Joss Whedon as the build em up to knock em down law has it had to stumble eventually, and Firefly was to be the show that tripped him up. Except its not artistically a flop at all.
In fact, it possesses the potential to be as masterful a creation as Buffy, and is all the more precious for having been cut down in its prime.
Essentially a futuristic interplanetary Western though no monster of the week aliens here
it possesses by its nature enough material to maintain several seasons effectively, and in taking on nine lead characters dealing with grown-up problems marriage, mental illness, post-war disillusionment proves more ambitious than anything Whedon had done to date.
But its that depth of material and the refusal to rush the story that deterred all but the most dedicated audience and led Fox to cancel it only 14 episodes in. Restored to Whedons original vision the running order was shuffled on TV it rewards persistence with a slowly blossoming backstory that holds any number of plot twists, highly quotable, witty dialogue and subtle performances.
Lets just pray that the proposed film version reignites the Fly.
