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If I was at Fox I would be happy but not overjoyed. FIREFLY falls somewhere between THE X-FILES and DARK ANGEL. It’s not nearly as good as FILES was in its prime, and it’s just slightly better than what DARK ANGEL became after its breakout pilot. What Fox should have realized from the failure of DARK ANGEL is that sci-fi action every week is totally unexciting and tedious. Whedon’s idea to introduce some humanity to his outer-space drama was smart. Shows like this need something to fall back on -- something to take up fifty minutes before the orgasm of the finale -- and if Fox made him cut that out and forget about it for some small-scale action scenes it could mean trouble.

Whedon directed the pilot, and from what I heard it didn’t exactly knock anyone’s socks off. So that, more than this script, might have been the deciding factor (Fox did read the script before giving him nine million dollars, right?). So I’m gonna hold off on unrestrainedly blasting Fox. The truly interesting thing about this project will be to see if Whedon can really create a hit TV show. Sure, I know BUFFY is well-known and a part of our culture. But the truth is, like all shows on UPN and the WB, no one watches them! A “hit” show on one of those channels pulls in a few million viewers, which, even for HBO, is an embarrassment. If you put a “hit” show like BUFFY on Fox with the same viewership, you’re talking about being canceled in a week. So the question hangs out there: Can Whedon appeal to a large audience? Is his reach limited to the people who watch BUFFY and ANGEL? Well, we’ll just have to see.

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