Firefly: The Complete Series (2002) (15th Anniversary Edition)

[Monty Cora]

Originally Posted by RodChester

Buffy and Angel have to be done from the ground up to get a bluray release. Firefly just has to have the discs repressed. I doubt Joss has any say in the matter unfortunately.

Buffy has already been rebuilt in HD. Just that they did a shitty job.

[Vandal Savage]

Originally Posted by Monty Cora

Buffy has already been rebuilt in HD. Just that they did a shitty job.

Yeah, they really butchered it. It could have been brilliant, but the end product is just so poorly done that I probably would stick with the godawful-looking DVDs.

Some of examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F28X...ature=youtu.be

For a series where night plays a pivotal role, you would think they would keep the night scenes dark.

Also, Joss Whedon (and David Fury and Steven DeKnight) are on-record stating their preference for the 4:3 aspect ratio, and it should be presented that way. Joss Whedon has always been adament about not wanting a widescreen presentation and his wishes should be followed.

[batman2000]

Originally Posted by RodChester

Buffy and Angel have to be done from the ground up to get a bluray release. Firefly just has to have the discs repressed. I doubt Joss has any say in the matter unfortunately.

that's what i'm saying fox should just let him do an hd remaster of them plus updated effects for a blu ray release

[kevin87]

Originally Posted by Vandal Savage

Also, Joss Whedon (and David Fury and Steven DeKnight) are on-record stating their preference for the 4:3 aspect ratio, and it should be presented that way. Joss Whedon has always been adament about not wanting a widescreen presentation and his wishes should be followed.

Except for Once More With Feeling, since that was in widescreen on TV and DVD, but everything else was fullscreen. I don't see why they can't just remaster it and do 4:3 and be done with it. HD doesn't have to be widescreen especially if widescreen screws it up.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by kevin87

Except for Once More With Feeling, since that was in widescreen on TV and DVD, but everything else was fullscreen. I don't see why they can't just remaster it and do 4:3 and be done with it. HD doesn't have to be widescreen especially if widescreen screws it up.

I think theres this bias against 4:3, or people don't want something to not fill their screen, so the square annoys them.

[Braktastic]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

I think theres this bias against 4:3, or people don't want something to not fill their screen, so the square annoys them.

Even though there's no denying it was done terribly, I can understand the rationale for reformatting it to widescreen when the intention was to show it on TV in HD. That audience definitely has that bias.

However, I would think Whedon and company would want to have this show preserved and there's enough of a cult following where a 4:3 HD release would sell achieving both ends.

[kevin87]

I'd prefer it to be widescreen, but if that's not how the creator envisioned his work then it shouldn't be done. It's no different to me having black bars on the side than it is having black bars on top and bottom when it's 2.40ish instead of 1.70ish. Plus, this was back when even movies had separate widescreen and fullscreen releases.

If it was a new show then yes it should be 16:9, but if it was meant to be 4:3 and making it widescreen ruins framing and stuff then it should be left alone. The only way it should be reformatted is if all they needed to do was put the side frame back on.

[Kristian Idol]

Originally Posted by kevin87

The new packaging is all shiny and whatnot but I'm not going to get it just for that, it's been so long so they should have had some new bonus content.

I see what you did there.

[wakey]

Originally Posted by kevin87

That.. doesn't make sense? Fox will take it as ok cool we can milk this for all it's worth without doing anything better other than packaging, but yet we only had to produce one season and mistreat it.

If you have it, don't rebuy it... if you don't, you should.

I'm a massive fan of the show but I feel this mistreatment claim has really been over egged. What exactly did they really do to mistreat the show? The only thing you can really point to is the pilot but even that is pushing it because lets be honest from a broadcasting pov it was the right decision, the pilot has to be watched at a whole and a 2-hour pilot is a commitment that's going to put many off. Also while it's a great pilot, on one hand, its a bit dense to capture the casual viewer and its the lack of casual viewers that killed the show.

The show that was cancelled to free up the budget for Firefly which was Dark Angel did much better in the ratings than Firefly did and that's where the problem was, people didn't tune in so its the TV viewers who were the problem not the network.

In addition remember it was Fox Broadcasting Company who demanded a new pilot, not 20th Century Television who made the show. Yes they belong to the same parent company but 20th Century Television has different agendas to Fox Broadcasting Company. The Studio gave the show plenty of support both during the time it was airing and especially afterwards. It's the sales that keep the studio interested in telling future stories while also making outlets be aware that it's a universe they may be worth while commissioning new stories via any delivery method.

[Strapped4Cash]

Originally Posted by wakey

I'm a massive fan of the show but I feel this mistreatment claim has really been over egged. What exactly did they really do to mistreat the show? The only thing you can really point to is the pilot but even that is pushing it because lets be honest from a broadcasting pov it was the right decision, the pilot has to be watched at a whole and a 2-hour pilot is a commitment that's going to put many off. Also while it's a great pilot, on one hand, its a bit dense to capture the casual viewer and its the lack of casual viewers that killed the show.

The show that was cancelled to free up the budget for Firefly which was Dark Angel did much better in the ratings than Firefly did and that's where the problem was, people didn't tune in so its the TV viewers who were the problem not the network.

I miss Dark Angel too, at least Season 1 DA.

As for Firefly, other arguments that I've regularly heard include:

That it was shown on Friday nights, a bad night to establish a new show.

That the pilot episode broadcast was written in only one weekend, due to a lack of notice from Fox about needing a new pilot. It's one thing to need a new pilot, another to need it that quickly.

This was Fox's most expensive show to produce, so there was outsize pressure on it to perform well quickly.

Firefly premiered in September while Fox was showing mostly Major League Baseball Playoffs and therefore not as many potential non-sports viewers were paying attention.

The trailers were uninteresting and/or misleading and so did a poor job of attracting potential viewers. (I was watching the show anyway back then, but imo the ads likely would have turned me away if I hadn't been watching).

[bluskies]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Hard to believe it's been 15 years already

15 years? That's nothing. "Star Wars" came out 40 years ago! THAT makes me feel old!

[nighthawk07]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

I think theres this bias against 4:3, or people don't want something to not fill their screen, so the square annoys them.

I am one of these people. Call me Judas, whatever, but I can't stand 4:3. It bothers me so much. I completely understand that 4:3 is what Joss intended and Joss is god of my universe, but I just cannot abide. I think it looks awful and so outdated on a widescreen TV, so I prefer watching the my UK dvds (I have both the US and UK sets). Stuff like camera equipment appearing in the sides of the screen is rarely noticeable to me, and if it is it's so rare. Widescreen all the way.

There's an incredibly simple solution to this, release a set that retains the full screen option, as well as presenting a widescreen option as well. But FIRST, and the largest hindrance to a BD set is that FOX seems completely in no rush to commission Joss to do a complete remaster. A complete and utter shame. There is money in this franchise, and FOX are fools.

[nighthawk07]

Originally Posted by Strapped4Cash

I miss Dark Angel too, at least Season 1 DA.

As for Firefly, other arguments that I've regularly heard include:

That it was shown on Friday nights, a bad night to establish a new show.

That the pilot episode broadcast was written in only one weekend, due to a lack of notice from Fox about needing a new pilot. It's one thing to need a new pilot, another to need it that quickly.

This was Fox's most expensive show to produce, so there was outsize pressure on it to perform well quickly.

Firefly premiered in September while Fox was showing mostly Major League Baseball Playoffs and therefore not as many potential non-sports viewers were paying attention.

The trailers were uninteresting and/or misleading and so did a poor job of attracting potential viewers. (I was watching the show anyway back then, but imo the ads likely would have turned me away if I hadn't been watching).

All these reasons, agreed. FOX definitely mistreated the show. a 2 hour finale is daunting, yes, but not out of the norm. Not to mention, didn't they air the episodes out of order too and perhaps created continuity errors.

In any case, I already own the original DVD release, and the new set sure is cool looking. If I weren't between jobs right now, I would most likely be getting it. Definitely a shame there is no new added material though, makes it easier to pass on this.

[Vandal Savage]

Originally Posted by nighthawk07

I am one of these people. Call me Judas, whatever, but I can't stand 4:3. [...]Widescreen all the way.

There's an incredibly simple solution to this,

The zoom function on your television?

[emailking]

Originally Posted by nighthawk07

All these reasons, agreed. FOX definitely mistreated the show. a 2 hour finale is daunting, yes, but not out of the norm. Not to mention, didn't they air the episodes out of order too and perhaps created continuity errors.

Yes. The originally intended pilot that properly introduces the characters was aired last instead of first. A few episodes in the middle were aired out of order, and then 3 episodes from various parts of the season were never aired by Fox at all.

[Ray O. Blu]

Originally Posted by bluskies

15 years? That's nothing. "Star Wars" came out 40 years ago! THAT makes me feel old!

Amen to this! That's when the Atari VCS came out, also!

[worldchmps]

Originally Posted by sandman slim

The current edition...



...is out of print. If you want Firefly, the new one is the only affordable option.

Long out of print. The send version had the faces of all the main characters on it. I bought that version too since I'm keeping the first version sealed since I had Summer Glau sign it and want to add more cast members to it.

[worldchmps]

Originally Posted by RodChester

Buffy and Angel have to be done from the ground up to get a bluray release. Firefly just has to have the discs repressed. I doubt Joss has any say in the matter unfortunately.

Why? They made Firefly in HD? 720 or 1080?

Can any show be emastered in 1080? I keep hearing Joss won't do Buffy for BD. He's been asked during q&a's but I don't get WH besides thinking he wants to show the show in the quality that people remember.

[worldchmps]

Originally Posted by Vandal Savage

Yeah, they really butchered it. It could have been brilliant, but the end product is just so poorly done that I probably would stick with the godawful-looking DVDs.

Some of examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F28X...ature=youtu.be

For a series where night plays a pivotal role, you would think they would keep the night scenes dark.

Also, Joss Whedon (and David Fury and Steven DeKnight) are on-record stating their preference for the 4:3 aspect ratio, and it should be presented that way. Joss Whedon has always been adament about not wanting a widescreen presentation and his wishes should be followed.

On a large tv 4:3 is fine. It still takes up a lot of the screen.

[worldchmps]

Originally Posted by kevin87

I'd prefer it to be widescreen, but if that's not how the creator envisioned his work then it shouldn't be done. It's no different to me having black bars on the side than it is having black bars on top and bottom when it's 2.40ish instead of 1.70ish. Plus, this was back when even movies had separate widescreen and fullscreen releases.

If it was a new show then yes it should be 16:9, but if it was meant to be 4:3 and making it widescreen ruins framing and stuff then it should be left alone. The only way it should be reformatted is if all they needed to do was put the side frame back on.

Offer one set, and include both version, full and wide screen! I prefer wide screen but for full screen shows I don't want to lose any of the image so cropping as it would not make me happy. It's why I have both versions of World At War. The DVD is in full screen but the BD is in wide screen with a dropped image to make it wide scree.