Before Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad, there was Firefly: The Best TV Show of All-Time

Today's article is completely Spoiler Free.

A couple of days ago a friend of mine asked if I had finally watched the film "Serenity". I gave him the same answer I've been giving for years: "I'm doing my best effort to avoid watching it, for as long as I can."

Best Show Ever. Period.

As many of the hundred of thousands of cult-followers that Firefly has gained over the years, I came across the series after reading several online websites that praised it as "The Best TV Show of All-Time." I wondered how or why I hadn't heard from this show that was constantly rated 10/10 in every single spoilers free review I read. It was 2007 -five years after the show had been cancelled-, when I finally got a hold of the series and kept them in dark corner in my living room. I still waited for another 6-8 months to watch it, still a bit skeptic of all the praise the show kept receiving. Normally I'm very skeptical when series and films are extremely overhyped and overrated, and to think that there was a perfect TV show, way, way better than anything else around, was kind of a high toss.

One evening I finally pulled myself together to watch episode one. Next thing I knew, I found myself watching the end of episode fourteen -the last of the series-. It was the next day, the Sun had risen and I was late for work. But it didn't matter, because I had just seen The Best TV Show of All-Time.

The phrase "Greek Tragedy" couldn't be a better suit for Firefly's story. Which will probably make you wonder...

Superb, exquisite, detailed, stunning visuals are the weakest aspect of the show. Yes I know what you're thinking.
I'll say that again: Superb, exquisite, detailed, stunning are THE WEAKEST aspect of the show.

Firefly was produced, filmed and aired during fall in 2002. Its creator was Joss Whedon, who at the time had already been the successful creator of two great shows: Buffy The Vampire Slayer and its spin-off, Angel. Whedon of course as you may know, is the one guy who today rides the glory surfboard of success with Marvel's Avengers films. 

Firefly's cast starred a relatively unknown number of actors, but make no mistake: the unknown factor was inversely proportional to their performances on-screen. The plot was perhaps the most original, inventive, creative and unique idea seen on TV till that point, and -in my humble opinion, hold true even to this day. Everything else surrounding the show's production was nothing short of perfect. The attention to detail was particularly exquisite. Simply put, Firefly is The Best Show of All Time. So why did it fail?

My answer is simple: Firefly is Perfect.

In 2002, FOX Executives thought otherwise of what everyone thinks nowadays. Apparently, they didn't understand the premise of the show and didn't buy the idea of having an extremely detailed and well-paced show with deep character development, kind of like we have today with Game of Thrones. Next, they probably couldn't understand the mixture of scenarios in a futuristic world that divided society and classes, kind of like we have today with Game of Thrones. Then, they probably couldn't grasp the complex language spoken throughout the episodes and the implication (or lack thereof) that each line had, kind of like Breaking Bad. Then, they probably couldn't deal with the amount of suspense associated with it, kind of like combining Game of Thrones + The Walking Dead + Breaking Bad. Then, they probably couldn't deal with the fast paced sections in some episodes, where the characters are racing against the clock in order to survive, kind of like 24.

I could go on...

Game of Throne's deep character development is heavily based and influenced by Firefly's visionary approach to TV Shows

So when Firefly first aired, the FOX Network Executives setup a plan to ruin Firefly's success write from the beginning. Instead of airing the show's first episode, they aired the second episode. The following week, they aired episode #3, which was followed by episode #6. I kid you not.

In summary, this is how FOX aired Firefly:

September 20, 2002: Episode #2

September 27, 2002: Episode #3

October 4, 2002: Episode #6

October 11, 2002: -

October 18, 2002: Episode #7

Octobre 25, 2002: Episode #8

November 1st, 2002: Episode #4

November 8, 2002: Episode #5

November 15, 2002: Episode #9

November 22, 2002: -

December 9, 2002: Episode #10

December 13, 2002: Episode #14

December 20, 2002: Episode #1

Now, I'm definitely no TV Executive, but I do know that when you air the show's Pilot/First episode last, your premier episode is the actual second episode, you skip two weeks or airings, and you simply air the episodes in whatever order pleases you, you're pretty much setting up for a huge monumental failure. How is your audience supposed to understand a plot-followed show, that one week features something that the following week makes no sense whatsoever? Imagine if in Breaking Bad, Walter White was already killing the main antagonist during its second episode, or if Greg was already dead by the third episode of The Walking Dead.

That is for starters, now for the kicker.

In addition to the episode airing disaster, FOX barely marketed the show... and the few commercials about the show gave the impression that Firefly's theme was action/comedy, whereas Firefly's real theme is Sci-Fi/Adventure/Drama. Close your eyes for just a second, and imagine if Game of Thrones marketing campaign and TV commercials were selling the premise of the show as "Action/Comedy." Seriously, who would watch a show about a blond girl with three dragons that is marketed as "Action/Comedy" ? Or, imagine if Walter White's Heisenberg was sold as an "Action/Comedy" character instead of the serious drama protagonist he is. 

I'm quite sure nobody would have watched Breaking Bad, had this been its marketing campaign

Needless to say, Firefly ratings were as bad as any Public Access TV Show (into the low 90s on Nielsen's).

After showing only 11 episodes, Firefly was cancelled. To add more cruelty, FOX aired the remaining three episodes in July-August of 2003. After that, Firefly was definitely out of TV forever. Its legacy, is now carried on by 24, Breaking Bad, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones, and even The Big Bang Theory.

Joss Whedon had planned Firefly to run for about Seasons, which makes absolute sense after seeing the ill-fated only season, season #1. It's was a show so ahead of its time that only today in 2016, millions of fans are now able to deal with Game of Thrones' profound complexity and variety of plots. I mean, after watching GOT's Season #1, you know that you are watching a show that will likely last 7 or 8 seasons. Imagine watching GOT's Season #1 and having HBO cancel the show after the execution of Eddard Stark. Well, that exactly how every single person who have watched Firefly feels.

Firefly is such a perfect show, that it even eclipses the demographic barriers on any other TV show seen, before or ever since. I know people who love Game of Thrones and I know a few people who dislike it, or simply wish not to follow it. I know people who love The Walking Dead and I know a few people who dislike it, or simply wish not to follow it; or Breaking Bad, or Lost, or whatever show you can think of.

I have yet to meet a single individual who has watched Firefly and doesn't like it.

Kaylee, my favorite Firefly character. 

There are several reasons why every single person who watches Firefly, unavoidably rates the series a 10 out of 10. Apart from the plot, the high production values with careful attention to detail, there are many implicit and explicit motives to get hooked by the show. Even despite having way, way less main characters than GOT or TWD, the deepness and complexity of Firefly's characters is uniqued and so incredibly appleaing, that anyone will and can find one to relate to.

For several months, Joss Whedon fought bravely and negotiated with several networks to try to keep Firefly on the air and of course, air it correctly, but nobody listened to him. Tens of thousands of fans sent letters to FOX and other networks in an effort to try to revive the show, but no network wanted it (as far as I know, only Family Guy managed to achieve this). 

Tired of struggling, three years later Joss Whedon released a film called "Serenity", which is supposed to be the somewhat transition/season #1 finale of Firefly, as a final resource to try to revive the series. The movie is rated highly by most fans who have seen it, however it comes with a terrible side-effect: 

If you have the pleasure of watching Firefly, IN ORDER, at the end of episode #14, you are left with a huge ambiguous ending that makes Inception's ending look as clear as crystal water; plus you are also left with at least 294 unanswered questions and overall wonderings of in which direction the show (and its characters) will head next. I have read that Serenity "tries" to clear up the ambiguous ending of episode #14; it also "tries" to answer at least 81 of the 294 unanswered questions; and it also tries to sort of give the viewer a glimpse into which direction Firefly would have headed as a TV show.

Why did she do that? We'll never know...

The cruelty of watching Firefly (like I said, in order) is that as each episode goes by, you think things are getting clearer and you are understanding the show better, only to find out that as each episode goes by, the plot deepens more heavily and you are left wondering what will happen next. Knowing that the show was cancelled after 14 episodes, your subconscious can't help but to do a mental countdown and beg that things end up in a satisfying manner (plot-wise speaking), only to realize that every episode that goes by has your mind and your heart begging for the inevitable: the series not to end.

That's why I haven't seen Serenity and it's going to take a huge effort for me to see it.

So remember, whatever you do after reading this review, trust me, DO NOT watch Firefly, unless you want to be left with a huge open chapter in your life, and wish to spend your life wondering what would have happned to Mal, Zoe, Wash, Inara, Jayne, Kaylee, Simon, River and Book, had Firefly continued through all its seasons as Joss Whedon intended.

There are many, many things in life I don't and probably won't ever understand:

• Why are corrupt Presidents free?
• How come drug lords are rich and impossible to catch?
• How come we invest so much money in war, instead of investing on science and space exploration?
• and so on...

However one thing that stands above them all and that I will never ever understand is, How the hell and Why was Firefly, The Best TV Shof of All-Time, cancelled and was never revived?