Firefly is perhaps the saddest story in TV history. Not because of it’s story, but simply because it was so short lived. After only one season, Joss Whedon’s Firefly was pulled off the air by Fox. Don’t get me wrong, one season was enough to get the show a cult following like no other, but it really did deserve much more than that. But it seems Fox had it in for the show since the beginning.
First of all, they insisted on whether or not two of the main characters should be married or not. When that was settled, they insisted that the pilot episode be changed. After the second pilot was aired in a very bad Friday dead time slot, they actually aired the episodes out of order, which might be fine for a show that didn’t have to be aired in order, but Firefly’s episodes were connected. To top it all up, they aired the original pilot at the end of season 1. Not to mention the very bad marketing.
Instead of advertising “Firefly” as a space western or a gritty sci-fi show, the promotional campaign suggested that it was a wacky genre comedy— “the most twisted new show on television.” Several promos strung together jokes about a “flighty pilot” (Wash), a “space cowboy” (Mal), a “cosmic hooker” (Inara), and a “girl in a box” (River, referencing a plot point from the pilot episode the network refused to air), tied together with the tag line “Out there? Oh, it’s out there!” …
“We knew we were in real trouble before the show debuted,” Chris Buchanan says. Fox sent them a promo reel of the spots they’d cut for the show, and the first opened with Smashmouth’s hit song “Walkin’ on the Sun.” They first thought that the promo was for Fastlane, Fox’s highly stylized police action drama. “Then all of a sudden it was like ‘Firefly, the cosmic hooker and a whacked out space cowboy.’ ” Buchanan recalls, horrified. “My mouth just dropped open. When the marketing guy called back to ask what they thought, I said, ‘Well, it’s really great, but that’s not what our show is.”
Though to be fair, in a way the show’s following is bigger today than it was in 2003, and maybe that wouldn’t be the case if the fans got some closure, but one season really doesn’t seem fair for a cult show. Which is why we’ve found some of the serene Firefly t-shirts below.
Aim to Wear These Firefly T-Shirts
Firefly t-shirts from Design by Humans:
All DbH tees are only $24 each and you can use our Exclusive Design by Humans Coupon Code to get a 10% discount on everything you order!
Firefly t-shirts from NeatoShop:
All NeatoShop’s tees are priced at just $19.95 each and you get free worldwide shipping on all orders over $75!
Firefly t-shirts from TeePublic:
All TeePublic t-shirts are priced at $20 and every month they have site-wide sales where their prices drop to just $14 per tee so make sure you check them out often!
BONUS: The Special Hell tee from DexShirts!
PS: If you dig this tee, don’t forget to use our Exclusive DexShirts Coupon Code and get 10% OFF of your whole order!
Written by Saso
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