Let's Get Some Firefly On The SyFy Channel

Science Fiction has been a big part of our culture for a long time. It's more than entertainment. It has opened our eyes to the impossible, and made us dream of the stars. Whether we fantasized as kids about a real light saber, or we watched in awe as a real space ship left this planet, we have always watched with a "What if?" in our minds. What if there are other people out there? What if you could travel across the galaxy in the blink of an eye? What if the impossible was not so impossible?

Then a little show called Firefly came along, and asked a different "What if?" question. What if, even after leaving this planet, everything was just the same? Well, we got some of the answers to that, and they fascinated us, but we never fully got to explore it. Firefly was canceled faster than her captain could shoot a puppy, and it was forgotten.

Well, it was not forgotten by the fans. DVD sales went nuts, which led to a movie being made from a show that had been canceled before it even had a full season.

This is where I came in. I hadn't heard of Firefly before Serenity. And when I saw the previews for Serenity, my wife and I had a unanimous reaction: "That looks stupid." So we brushed it off as another bad attempt at science fiction (because, let's face it, there are a lot of those), until a friend of mine posted on his blog "Serenity and the Death of George Lucas." Wait, what? Oh, yeah. That stupid sci-fi movie. But he wouldn't stop talking about how great the movie was, and how important it was that I see it. So I decided I would.

But it wasn't in theaters anymore. And the DVD artwork looked pretty awful too. But I watched it anyway. Low and behold, it was freakin' awesome. To skip the long middle part (the one you all have been through too, or you will soon enough), I have bought three copies of the movie, two copies of the show, the documentary, countless books and comics, whatever I could get my hands on.

And yet that's not enough. There's no more Firefly.

Well, some of us have decided that's unacceptable. A few of us have made silly little fan films, sure (I'm one of those, yes), but one person decided to do it right. One person decided to really and truly make more Firefly. Michael Dougherty got Joss Whedon's blessing, then he got Fox's permission, and he made some more Firefly. He'll never make a dime off of it either. But he has done two huge things for us: He has given us more Firefly, and he gave all the money to charity.

Now, I have heard all of the complaints about Browncoats: Redemption. I know there's no Nathan Fillion. I know it's not made by Joss Whedon. And I know it wasn't a $40 million dollar movie. But you know what? It's a good movie! And it's Firefly! Why aren't we more excited about this? Why aren't we running around telling all of our Browncoat friends, "Hey, there's more Firefly!" Why aren't we telling Fox that we'll gladly spend money on more Firefly? You can't even claim it's a waste of money, because it goes to some of the best charities in the world. This is a win/win situation. We get more Firefly, Fox sees that we're still here, and charities get all kinds of money.

Well, the other day someone named Tim Brown had an idea. What if the SyFy channel aired Browncoats: Redemption? He posted it on FireflyFans.net, and it got some of us thinking. Would it even work? The answer turns out to be maybe. Yes, there are lots of legal issues there, but that's what SyFy pays their lawyers for. We just have to convince them that it's worth it for them.

Do we even realize what would happen if SyFy did air Redemption? There's been a lot of hype lately about Firefly airing on the Science Channel, because Firefly is back on the air. But we're talking about new Firefly being on the air. It could seriously reinvigorate the fandom. Fox would notice, too. If we can get excited about an independent film, how excited would we be if Joss and Co. came back to make more Firefly? And how many people would this introduce to the 'verse? How many people would go out and donate to Redemption, then buy Firefly and Serenity?

We know there's a lot of "if" coming from this plan. But isn't that the point? Isn't that why we love science fiction in the first place?

What if it works? I intend to find out.

We've set up a facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/BrowncoatsonSyFy, and we're asking for people's support. (Facebook pages are the new petitions, basically). You can also e-mail SyFy at feedback@syfy.com. Compared to the impossible things we've done before, this should be a walk in the park.

Firefly is Awesome Because of Fox

I put up a rather contraversial post on fireflyfans.net yesterday. I've never had so many responses so fast. Makes me feel popular. Or something.

Anyway, for any of you that share the frustration that I've felt with Fox and their handling of Firefly, give it a read.

http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.asp?b=2&t=47258

Browncoats: Redemption Review

If any of you out there are fans of Firefly, or if you're just looking for a high quality independent film, then I'd like to introduce you to Browncoats: Redemption.



I watched this when it was briefly available for free streaming. I have the dvd, but I must admit that I haven't put it in my player yet - I've been crazy busy lately.

First off, these guys make me proud to call myself a Browncoat. They set this up as a non-profit charity project so that they could give the proceeds to groups like Equality Now, Kids Need to Read, Dyslexia Foundation, The Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center, and The Marine Corps – Law Enforcement Foundation. Their writer and director Michael Dougherty is one of the most down-to-earth guys I've ever talked to.

I've seen some bad reviews for this movie, and I can sort of understand what they're saying, but people forget one big thing: This is an independent fan film. Its only real flaw is that it is so close to big-budget Hollywood quality that you sometimes forget how much of a struggle it is to create something like this on such a limited budget (I would know, this is what I do too).

The characters are easily believable, and very relatable. As is the issue with any ensemble cast, you don't get to know the minor characters very well, so Mike Dougherty did a good job of choosing a few characters that we need to focus on, and giving us hints about the rest of them. The family dynamic that we love so much about Serenity is on Redemption as well. We see them through the eyes of the not-so-welcome newcomer, and watch as the status quickly becomes not quo. (Bonus points if you get that reference.)

The ship is spectacular. I certainly didn't expect to see CGI like that in a fan film. There is a scene inside the ship that is really brightly lit, and we start to see some of the shortcomings of the set, but for most of the film, the interior looks phenomenal. For comparison, just the cargo bay set for Firefly cost over a million dollars. This entire film was done for around $30,000. To pull off a set like that for the amount of money they had is impressive.

In the streaming version that I saw, the sound had a few issues, but from what I've heard they're all corrected for the DVD release.

The story does take a little while to set up, and I've heard a few people complain that they just couldn't get into it, but it's well worth waiting a few minutes for the action to start rolling. By the time you finish the film, you'll be cheering on the captain and her crew, and you'll be begging for more.

So go out and buy your dvd, give them some money to hand out to some worthy charities, and show your support for the 'verse. I can't wait to see what these guys come up with next.

Can't Stop The Serenity

The Salt Lake City Can't Stop The Serenity screening is tentatively scheduled for October 1st. This is a charity screening of the movie Serenity, which benefits groups like Equality Now.

Become a fan of the Utah Browncoats Facebook Page to show your support, and watch for updates.

Does It Make A Sound - A 48 Hour Film Project

Believe

This is a submission for a Trans-Siberian Orchestra contest. Please head over to youtube to like, comment, and share. It's for about $15,000 worth of computer equipment. And we put a lot of heart and soul into it.

48 Hour Film Project

I have signed up for the 48 Hour Film Project. My brothers will be helping, as well as Selena (the girl from Eilert and Reaverized), and a few others. But if you've ever watched the credits at the end of a movie, you know that we can use all the help we can get. So speak up if you want to join us!