Ooooo New interview by Joss the Boss by Chindi

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Ooooo New interview by Joss the Boss

POSTED BY: CHINDI
UPDATED: Sunday, January 8, 2006 19:50
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 14613
PAGE 1 of 1

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 10:05 AM

http://www.torontosun.com/Entertainment/Video/2006/01/04/1378190-sun.h
tml

yeah well, he has a thing or two or twenty to say about F*x...hehehe and don't NOBODY think he is out of this 'verse by a damn shot...

it's a browncoat thing.

Chindi (hopping up and down in glee)

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 10:18 AM

JERRYT

Quote:
"You know, I've talked to other people who have created many more successful shows than I have and they've gone through the same thing," Whedon says. "I think in my case it was particularly egregious. I think I was basically a victim of what I like to call 'dumb people' -- people who are never going to trust anything except what they already know."

How true. Dumb is putting it so nicely.

JerryT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'll be in my bunk"

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 10:21 AM

CBY

Frankly I am not sure if this "FOX-bashing" is such a wise idea anymore. Sure it's fun, but according to recent discussions on FFF.net FOX is still able to play the party-pooper.

°°°°°°°°°°°°
http://www.byond-trax.com - my selfmade ambient/lounge/chillout music

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 10:58 AM

JERRYT

Quote:
Originally posted by CBY:
Frankly I am not sure if this "FOX-bashing" is such a wise idea anymore. Sure it's fun, but according to recent discussions on FFF.net FOX is still able to play the party-pooper.

How's that CBY? I know they still have TV rights? They no longer have the movie rights do they? Just curious.

JerryT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'll be in my bunk"

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 11:06 AM

CBY

Quote:
Originally posted by jerryt:
How's that CBY? I know they still have TV rights?

That's exactly my point.

°°°°°°°°°°°°
http://www.byond-trax.com - my selfmade ambient/lounge/chillout music

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 11:15 AM

PSOLARIS

Quote:
"Your worst imaginings of what a group of executives could be is basically what was happening at the time there," Whedon says. He was told bluntly that another show, Fastlane, was "the golden boy" of the studio.

Ummm, Fastlane??? Wha????

I looked this up in IMDB and I don't even remember anything about it. Some "golden boy" that turned out to be.

Psolaris

"Ten percent of nuthin' is...let me do the math here...nuthin' into nuthin'...carry the nuthin'"

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 11:28 AM

VIOLETRIX

Quote:
Some "golden boy" that turned out to be.

no kidding, right? i think it had some chick from 90210 in it.
i hate fox.

http://violetrix.blogspot.com
you won't remember anyway

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 11:30 AM

DANIELFYRE

I remember Fastlane vaguely. I never watched it but it looked like it was trying to be the fast and the furious for TV...

-Dan

Ain't that just shiny?

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 11:45 AM

SERYN

I think FOX are going to hold the rights to ransom as soon as the dvd sales figures come in anyway.
If they really have the power (see the 'money talk' thread, hasn't been confirmed what power they may actually have, but...)to prevent another series being made (which is, I think, what the majority of the fans want) they are going to hold out for everything they can get, so Joss may as well get the knives in now - and good luck to him in his efforts.

The hope is that another company sees the sales as incentive enough to bitch-slap fox into giving em up.

But that wasn't what I wanted to say - first anyway.

Quote:

After sales of the Firefly DVD exploded among his fans -- the people who have adopted the name Browncoats as a homage to the series -- Whedon eventually got it revived as a movie

Thats nice, someone referring to the Browncoats as 'people' and people who did good, and not going for the 'ravening obsessives' angle as so many others have done.

Me likes.

Me in a 'bad day at work' induced sour mood, feel free to ignore at your discretion.

-------------------------------------------
"She's a mite whimsical in the brainpan."

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 11:47 AM

CAUSAL

Quote:

Whedon still has faith. Just as the DVD sales for Firefly gave Serenity a life in the first place, the DVD sales for Serenity are expected to push it into profit.

"I think DVD will be a good home for it. I think its momentum will actually start now."

Warms the heart.

Hold the line, Browncoats!

________________________________________________________________________
I wish I had a magical wish-granting plank.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 11:58 AM

TINFOIL

Fastlane is now being aired on, of all places, G4 now (repeats only). You know, the station prodominently about video games? That seems like a good place to put a hip-hop car/cop show, right? Right? RIGHT?

FOX has a huge problem of not look at the whole picture. For example, take Futurama. Funny show. Great show. For sure good enough to still be running. They blindly switched time slots for it over and over until it got placed in a location where it got bumped for football over and over. The ratings started to REALLY drop and FOX must think the show is slipping in popularity. No you dingles!!! It's because when you only air the show once a month and give it ZERO commerical time, people can't find it and watch it. So they can it. But wait, what's this? On channels like TBS and Cartoon Network, it is pulling in the highest ratings of any show on the network? DVD sales are incredible? Folks are in the streets BEGGING for the show to be put back on the air? Nah, can't be. FOX is never wrong...

It just kills me...

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 12:09 PM

CBY

Quote:
Originally posted by seryn:
not going for the 'ravening obsessives' angle as so many others have done.

We are in fact raving obsessives, that's what beeing a supporter is all about

°°°°°°°°°°°°
http://www.byond-trax.com - my selfmade ambient/lounge/chillout music

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 12:10 PM

QUEENOFTHENORTH

"You know, Fox turned into a hardcore sex channel so gradually, I didn't even notice."

Yup, that's the problem, not enough sex on Firefly, and too much intelligent and quality TV between the sex.

I wonder if Fox is slightly embarrassed about all this. You know, let's can all these quality shows that people love (after we've screwed with them) because they're not making money. Couple years later, they're pulling in millions of dollars in DVD sales and huge ratings through syndication, and one of them's even spawned a movie. Huh, I wonder if we did something wrong? Maybe we should bring some of them back.

DO YA THINK???

Oops, sorry.

I'm a little angered at the Fox people.

"Sir, you actually said 'wink, wink'. I don't think that -"
"Oh, you'd be surprised."

"Yes, the new plan will STILL involve rocket skates."
"YAY!"

Like books? Go to this thread: http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=2&t=14862
to find out how to buy mine!

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 12:12 PM

RADDUE

Quote:
Originally posted by Causal:

Hold the line, Browncoats!

Aye aye!

Great interview, by the way. Wheton is the kind of guy I could really get to like; he seems like the type that I'd like to just buy a beer and sit and talk to him.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 12:32 PM

DANIELFYRE

Speaking of badmouthing fox and how they cancel all kinda good shows...Refer to the first ep of season 4 of Family Guy in the very begining Peter lists all of the shows Fox has cancelled (firefly is in there) and each one has some story about how Fox pretty much neglected it (well some of them were just bad...that 80's show...? ouch.). Anyway yeah I thought I'd throw that out there so that you could see Fox's track record...

-Dan

Ain't that just shiny?

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 12:54 PM

QUEENOFTHENORTH

Quote:
Originally posted by DanielFyre:
Speaking of badmouthing fox and how they cancel all kinda good shows...Refer to the first ep of season 4 of Family Guy in the very begining Peter lists all of the shows Fox has cancelled (firefly is in there) and each one has some story about how Fox pretty much neglected it (well some of them were just bad...that 80's show...? ouch.). Anyway yeah I thought I'd throw that out there so that you could see Fox's track record...

-Dan

Ain't that just shiny?

Hehe, yeah, I saw that ep too. "Well, if they cancel ALL these shows . . ." and then the list starts. I kept expecting it to end any second, but it just went on and on . . . I mean, I knew they cancelled a bunch of shows, but I didn't think it was that many. And in the space of what, 2-3 years? Sheesh. Well, that's Fox for ya.

"Sir, you actually said 'wink, wink'. I don't think that -"
"Oh, you'd be surprised."

"Yes, the new plan will STILL involve rocket skates."
"YAY!"

Like books? Go to this thread: http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=2&t=14862
to find out how to buy mine!

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 1:27 PM

PSOLARIS

Quote:
Originally posted by violetrix:
i think it had some chick from 90210 in it.

Now THERE'S some quality programming!

Let's take a chick from that tripe that's 90210 and put her on a show that is Fast and Furious for tv. Fast cars and hot women sell...right? Well obviously, since that "golden boy" show lasted soooooooo incredibly, uh...short!!!!

And I ask, where are the fans for that show? What would you call them? Grease Monkeys? Speedsters? Speed Monkeys? I know that G4 has a forum space, but I haven't seen proof of a site that is dedicated to that as we are to Firefly. They don't even have the series on DVD. There are some selling on ebay, but those are pirated. Not much information out there other than IMDB and G4 when it comes to that show.

Golden boy indeed

Psolaris

"Ten percent of nuthin' is...let me do the math here...nuthin' into nuthin'...carry the nuthin'"

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 1:46 PM

GELASSENHEIT

Quote:
Refer to the first ep of season 4 of Family Guy in the very begining Peter lists all of the shows Fox has cancelled (firefly is in there) and each one has some story about how Fox pretty much neglected it

Can anyone come up with this list? I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see it.

Unfortunately I never watched the Family guy, nor did I buy their DVDs.

Gelassenheit means Serenity

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 2:13 PM

PSOLARIS

Took me a little while, but I found it!!

Quote:
Peter: Everybody I've got bad news. We've been cancelled.
Lois: Oh no Peter! How could they do that?
Peter: Well unfortuantely Lois, there's just no more room on the schedule. We just gotta accept the fact that FOX has to make room for terrific shows like Dark Angel, Titus, Undeclared, Action, That 80's Show, Wonder Falls, Fast Lane, Andy Richter Controls The Universe, Skin, Girl's Club, Cracking Up, The Pitts, Firefly, Get Real, Freaky Links, Wanda At Large, Costello, The Lone Gunman, A Minute with Stan Hooper, Normal Ohio, Pasadena, Harsh Realm, Keen Eddy, The Street, American Embassy, Cedric The Entertainer, The Tick, Louie, And Greg The Bunny....
Lois: Is there no hope?
Peter: Well I suppose if ALL those shows go down the tubes we might have a shot.

Psolaris

"Ten percent of nuthin' is...let me do the math here...nuthin' into nuthin'...carry the nuthin'"

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 3:11 PM

DC4BS

Grrr...

FOX cancelled The Tick. Had to go and remind me, didn't you?

Look on the bright side. Firefly got even more episodes filmed than The Tick did... Another DVD set I love.

------------------------------------------
dc4bs

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 3:33 PM

CHRISPV

Annoying thing is all of the pretty good shows in that list that never got a chance to develop. I dug what little of Greg the Bunny I saw, and Andy Richter is almost always solid. Harsh Realm got some pretty good reviews too, did it not? Seems like Fox just loes to hit that "kill button," don't it?

In retaliation, Browncoats, I have but one rallying cry:

"SPOOOOOOOON!"

Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal, Fox!

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 3:47 PM

CHRISTHECYNIC

To those who know what they are talking about, and only to them, can Fox hold the rights hostage?

If I remember correctly they publicly stated that they would not stop another network from picking up the show. That's advertising and hope that the show would be picked up affected the DVD sales.

I have been told that the penalties for false advertising are fairly severe, even for something like Fox. Hence the weasel words and fine print in commercials. I was under the impression Fox was very explicit, so is it legally possible for them to screw us over now?

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 3:58 PM

CHRISTHECYNIC

I remember Fastlane only in the fact that Fox liked it more than Firefly and we were pissed off we were getting replaced by that.

Some people here said good things about Wonderfalls, but they also said they were worried because it was a good show on Fox, and you know what that means.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 4:56 PM

VIOLETRIX

Quote:
Fast cars and hot women sell...right?

i hate popular culture. hate it. it's not like our BDH's are so hard on the eyes, you know? stupid fox.

http://violetrix.blogspot.com
you won't remember anyway

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 5:20 PM

JUSTSHINY

I didn't watch Firefly when it was on T.V.

I feel soo stupid about that now, but I don't think that I would've appreciated it as much though.

I do remember

Fastlane.

Here is a little taste of that stupid show:

I was in 8th grade at the time, and flipping through channels, found Fox. There was a racetrack with a car rippin' down it. I thought that it might be a movie or something, so I kept watching. All of a sudden, some chick sticks her hand down the driver's pants, and then I'm sure there was more to that because I flipped it off as soon as my brain recognized it. "What the

?!" = my thoughts. I didn't even think they could show that on t.v. Stupid Fastlane!

I also started watching Wonderfalls when it was on. That was a good show. It was basically about this woman that worked in a tourist shop by Niagra Falls. She would have these random toys (specifically a red lion, I think) talk to her, and tell her to do things. Yes, kind of creepifing. But when she would listen, she would end up helping someone. And that would continue into the next episode somehow. I don't remember exactly. But: I do remember that it was quite interesting.

That is all. I <3 Firefly now. Still hate that fact that Fastlane was even allowed on the air. And know that there is no hope for Wonderfalls.

Drunks are so cute.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 9:41 PM

JAYSONAYCH

Quote:
Originally posted by Psolaris:
Quote:
"Your worst imaginings of what a group of executives could be is basically what was happening at the time there," Whedon says. He was told bluntly that another show, Fastlane, was "the golden boy" of the studio.

Ummm, Fastlane??? Wha????

I looked this up in IMDB and I don't even remember anything about it. Some "golden boy" that turned out to be.

I remember when it first came out, hot on the heels of the Fast and the Furious movie. Fastlane looked like poorly-written lowest-common-denominator crap just from the commercials, and it sickens me to know that Fox thought of it as their "golden boy" when Firefly was around.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 9:45 PM

JAYSONAYCH

Quote:
Originally posted by ChrisPV:
Annoying thing is all of the pretty good shows in that list that never got a chance to develop. I dug what little of Greg the Bunny I saw, and Andy Richter is almost always solid. Harsh Realm got some pretty good reviews too, did it not? Seems like Fox just loes to hit that "kill button," don't it?

Titus was also pretty good. I think it got a couple of years, but it still left the air before it should have. One of the few non-animated comedies I made it a point to watch at that time.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 10:22 PM

ITSBROKEN

I wonder if there is a way to find out if the individual(s) responsible for the cancelation of Firefly (and other really good shows once on fox) are still among the ranks of the execs, is there any way to slap sense into the people in charge of deciding what goes...or maybe their bosses?

-----
***someone should make a MMORPG based on the 'verse!***

Geeze i want Firefly to come back!

-----

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 10:41 PM

ROLAND19

So apparently I'm the only one who thought "Fastlane" was an okay show. Not great, certainly no "Firefly", but my brother and I watched it on occasion. So sue me, I'm a guy; Me like things go boom.

-------------------------------------------------
The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 11:22 PM

NDRAGE85

Quote:
Originally posted by Roland19:
So apparently I'm the only one who thought "Fastlane" was an okay show. Not great, certainly no "Firefly", but my brother and I watched it on occasion. So sue me, I'm a guy; Me like things go boom.

-------------------------------------------------
The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.

actually, i am sad to say that I did watch Fastlane. at the time i thought it was a descent show. i hated the music(generic hip hop and bland rock), but i still watched it. I remember enjoying it enough. i was slightly disappointed that it got canceled. it got canceled partially because of ratings, but another factor was that it cost between $1-$2Million an episode to make, and they couldn't afford to keep doing it on a weekly basis. but like that other person said, it is now on G4 TV, and i've watched a few episodes again, and I guess I don't really see what I orginally saw in the show. Today, it isn't something i'd really watch. of course, maybe i've been spoiled by the quality of Firefly. I've seen a lot of series come and go, and ones that are still around. and I can honestly say that Firefly is the greatest series I have ever seen. Which just makes it all the harder to swallow the fact that Fox never gave it a shot.

i wish Fox or another network would give Firefly a chance. It seems like a pretty solid series to take a chance on. I mean, a series that was aired out of order (that is a major factor in screwing it over). a series that is now on DVD and has sold very well. A series that now has a movie that was critically acclaimed. A series that is now gaining new fans everyday because of the exposure the movie gave it. a series that already has an installed and very loyal fanbase. i mean, why not give it a shot? there is by far fewer risks associated with putting Firefly back on the air rather then trying out a brand new series. Yes, Firefly did get cancelled, but if network execs were to actually look at the factors that worked against it, don't you think that they would maybe think that it is worth another shot?

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, January 5, 2006 3:34 AM

BWARE42

I'd love to see the wording in the Firefly series agreement. I'm assuming the attorney that drafted it wasn't a complete idiot, so I'm guessing they didn't just tie up the name "Firefly" but they also included Serenity, the characters, the 'verse, etc...

If not, a "Serenity" series could be made. I'd love (and prefer) to see it come back on TV. Films are cool, but the stories need to be more epic in feature length films. You won't get the detail and feel of episodes like "Ariel" "Trash" "Out of Gas" etc...on film. The best we could hope for in film is another epic story arc like making Blue Sun the real evil force behind River and how they take up the chase in hunting her down. I'd much rather see characters develop and the story take it's time to develop...

Just my two cents.

Some people juggle geese!

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, January 5, 2006 9:25 AM

MATTIE

Thanks Psolaris! I just watched it and it makes me laugh every time! I love that Peter pauses after every name to emphasize it.
Can you believe that Fox cancelled 29 shows in 2-3 years?! NO one had a chance. Duh, stupid, stupid executives!

Wacky fun!

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, January 5, 2006 9:49 AM

HARTMEISTER

Fox has a TV network and every TV network can point to shows that it gave the ax to the wrong way. Gilligan's Island was axed simply because CBS executive William Paley was horrified what would happen if his wife found out that her favorite series, Gunsmoke, was canceled. I think it is pretty safe to say that Gilligan's Island has been a much better syndication property than Gunsmoke.

Hollywood has many squabbles and it is not inconceivable that ten years from now if different management was running Fox, Joss might make another show for them. After all, Fox didn't hurt him, the people who ran Fox hurt him.

Of course Fox owns the rights to a TV series of Firefly. I think we assume that Fox would want a pretty penny for those rights but that may not be what Fox is thinking of.

Fox never wanted Firefly because Firefly wasn't the sort of show that Fox wanted. Fox wanted edgy, youth oriented shows and FF was not that. I think the lack of financial success for the BDM probably confirms their opinions that cancellation of Firefly was not a mass market TV show. They don't think they new "Star Trek", they probably think they had a new "Dr. Who".

Also we forget that Fox is not a cable channel but a network. Most of its network is of stations that they don't own and who can bolt to be come a UPN or WB affiliate. They couldn't justify keeping FF alive for several seasons just for DVD sales because the affliates don't make any money off those sales. If the affiliates feel that Fox is cramming product down their throat simply to get money off ancillary revenue (like DVDs) they'll just bolt to a more "responsive" network.

If Fox's goal was simply to punish Joss & Co. for making a "bad" show and to prove that they make the right decision all along to cancel them they wouldn't have:

1) Made a DVD set with lots of extras (like commentaries)
2) Allowed Joss to shop the show to other networks
3) Allowed for the Serenity movie to be made

Fox doesn't want to kill Firefly. They just don't want to spend and money that they can't get tenfold in DVD sales. What Fox probably wants is for some other company to pay the production and advertising costs of a new series that would be free advertising for their old series.

So let's say that Sci-Fi channel is proposing a new FF/Serenity TV movie or TV series. Now Fox knows that any new series will boost DVD sales of the earlier series, it was proved with the release of the Serenity movie. Despite all the extras with the DVD its pretty obvious that what sold the DVD big time was the release of the Serenity movie.

I'm guessing what Fox would want would be:

1) Any commercials on the series/movie hawking DVD s would have to include a plug for the original series

2) The new series/movies would have to named "Serenity" or something other than "Firefly" to differentiate them the original Firefly episodes.

3) Future DVDs would include a free (to Fox) ad/coupon for the original series

They may also "unofficially" ask in the background for a halt to the constant tirade against Fox by Joss, various members of the crew and cast. I wouldn't be surprised to see a sort of make-up where Fox admits it made a mistake and Joss (or one of the BDH's such as Nathan) asks fans to forgive Fox and let bygones by bygones. I don't think they really believe that Joss will go back to making series for them in the near future but they may not like the negative publicity that Joss's grumblings give to other creative types in Hollywood.

Quote:
Originally posted by christhecynic:
To those who know what they are talking about, and only to them, can Fox hold the rights hostage?

If I remember correctly they publicly stated that they would not stop another network from picking up the show. That's advertising and hope that the show would be picked up affected the DVD sales.

I have been told that the penalties for false advertising are fairly severe, even for something like Fox. Hence the weasel words and fine print in commercials. I was under the impression Fox was very explicit, so is it legally possible for them to screw us over now?

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, January 5, 2006 10:27 AM

HARTMEISTER

Also I didn't say this but I'm also guessing Fox would want some sort of "quality" assurance for a new TV series or movies. They would probably require Joss (or someone else who was high up in the series) to be intimately involved in the new series and some sort of commitment to production values.

Fox wouldn't want a new series that was worse than than FF or the BDM. An inferior sequel would make FF original series less valuable.

I think we can see in many series where production costs where cut in future seasons to get costs in line but eventually cut appeal of shows. One show that comes to mind is "Wonder Woman". "Wonder Woman" was originally set during WWII and while never a great show had a funny camp feel from its historical setting. Putting Wonder Woman in the seventies completely lost its appeal. So while season one of WW is not that bad for a kids show, season two was dreadful. This reduces the value of the entire series.

I once heard that one of the reasons that NBC executives gave for the final cancellation of Star Trek was its slipping quality. Most Star Trek fans readily admit that season three of Star Trek had several bad episodes and probably lead to the reason that the show was originally issued as individual episodes on DVDs; there are some episodes that Trekkie's just don't watch.

So let's say that Josh had the TV rights to FF and sold them to a crappy TV producer so that the cast could keep their jobs. Season two would seem like crap and so would the entire series. You could say till you were blue in face that the original FF on Fox were great but somebody would say "yeah but they show them out of sequence on Sci-Fi channel and I just saw an episodes where the cast was trapped on a border planet of just devotees to Wizard of Oz and Mal dressed like the Scarecrow and Jayne was the Cowardly Lion".

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, January 5, 2006 10:59 AM

RUXTON

For the love of GOD, man, his name is

JOSS

not Josh.

Can't read your otherwise fine notes because I can't get past this. Please fix it.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, January 5, 2006 11:53 AM

HARTMEISTER

I'm sorry, my crappy spell checker changed things unmercifully. I'm not using this for this one.

JOSS,JOSS,JOSS,JOSS,JOSS,JOSS,JOSS,JOSS,JOSS,

I think I just better go home and cry. Better yet, I'll edit the post like you suggested.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, January 5, 2006 12:00 PM

BWARE42

Quote:
Originally posted by Ruxton:
For the love of GOD, man, his name is

JOSS

not Josh.

Can't read your otherwise fine notes because I can't get past this. Please fix it.

And here I thought some guy named Josh was reviving the series!!!

I've always thought Fox has been a pretty good sport about the ribbing the network takes. The Simspons rip on Fox and Murdoch constantly and they've been running like 15 years!!!

Dropping our Big Damn Series was a bad call, granted...But if Fox sees an opportunity to make nice cashy money, I'm sure they will!

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, January 5, 2006 2:54 PM

ZIPPLY

Fastlane was a Miami Vice for the 2000's (not my quote). The only one of those I ever saw guest-starred an actress named Jennifer Sky... who, three years prior, was playing as another sexpot in the title role of "Cleopatra 2525"... with a sidekick named Gina Torres. Not quite six degrees, but Hollywood's a small town after all.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, January 5, 2006 8:28 PM

RUXTON

HARTMEISTER,
Thanks immensely for the edits.

ZIPPLY, let us not forget another connection: Jennifer Sky played one of THE PACK on Buffy. (Her character's name was Heidi Barrie.)

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, January 5, 2006 8:34 PM

RUXTON

So now we know two of the Cleopatra 2525 actresses, Jen Sky and Zoe...er, Gina T. For the grand prize, who can name the third? Clue: She is the real thing, a feminine Chuck Norris, kickboxing champ, etc. Her muscles and moves are the real thing. And she (when last seen) was in a sort-of space ship.

Anyone?

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, January 6, 2006 8:32 AM

CARNYASADA

I think I'm the only person on this board... maybe in the whole western hemisphere... who actually remembers Keen Eddie with a pang of regret. Fox, you f*****s!

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, January 6, 2006 8:39 AM

QUEENOFTHENORTH

Quote:
Originally posted by BWare42:
Quote:
Originally posted by Ruxton:
For the love of GOD, man, his name is

JOSS

not Josh.

Can't read your otherwise fine notes because I can't get past this. Please fix it.

And here I thought some guy named Josh was reviving the series!!!

I've always thought Fox has been a pretty good sport about the ribbing the network takes. The Simspons rip on Fox and Murdoch constantly and they've been running like 15 years!!!

Dropping our Big Damn Series was a bad call, granted...But if Fox sees an opportunity to make nice cashy money, I'm sure they will!

It's true that they've been a good sport about that, but look at how many millions upon millions of dollars Simpsons has made for them. Not to mention that Simpsons, especially in its early days, was relatively cheap to produce. And Simpsons is one of the shows that made Fox the network it is today, whether that's good or bad.

So I don't think that they would ever say anything against Simpsons, despite what Simpsons might say about them.

"I'm having one of those things - a headache with pictures."

"Sucker! Competitive violence, that's why you're here!"

Like books? Go to this thread: http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=2&t=14862
to find out how to buy mine!

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, January 6, 2006 11:46 AM

BROWNEDSHORTS

I absolutely loved "Keen Eddie" too, Carnyasada. As I recall, the actor who played the soldier who got diced by lasers in the "Resident Evil" movie also played the police chief, or whatever the Brit equivalent is, in "Keen Eddie". They showed reruns for a little while on Bravo or E!...whichever network shows "Queer Eye".

This may be old news to you true browncoats, but speaking of connections, I recently watched "Wonderfalls" again thru the miracle of Netflix (man, what a great show that was), and noticed that Tim Minear was a producer and screenwriter for that show as well.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, January 8, 2006 6:43 PM

PEULSAR5

We sniff the air, we don't kiss the dirt.

I think you mean Victoria Pratt, who was also on Mutant X. She is VERY attractive.

"So now we know two of the Cleopatra 2525 actresses, Jen Sky and Zoe...er, Gina T. For the grand prize, who can name the third? Clue: She is the real thing, a feminine Chuck Norris, kickboxing champ, etc. Her muscles and moves are the real thing. And she (when last seen) was in a sort-of space ship."

Anyone?

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, January 8, 2006 7:19 PM

ADLAI

one business question:

why didn't this series go to WB/UPN? Why did it go to FOX to begin with? And what sort of deal did he sign? I'm guessing that Fox enticed him with more money and a higher SFX budget maybe...but they lacked confidence in it. As he said... dumb people

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, January 8, 2006 7:43 PM

NINAH148

My fiance is a big fan of Fastlane, and I've subsequently seen a lot in syndication through being in the room. :-) It was exec produced by "McG", director of the Charlie's Angels movies, and has that same frenetic, highly stylized, popcorn-movie feel. It actually didn't do so bad, but every episode involved so much blowing-up of things that it was just too expensive to maintain. IMDB said each ep cost 2.6 million. That's 1.5 BDMs every season or so...

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, January 8, 2006 7:50 PM

NINAH148

BTW, this story reminds me a lot of something I read in one of the books about X-Files...something about how FOX kept telling Chris Carter that "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr." was the show they were banking on, and that Bruce Campbell was going to be the next big thing, not this Duchovny guy. If I remember correctly, X-Files also went to the brink of cancellation before jumping back to be one of FOX's most defining shows.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

YOUR OPTIONS

SHARE THREAD

NEW POSTS TODAY

USER

POST DATE