Finally saw the pilot

POSTED BY: WrongArturo
UPDATED: Friday, January 16, 2004 07:57
VIEWED: 6547
PAGE 1 of 1

WRONGARTURO

Sunday, March 16, 2003 7:00 AM

I missed "Serenity" when it aired, but one of the nice people here made a copy of it for me for free (thanks so much, B.!) Let me just say that I loved it. Fox should definitely have aired this one first. As it is, they have no one to blame but themselves for the show's demise.

BTW, I posted a bunch of new reviews up in the Episodes section, if you care to look. :)

69

Sunday, March 16, 2003 7:26 PM

If you all liked the series so much I reckon we pool our money, hire the cast and crew to make our own eps. Just a thought.

69

LERXST

Sunday, March 16, 2003 7:32 PM

I'm in! But we'd have to come up with an awful lot of dough. Anybody here hang out with Bill Gates?

There is never love without pain. --Peart

MANIACNUMBERONE

Sunday, March 16, 2003 8:06 PM

I've got $14.70 I'll throw down.

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Who's winning?
I don't know, they don't seem to be playing by any civilized rules that I know.
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WRONGARTURO

Sunday, March 16, 2003 9:08 PM

I've got $3.50, a stuffed Kermit the Frog, and a couple of paper clips.

Wrong Arturo
Final episode of Farscape -- Mar. 21 on the Sci-Fi Channel

KAYTHRYN

Sunday, March 16, 2003 9:48 PM

Lets see, I've got a whole 23.64 in my checking account I'd be willing to let go of to keep Firefly going. One condition, I say whoever puts money in gets to act in one episode each.

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Jayne: Hey, I didn't fight in no war. Best of luck, though.

SWITCHY

Sunday, March 16, 2003 10:02 PM

One of the TV poll sites asked how much I'd be willing to spend per episode for my favorite show direct to DVD. Upon careful reflection I have to say I'd gladly pay what I pay to go to the movies for Firefly episodes. Crazy as that sounds. The snacks are way cheaper. Not to mention how willing we are to risk the money on an unknown commodity most times we go to the movies when with a favorite show you know what you're paying to see.

Is that him?

That's the buffet, Kaylee.

How can we be sure unless we question it?

WULFHAWK

Sunday, March 16, 2003 10:37 PM

Had a thought knocking around my little corner of No and Where...

Online mmoprpg's (everquest, for instance) require a software purchase, and a monthly fee, to participate. Thousands of people fork over 30 or 40 bucks for the software, and 100 to 200 bucks a year to have their fun.

When you multiply this by 10,000 members, the yearly total approaches 2 million bucks!

How many episodes per year would a pay-to-view fansite make that way? Would advertisers, guaranteed a 10,000 member, demographic friendly audience, jump in with a few million of their own?

Perhaps THIS website? 8D

Who the hell needs to hear this idea?

tanstaafl, ya'll

MIGTEEBIGBIGBROTHA

Monday, March 17, 2003 9:13 AM

I liked firefly too but damn unless you get 10 million folks to contribute $2 to $5 every season you can forget about that. I was mad when I found out Fox TV cancelled the show. The acting was really good the story lines were excellent. But in reality yeah the show was given a messed up time slot and day. The show was cutting edge but it was far beyond its time for Fox to handle that show on Network TV. When I see all the other stupid shows they have on TV I get pissed the F**K off. They should have moved that show to there cable network not network TV. Laurence Fishburne is how I found out the show got cancelled when he mentioned it during an interview when they asked him about his wife Gina Torres, WoW!!!!! Love that sista ever since she first popped up on Hercules and Cleopatra 2525. Too bad she is married but ya know how those Hollywood marriages go. Well if you open the 'FireFly fund' you might have a fighting chance. The city of Cleveland got there NFL team back the Cleveland Browns cause they wouldn't let it die. Any bankers in here open up a fund. I say we put that show back on the air dammit!!!

MIGTEEBIGBIGBROTHA

Monday, March 17, 2003 9:34 AM

Well it would be nice if Gates wanted to fund the show but I doubt it. If a fund was opened for the show this site and all the stars contacted from the show to give their support. You might have a fighting chance. I believe they loved doing the show. But if they realize their fans are trying to accumulate money for them they might be able to get the media involved. Think about this if the show had 2 million fans each fan contributed $10 dollars I believe you'd get some cable networks attention. Not only could you pay the stars salary but the crew and all that for at least a season. Advertisers could probably add a few more million or so to the shows fund. Now if there are like 10,000 members in here we'd have to contribute like $50-$200 each a season just to shoot a few episodes. I seriously doubt the biggest stars on the show were making more than a million. The cost of shooting the show was in special effects and paying for all that studio time. The crew probaly costed a few million total. Well folks sound off only you can make this show a reality again.

LERXST

Tuesday, March 18, 2003 6:43 AM

Some of the stars are already involved in other projects. At least 1 (Nathan) is committed to a new series. So, I'm guessing we may also have to buy out their contracts or something. Still, I'd be willing to contribute generously (well, 3 figures anyway) to the Resurrect Firefly Fund.

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Cap'n can I have money for a slinky dress?

LERXST

Wednesday, March 19, 2003 3:58 AM

*Bump*

Okay, pay-per-view is what, 4 bucks per movie? Times 26, let's say an even 100 bucks. I'd be willing to pay that for a season of Firefly. Now if I could only find 199,999 other people who agree, we'd be in the mix!

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Cap'n, can I have money for a slinky dress?

KAYTHRYN

Wednesday, March 19, 2003 4:11 AM

Sign me up!
Just 199,998 left...uh... almost there.

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Jayne: Hey, I didn't fight in no war. Best of luck, though.

HARDWARE

Wednesday, March 19, 2003 8:40 AM

I'm in!

Come on browncoats! We only need 199,997 more donors!

The more I get to know people the more I like my dogs.

FIREFLYGAMBIT

Sunday, January 11, 2004 7:31 PM

Well, you guys are not wide off the mark. While I believe that trying a fans-pay-per-view of about $4/episode is an interesting but doomed concept (because someone has to accept the risk of pre-financing the season), I think resurrecting firefly as a series based on fan investments is possible.

Assuming an episode of firefly costs somewhere between $250000 and $1500000 in the making, there are valid business plans that stand a good chance of returning a (probably slim, ~5%) profit (taking into account the us and foreign markets and sales of the dvd set).

While Bill Gates might not be a fan, out of the 40000 employees of Microsoft, there are probably ~200 fans of firefly who could invest sums of $10000 to $100000 without hurting.

Find about 2500 more people willing to invest $500 to $5000 and you've got 6 million US$ that could be used to finance production of at least a 12 part second season.

Assuming that the fanbase of firefly runs roughly around 2 million, if you manage to find 15000 investors with about 500 contributors in the high end category, a 22 episode season - or maybe even 2 seasons wouldn't be out of the question.

TALLGRRL

Thursday, January 15, 2004 9:08 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by migteebigbigbrotha:
(snip) Not only could you pay the stars salary but the crew and all that for at least a season. Advertisers could probably add a few more million or so to the shows fund.

This is a great idea....but do we have any idea just how much money we're talking about PER WEEK (aka per episode)to do a show like Firefly?
2 million dollars for a season?
I'm thinking it would be more like 2 million dollars PER WEEK.(Correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall reading somewhere that when the X-Files moved back to the U.S., the price of production was about a mill a week. And that show was effects light compared to Firefly.)
One of the reasons Fox gave for canceling the show was the high cost of an effects-heavy show like this. (Whose effects just happened to have won the show a very well deserved Emmy award.)
Advertisers pay money for a show depending on the size of the audience.
That, ladies and gents, is what TV programs are for: filler for the ads.
Unfortunately, FU...I mean FOx never gave the show a chance to have an audience, which would attracted advertisers, which would have paid for the high cost of the show.
What a gorram shame.
I'm disappointed that the Sci-Fi channel didn't jump at the chance to take Firefly. Then again, at the time they were putting a bit of coin into "Taken" and "Dune" and other very pricey and wonderful shows.

"Take me, sir. Take me hard."

ZAPHODB

Thursday, January 15, 2004 10:17 PM

Time to dust off this old list...

Genre Show Budgets
Enterprise (2001)
$5,000,000 (per episode) (Season 2-7)
$3,500,000 (per episode)
$12,000,000 (pilot episode)
Star Trek TNG (1987)
$2,500,000 (per episode) (season 3-7)
$1,500,000 (per episode)
Star Trek DS9 (1993)
$4,000,000 (per episode) (Season 4-7)
$2,000,000 (per episode)
Star Trek Voyager (1995)
$3,500,000 (per episode) (Season 4-7)
$2,200,000 (Per Episode)
Stargate SG1 (1996)
$1,400,000 (per episode)
The X-Files (1993)
$1,500,000 (per episode - Canada)
$2,500,000 (per episode - US)
$66,000,000 (movie)
Space: Above and Beyond (1995)
$5,000,000 (per episode)
Star Trek TOS (1966)
$100,000 (per episode)
Babylon Five (1994)
$750,000 (per episode)
$900,000 (per episode) (Season 4-5)
Battlestar Galactica (1978)
$750,000 (per episode)
The Outer Limits (1995)
$1,100,000 (per episode, 7th season)
Buffy (1997)
$2,300,000 (per episode, 5th season)
Angel (1999)
$2,000,000 (per episode)
Firefly (2002)
$2,000,000 (per episode)
$10,000,000 (pilot episode)
Farscape (1999)
$1,500,000 (per episode)

I researched and posted this at another forum back in September of this year. The numbers are fairly accurate.

Industrial Looniee & Madness - http://www3.telus.net/vchrusch

KURUKAMI

Thursday, January 15, 2004 11:53 PM

So, basically, yet more proof that Fox is run by cheapskate asshats.

I'm going to snag a copy of that list for my own records. Would I be correct to assume that the prices listed are adjusted for inflation? Or are those the actual, then-current costs?

History doesn't always repeat itself. Sometimes it merely shouts "Weren't you listening the first time?!?" and lets fly with a club.

ZAPHODB

Friday, January 16, 2004 7:57 AM

None of the budgets have been adjusted for inflation and are the costs at the time of production.

Industrial Looniee & Madness - http://www3.telus.net/vchrusch