing, Friday prime-time just isn't a good slot. People go out on Fridays, so the networks expect lower ratings on Friday than they do on Tuesday. And nobody sane expects a freshman show to hit the same ratings as a many-year veteranshow like Buffy.

Perhaps it'd be better to compare current Firefly performance with first season Buffy ratings. Not that they have exactly the same target audience, or are on the same night, but if you need to compare, you gotta start somewhere. Anyone got those numbers?

 

[Ranger REG]

It would be a mistake on FOX to cancel John Doe which is actually a surprise hit among mainstream audience. Even I didn't think it would take until I watched the first episode after Firefly. I'm sure it has already gained a cult following. I wouldn't be surprised if the talk around the water cooler is trying to piece John Doe personal information, like who are his friends, what food he like or dislike, hobbies, etc.

 

[Whodat]

I thought the last ratings period had them at a 3.3.

Yes and no.

The ratings for many television programs (Firefly included) are posted weekly.

The last time that I posted ratings information about Firefly, the show was ranked #89 with an overall rating of 3.3. Unfortunately, those were ratings for the week of September 30 – October 6.

I haven’t posted any updates recently because, frankly, Firefly was relentlessly sliding in the ratings – and I honestly don’t like posting negative information.

But to update those of you who are curious, this is what has been happening since October 6.

Firefly did not air for the week of October 7 – 13. The show was preempted in many markets because of baseball.

For the week of October 14 – 20 (Episode: Jaynestown) Firefly took a HUGE dive. The shows overall ranking was #98 (just shy of falling out of the top 100), and the show scored a 2.7 rating.

Which brings us up to October 21 – 28. (Episode: Out of Gas) As I reported in the previous post, the show has rebounded somewhat to a #90 ranking, with a rating of 2.9.

Sorry for any confusion.