Cult Hit v Commercial success by peacekeeper

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Cult Hit v Commercial success

POSTED BY: PEACEKEEPER
UPDATED: Monday, September 7, 2009 03:35
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Saturday, September 5, 2009 1:32 PM

Keeping order in every verse

I was just thinking;what would have become of FFF.net(and other equivalents)if Firefly had become the commercial success that we all hoped it would be?At this moment we are a family.There are a relatively small amount of regular posters,all gradually forming valid and interesting relationships through the love of a great show.But if Firefly were to have reached the TV masses,would there still be boards like this?Could you imagine hundreds of thousands of fans all trying to be heard on this one tiny board?I doubt there would have been the same level of cameraderie.In my experience it is often the case that the very thing that makes something valuable and exclusive,is it's rarity;it's UNpopularity if you will.If you find a rare thing,it is valued highly;when that commodity becomes commonplace,it's value drops considerably.I guess the question I'm really asking is whether you would sacrifice being a member of an exclusive club with it's own identity for being a forgotten number in an institutional mass.? It's Catch 22 for me.A successful return of Firefly would be heaven for me but would I want it at the expense of this intimacy with the cult fans?Thoughts?

Peacekeeper---keeping order in every 'verse

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 1:56 PM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

I grant your theory about exclusivity. I'm not sure what the result of popularity of FFF would be. But I posit that not that many people get involved, and stay involved, in a fan site--remember that we are die-hards who are still here after 14 epis and a movie, 7 years or so ago.

Also there is the fact that there are a multitude of Firefly fansites, as I discovered when I first looked for one. Put the two together, and I posit you'd still end up with a relatively exclusive community--I think you'd have far more POSTS in the forums dedicated to Firefly, but I think they'd drop off after time, once the series ran its course.

That can only be a guess, obviously, under the circumstances, but from what I see this is an extremely small group of people--at least in General, Talk and RWE--I think there would be room for far more before it became onerous. And to answer your question; I'd trade exclusivity for more Firefly any day--who among us wouldn't?

________________________
Together we are greater than the sum of our parts

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 2:00 PM

KWICKO

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)

Seeing as I love The West Wing as much as I love Firefly, and yet I've never, ever been to a West Wing fan site, I'd have to say it's the browncoatiness of it all that brings us here. We're a tiny band, but we're mighty.

Or, y'know, it might just be the Jossiness of it all. I tend to inhabit the Whedon sites (Buffy and Angel areas here, as well as some Dollhouse, and of course Firefly, and occasionally Whedonesque.com), but I don't get that much into other shows at all. I *LIKE* Supernatural, but I don't go to their fansites, either. Ditto Chuck. And The Office.

Mike

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 2:38 PM

TRAVELER

What brought me here was the discovery of Firefly years after it had left the airwaves. What keeps me here is not onlt the desire for the shows return, but the people. I found friends here. I have never met any of you personally, but are discussions and our fun posts let me know I have become a part of a very caring community.

If the show had become a success I may have found this forum sooner. I don't feel I joined this forum because the show was canceled. I sought out a forum because this show was something special and I wanted to share my feelings for the show. It was also a time I started to seek out forums. I had not belonged to any before this. I have sought out other forums, but not with the success I found here. And with that I mean the people who enjoy life and making friends.

Since this site existed long before I got here I can only assume that there were people I never met that helped create the atmosphere I enjoy belonging to. And to those who have been here from the start; thank you.

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
Traveler

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 2:42 PM

KINGEICHOLZ

I Met Morena and Jewel .... w/ some pics!
they were enjoying themselves. Morena's hair is still short, and she looks as great as ever. Jewel looked like Kaylee to me, not the slim-version. It was a big thrill for me to get to talk to them individually on Friday. They also wrote some very shiny words on my personalized autographed photos. Now I've met 4 of the 9 BDH's plus Mark Sheppard and Christina Hendricks.

On Saturday Jewel and Morena were part of a panel of Whedon Women that included Clare Kramer, Julie Benz, and Juliet Landau. A line-up of finer-looking ladies would be tough to assemble. They all said how much they love Joss.

Said hello to the Austin Browncoats who had a booth at the show. Some very fine people in that group. I salute you!

Here's some pics from Saturday's panel. Sorry, I only had a camera-phone :

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 2:45 PM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

I agree with both responses. I, too, am a RABID fan of West Wing (Bartlet for President!!!), but I never sought out a fan site for it or any other series I've loved (and there have been a few).

It WAS the specialness of Firefly that had me seek out a fan site for the first time in my life AND, despite negative experiences elsewhere, not give up but seek out yet another. I wanted to be with others who had been touched as I was by the series...so what does that say about it?

I also can't help but wonder if there weren't many other fans here while it was on the air, and can we figure out how many were here then and dropped out, and conversely how many like me came here long after the series died? That's a quotient that needs to be taken into account, isn't it?

________________________
Together we are greater than the sum of our parts

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 3:37 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

Quote:
Originally posted by Niki2:
I also can't help but wonder if there weren't many other fans here while it was on the air, and can we figure out how many were here then and dropped out, and conversely how many like me came here long after the series died? That's a quotient that needs to be taken into account, isn't it?

Even though I watched Firefly from the beginning on FOX, and lurked here and on the OB during its run, I didn't register and begin posting until after the DVDs were released. That was on January 31, 2004, and I am member number 4452. Niki2 is member number 37069, having registered on July 11 of this year.

There are quite a few people who were active then that I have not seen in a long time. I'm sure that several of the 37000+ are duplicate accounts, created when someone forgot their original username or password.

If Firefly had been more successful I am sure this site would be a bit different, since there would be a lot more members. But most people stick to certain areas of the site, some maybe only in RWED or only post fanfic. There would likely be more sites devoted to the show than there already are, and each would have a unique atmosphere to attract certain types. If FFF.net retained a semblance of the same atmosphere I am sure it would remain my favorite site.

Firefly was like "lightning in a bottle," a truly unique experience that came along at the right time, attracted the right cast and group of writers and directors, under the direction of a genius story-teller. I think it is going to remain my favorite show for quite a while, but I'd trade the cult status it now holds for more episodes in a heartbeat, and I'd finance them if I were able.

wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

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Sunday, September 6, 2009 10:24 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Haken would have updated to handle extra load, he hasn't because there is no more content forthcoming.

The discussion would be about THE NEWEST EPISODE!!! instead of further delving into the few episodes we got. We wouldn't have time to wonder about how many friends we have here, but the nature of the show would assure that the temperment and shinyness of the posters would fall into similar patterns as we have now.

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Monday, September 7, 2009 3:35 AM

ZZETTA13

If it meant we’d gotten more FF I would have opted to be one of a zillion tiny fleas on the rump of a water buffalo….although such a large mass of folk on FFF.net may not be as much fun and a close knit family as it is now I’d still get to sit and watch the best show ever to be aired on tv

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