Some would say that the original Star Trek series is the greatest work of fiction ever created for television. I won’t take a position on this assertion except to say that I am a Trekkie, and Star Trek addressed social issues and broke T.V. taboos. A good example of the latter is the fact that it was the first television show to feature a black woman in a leading role. Unfortunately, it was canceled after three seasons. Poor ratings were cited. Six months ago, if  I had been asked what the best show ever canceled was, Star Trek would be the instant answer. What happened six months ago? I discovered Hulu internet television. They are owned by a subsidiary of Universal, and offer a huge selection of streaming television and movies, both old and new.  I have to admit, as much as I like like Star Trek in all it’s various incarnations, thanks to Hulu, I no longer think that Star Trek has the distinction of being the best show ever canceled. That honor belongs to a show that was canceled after fourteen episodes. Firefly.

A bit of history. I have already mentioned discovering Hulu, and I have to say that it was the beginning of a browse through a wealth of shows I had never been exposed to before; old and new, movies and television, clips and full length. It’s amazing the shows that have faded into history, largely forgotten, some wonderful, some horrific. Most are interesting in some unique way.

I had thought I was familiar with science fiction almost to obsession. The concepts of history not yet realized with characters not so different from ourselves has always fascinated and entertained me. Good Sci-Fi and Fantasy aren’t about the gadgets and fanciful worlds. Those are the environments that provide a backdrop for interesting characters in gripping stories.

Firefly was created, produced and cowritten by Joss Whedon. I first became aware of Firefly a long time ago when it first came out, but only saw a couple of promo spots. The name turned me off, and I had no interest. I think this ultimately was the demise of the show. More on this.

“Doctor Horrible’s Sing Along Blog” was an instant hit with me when I found it by accident while surfing the web. I subsequently discovered that Joss Whedon, a writer, director, actor and producer I had never heard of, was the genius that was behind this very cool piece of web cinema. I wanted to find out more about him, and discovered what most folks apparently already knew about him; he is the man behind such productions as “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “Angel”.

That’s when I discovered that Firefly was his project. When I say this is the best show ever canceled, I do not exaggerate. It was a description given by someone else, somewhere else. Memory fails me, but I loved the description immediately. I was amazed by Firefly.

Firefly is the story of a space ship and it’s crew struggling to survive in a post civil war era. Joss Whedon successfuly pulled off what I have never seen any one else do. Firefly is a combination of multiple genre’s that alone have little in

common, but together are compelling story telling. It has strong influences of the classic western of  louis l’amour, the high seas pirate story, Science Fiction, Fantasy, mystery novel, and horror (yes horror, you’ll have to watch to get that ). The amazing thing is that you don’t even realize how well he crafted these elements into an intriguing and entertaining story.

I fancy myself a bit of a fiction writer, just for my own amusement you understand, but i have put some sentences together in an interesting fashion from time to time. I have learned quite a bit from watching how Joss Whedon creates characters. His character building techniques are visible and consistent throughout his works. When he develops a character, he always layers them with depths of potential background that are hinted at rather than made obvious. No character is one dimensional, or two, or three, or four. Etc. He always, without exception, leaves questions unanswered, many times multiple questions, that lie in the history of the character. Dark character histories that are only hinted at are his hallmark. The advantages of this are obvious; it allows for unlimited story development possibilities, and keeps the audience begging for more about the character. Just one more little tid bit. Why does the shepard seem to be so tuned in to the inner workings of the Alliance? In the series “Angel” you find yourself wondering what lurks within the psyche of Angel, buried deep down within the vampire?

There were, as there always are in any production, many disagreements between Mr. Whedon, and Fox television. But ultimately Firefly was green lighted and we have that one season. Eleven episodes aired out of 14 produced ….. after which fox canceled the show. Short sighted on thier part?  To be fair, I have to say, yes … and no. They didn’t give the show a proper run to see whether it had potential to get a following. But Fox is a business, and they are in business to make money.

In my opinion, the show was concieved, written, casted and produced flawlessly. It was well balanced, interesting and even artistic. And it died because of a small mistake. It was so small in comparison to all the work that went into the quality of the show, that it’s not suprising to me that it’s importance was underestimated or overlooked.

The name.

I believe the name “Firefly”  leaves the audience with the wrong visual. An insect, not far removed from a dung eating horsefly. The name’s a turn off to me even now, as much as I love the show. In the story, it makes perfect sense. As a title, it’s a series killer. You just don’t pull in an audience with a name like that; show titles are about creating a hook that forms a mental image, and brings the potential audience member in.

I think he realized this mistake too late, because the followup movie, which is a MUST SEE, is called “Serenity“. That’s what the series should have been called; it’s the name of the Ship.

Live and learn. Check out this show, and for goodness sake, don’t miss the movie. I’m willing to bet you’ll enjoy both of them.

By the way, I have a terrible crush on Summer Glau