Eagerly Awaiting Serenity

It’s here, it’s here, it is finally Serenity day! Just getting my feelings posted before the big event. That way I can document both my pre-film viewing outlook and my post-film viewing outlook. Not always a good thing since often, as a reviewer, I have to eat my words. But I’m not too concerned here. I am the market audience and I expect from the buzz that I will be well rewarded. I knew from the moment that I saw that Joss Whedon, creator of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe, had taken the words ’space western’ literally that here was a whole new universe, not new really, a blend of so many familiar pieces of Star Wars and western serials, but put together in a perfectly new way.

Of course if I were a true fan I would have seen this film months ago at a preview screening 5 minutes from my house, but I didn’t keep an eye on the websites closely enough and they were sold out before I could buy tickets. But that doesn’t mean I’m not a fan. This year the movies I have really looked forward too and lost productivity at work over have been Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, War of the Worlds, Serenity, and I expect King Kong and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. So I would be your run of the mill sci-fi/fantasy geek.

I even watched Firefly when it was on the air, from episode 1 all the way to episode 11 and I was heartbroken when it got cancelled. That isn’t something that a lot of people can say. I only know one other person who watched it. Then again I know many people who are looking forward to the film, why? Because I bought the DVD, and I watched it, and I lent it out three time, and I bought it two more times for gifts, and those gifts were lent out to others. It is like a virus, but like a good virus, like Bush ’spreading freedom’ around the world. (Of course that is a whole other discussion so please leave the politics for the more serious websites.) And according to news reports and screenings there are a whole legion of Joss Whedon fans who did the same thing. This film could be huge, and I hope it is. With a ‘modest’ 40 million dollar budget the film doesn’t have to be a blockbuster to be successful. Though success these days seems to be measured strangely.

For instance, why was the show cancelled after only 11 episodes? Why if you bother to pay for making the shows don’t you at least show all of the ones you have already paid to shoot? Has anyone gone back and watched Buffy season 1? If you look at it the show didn’t hit its stride until late in the first season. The characters and the writers were still finding themselves. Look at Seinfeld’s first two seasons. Why has television changed so much that a show can be cancelled after two episodes (the abysmal Head Cases) or half a season? Firefly was well developed and didn’t seem to need much more than one episode to find itself. Perhaps its relegation to the dead space of Friday night, or its continual pre-emption, or the fact that some of the episodes were shown out of order had something to do with its failure. Is there really any rhyme or reason to network programming? Obviously television viewing habits have changed drastically in the last 30 years with the advent of cable television and now Tivo. Why does television still rely on an antiquated ratings system that does not reflect the makeup or the viewing habits of the majority its viewership?

But I digress. This isn’t a television forum, there are topics to vast to encompass in one little website. What I will say is that it is refreshing that this is an audience driven venture. That a major studio was willing to listen to Joss, and to fans, and to the impressive DVD sales and give a little spaceship and its crew a second chance at making a big impression is a wonderful thing. Initially I was afraid that Universal would hang Serenity out to dry. Make the movie and release it as a genre picture with little fanfare or marketing. This was especially disturbing considering the film was pushed back from its original summer release date. I am glad to see that I was wrong. Universal has launched a significant campaign for this film with trailers and commercials not just before the genre shows like Lost or Battlestar Galactica, but during newscasts and sporting events and all sorts of other shows. The sneak previews were nothing short of a blitz campaign to get great buzz going in cities all over the nation. Well done.

And so, on this auspicious eve I take leave and wish all of you Browncoats out there good luck and keep flying. For all of those others who have missed out on this phenomenon or don’t know what in the world I am talking about don’t worry, there is room for you as well. Just think of it as John Wayne in space.

Related posts:

1. Serenity