Joss Whedon’s beloved science-fiction Western “Firefly” faced a turbulent take off to say the least. Conceived as a relatively grounded, character-driven series about a band of outsiders traversing the stars, Fox canceled the series before audiences really had the chance to connect with the characters aboard the Serenity. Many blame Fox’s meddling, leading to a plethora of potential stories never explored. Star Nathan Fillion shared one such tale with The Hollywood Reporter in a series retrospective, recounting Whedon’s pitch for an exceptional opening.
“Joss once described an opening scene to me where we are looking at a planet with a ring around it and as we come in close, we see the ring is actually rocks and pieces of ships and old derelicts,” Fillion revealed. “It’s a junk ring. It’s the junkyards — we mentioned it in ‘Firefly’ one time. We see little bits and we’re jumping slowly from bit to bit and as we get closer, we see Serenity floating lifeless and these little people getting on and coming through it.” From there, the opening would’ve moved into the airlock where these invaders would’ve crawled aboard the ship.
“There’s Malcolm Reynolds, bleeding and cut, strapped down with giant guns and not looking great,” Fillon added. “He’s got these two giant guns, and he says, ‘Get off my ship.’” Even if it does feel a bit reminiscent of the opening to “Out of Gas,” that’s one heck of a way to start an episode.
Firefly’s unleashed potential might have been the best thing for its legacy
Following its terribly brief run on Fox, “Firefly” has lingered in the minds of fans for decades, and this potential opening speaks to just how malleable the series could’ve been if only it had been given more time to find its footing. Still, as sad as the show’s cancellation might have been (here’s how Nathan Fillion felt after receiving the news), in hindsight this unrealized potential might have been a silver lining.
Unlike other TV shows that were canceled too soon, “Firefly” was quickly reclaimed by fans as one of Whedon’s best shows, and they helped propel the show to get a big-budget feature film conclusion in just a few short years. This film “Serenity” gave fans the closure they were unjustly denied by the show’s cancellation, combined with an array of comic book continuations to sweeten the deal.
Gina Torres speaks fondly of the show, while other “Firefly” co-stars — like Alan Tudyk, Jewel Staite and Summer Glau — went on to work together over the years. Reunions on everything from “Castle” to “Resident Alien” have become commonplace for these stars. So, even if the Serenity will never fly again, its crew lives on to fight another day.