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Last year, I
went to a screening (a rarity for me these
days) for a movie called “Serenity.”
The main reason I went was because it was
based on a failed television series that
was cancelled after airing only a handful
of episodes. It was even mentioned by the
hosts of the event when they asked the question,
“How often do you get to go to a movie
that grew out of a failed TV series?”
Now, because I was already a fan of the
TV series, I knew right away why the movie
was made, in part anyhow. I knew that there
was a huge outcry from fans, but to be honest,
I only knew the half of it. Most of what
I was aware of involved the fact that the
‘failed’ TV series got so much
attention after its DVD set was released,
having sold and unprecedented number of
copies, that the network (Fox) realized
it might have made a mistake in canceling
it.
Unfortunately it was too costly to put the
show back on the air so Universal jumped
in and offered creator Joss Whedon the opportunity
to make a feature film.
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Hopefully more than one if it did well at the
box office. What I didn’t realize was that
the fans had more to do with it than I though.
A lot more…
Just to give you a little background before I
get into said fans, let me fill you in on “Firefly”
(the series that spawned “Serenity”).
The genius that is Joss Whedon first created the
mega-popular (and rightfully so) “Buffy
the Vampire Slayer”, and then gave us a
double whammy with its spin-off series, “Angel.”
When I heard a couple of years ago that he was
working on a new Sci-fi series, I couldn’t
wait to see it. I just knew “Firefly”
was going to be a great show.
I knew what Whedon was capable of, but with some
of the problems the Fox Network was giving him,
I was worried it would screw things up, and screw
it up they did. First, he was told the 2-hour
pilot would have to be shown later in the season.
You know… the episode that would kind of
introduce us to everyone and give us a heads up
as to what’s going on. But you know those
network programming suits; they lead the pack
when it comes to stupid decisions. Many a good
show has bitten the dust because it was constantly
pre-empted or moved. This was to be the fate of
“Firefly.”
First, Whedon had to re-work the shooting schedule
to allow for a new premiere episode. Fortunately,
he picked a winner with one called “Train
Job.” The series took place five hundred
years in the future, and from the first few scenes
it was evident that “Firefly” was
every bit a ‘space western.’ The sets,
costumes, characters and attitudes screamed ‘western.’
Within minutes, the trademark Whedon dialogue,
made up of one-liners and wisecracks started firing
off. Like his earlier efforts, it had that perfect
mix of comedy, drama and action. And the special
effects were some of the best and most realistic
I’ve seen on a TV series. I was hooked.
I found each episode of “Firefly”
to be perfectly paced, with every single character
having a proper place within the ‘crew.’
From that first episode it immediately felt like
I was watching a show that was already a favorite.
I instantly understood who everyone was and how
he or she fit into the story’s universe.
Even the end had THE best and funniest ‘face
off with the bad guy’s henchmen’ ever
filmed. You have to see it to believe it. At the
end of that episode I remember thinking, “Please,
please let this show survive the Fox Network long
enough to gain an audience and ratings.”
The series surrounded a ship called (oddly enough)
Serenity. It was a Firefly Class ship, hence the
series name. It was run by Captain Malcolm Reynolds
(Nathan Fillion), who will take on any job as
long as it pays… legality is not often a
factor. Prior to the series' timelime, he had
been part of a rebel group known as the Browncoats
who were fighting a war against The Alliance (The
‘Powers That Be’ in the Galaxy). The
Browncoats lost.
His crew was made up of his original second in
command Zoe (Gina Torres), her husband and pilot
Wash (Alan Tudyk), mechanic Kaylee (Jewel Staite)
and tough guy Jayne (Adam Baldwin). They also
had a couple of passengers, Inara (Morena Baccarin)
and Sheperd Book (Ron Glass). Inara was a ‘companion’
(take a good guess), who only booked clients of
the highest order, and Shepherd was a preacher
of sorts… or so he seemed. They also took
on Dr. Simon Tam (Sean Maher) and his sister River
(Summer Glau). They did this grudgingly as they
were on the run from The Alliance, or at least
River was because she… like everyone else…
was also more than she seemed.
I watched almost all of the episodes that aired.
The only ones I missed were due to fact that I
had no idea when they would be on. Unfortunately,
because of all the bouncing around, the series
was cancelled after airing only 11 episodes.
“Firefly” had already gained a huge
following, so there was a loud outcry from fans
to bring the show back. Some had even hoped it
would be picked up by another network, the way
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Roswell”
had. But it was not to be. “Firefly”
was history… almost. I had read about how
the fans rallied for the series, often wishing
I could join them, but even the news outlets didn’t
tell the full story. It wasn't until a few weeks
ago when I had the opportunity to watch a DVD
called "Done the Impossible."
"Done the Impossible" is a documentary
feature put together by fans of the series, chronicling
not only the history of the series and movie,
but also brings to light just how fanatical these
fans are. I cannot praise these people enough
for going further than any fan group has ever
gone before. Most of the time, when a series gets
cancelled you just get a small group of grouchy
people complaining to each other… if even
that. Occasionally, like in the case of "Roswell",
you'll get a fan base together that goes a little
crazy and does things like mail in little bottles
of Tabasco Sauce to convince the studio to renew
the show. But for "Firefly", the fans
went far and above the call of duty.
Listening to the numerous interviews from fans
about the series, I was reminded of the time when
I first sat down to watch the DVD set. I remembered
that I felt exactly as these people did. I thought
(and still think), it was the best written series
I have ever seen, I completely loved the style,
the characters and the actors who played them.
I honestly cannot remember another series I felt
this strongly about or was as saddened by its
cancellation. Listening to the numerous interviews
with the stars of the series (which are also prominent
in this feature), I could almost feel a kind of
empathy towards their disappointment about the
cancellation. You never get the feeling it was
only about a paycheck for these actors. They truly
enjoyed working on the series and the people they
worked with.
"Done the Impossible", narrated by Adam
Baldwin, is an extremely well made production
considering the fact that it was created without
any studio backing. Most of the interviews are
conducted at various conventions, so occasionally
the sound is a little tinny, but that does not
detract from the overall quality. What might be
interesting to those who have never cared enough
to be involved in something like this is to see
what a community of fans is like. And community
is as good as word as any as you can see how something
as simple as one TV series can bring people from
all over the world together and make them treat
each other like family.
In keeping with the high quality production you
would hope from a DVD release, "Done the
Impossible" includes over six hours of additional
material. You'll find everything from extended
interviews to music videos to fan stories. The
most fun, however, comes from the audio commentary
from Brian Wiser, Jared Nelson, Jason Heppler,
Jeremy Neish and Tony Hadlock, the super fans
behind the making of the documentary. For the
most part, it is a very lighthearted commentary
from people who not only loved the series, but
are still seemingly surprised that they could
bring this project together so successfully.
Not to be outdone by the big studios, I understand
there is also a soundtrack available of the music
used in the documentary. Much of it comes in the
form of Filk music, which is a form of Folk music
only with a more science fiction flair. There
is a song called "The Hero of Canton"
in one of the episodes of "Firefly"
that weaves a tale of Jayne's heroism against
the tyranny in a mining camp. (The reality of
the situation was that he was stealing money from
the owner and it accidentally dropped out of his
ship…). The Bedlam
Bards re-wrote the song and called it "The
Ballad of Joss", and it re-tells the story
of Whedon's fight against the networks. I think
I'm going to order a copy of the CD just so I
can throw it in my car stereo. And speaking of
the Bedlam
Bards, they have in turn released a CD called
"On the Drift", which features music
inspired by "Serenity." I listened to
it just the other day and highly recommend it
to fans of the series.
My hats off to the makers of "Done
the Impossible"… for doing just that.
They have put together a terrific documentary
feature about those who live on the fringes of
a failed TV series. But you know? I don’t
really think it's fair to call it a failed TV
series anymore. Those few episodes of "Firefly"
brought together a legion if fans and created
a community of friends and family. Through their
amazing efforts ''Firefly's" flame will be
a long time burning. The show may be gone…
but you can’t stop the signal.
Directed by: Brian Wiser, Jared Nelson, Jason
Heppler, Jeremy Neish, Tony Hadlock
Extras: Interactive Timeline, Extended Interviews,
Audio Commentary, Trivia Game, 'Verse Dictionary,
Music Videos, What is Firefly?, Tribute to Lux,
Charities Featurette, Fan Stories and Printables,
Interactive Viewing Experiences
Specifications: Widescreen (1.78:1)
Release Date: Available
Region 0
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
We'll give Done the Impossible an A.
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