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Animated 'Firefly' Reboot in Development from Nathan Fillion, 20th TV

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Re: Animated 'Firefly' Reboot in Development from Nathan Fillion, 20th TV

#31

Post by BLKNSLVR »

idiotsecant wrote: post #20

I am honestly baffled by how much people love firefly. I don't get it. It's a slightly campy western-style scifi. It's not bad but it's not 'still talking about it for the next few decades' material IMO. Theres a zillion littl scifi channel series with essentially the same quality as far as I can figure.

It's because it was killed before it's time, and there was a known plan for the overall story arc (which was at least semi-satisfied by Serenity). It had developed a fan base that were hungry for more, and then it was cancelled, leaving a great thirst.

Had it lasted three seasons (or even only two), and still been 'cancelled before it's time' it would have faded from memory more quickly because the itch would have been scratched more satisfyingly.

It was good for it's time, and since it was cancelled it's locked within that time. How it translates against modern television is yet to be seen. However, the popularity of The Mandalorian means there is still a market for the Sci-fi Western.

(I liked parts of The Mandalorian, but it went downhill pretty fast in terms of ... everything. I like the sci-fi western thing - it's not serious, but it can touch serious-ness. The Expanse was serious, and touched some Western/Frontier sci-fi)

Re: Animated 'Firefly' Reboot in Development from Nathan Fillion, 20th TV

#32

Post by mrexroad »

readthenotes1 wrote: post #14
whartung wrote: post #4

Loved the show, I have no expectations for this. It's just too easy to not be "right" for all sorts of incompatible different definitions of "right". But, the animated series a good idea and smart. First, it lets Nathan and Morena participate considering they're pretty busy with their prime time series. Second, there's no reason to "jump ahead 20 years". They can pick right up from where they left off after they figu…

Star Trek animated is pretty good and so is Lower Decks. I usually don't like cartoons but I'm hopeful.

ST:TAS had some surprisingly good scripts for something that was somewhat a 70’s kids cartoon. Very much enjoyed how animation allowed them to run wild where practical effects wouldn’t have been possible (for better or worse at times, lol).

I adored Lower Decks. It was the right way to approach fan service for a franchise as I hate seeing fan service awkwardly ham fisted into every corner of nutrek. Some of the later seasons were a bit awkward, or rushed?, but overall I adored it. Terrific character development and overall really told that story of that period between being a bunch of green academy grads and being adaptable, competent professionals.

Re: Animated 'Firefly' Reboot in Development from Nathan Fillion, 20th TV

#34

Post by Aeolun »

in_cahoots wrote: post #30
twoodfin wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Say what you will about Joss Whedon, but his use of a colorful character palette & quirky, punchy style of dialog have gone from niche to mainstream in the 30+ years since Buffy . Mostly thanks to Whedon’s and his imitators’ escalating success with that formula: The Avengers , for example, took Marvel from a series of above-average superhero hits to total cultural dominance. There’s plenty of writing talent out there…

The Buffy revival was just canned this weekend, so I wouldn't get too optimistic here.

I feel like Buffy doesn’t work so well in the modern era, unlike animated firefly? Not entirely sure why though. Maybe part of the charm of Buffy is the setting?

Re: Animated 'Firefly' Reboot in Development from Nathan Fillion, 20th TV

#35

Post by Aeolun »

idiotsecant wrote: post #20

I am honestly baffled by how much people love firefly. I don't get it. It's a slightly campy western-style scifi. It's not bad but it's not 'still talking about it for the next few decades' material IMO. Theres a zillion littl scifi channel series with essentially the same quality as far as I can figure.

Not for me. It scratches a very specific itch that hasn’t been replicated since. Which is probably a good indication it won’t work for this show either.

Re: Animated 'Firefly' Reboot in Development from Nathan Fillion, 20th TV

#36

Post by Izkata »

nerdjon wrote: post #24

I am... cautiously optimistic without Whedon being involved. But also very curious how this will work since it doesn't seem like it's a reboot, unless I missed something. Tara Butters from Dollhouse being involved makes me a feel a bit better, since I love Dollhouse (actually rewatching it right now). Now I can only hope this actually succeeds and maybe Dollhouse can get similar treatment. I am sure some will be upse…

Okay so a little bit of out of universe trivia on Dollhouse: It was planned for 5 seasons. With the risk of cancellation, the second season and the two Epitaph episodes were a severely compressed telling of 4 seasons of plans. And, personally I think it worked well. Something similar happened to Babylon 5, Manifest, Jericho (IIRC), Firefly (Serenity was the original ending that would have played out over multiple seasons), and the Escaflowne anime: the main plots towards the end got compressed to create a faster pace at the climax while ensuring the story could be finished (though I wasn't a fan of how Manifest ended).

My concern about original writers being involved in reboots is if they want to fill out the story they couldn't tell the first time around and end up with a more standard pacing that's less exciting, and end up getting cancelled before finishing. Then we end up with things like Tru Calling and Dark Matter, which had planned plots they couldn't finish.

Re: Animated 'Firefly' Reboot in Development from Nathan Fillion, 20th TV

#37

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

throwatdem12311 wrote: post #26
mburns wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>They can pick right up from where they left off after they figure out how to dig Wash out of the ground. The animated show is set between the original series and the movie, presumably because of Wash's character.

It’s sad that Ron Glass is no longer with us and can’t reprise his role as Shepherd Book.

I liked him in Barney Miller, so he and I go way back...

Re: Animated 'Firefly' Reboot in Development from Nathan Fillion, 20th TV

#38

Post by ActorNightly »

GMoromisato wrote: post #8

While I'm definitely going to give this a chance, I'm not going to get my hopes up. Firefly was a perfect storm--it was the combination of Wheadon, Tim Minear, and the entire cast. Personally, I think the writing is what made Firefly work, and without Wheadon or Minear, I don't know if it will rise to the same level. Moreover, I felt Serenity was a good conclusion to the original mythology (River, Alliance, etc.). If…

Lets be real - Firefly was very good. But the reason it holds "magic" status as far as series goes is mostly because of its rarity, and the final movie where a major likable character was killed off, with everyone wishing for a sequel.

Its same with anything really - car enthusiasts obsess over limited runs of older cars because they are rare, not because they are good, and people were lining up at McDonalds when they re-released Szechuan sauce (which is literally soy sauce and ketchup).

If they would have done Season 2,3, and so on, it wouldn't be held in such a high regard as it is now.

Re: Animated 'Firefly' Reboot in Development from Nathan Fillion, 20th TV

#39

Post by wat10000 »

idiotsecant wrote: post #20

I am honestly baffled by how much people love firefly. I don't get it. It's a slightly campy western-style scifi. It's not bad but it's not 'still talking about it for the next few decades' material IMO. Theres a zillion littl scifi channel series with essentially the same quality as far as I can figure.

Good drama, good humor, good characters, and a very cozy feel in those quiet moments on the ship between things.

In contrast to the sibling comment, I fell in love with the series before I knew it had been canceled. When I finished season 1, I immediately went in search of season 2. When I couldn’t find it, I went to find out when it was going to be released. Discovering what had happened to it was tremendously disappointing.

Re: Animated 'Firefly' Reboot in Development from Nathan Fillion, 20th TV

#40

Post by marcosdumay »

whartung wrote: post #4

Loved the show, I have no expectations for this. It's just too easy to not be "right" for all sorts of incompatible different definitions of "right". But, the animated series a good idea and smart. First, it lets Nathan and Morena participate considering they're pretty busy with their prime time series. Second, there's no reason to "jump ahead 20 years". They can pick right up from where they left off after they figu…

> I have no idea how much modern animated show development costs

Animation costs are all over the place. It can be dirty cheap, it can be more expensive than a highly-produced live action. You can notice the difference, but it's not what actually matters for the show's success.

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