I am a heartfelt and passionate closet Browncoat. If you don’t know what that is, then you are missing out. One of the most bitter cancellations in TV history was Firefly, and due to fan response and begging for closure to the series we got the feature film Serenity. But ever since the fans have been itching for more, and little is done to move forward on it.
A story about a fan response campaign at Whedonesque says:
The purpose of the campaign is to show Universal that producing a sequel to Serenity is a smart and profitable business decision. To convince Universal of this, our campaign will show them exactly how much Browncoats are spending on Serenity- and Firefly-related products. From multiple copies of BDCE DVDs to Companion Books and action figures, from theater tickets to CD soundtracks and iTunes downloads, we will explicitly list every purchase and price thereof related to our ‘Verse, thus showing Universal how much money they stand to make by expanding our ‘Verse via the Serenity sequel we all so long to see.
Now I am as eager as any to see a return to the Serenity ‘Verse. But I don’t see myself participating in this particular campaign.
I wrote my letter to save Angel and Buffy. I wrote to insist they cancel Charmed. But I won’t be taking part in this campaign and I will tell you why.
The effort is to illustrate how much money Universal stands to make off the merchandising of a continued franchise. This is smart on the surface, but lacks any real substance. Despite the rabid fanbase, Serenity was considered a “failure” at the box office, but a huge success in DVD sales. The movie even caused a resurgence of new fans buying the collected TV series DVD set. So yes, attempting to appeal to the studio on grounds that will make sense to them is valid.
Just one problem: Universal is perfectly aware of just how much money is being spent on merchandising.
So as much as I would love to attend a hijacking of the national anthem at a hockey game and replacing it with the Ballad of Jayne, this campaign road seems to be paved with good intentions (for which I applaud them) but seems to be telling Universal what they already know.
You can check out the campaign effort at Faces of Serenity
Comments
Right on, we covered this once. NO show survives unless it generates revenue and profit. There just arent enough Browncoats to make it happen. Maybe the show is too expensive to produce. Space sets and sfx arent cheap. The main way to keep a show on the air is to buy something thats advertised, and then write the company and studio and tell them you bought it cause it only because it was on during the show. Or, skip a step and send the studio 10 bucks an ep. I would say that the studios have to come up with a new model for revenue in order to keep shows on the air. Perhaps subscribing to a show instead of a channel. I bet Firefly would do well on HBO.
You know, I agree with you here. First, they know exactly how much profit they’re already making. Second, they are making this profit and they will continue to make this profit even if no new movie comes out.
It is probably a very sound investment for them to license the logo to put on a lunchbox, and rake in the money. That is a far cry from saying it’s a sound investment to make a second movie. Sadly, the first movie’s lack of success shows them that it isn’t.
I loved Firefly, and I loved Serenity. But I think that one of the reasons I love them so much is partially because they’re short lived. It forced Whedon to tell a truncated story and his skills shone brilliantly. I would welcome another movie, I would gladly go see it. But I am also happy with what I have.