If the Browncoats would be quiet and people stop making threads about the damn thing, you'd never hear me mention it again. At least I said if it was in my power I'd give you people the show back. Anything, just to shut you up about it.
There have been how many threads about it lately? Two in the last month that I can think of offhand, including this one? Why is this a problem?
Firefly's cancellation was a bit of a "perfect storm" situation. A lot of elements came together in just the right way to inflame tempers:
1) The theme of the show. It's about people who lost a war just trying to get by despite the uncaring or outright hostile big government. The parallel to the network is unmistakable. Every time someone sung the theme song, the fact that yes, they damn well
can take the sky from you was driven home with a hammer.
2) Concurrent television. Enterprise had been going long enough that the initial shine had worn off, and everyone was starting to question why it wasn't a better series; especially with things like Firefly and SG-1 (then at its peak) around to contrast against. Remember how in the early ENT interviews Archer was described as a "Hans (sic) Solo type"? Well, Mal actually *was*, and people noticed the difference. A certain amount of the backlash was a perception that an inferior show could last longer due purely to "name recognition" and choice of network.
3) The "it got good" factor. While some people were completely hooked from the start, many, including me, figured it was just okay for a while there. Then we saw "Ariel", or whichever episode it would ultimately be that tipped the balance; and suddenly we
understood. That moment when the series crystallizes as a concept occurred, and even the eps we'd already seen where elevated as a result. And a week later the axe fell, following one of the best episodes, "War Stories". It was just really bad timing.
4) Lost potential. The Firefly universe was one of those worlds that screamed for exploration. Not because of what we'd seen, but because of what had been hinted at. The (initially bizarre) choice of a "literal western" setting spurred large amounts of debate on exactly what conditions could lead to such a scenario, and after all that talk it became entirely apparent just how many stories there were to tell in such an unlikely world. But it was not to be.
5) Perception of network hostility. In addition to what
RoJo said above, consider that airing the pilot last, in addition to the inherent ridiculousness, caused the
very last aired exchange of the series to be:
"We're still flying..."
"That's not much."
"It's enough."
Now, that sort of irony is just a bit too much.
