SerenityMovie.net

[BrownCoat_Tabz]

I was listening to the Signal's most recent episode and they had a small discussion in the feedback section about (for lack of a better term) losing the fire about Firefly....

Now this is a natural occurrence I think everyone goes through. You just wax and wane about certain fandoms, especially Firefly because there's no "new" content.

I want to discuss this on my next podcast... and I'd like to give some good ways to respark (I'm going with this metaphor, live with me) the interest /love for a fandom.

So what do you guys think?
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Tabz, Slayer of the Podcasts.

[13th Cylon]

I still say the best thing to do is to get someone to streak at some big NFL game with the words "Serenity DVD" on their chest. Free publicity and it's pretty outrageous enough to boost sales to the "magic number".

[BrownCoat_Tabz]

Are you volunteering? hehehee
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Tabz, Slayer of the Podcasts.

[13th Cylon]

[lead.b]

That's rough one.

What keeps people interested... interesting activities around firefly/serenity...
Conventions
The arial abulance restoration
Things like TV_vote (btw, we've just had 5 straight days of 1000+ voting on there, so it's a sign that interest isn't waning too much).

One -advantage- we have is that plenty of people haven't really been exposed to firefly/serenity yet. They missed the series and perhaps didn't catch the movie for some reason; so never got turned on to the event. How is this an advantage; a lot of what keeps a fandom alive the the incursion of new blood. For instances, we see plenty of folks showing up here and over at FFF saying "Wow, I just found this. I can't believe there isn't more!" These people re-ignight the enthusiasm and help keep the thermostat on high, because it is all new to them.

For instance, I got a friend of mine the FF series on DVD for Christmas. While he liked the movie well enough, it was seeing it in the context of the series that really got him "turned on" as a fan. He's now popping thru several of the web sites, voting on TV_vote and general rabble rousing.

[laoshi]

I do think the best way of rekindling your own interest in the series is to watch it with someone whose never seen it before. You can rediscover the series through someone else's eyes. So get converting!
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Alliance, n. In international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third.

[Companion Kate]

[BrownCoat1]

The Bedlam Bards "On the Drift" cd is great. Their music on this cd is perfect for stoking that Firefly spark. For those that don't have it, buy it!

I really like Laoshi's suggestion of watching the show again w/ a new person and rediscovering that initial fire through their eyes. I have actually done this several times with new converts and seeing that new kindled passion for the 'verse just reinforces my own love for what Joss created.

Discussion on the boards has helped keep my interest piqued, especially when new people come in and offer fresh looks at old subjects.

Conventions have also been a source of inspiration for me. Meeting new browncoats from all over the world and speaking to them face to face has kept the fire going for me. There is also a ton of swag and merchandise that is Firefly or Serenity oriented that one can purchase at cons.
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"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

[BrownCoat_Tabz]

I have a few key friends that I talk Firefly stuff with, I think on a whole we feed off the energy of each other. Be it the Bedlum Bards, the people on the message boards, real life friends or some local Browncoat group.

I find writing about it always encourages me. Watching the series to find something unique or fresh... listening to the podcasts... finding new filk.... even watching the actors in new roles.

I like the idea of throwing your own mini-shindig, watching the series with someone new.... reading fanfic and essays... starting your own podcast.... going to conventions.. all great ideas.
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Tabz, Slayer of the Podcasts.

[kbachelder]

Many good ideas have already been mentioned.

I would also recommend getting involved with a local Browncoat group if one exists in your area. There is a list of many of them here...

http://www.bigdamnboard.com/websites/groups/

Having an opportunity to connect with people in person is a great way to create long term friendships that will always remind you of Firefly which will keep it fresh in your mind.


Kevin
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Fan of SciFi or Fantasy?

The Seeker Cast
http://www.theseekercast.com

Tuning Into Scifi TV
http://www.tuningintoscifitv.com

The Signal
http://www.serenityfirefly.com

The ScapeCast
http://www.scapecast.org

[Madbull2]

I often worry about the "fire" in the fandom going out. It has nothing to do with how big of fans people are to Firefly, or even how deticated they are to keeping it going. The problem is that with no real news that hints at a likely Firefly 2 or Serenity 2, people start to loose hope. Or for that matter take the attitude of "if something sparks up, i'll come back to helping the cause" The problem is if everyone has this attitude, nothing ever will come back up. I believe the problem in the community right now is the lack of a powerful drive. The same drive that we browncoats had when Firefly was cancled. Some how, if there is going to be any shot of a sequel, we have to get this drive back. Now I don't know how much fans can help at this point. But firefly is something that is worth fighting for. What we need is someone to take the initutive and stand up and try to spark the community again. What we need is leaders. This is how Serenity became possible and now if it is going to happen again we need drive, all the fans support, and leaders. So the question is, who will be that leader? Who will spark the community and unite us as one again? If you look around, most fansites are only getting a few posts a day. Is this because people aren't fans anymore? No! Is this because people don't care for a new season or sequel? No! Is this becuase us fans are not willing to do what it takes to continue the 'verse! No! The problem is that there isn't that same powerful drive that helped create Serenity. There isn't that unification that made us so loud. There isn't the leaders that most importantly united the fan base! As a community, we need to get these things back in order to ever have a good chance for a new season of Firefly or a sequel to Serenity. What this wonderful fanbase needs now more than ever, is a leader! Leaders who will unite the community again and thus return the drive and passion and make us speak as one again.

[BrownCoat_Tabz]

Thanks for everyone who participated in the discussion! I used your ideas and names in my most recent podcast!

If you want to hear it in mp3 format click here.
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Tabz, Slayer of the Podcasts.

[laoshi]

Hey Madbull2, are you volunteering to lead us over the top? Are you going for a whole once more into the breech dear friends or close up the wall with our Browncoat dead type thing. I'd nominate me except for 2 things, one I suck, two I suck. Now I realise technically that's only one reason but I thought it was such a big one its worth mentioning twice. Seriously I'm the last person anyone wants in charge, but then most leaders are. As the great man said. Its not that power corrupts, but that power attracts the corruptible. You get extra special browny points for knowing which two sci-fi works I'm referring to in this post. Also I think we should hijack the phrase browny points for our own use. If you do something that other fans enjoy or helps bring the show back you get browny points.
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Alliance, n. In international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third.

[kbachelder]

[BrownCoat_Tabz]

And, as I've said before... I've been part of the Sherlock Holmes fandom since I was 9 years old. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died in the 30's....

We're not getting new content. *ahem*

Yet, there are societies all around the world and enough fan-generated interest that they FINALLY got a statute put up in London a few years back. Books, pastiches (a fancier sort of fanfic), radio dramas and the like keep popping up. Homages to Holmes including House MD continue to keep his name in the media...

so it is possible for a "pop culture" fictional world to have sustained fandom.
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Tabz, Slayer of the Podcasts.

[Anonymous Damn Hero]

[laoshi]

Tabz have you ever been to the Sherlock Kolmes Museum in London? I was in London for a wirlwind tour earlier in the year and I got as far as the Baker Street Tube Station before realising the Museum was closed for the day and i haven't managed to get to London since.
As for the whole pop culture fandom thing, I think over time the distinction between high culture and pop culture loses its significance. Take someone like Shakepeare, surely his work would have been considered opo-culture at the time, sure perormances were staged or the nobility, but people from all walks of life flocked to playhouses. If your work is good enough it will stand the test of time no matter what the people of the time thought about it. This a quote from Thucidydes, the Greek historian, Ive always liked. It goes something like this "Mine is not a work designed to meet the needs of the present audience, but was done to last forever" That was in the 4th century BC. Will people be talking about Firefly like that thousands of years from Now? Probably not, but hey that's not stopping us from enjoying it now.
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Alliance, n. In international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third.

[BrownCoat_Tabz]

I haven't been to London... my only "out of the states' experience has been Israel, Canada and Mexico... I desperately want to go some day though.

You have to remember though, Sherlock Holmes WAS popfiction of it's time. Yes he was innovative and groundbreaking.... but still it was serial fiction, not higher brow material.

Will people be talking about Firefly like they do about Sherlock Holmes? Probably not, but I think it'll have more than a passing blip on the radar. Heck, A&E Biography did a special on Buffy - I don't think Joss Whedon's works are going to fade forever.
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Tabz, Slayer of the Podcasts.

[ningjingde ren]

[Madbull2]

no no no i'm not saying that the fandom is going to fade away and Firefly will be forgotten. I am saying that unless there is activity in the community people are going to start to check the sites and news less and less often. Now what's the problem with this you ask? Well it's not that these fans wont come right back to support the series once they hear about something. The problem is that if a large portion of the community isn't checking for info daily then when something finally seems to be lighting up, it may just go out before enough people hear about it. We all know that Browncoats are a very very strong fanbase, and we all know that as one we can do anything, but we need to stay as one. And I was just saying that when people have someone to follow after, a leader if you will, then they tend to act as one and stick around. As I said, look how we got Serenity made. And no, sadly i'm not volenteering myself to be "that leader". I am no leader. But that doesn't mean I wont fight to the end for something I believe in. It just means that I, like many many other people, need to be pointed in a direction. I understand that there is still actually a lot of activities and other stuff being planned by people. And that's good. What i'm really reffering to is uniteing the online fanbase. As I mentioned before, most Firefly or Serenity sites are only getting a few posts a day. This is for two reasons, one as I have been saying, people aren't checking every day anymore. And two, the fanbase isn't as united as it once was. Everyone just goes to the site they are used to instead of checking around multiple sites for things that are being planned. Honestly, this is a problem that many if not all fanbases have, but I believe our best bet at some form of continuation of Firefly or Serenity would be uniting the fans and giving many people that want to help but don't know how, a direction.