Canceled sci-fi series 'Firefly' flickers back to life on DVD

In the fall of 2002, the space drama generated some of the biggest advance buzz of the TV season. Created by Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel"), the show was supposed to revitalize science fiction on network TV. So confident was Fox that "Firefly" would succeed that it ordered up a two-hour pilot to introduce the show to viewers.

But despite Whedon's considerable reputation as one of TV's master storytellers, and despite all the advance publicity, "Firefly" -- all 14 episodes of which are now available on DVD -- drew low viewership, was canceled before Thanksgiving 2002, and aired its last episode just before Christmas. It was one of the most spectacular crash-and-burn tales in recent television history.

Taking a break from production on "Angel," Whedon all but bristles when asked whether Fox really did right by "Firefly."

"I think I can pretty unequivocally say: Not. I don't think they ever gave it a chance. They didn't really have a feel for the show. They really didn't want it, but they'd paid for it, and they didn't know what to do with it."

Probably the most curious decision Fox made about "Firefly" was not to air the very expensive pilot -- which set up all the relationships among the crew of spaceship Serenity -- until after the show had been axed. Instead, Whedon had to scramble to shoot a new first episode, "The Train Job."

"I had a lot of people tell me they didn't get into the show until the later episodes because they were just a little confused," Whedon said. "Although we tried to make `The Train Job' -- which I think is a good episode -- as clear as possible in terms of who everybody was, people were going to get confused.

"But Fox felt the pilot was just too slow for Fox. I should have been a little more canny about who I was making a show for and, perhaps, not pitched `Firefly' to them in the first place."

It didn't help that Fox was expecting a more traditional sci-fi series, and Whedon delivered a reinvention of the genre, without all the laser guns and big space battles. "Firefly" was actually a take on the classic western "Stagecoach," mixing the myths of the Old West, Whedon's witty pop-culture references, and even Chinese symbolism.

The series, Whedon said, "hit its stride faster than any show I've done. Some of these episodes are the most mature, complex, and lived-in work I've done. There are episodes that I rank up there with my favorite `Buffy' episodes.

"For that to happen in the first 10 or so episodes is very rare."

The DVD set restores order to "Firefly" by offering the episodes in the order they were meant to air, starting with the original pilot and adding three installments that were never telecast. Viewed as Whedon intended, the series comes off as a great TV opportunity lost -- imperfect in some ways but fresh and exciting.

The set also benefits from some of the better commentary around, especially Whedon's observations, which are funny and on target.

There has been talk of a "Firefly" theatrical film, but Whedon says nothing is imminent. He does revel in the fact that people can now see "Firefly" the way he saw it.

"This show is so much a part of me and my life and my emotions," Whedon said. "I care as much about `Firefly' as anything I've ever created, and to know that anybody can go to a store and pick it up and see what I think is some of the most compelling stuff I've ever done is wonderful. It's not lost; it's not stillborn; it exists.

"I want them to see it the way it was meant to be seen: wide-screen, in the correct order. To know they'll have that opportunity means everything to me."