Firefly Genre Post

It is quite evident that Firefly does not have one distinct genre. Rather, it is in a category that is all its own. Firefly seems to reflect what was popular on television at the time it was produced and not adhere to a specific genre. Firefly does possess several elements of science fiction, western shows, and cultural aspects, but none of those can accurately sum up exactly what Firefly is. Firefly is so unique because of the fact that it is a mixture of all of these genres and that is what it was believed that the audience wanted to see. There are no aliens. It is not entirely western. Culture is just one aspect. The main focus is on character development and interaction which is what audiences tend to really enjoy. The fact that there is no specific genre illustrates that the producers and the network of this show were trying to appeal to a larger audience, not just science fiction fans or fans of westerns. Firefly was on Fox and, therefore, ratings and viewers had a large role in how a show was portrayed. It is also an important aspect of the show to point out human follies. The episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds" showcases just how sexually driven society is and how much that can impair judgement. Not only does it illuminate greed, violence, and corruption, but the main characters are outlaws! Firefly is rather complex in what it is trying to accomplish and therefore is difficult to put into any one genre. Essentially, Fox tried to give people what they wanted to see in a television show. They tried to make it as entertaining as possible, while appealing to the largest audience possible. It is this, however, that seemingly led to its downfall. No one group identifies strongly with it, making it difficult to keep everyone engaged. On a major network like Fox, that is a huge problem.

Firefly is experiencing what many old shows are going through. There are still some intense fans, some have even so far as creating cults, and those fans are the ones that really want to see the show brought back. The more casual viewers do not really seem to care that much that Firefly is not on the air anymore, even telling people to calm down about it and that it has been cancelled for years. If it were loved by so many people, it would have been brought back, even if it did not come back on Fox. There is just some dedicated followers that are making a huge deal about bringing it back. That happens for every series. Some people get hooked, while others do not, and if not enough people tune in, then it gets cancelled. That is just how the industry works. Ultimately, although some people do have an intense following, television is all about ratings and viewers, and Firefly just did not achieve that standard.