Man, you're like jamicas. Yeah, mon.

Jamicas? I gotta ask.

They arrive tomorrow night, Cindy. And we will partake in five days of the official activities of our clan: Eating good food and looking at real estate.

I like your clan traditions. Has your weather cooled any, since the weekend?

Yeah, AICN Talkback is a primary example of assholes unleashed. A good number of the posters diss things simply because they believe disliking something someone else likes somehow makes them kewl.

Not to say I haven't met people like that IRL. I know one couple who are friends of a friend, where the guy hates a particular webcomic artist for no reason other than he's popular and his girlfriend hates Joss for the exact same reason. (They claim there is more to it than that, but it's basically what their arguement boils down to.)

So the last time I hung out with my friend and he said they were coming along, I made a point to wear a shirt from said comic and my Firefly buttons on my coat. Neither of them spoke to me the whole evening.

It's much cooler! Which is why I am now off to clean and finish making dinner reservations for while they're here.

I don't *think* anybody has made this point, but I think the primary reason Universal is doing so much fan-related publicity is because it makes for cheap, cheap advertising.

The word-of-mouth in the first place is good, of course, but every time another local paper has a "movie wouldn't have been made without plucky fan effort" story (regardless of its veracity) Universal gets a free movie plug. So it's in the best interest of Uni to foster this impression that a massive fan campaign saved the otherwise cancelled show.

I, on the other hand, tend to believe that Uni greenlit the movie on the DVD sales figures, relative budget price, and (presumably) the script Joss wrote. Hell, it's possible you could throw all of Firefly's "baggage" away and in an alternate universe, Josh Whedone makes a brand-new crazy sci-fi western movie with Universal just on the basis of a script pitch.

I don't know if Tim has even heard of Richard Thompson, but I would have been delighted if he had responded to iFMAGAZINE's question, "How does it feel to have your ass kicked by ABC’s dancing show?," by breaking into "Tear Stained Letter": "[They] danced on my head like Arthur Murray/The scars ain't never gonna mend in a hurry."

lilserf,

I've seen the marketing information for SERENITY and it doesn't mention the fan campaign. However, it is easy to find out about it by typing Serenity or Firefly into Google.

ita - I can't spell Jamaicans apparently.

But yes, lilserf, you are right - you could speculate there is some cheapness involved in SERENITY marketing. Or you could speculate fans are optionally doing a lot themselves now which takes the burdon off Universal (and gang).

I don't know the answers here. I run the UK Can't Stop The Signal site and host the international trailer, paying for it myself. I have organised box sets of Firefly and Serenity booklets for media critics myself. I do some more official work on things, too. It's all unpaid. It costs me a fortune. Nearly all my holidays for the year have gone on SERENITY. I'm just about to take 3 weeks off to shoot a documentary on it all with Uncle Joss(tm) and friends in Edinburgh. Unpaid.

Why? Because I liked the show. I liked Tim and Joss's work. I like Serenity. Instead of sitting on an internet fence bitchin' about how a trailer doesn't look western enough with no violins, I decided to do something original -- actually do something.

I might well look back at all this next year and go, you know, that was mad. I might not. I'll still be glad I did it, though, as I'm not stupid to think as a fan I made SERENITY, but I like to think I can help get some people to watch the kind of work I like rather than Crazy Dancing Show #316

I suspect that years from now, some people will still be talking about how "Allyson and Kristen's Campaign was responsible for the Firefly DVDs and the Serenity Movie!", much in the same way that some critics talk about "Ex Buffy Writer Tim Minear!"

Or maybe not.

After reading the posts here, I think I'm still a little confused (not to worry, I am having a stupid day - long story) as to exactly what was responsible (or not) for certain things happenning (or not), but I think that whichever version of history is recorded in people's minds, the campaign did something wonderful, and a huge number of people are grateful. Mobilising a fandom in such a way is no easy feat, and regardless of details (which people are always prone to fudge), you guys are part of the Firefly Fan legacy...

I am going to shut up now before the phrase "Vocal Cult" gets lodged in my brain again.

ita - I can't spell Jamaicans apparently.