Pity Firefly. It’s always had everything going for it except a network that believed in Captain Mal and his crew.
Yes, the series now has a huge cult following, but it didn’t initially generate ratings strong enough to stay on the air, or made big enough money when the show hit the big screen as Serenity.
Nevertheless, “browncoat” mania is in full swing. It might not be as big as The Avengers, but the fans have been out in full force for Joss Whedon’s beloved sci-fi series, showing their support at Comic Con in California and New York.
At the California Comic Con, Whedon was genuinely moved to tears by the support from the “browncoats” who are keeping the show alive.
As the Firefly gang got together again at the New York Comic Con, it was again one big lovefest for the show and the cast.
As Forbes reports on the Comic Con Q&A, Jewel Staite, who played Kaylee on the show, recalled, “I have nothing but crazy fond memories” of the show. Sean Maher, who played Dr. Simon Tan, said the vest was his favorite part of the series.
One fan in the audience asked if they could get an apology from Fox for cancelling the show, what would be sufficient? Nathan Fillion, who played Captain Malcolm, said, “I’m going to need a well-appointed tropical island for which every year a cruise ship would arrive with Firefly fans. And it would have a replica of the ship for which we could play out scenes from the show.”
The New York Post also reported that during the Q&A, people in the audience were yelling out, “Kickstarter!,” to try and get another Firefly show going again. If it ever came to that, there would clearly be a lot of fans more than happy to donate. Another audience member yelled “Occupy Fox!,” out of anger the show got cancelled.
Still, after all this time, it’s nice to see that Firefly has a strong fan base that just keeps on growing bigger. As Fillion said, “It’s one thing when it’s just us sitting in our living rooms saying ‘It was good?’ It’s another thing 10 years later to come to New York and see you guys all around. It’s very, very validating.”
