There's a large and growing fan base for a show that never aired.

[reveal]

For the record, the online community that supported Firefly and made repeated efforts to get it renewed were in large part also responsible for the studio releasing the series on DVD. The sales from that release, were in large part as you note, thus responsible for the studio greenlighting the Serenity movie.

At the same time, the online community of loyal Browncoats did a lot more to generate buzz about Firefly than simply show that there was a fanbase there. They wrote to network heads, created petitions, staged events, donated to charity, took out advertising, and generally created a massive awareness that "hey, here we are!", which is somewhat more than seems to be currently happening with the Global Frequency fanbase.

In any case, the release of the pilot into the community cannot help but be positive for the show's chances. Just how positive and beneficial, however, depends on what else the fan community might do to further its chances of being picked up.

If enough people enjoy this show, I truly hope they do write in and it gets picked up. But for every letter writing campaign that has worked to keep people's favorite shows on television, there are dozens more that fail.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

It's viral marketing. Marketing a show via non-traditional ways; in that sense it's like Firefly.

Any press gotten is a good thing for a show. It may not work, it may not ever get picked up, but who knows? If a show gets a chance, any built in audience is a good thing, even if its just computer geeks.

And the fact that the writer is an ENWorld guy buys him some slack from me.

 

[kirinke]

Try reading what I posted more carefully. At no point in this thread did I say anything about the points you were making. Just the way you were making those points, you seem to be somewhat politeness impaired.

Be nice gentlefolks. Tisn't the place for arguments.

 

[Stormborn]

Before the thread gets closed for the reveal-wars, le tme add: Ellis himself has said that while he wishes the grassroots movement the best, he is disassosiating himself with it. The pilot on the net isn't a "leak" or a "marketing ploy" - it just didn't get picked up. That doesn't mean it wont come back to life, but right now it really is dead.

EDIT: An e-mail from Ellis sent today, July 5, indicated that he COULDN'T talk about it anymore. So maybe something is happening.

 

[Del]

Trippy. This is like shakespearean play within a play. Like OMG WE are the underground network!

Don't mind me, I'm still upset over Level 9. C'mon, it was a great show!