Please- Let's Keep the Tie-In Merchandise to a Minimum by Sniper

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Please- Let's Keep the Tie-In Merchandise to a Minimum

POSTED BY: SNIPER
UPDATED: Monday, February 28, 2005 15:07
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 6168
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Friday, February 25, 2005 8:22 AM

I'm sure that most people are aware that there's a novelization and 2 additional books out after the movie, and we've got some action figures and comics headed our way just before that. While I'm a big fan of various tie-in novels, mainly Star Wars, but a couple other genres, and comics and figures, I'd rather see Firefly kept at the merchandise minimun.

Why?

Because these things have the tendancy to really mess up a franchise. Both Star Trek and Star Wars have a huge number of novels out. I know that Star Wars has done an okay job with keeping them in order, but some friends of mine, and from other things that I've seen, ST is a bit more of a mess.

The main problem that I see with fifty Firefly books and comics and whatever else is that with a number of different authors and/or artists, there will be many small differences in tone, characterization and the overall feel to the 'verse that we all know well and love.

For example: Star Wars is another universe that I really like, but some of those books are so mindblowingly bad that I've become somewhat disallusioned with the universe. I wasn't a fan of the New Jedi Order novel series, or a big fan of several other books that came along the way, mainly because they didn't feel like Star Wars to me.

It would be horrible for this to happen to Firefly.

Personally, I think that the genre is suited much better for the TV screens, where certain things get over much better. While I'm planning on getting the comics and whatever novels come out, I really don't want to see this universe be used as a stomping ground for various writers.

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Friday, February 25, 2005 8:58 AM

MOHRSTOUTBEARD

I agree that merchandising should be kept to a minimum. Right now, we've got this great level of fervor because we're in "Firefly" withdrawal. . .if they oversaturate the market, we might not have that same enthusiasm.

However, I'm definitely clamouring for a full-set of "Serenity" action figures. I need the crew to join The Bride and The Alien on my DVD shelves.

"You've just gotta go ahead and change the captain of your brainship, because he's drunk at the wheel."

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Friday, February 25, 2005 9:16 AM

SNIPER

Same here. I'll most likely try and find the entire crew for a shelf somewhere, and that would be pretty cool. Same thing with the comics.

But like with Star Wars, expecially the first prequel, they over did it. You can still find stuff unopened in the bargin bins. Fortunently, they've backed off a little bit.

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Friday, February 25, 2005 12:04 PM

NIKNAK

I think producing different products is good as long as they keep the quality high and don't just cash in. For the case of books they should make sure they only have the best authors and stop when its time to stop.

I have a large number of Star Wars books. The first few were great but I eventually stopped buying them because the quality of the stories went down and the galaxy went in a dull direction. Its just not as exciting when Han and Leia and middle aged, married with kids and run the galaxy.

Slightly off topic but: if you're after a really good Star Wars read then get Timothy Zahn's trilogy. It's set 5 years after Return of the Jedi; The heros are trying to get the New Republic going but the empire starts making come back under a new leader. Zahn also introduced the character Mara Jade, who has since appeared in several books and computer games.

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Friday, February 25, 2005 12:08 PM

XENOCIDE

Zoid may disagree with me for disagreeing with you but I have to say, personally (and to quote zoid out of context,) "More Firefly = Good. Period."

The more money people make on this product, the more product we'll get. Besides, with Joss at the helm I'm not so worried about the QC.

-Eli

If voting mattered, they'd make it illegal.

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Friday, February 25, 2005 12:28 PM

ZEEK

I think you're right. We don't really want the market flooded with merchandise. Even though the starved Firefly fan in me is screaming, "GIVE ME AYTHING". I know deep down that I don't want the verse to be over exploited.

Though I am one of those people that reads most of the Star Wars books.

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Friday, February 25, 2005 3:53 PM

CRZYDEMONA

I just want to walk into a Hot Topic store and buy a shirt with Jayne on it that says "I'll be in my bunk". Is that too much too ask?!?

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Friday, February 25, 2005 4:15 PM

EMBERS

myself, I wanna a lunch box...
a full set of action figures
a model of the ship
some great comics
stickers, and Valentines, and and and and

but of course not TOO much merchandizing...
LOL

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Friday, February 25, 2005 6:21 PM

ROCKETJOCK

Sigh. I'm old enough to remember when the only Star Trek tie-in merchandise items available were a viewmaster reel set, those god-awful Gold Key comics, and a plastic flying disk gun that didn't look the least bit like a phaser. When the model kits and James Blish paperbacks came out, it seemed like mana from heaven.

Having just come from Wondercon, where there was a complete drought of Firefly merchandise, I'd be willing to risk a little over-saturization. And don't forget, the more profit Universal makes from the tie-ins, the more likely sequels/series will become.

Mostly though, I want a die-cast metal toy of Serentiy herself, complete with pivoting outboard engines, working cargo hatch ramp, and removable shuttles. But I'd settle for a micro-machine set.

Let's work at making the franchise fly for now; plenty of time later to worry about success spoiling Rock Hunter.

"Do you know what the definition of a hero is? It's somebody who gets somebody else killed." -- Zoe

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Friday, February 25, 2005 6:41 PM

EMBERS

Quote:
Originally posted by RocketJock:
Mostly though, I want a die-cast metal toy of Serentiy herself, complete with pivoting outboard engines, working cargo hatch ramp, and removable shuttles.

oh that reminds me!
I want Halmark to make a 'Serenity' Christmas ornament
where it plugs into your tree lights...
and the Firefly's tail lights
(what do we call those?)
light up on the tree....

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Friday, February 25, 2005 10:53 PM

the movie is not the Series. Only the facts have been changed, to irritate the innocent; the names of the actors and characters remain the same

Personally, I won't be buying any of it. But I hope Universal makes a ton of money on Serenity.

Ancien riche (box office receipts alone) may be preferable to nouveau riche (DVDs & tie-in merchandise), but the "riche" is the important part.

Keep the Shiny Side Up

Wutzon: Gov't Mule, "Cortez the Killer", from "Live ... with a little help . . . " etc

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Saturday, February 26, 2005 1:20 AM

ICCLEDAMES

I want Firefly Micro Machines!

*Stamps feet*

And a novel series :D But only if it's done properly - a limited number of books per year; keep the quality high - don't just bang out any trash and make sure it fits!

When I used to read the Trek books I got sick of all the inconsistancies, esspecially the stupidly major ones.

You say there are two books coming out after Serenity? Are they novels or "Behind the Scenes" kind of things?

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Saturday, February 26, 2005 3:03 AM

SIMONF

As much as I would love to see a Jayne Happy Meal or a Capt Mal burger I'm with you on what you say. Quality not quantity.

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Saturday, February 26, 2005 5:01 AM

SHINYSEVEN

Aw, heck. They can't track us down and MAKE us buy stuff, can they? No matter what's out there, we can make individual determinations like "I don't WANT an official Companion Tea Ceremony set," or "that's really tacky" or "that's too expensive."

I want my Simon action figure, dammit.

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Saturday, February 26, 2005 5:53 AM

EMBERS

Quote:
Originally posted by iccledames:

You say there are two books coming out after Serenity? Are they novels or "Behind the Scenes" kind of things?

there are three books coming out:

one is a novel:
Serenity by Keith R.A. DeCandido

one will be a movie script and behind the scenes:
Serenity by Joss Whedon
blurb at Amazon says:
Titan’s official companion contains a preface from Joss, his in-depth account of the making of the film, and his full screenplay, illustrated throughout with stills, storyboards and production art.

one is a group of essays about the TV show:
Finding Serenity : Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly (Smart Pop series)
by Glenn Yeffeth (Editor), Jane Espenson (Editor)

plus comics that are supposed to cover the period after the TV show and before the movie....

I can't wait! These are the best kinds of goodies IMO

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Saturday, February 26, 2005 8:52 AM

SAMWIBATT

Quote:
... Why? Because these things have the tendancy to really mess up a franchise. ...

I agree with you, but IMO it's bad luck just to refer to the show as a "franchise" in the first place. I call "franchise" the "F-word" because it always seems that the second something gets labelled a franchise, it becomes exactly the sort of marketroid crapping-ground you rightly want to avoid.

However, I think part of why "Firefly" didn't appeal to Fox was that it doesn't work well with product placements and such. Personally, I hate it when they do stuff like the Cap'n Mal Happy Meal, but I can put up with it - if Firefly invades McDonalds, that's easy to ignore, but if McDonalds invades Firefly, then I get pissed. Similarly, I have no trouble ignoring big bunches of novels that wander off in weird directions (And I can think of no better example than the Ssi-Ruuk(?) or whatever those murderous reptiles were in the Star Wars novels. I mean, Please.)

So, to sum up what's turning into a ramble, I don't mind the merchandising if it doesn't mess with the First Sources (series and movie(s)). But I'd be glad if they erred on the side of restraint in developing tie-ins.

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Saturday, February 26, 2005 5:20 PM

SNIPER

Quote:
Originally posted by embers:
there are three books coming out:

Actually, there's three novels coming as well. The novelization and two more.

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Sunday, February 27, 2005 4:27 PM

BRUISERSMOM

I agree that merchandising should be kept to a minimum. I'm a fan of both Star Trek and Star Wars and the authors do bring their quirks to the story. Also, some of them haven't kept up with the shows and bring in contradictory elements to the story. I would rather stick with George Lucas's and Gene Roddenberry's visions of the characters and their universe. The same thing goes for Joss's Firefly. I don't plan on buying anything about Firefly that Joss hasn't produced, written, directed, etc.

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Sunday, February 27, 2005 4:50 PM

SNIPER

Someone on the Official Site posted a great response, summs up what I feel exactly.

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Monday, February 28, 2005 6:45 AM

BROWNCOAT1

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

I agree that I would hate to see a flood of low quality merchandise saturating the market, but I honestly don't think that is going to be an issue. By the nature of the show and the fact our fanbase is nowhere nearly as large as say Star Trek or Star Wars, I doubt very seriously we will see the inundation that we have from the above named franchises.

We must also keep Joss in mind when we think about merchandising. Surely we will not see any out of control marketing or merchandising while Joss has a say in things. He is very much in control and I don't think he will allow his creation to be preverted by greed for merchandise sales.

That said, I will buy anything merchandise wise they put out. I am a fan boy and gladly admit my addiction.

__________________________________________

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

Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Meet Up:
http://firefly.meetup.com/9/boards/

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Monday, February 28, 2005 6:59 AM

KRAD

Quote:
I would rather stick with George Lucas's and Gene Roddenberry's visions of the characters and their universe.

Er, "Gene Roddenberry's visions of the characters and their universe" has only applied to the first two seasons of Star Trek, the first season of TNG, the first movie, and the animated series (which Roddenberry himself later disavowed). The other nine movies and 24 seasons' worth of TV shows were done with no input from Roddenberry. In fact, Roddenberry spent most of 1982 going to conventions and telling fans to boycott The Wrath of Khan because it wasn't true to his vision of what Trek should be.

Trek has never been a singular creative vision the way that Star Wars, Buffy, Angel, Babylon 5, Firefly/Serenity, or even The Twilight Zone were, not even in its early stages (Gene L. Coon and D.C. Fontana and Fred Freiberger were as much or more responsible for the original series' greatness as Roddenberry). Trek has always been a collaborative, collective effort.

Keith R.A. DeCandido
keith@decandido.net
www.DeCandido.net | www.AlbeShiloh.com
www.livejournal.com/~kradical

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Monday, February 28, 2005 7:00 AM

LUCCIOLA

Where could I find information about the other two novels? This is the first I've heard of this.

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Monday, February 28, 2005 3:07 PM