Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
User Journal

Journal fm6's Journal: Joss, where's my check? 11

Journal by fm6
My demented enthusiasm for Firefly (the first ep wasn't nearly as good as the pilot, but I still enjoyed it) plus Haken's skill at building a fan site, seem to have convinced some people that we're both employed by Fox and probably the same person. All I can say to that, is JOSS, WHERE'S MY CHECK???!!!

Seriously though, if Fox were gonna spend a lot of money on web sites, wouldn't they spend a little of it on the official firefly site? Which is a sad collection of canned javascript and flash, obviously put together by a web newbie.

EDITED 9/28 to correct the fact I seem to have Joss Whedon, the TV mogul, confused with Josh Whedon, a dentist in Fresno.

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Joss, where's my check? More

Joss, where's my check?

Comments Filter:
  • I don't know if it's obvious to anyone but me, but Firefly seems directly influenced by "Traveller" an RPG from the 1980s.

    So, if you ever get that check from Weldon, make sure to let him know I have about a season of episodes for him (I can just dust off my campaign archive). I work cheap (about as cheap as you apparently).

    Sean O
    • You're not the first person to notice the similarities between the Firefly and Traveller universes [fireflyfans.net]. But there are differences too, like no galactic empire in Firefly. My own theory is that Joss Whedon and the designers of Traveller just have some common assumptions. Like a rejection of the Star Trek/Wars assumption that technology has to look glossy and futuristic, especially weapons.

      Still haven't heard from Joss. Could it be that the great Firefly/Slashdot conspiracy only exists in somebody's imagination?

      • Also the rejection of the military as the focus. These guys have to work for a living. Cargo, passengers, and survival are more important than the 'prime directive'.

        Of course you can also say it's like the "tales of the Milennium Falcon" before Han Solo got mixed up with that durned Obi-Wan.

        • Star Trek has always had a bipolar relationship with the navy-in-space thing. If we put them in uniforms they'll look cool! But people are marching against the war in Viet Nam, we don't want to seem too militaristic, so we'll say they're "explorers". But if we have a war with the Romulans we can rip off "The Enemy Below"! But we have to keep preaching about how bad war is! But there's not enough conflict, how about some recurring bad guys called "Klingons". But we need to show that humanity can evolve beyond confict and greed! But that's boring, let's have a Borg attack. But we need to make a show about former enemies working together! But ratings are down, lets make the Klingons bad guys again. But people like the Klingons, let's chill out a little. But everybody's going to see "Independence Day" we need more shots of things blowing up!

          Anyway, you're right, the military thing has gotten old and stupid. It's an easy out for hack writers. Having the good guys struggle just to make a living allows us to have real stories.

          • Speaking of good guys struggling to make a living... Hey, Joss, where's fm6's check?!

            The thing about StarTrek I never got is why would a captain go anywhere when he's got space ship with 400 red shirts that he can apparently send to their death willy-nilly.

            If the Firefly and Traveller people are smart, they'll come out with a Firefly-branded RPG using the traveller rules...
            • The thing about StarTrek I never got is why would a captain go anywhere when he's got space ship with 400 red shirts that he can apparently send to their death willy-nilly.
              The same reason Jim Phelps always chose the same team for each "Impossible Mission": to keep down costs. Shatner and Nimoy (and later Kelly) were on contract and got paid whether their characters beamed down or not. If you're gonna send down a flunky, you have to hire somebody to play them.

              Which brings us back to Firefly's role as the Anti-Trek. Joss Whedon has an avowed hatred of the Dead Redshirt Syndrome. That's my name for the clumsy way most TV shows write in a minor character in just to kill them off, and it's always painfully obvious that the character is going to contract tholian plague or step on a land mine or something. On Buffy, he's killed off several major recurring characters (and, of course, a host of minor ones) just for the shock value of having a familiar and beloved face buy the farm. He never done it to a regular (except for Amber Benson, and she was only a "regular" for one ep), but if I were a regular on Firefly, I'd keep my resume polished.

              • Shatner's Stand-in/Stunt Double was a guy named "Eddie Paskey". He ended up as a snuffed red shirt in at least two episodes. So they couldn't even afford to hire extras...

                I've never seen Buffy or the X-Files (I don't watch much TV), but I did tune into a couple episodes of Voyager and Enterprise. I was very underwhelmed so I crawled back into my cave.

                The only TV I will sit through nowadays is "Law and Order". My wife and I never saw the show until this year and we've got over 12 years of reruns to catch up on.

                It's like when I was a kid and discovered Dr. Who -- years worth of shows to catch up on.

                Anyhow, looking forward to Firefly this weekend. If it's good, I'll send you a check, you astroturfer you...

                • Yeah, Voyager and Enterprise are what happens when a studio realizes they have a fan base that will tolerate anything.

                  If you're a conspiracy buff or a tabloid junkie, you'll like the X-Files. Otherwise you'll think it's a show by and for idiots. If that comment is offensive to Tim Minear, well I'm sorry, but jeez.

                  Buffy is a clever social and moral metaphor in the form of a very silly Teens-versus-the-Undead story. Its main audiences seem to be teenage girls (strong but flawed female role model), horror buffs (lots of scary stuff), gay people (subtexts about people with secret lives), and professors of Literature and Philosophy (complicated issues of interpretation and morality). If you have trouble getting into it, go to the video store and rent an episode called "Hush". It's mind-boggling. Don't watch the edited version on FX -- too many good jokes got left out.

                  I like older eps of Law and Order, mainly cause of the interesting legal issues. Alas, they seem to be de-emphasizing that aspect of the show. And all the wisecracks are starting to get old.

                • Jeez, because of /.'s screwed up page design, I replied to my own post, and a budding mutual rant got nipped in same. Oh well!

Slashdot Top Deals

To be a kind of moral Unix, he touched the hem of Nature's shift. -- Shelley

Close