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For four anxious months, a devoted cadre of fans watched the series falter, its episodes broadcast out of order, plugged misleadingly as a fun-loving space romp, until it was axed last December by Fox (fast gaining a reputation as a serial killer of quality shows.)

In the nostalgic memories of the Internet fan base, "Firefly" quickly became that sentimental fetish object: the brilliant series cut down before its time. A Web site called Fireflyfans.net continued to thrive; episodes were passed around via file-sharing programs. And this posthumous fan base waited expectantly for the show's vindication: what has become television's afterlife, the collectible DVD. Just in time for Christmas, that package finally arrives, a complete "Firefly" boxed set with all the goodies: three episodes never shown on network television, plenty of juicy extras, a melancholic mini-documentary on the show's production, and commentary tracks by the show's creators, its cast, even its costume designer — a permanent record of a series that once would have dissolved into network history.

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