The roots of this idea stretch back to the period after Firefly was cancelled and before Serenity hit cinemas. This was a time when fans were organising online through web boards and petitions trying to find ways of securing future Firefly episodes. This initial DIY philosophy is what eventually led to fan-backed projects such as the 2010 film Browncoats: Redemption being made, and is also visible in the documentary Done The Impossible, which deals specifically with the lengths to which fans of Firefly have gone to keep the flame burning bright by sheer will and effort. In the current Kickstarter-fuelled funding landscape the idea of Firefly being produced by crowd sourced means, without major studio backing takes on greater credence. Nathan Fillion even caused a mini-surge of Kickstarter-related activity in the fan community when he said in an interview to Entertainment Weekly in 2011:
"If I got $300 million from the California Lottery, the first thing I would do is buy the rights to Firefly, make it on my own, and distribute it on the Internet.
This throwaway light-hearted comment led to the creation of HelpNathanBuyFirefly.com and via Twitter and Facebook raised pledges from over 100,000 individuals. The project faltered though after Fillion voiced his concern about fans reaching into their own pockets:
Its beautiful to dream of more Firefly, but PLEASE DONT SEND ANY MONEY. Just keep being great Browncoats, which you are!
The initiative was eventually canned after Joss Whedon distanced himself, and the sense of not having the creator's approval proved an immovable obstacle. Although the campaign didn't result in achieving its goal of more Firefly it did have one positive and rather heartwarming outcome. Some generous Browncoats donated their pledges to the charity Kids Need To Read in Nathan Fillion's name, to a total of $3000.
As well as the odd article, I apply my "special mind" to scriptwriting for Comics, Films and Games... Oh and I cut down trees, I skip and jump, I like to press wild flow'rs, I put on women's clothing, and hang around in bars.
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