Boring Confessional by SergeantX

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Boring Confessional

POSTED BY: SERGEANTX
UPDATED: Thursday, January 23, 2003 20:30
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 3114
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Tuesday, January 14, 2003 2:22 PM

Firefly is the last television show I will ever waste my time on. Up until a few months ago I hadn't watched TV for about ten years. This wasn't some kind of protest, or a moral decision, its just that after my divorce I found myself without a TV and didn't miss it. After awhile it got to the point that whenever I found myself at a friend's house who had one, the blaring crap oozing out of the screen was just more than I could handle.... that was before Firefly.

Recently my sons and I got cable internet. My sons soon discovered that that meant we also had cable TV, even though I hadn't ordered it, and we weren't paying for it.(sue me) We still watched very rarely, I was still pretty put off by it and my kids had just never developed much of a taste for it. But after hearing about Firefly on slashdot, i was actually intrigued. It sounded interesting, in fact it was alot like a role-playing game I had been trying to put together for years... Anyway, we watched a couple of episodes and fell in love. Hell I even loved Train Job and Bushwhacked.

I was so excited that had I found something in the mainstream to enjoy. I thought I might even be able to converse with my co-workers again, given that their chat usually concerned television.(oddly enough they talked about the commercials most) I've lived most of my life in the shadows. Content in my discontent with everything that most people seemed to value. But here was something that I could share, something wonderful that came from an institution I'd lost all hope in... and it became a symbol.

Firefly became an icon for something I hoped might be a transformation. I thought I might be able to meet society halfway - actually find some common ground with the people I generally felt I had nothing in common with. I told everyone I knew about the show, but with the exception of one close friend, they didn't really seem to care. They either didn't even bother to watch or caught a couple of episodes, and turned the channel back to "When Cops Attack' or somesuch crap. My hopes were dimmed somewhat by this, but I was encouraged by what I assumed would be a wild surge of popularity once people began to see what Joss and Tim were up to. I don't suppose I need to recap for any of you here. You know the heartbreaking story all too well.

I'd like to take some kind of solace or pride in turning away from the idiot box once again. I'd like to feel all superior and claim that Firefly was just too good for television, or just be glad that Firefly won't be around for networks to try to 'rework', which they almost certainly would have tried to do. But I can't, all I can be is angry. Angry at a society and nation doped up by idiotic fluff so their leaders can wage war freely. Angry at semi-conscious followers that reward television networks for producing brain dead pornography. But mostly angry at myself for ever letting myself hope that anything good can come from dealing with the mainstream population. They're sheep and they deserve far worse than they get. I'm sorry, that's not fair. Sheep are gentle peaceful animals. I don't know what to say. I'm really too goddamned mad to be very eloquent right now.

Time to crawl back into my hole. Blow up your Television!

SergeantX

"..and here's to all the dreamers, may our open hearts find rest." -- Nanci Griffith

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Tuesday, January 14, 2003 3:33 PM

SUCCATASH

I COMPLETELY agree with you. Firefly touched me in a way that no TV show has EVER (possible exception is The Greatest American Hero, which I absolutely LOVED as a child).

Kid shows aside, Firefly is, was the BEST show and I am completely sickened in my heart at the stupidity of the world. I don't give a rat's ass about Joe Millionaire, how could anybody? DAMN the stupid people in this world!

I am experiencing real pain, like someone in my family close to me has died. It sucks bad.

I have been showing downloaded episodes to many of my friends. They ALL love it, and they never heard of it before - no ads or previews reached them at all. I know for a fact that with a different time slot and better advertising, this show would have been a tremendous hit.

Quote:
Originally posted by SergeantX:
Firefly is the last television show I will ever waste my time on. Up until a few months ago I hadn't watched TV for about ten years. This wasn't some kind of protest, or a moral decision, its just that after my divorce I found myself without a TV and didn't miss it. After awhile it got to the point that whenever I found myself at a friend's house who had one, the blaring crap oozing out of the screen was just more than I could handle.... that was before Firefly.

Recently my sons and I got cable internet. My sons soon discovered that that meant we also had cable TV, even though I hadn't ordered it, and we weren't paying for it.(sue me) We still watched very rarely, I was still pretty put off by it and my kids had just never developed much of a taste for it. But after hearing about Firefly on slashdot, i was actually intrigued. It sounded interesting, in fact it was alot like a role-playing game I had been trying to put together for years... Anyway, we watched a couple of episodes and fell in love. Hell I even loved Train Job and Bushwhacked.

I was so excited that had I found something in the mainstream to enjoy. I thought I might even be able to converse with my co-workers again, given that their chat usually concerned television.(oddly enough they talked about the commercials most) I've lived most of my life in the shadows. Content in my discontent with everything that most people seemed to value. But here was something that I could share, something wonderful that came from an institution I'd lost all hope in... and it became a symbol.

Firefly became an icon for something I hoped might be a transformation. I thought I might be able to meet society halfway - actually find some common ground with the people I generally felt I had nothing in common with. I told everyone I knew about the show, but with the exception of one close friend, they didn't really seem to care. They either didn't even bother to watch or caught a couple of episodes, and turned the channel back to "When Cops Attack' or somesuch crap. My hopes were dimmed somewhat by this, but I was encouraged by what I assumed would be a wild surge of popularity once people began to see what Joss and Tim were up to. I don't suppose I need to recap for any of you here. You know the heartbreaking story all too well.

I'd like to take some kind of solace or pride in turning away from the idiot box once again. I'd like to feel all superior and claim that Firefly was just too good for television, or just be glad that Firefly won't be around for networks to try to 'rework', which they almost certainly would have tried to do. But I can't, all I can be is angry. Angry at a society and nation doped up by idiotic fluff so their leaders can wage war freely. Angry at semi-conscious followers that reward television networks for producing brain dead pornography. But mostly angry at myself for ever letting myself hope that anything good can come from dealing with the mainstream population. They're sheep and they deserve far worse than they get. I'm sorry, that's not fair. Sheep are gentle peaceful animals. I don't know what to say. I'm really too goddamned mad to be very eloquent right now.

Time to crawl back into my hole. Blow up your Television!

SergeantX

"..and here's to all the dreamers, may our open hearts find rest." -- Nanci Griffith

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Tuesday, January 14, 2003 5:49 PM

SELNYC

Quote:
Originally posted by SergeantX:
Firefly is the last television show I will ever waste my time on. Up until a few months ago I hadn't watched TV for about ten years. This wasn't some kind of protest, or a moral decision, its just that after my divorce I found myself without a TV and didn't miss it. After awhile it got to the point that whenever I found myself at a friend's house who had one, the blaring crap oozing out of the screen was just more than I could handle.... that was before Firefly...

...I was so excited that had I found something in the mainstream to enjoy...

...My hopes were dimmed somewhat by this, but I was encouraged by what I assumed would be a wild surge of popularity once people began to see what Joss and Tim were up to...

SergeantX, you're right, we're all upset at the apparent reality that we won't get a chance to visit, except for the "final" three episodes, this 'verse again. I'm not a big TV watcher myself; what I do watch, I tape and what I tape won't fill a six-hour tape in a week. Until recently, three of those hours were filled with Joss Whedon shows.

When Buffy the Vampire Slayer went on the air in 1997 as a mid-season replacement, Joss & Co. were fairly certain their odd little show would not get picked up for the fall season. The 12 episodes they created for that half-season included what they felt was a series finale, some closure -- we know these guys like the idea of a limited series like The Prisoner (one of my favorites, too).

So, yeah, it sucks big-time if ME cannot find a new home/outlet for Firefly, but by the end of this season, Buffy's last, we'll have something like 144 episodes of pure Joss Whedon, not to mention the ongoing Angel series, also sure to be over 100 episodes by it's close, both of which are being released on DVD, apparently, one season every six months.

If you loved Firefly, you WILL love Buffy & Angel.

Because we can say we liked this thing and we can say we liked that thing about the show, but I would say in every case that what you liked was the writing - period. Television has always been a writer's medium, just as film is a director's medium and the stage is an actor's medium.

You may say that you have no interest in teenagers in high school, hellmouths, vampires or demons, but I would say to you that all of that stuff is irrelevent window dressing, kinda like saying you didn't laugh at Tootsie because it was set in a soap opera. Joss Whedon is a rare breed (don't anyone tell him this, either -- his head's been looking awfully big lately), the type of which I'm pretty sure only comes along maybe once in a generation.

So start collecting those DVDs, Sarge. Everything you like about Firefly is in there...

It was the best day ever.

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Wednesday, January 15, 2003 4:02 AM

SILVERADO

Thanks for sharing this with us, Sarge.

It not only touched me deeply (in a "hey, darn, I'm not completely alone with my opinion"-way) but has shown me that "shitty tv" is a worldwide disease.

I sit in Europe.
And we got the same level of crap over here on our TVs.

A wonderful person from the States recorded Firefly for me and sent me new tapes monthly.

No European station canceled Firefly.
The whole tragedy though finally opened my eyes completely:

I don't need TV.

I really don't.

Regards:

Silverado.

_________________________________________________

"You had the law on you, criminals and savages... half the people on the ship have been shot or wounded including yourself, and you're harboring known fugitives."

"We're still flying."

"That's not much."

"It's enough."

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Wednesday, January 15, 2003 4:36 AM

LOSTANGEL

The episode is about what makes people heroes and what heroes mean to people. It is about hope and what hope can bring.

That was a review of Jaynestown. That hit the nail on the head about why I am so gorram devoted to this show. Yes, it's a tv show, and it's fake, and these people are getting paid to be heroic and pretty and lovable. But we need our myths, just as the ancient greeks and romans did, and modern day us with our Daniel Boone, and Johnny Appleseed and Paul Bunyon.

We have no heros in the everyday (yes they are out there, my boyfriend, a fireman, had better never see this post) so if we have to turn to Joss & Co. to supply us with them, then so be it.

Funny, I feel better now that I know why I love the show.

______________________
Lost Angel

WASH: Psychic, though? That sounds like something out of science fiction.
ZOE: We live in a space ship, dear.
WASH: So?

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Wednesday, January 15, 2003 9:13 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

Sarge, I could not agree more. I seldom watch TV myself anymore since it seems to be filled w/ the mind numbing eye candy that many networks seem content to air, such as the "reality" shows. For the most part, I watch the History Channel and the Civilization Channel. I do watch Buffy on FX, but until Firefly came along, I did not really care if I made it home in time to watch anything.

I do not like considering the possibility that Joss may not be able to find a home for Serenity and crew. I am willing to keep fighting to get it back on the air so long as Joss is willing to do so.

Do things look grim? Sure they do, but I am sure they did for the minority of people that made up the following that the original Star Trek series had after it was facing cancellation at the end of its first season. Look what a milestone that show has become. 30 plus years on TV, the big screen and in more forms than one can easily count. The fans of that show stuck by it, wrote letters, and made calls. Their support carried the day for Gene Rodenberry and it will carry it for us and Firefly as well.

Keep the faith Brown Coats! We will prevail!

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Wednesday, January 15, 2003 12:02 PM

AMANFALATH

This whole thread about modern television reminds me of something I read in the TV guide the other day. It seems that we have reached a new low. I don't remember what network the show will be on, but it will be called "America's Hottest People," and basically it is a reality series were people compete and at the end of the series, a man and a woman will be crowned the sexiest people in America. So hurrah, the TV execs finally got smart: getting rid of those pesky plot lines to show what the American people really want: SEX SEX AND SEX.

Amanfalath

Ready to get down, you funky party weasel?!

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Wednesday, January 15, 2003 12:31 PM

SELNYC

Quote:
Originally posted by BrownCoat1:
I do not like considering the possibility that Joss may not be able to find a home for Serenity and crew. I am willing to keep fighting to get it back on the air so long as Joss is willing to do so.

Another thing to consider is what this does to Joss's batting average as percieved by the other networks. We all know what a good show Firefly is, but it falls in line with other shows that were good but couldn't hold an audience. For a while there, every show I liked got cancelled, pretty much starting with ST:TOS and going forward to Firefly. Not all of them were great (a category all of ME's shows share), but many of them were certainly worthy of further consideration.

Other networks looking to deal with ME & Joss might have the upper hand in future negotiations with the "conventional wisdom" being that Firefly is now considered to be a failure, for what ever the reason. That Buffy's numbers appear to be falling off doesn't help.

I want to see Joss Whedon movies as much as the next guy, but I think the TV mini-series format, which is what all of his shows really are, is where he shines; give him a 100 hours or so to develop characters and storylines that resonate and move. That's good writing and that's good television.

I'm a mean old man.

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Thursday, January 23, 2003 2:55 PM

TYLOR

I don't watch much TV and I don't have cable. I do (barely) get in some broadcast channels. I watched Firefly regularly when it was on. (Most shows I don't watch unless I happen to be home when they are on.)

Still, I don't plan on getting rid on my TV, how would I watch my Cowboy Bebop and Trigun DVDs? How would I play my Genesis/Dreamcast/Gamecube?

Still, it's pretty bad when I put the TV on and can't find anything worth watching and end up turning it off in disgust. (I'm talking about just leaving it on while I play Command and Conquer on my computer, not even giving it my rapt attention.)

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Thursday, January 23, 2003 8:30 PM

LIVINGIMPAIRED

The past few months have been hard for me, personally. My entire outlook on my life has been permenantly altered. I don't think I've ever felt this... lost.

But I'm getting through it. I have a wonderful family and supportive friends. And I had Firefly. It even sounds stupid in my head--it's only a goddamn tv show, for crying out loud--but it gave me hope. It helped me through. "Keep Flying." It's a simple message. But it meant so much to me. Life is hard. But that is no excuse to give up, ever.

Firefly helped, and is helping me through a hard part of my life. How many people can say that about f---ing Joe Millionare, or Fastlane?

I will never, never forgive Fox.

________________

"Very occasionally, if you really pay attention, life doesn't suck." -- Joss Whedon

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