Would you have liked Firefly to have had 696 episodes? by SimonWho

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SimonWho

Would you have liked Firefly to have had 696 episodes?
Monday, March 28, 2005

Yeah, me too, but that's a bit unrealistic isn't it? Even Dr Crane gave up after a mere 500 odd episodes. But 696 is the number of episodes of Doctor Who there were. Last Saturday, it became 697.

The longest running sci-fi show in the world got back up after a little break and the key word is running. This was a fast paced episode, faster than any previous episode of Who (possibly barring some of Douglas Adams' contributions). The plot was fairly slight, this was about introducing us to Rose and The Doctor.

Russell T Davies, the man behind this revival, has said he's a big fan of Buffy and you can tell, from the pacing, the mixture of horror and comedy (which Who always did have but not to the same extent). But this is primarily a revival of a British institution which means the odd creaking corner and less than convincing special effect but nonetheless we love it. In fact, over 11m caught it over the weekend, not counting those who watched it on tape. This has been a big hit and successful sci-fi begets more successful sci-fi.

It's also very strange how many people I know have asked me about the revival. I was a big childhood fan of the show and now I have lots of friends asking about it, telling me how much they enjoyed watching it on Saturday and I'm even having to do a copy of the episode for someone who missed it. Makes me feel like I'm 10 years old again, but in a good way.

COMMENTS

Monday, May 16, 2005 2:49 AM

HAMADRYAD

A five or seven year run would have been great. The Firefly world is so complex and interesting that they could easily have come up with enough stories for 110 or 154 episodes. I'd be happy (though not AS happy) with a spinoff set in the same 'verse. I love the main characters in Firefly, but there are a multitude of really interesting minor characters. And it would be a shame for a universe like this to go to waste, even if Firefly itself is never revived.

Tuesday, March 29, 2005 6:33 AM

IAMZOE

I watched it partly on your high recommendation too actually, so thanks.
I particularly liked the wheelie bins, I have to say, and even Billie wasn't too irritating.
It even made London look ok.
I think you could tell there was a bit of a Buffy influence though, and there was one line that really irritated me, you know which one :)

Monday, March 28, 2005 1:21 PM

THATWEIRDGIRL

i'da been happy with 100 eps

Monday, March 28, 2005 11:55 AM

BLEYDDYN

696? No, I don't think so.

110 (5 full years)? Yes.
154 (7 full years)? Maybe.

I personally don't think any show, no matter how gifted the talent (writers, actors, directors, etc) can last much longer than that without going stale.

Maybe, possibly, if you do something like Star Trek and have related shows set in the same universe. Or, better yet, plan out the entire series arc (uber-plot) for 5-7 years and end it. Then if interest (by fans and talent) is sufficient, do spin-offs.

It can, on rare occasions be done in books. Terry Pratchet's Discworld comes to mind, but even so, those are only the exceptions to the rule.

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