Created by Buffy The Vampire Slayer guru Joss Whedon, Firefly was a show that aired on Fox in 2002, but only managed to get through eleven of the fourteen episodes that had been produced before being cancelled. Its probably the most famous example of the networks trigger-happy approach towards killing off their own shows before they have time to find an audience. In this case, the cancellation triggered off one of the very first massive grass roots online campaigns by fans calling themselves Browncoats (after the nickname for the rebel militia in the show) leading to a feature film in 2005, Serenity, that finished off the storyline but also failed to find a sizeable audience. Fast-forward a few years, and The Big Bang Theory is all over Firefly. Its one of Sheldons favourite shows, and one whose cancellation he vehemently protested, although its difficult to imagine him being a Browncoat. The shows had a gag based around it around once a season, including one which mentioned the sequel movie. Wed be amazed if sales of the DVDs havent picked up since then. The best Firefly reference, of course, is in the scene where Sheldon is enumerating famous villains from history, and incorporates Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Fox: