If you lifted this from the IGN review, it could serve as my own reaction to “Done the Impossible” (including the appreciation for the graphic designer as “endearing”) – except that as a Browncoat, I didn’t feel particularly shut out, and my enjoyment may have been greater:

“Many of the interviews and stories are quite fun, and it really is great to see the true passion that not only the fans, but those who made the show clearly have for it. One of the graphic designers for the film gleefully describes getting to see his work as the main title of the movie appears on screen, and his enthusiasm is genuine and endearing. But rather then properly present the world of Firefly and its fandom to any potential new members, Done the Impossible keeps it in its own closed off world.”

And I truly loved this part:

”“The audio commentary by the filmmakers is okay... though there's also some random geeky tangents, such as when they get into an argument over how strong the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation is.”

*giggle* Shades of the Mutant Enemy writers room Warren, Jonathan and Andrew. Now I’m really looking forward to receiving my DVD...

QuoterGal | August 08, 11:22 CET

I agree with the review, pretty much. I thought it was very well put together, but I wouldn't call it documentary in a broad sense - it's has a very, very targetted audience, which is US browncoats (it doesn't even mention the fan base outside of the US, which makes a big percentage of the actual fan base). And to some extent, it was focusing on the US browncoats from the 'OB' posting board, which made it from a perspective of a small percentage of the fans. It felt exclusionary to me, but I'm aware it doesn't feel that way to everybody (I know a lot of people who loved it).

That said, I forgive anything for the fact they left Tim Minear's joke in comparing the crew of the ship to the fans.

[ edited by gossi on 2006-08-08 11:15 ]

gossi | August 08, 13:14 CET

I'm not too surprised about them rating the documentary a 6, but the extras only getting a 7?! The timeline is worth a 10 on it's own!

Grounded | August 08, 14:06 CET

My copy arrived last weekend, just ran it briefly in the DVD Player, mainly to check the timeline. And checked if the extra disks from the convetions were working (yes they were working very well, although the oversea "trip" did not agree very much with the DVD case, but the DVDs themselves were in good shape)

It looks good, hopefully I'll have time to explore them more througly this weekend.

I did watch the "documentary" from the torrent release. It got a lot of emotion, but could've included more things about oversea fans.



It could've focused a bit on the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zeland Fans, which seems to compose most of this bit percentage of actual fan base. The rest of the world, ain't as vocal.

Numfar PTB | August 08, 14:09 CET

It wasn't as vocal, but they certainly did a lot Numfar. There's the whole story of the complete lack of planned theatre releases in Brazil and Israel (amongst many others), for example - I know for a fact there's a load of Israeli fans, as I saw the material they wrote for Joss before it was passed to him, and they were so looking forward to seeing Serenity. And then it got pulled, and then their country got into a war - sucks to be them.

gossi | August 08, 14:24 CET

Wow... first off it's really cool that the doc is getting mainstream press reviews (well, pseudo-mainstream as IGN is anyway).

I'd say the criticisms that the reviewer levels are fair enough. As a Browncoat from day one I knew everything and someone watching with much newer eyes might need more filling in. I really loved the documentary, but then I have different expectations than someone who, apparently, loves Firefly but hesitates to call himself a Browncoat.

AnotherFireflyfan | August 08, 14:55 CET

I can see that it would have been difficult to get the rest of the world in there initially but once the whole project expanded, there was time to ask other countries to at least send in some video.
Ah well. I'm looking forward to getting my copy anyway.

Lioness | August 08, 15:53 CET

Well, the problem with extending it is obvious - you don't want it running for 3 hours.

gossi | August 08, 15:59 CET

All these matters will be addressed in "Whedonesque - How One Site Riled Ruled Them All". It'll make War and Peace look like an epic.

Simon | August 08, 16:10 CET

...One [Jossverse] site to rule them all
one site to bind them
one site to find [the links]
and in the [blackness] bind them

AnotherFireflyfan | August 08, 16:22 CET

I thought it was mostly sweet and endearing, but I also mostly agree with the review. And it wasn't hard to put myself in the shoes of someone on the outside and think "hmmm... that's a little creepy." (Fandom often seems such when you don't share the object of the hardcore fan's affection, right?)

I've made countless, thoughtless, (lighthearted, but) derogatory references to costumed Star Wars fans waiting in line outside theatres days in advance, and have used the phrase "Klingon Convention" to make an unkind point, though have no earthly idea what a Klingon is.

Yet, I smile lovingly at a photo of a friend from the black in a cunning orange hat, cheer heartily to see our own saltygoodness and her husband come excitedly through the doors of the theatre in the documentary, and regularly spy on my donated Firefly DVDs through my county library's website to confirm that they're geting a lot of action. I am what I fear. Oh, boy. /hides face

[ edited by barest_smidgen on 2006-08-08 15:25 ]

barest_smidgen | August 08, 16:57 CET

As a Browncoat (but not one of the old OB ones) I enjoyed the documentary a great deal and have cried every time I have watched it so far. But, after reading this article I realize that every point this very fair review makes is true. The documentary does have flaws and is very much just geared toward people who already consider themselves Browncoats and huge Firefly/"Serenity" fans.

As much as I love the features, if you don't have over a 35" TV, you have to get on the floor a few feet from the TV to even read the Interative Timeline or 'Verse Dictionary. And I have something of a problem with the easter eggs as well. They are very proud of their cleverness to be sure - and although I have gotten all 4 of the 5 that are reachable (one is on the DVD-Rom and not accessible now)- it was only because I had to be spoiled as to how to access at least one of them. In that way I very much felt that not only were they centered on really involved Browncoats, but also their own egos to create something beyond what even most loyal and true Browncoats will grasp.

I will treasure my copy for years to come and the documentary is a nobel effort and very emotional journey. Nevertheless as the reviewer points out it does tend to be a bit singular in scope.

CinJudes | August 08, 17:29 CET

Yep, I too was very happy with my copy. I watched, I enjoyed and I understood the whole thing, even though I've only really actively participated in my own little corner of the fandom (ie: the dutch official posting board).

The review, however, makes some very good points. I had planned to show the documentary to some friends. The browncoat phenomenom was a frequent topic of discussion around releasetime and I spent a lot of my time organising stuff around the dutch red carpet premiere and pre-screening, so I thought I'd give them a feel for what the fandom was like. But after seeing it, I decided against it. If you're not on the up-and-up, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense (for instance: people keep talking about the 'OB' without explaining even once what the 'OB' actually is).

What's more, showing this to people outside of the fandom would probably reflect badly on their view of who these fans are. People choking up till this day thinking about the cancellation of Firefly is fine within the confines of the fandom, but outside that just seems a tad too much and maybe even scary or off-putting (just imagine fans of a show you never watched doing the same thing).

As for the inclusiveness or exclusiveness of the documentary, I did feel that the picture painted of the browncoat community would probably have been mmore accurate if sub-communities from other countries or even other posting boards had been included. Having said that, I don't think it hurts to zoom in on one specific group, seeing as most of their experiences are probably very representative of the ones other fans in other fancommunities had.

All in all, I too felt this could have been perfect for a wider audience if there'd been some more narration and explanation of what people were talking about. Also, it could have done with more rigorous editing, since different interviews seemed to be making the same points, which would have given the documentary the breathing space to cover some more ground (like, indeed, the 'after the premiere' period).

But, then again, this was a fan-product all the way, it has a very specific target audience and, as fans, we should view it as what it is, instead of what it's not: and that is a fun look at the browncoat phenomenon from an insiders perspective. I'll certainly rewatch it a few times and am still proud to be a part of a fandom where the fans' love of the subject leads them to do wonderfull things (like producing a very professional looking documentary like this one).

GVH | August 08, 18:22 CET

I haven't read many reviews or opinions of DTI but the ones have read have been positive which made me feel like I was being overly harsh. I'm therefore quite relieved to read this review.

Watching DTI made me kinda angry. As a UK Browncoat, I felt ignored. No mention of the World's first Serenity con. No mention of the World Premiere being in Scotland. No mention of us pushing it to number one in the Box Office or voting it to film of the year.

This documentary made me feel like the rest of the world didn't exist as far as Firefly/Serenity is concerned.

Angelite | August 08, 18:40 CET

I enjoyed DTI and give massive cheesr/kudos to all involved, though I share some of the criticisms above. As a doco it fails to explain things to the point where someone outside of fandom (and in some cases, those of us relatively inside of it) could understand what was happening (references to the OB/specific OB posters/posts, sudden discussion of the death of Wash, etc.). I would have also shortened some segments that went on a wee bit long. Its focus on the OB to the exclusion of all else was somewhat sigh inducing as there is a lot of ground to cover outside of the OB (SF Browncoats, the Aussie contingent, the rabid UK brood).

If I were to point out that I could never keep up with the OB as I:

a) found it to have a tremendously low signal to noise ratio
b) found it astoundingly difficult to navigate
c) found it prone to trolling/not the best moderated

I would probably be accused of bashing it in favor of W-esque ;) Regardless, the shoe fits, so bash away! (or is that the glove fits, you must acquit?)

As far as cringe-inducing fandom, filk ('verse inspired music) and the singing of themesongs (outside of the original pre-screenings, and a little bit even then) always gives me shivers. Overzealous/overearnest-ness scare away the masses. Its a fine line to dance upon, like the edge of an Operative's blade. Regardless, it was obviously made with a lot of love and skill for fans by fans and I'll say again, thank you and congratulations on a job well done, DTI folk!

zeitgeist | August 08, 19:12 CET

First, the documentary was always intended to be for fans of the shows, we weren't trying to reach out and explain the phenomenon to non-fans. We just wanted to document, for posterity, what we felt was a compelling story from our perspective *as fans*. Would the reviewer preferred it be cynical like Trekkies? We set out with the intent of not being like Trekkies. Did that make us less objective, perhaps, but objectivity was never the point.

And from all of the hundreds of comments I've received from fans, who cried, cheered, and now cherish the DVD, I think we succeeded in doing what we'd hoped to do all along.

As for being U.S. centric, we didn't have the budget or time to fly around the world, and since the documentary was created largely by editing interviews into a story, if nobody talked about non-U.S. events, it was difficult include them without breaking the flow. For that very reason we wanted to include several non-U.S. browncoat references in the Interactive Timeline. The timeline references non-U.S. events fairly extensively including, the World's first Serenity Con (I was there by the way), the World Premiere in Scotland, and events in both Australia and New Zealand.

As for being OB-centric, like I said it was told from our perpsective as fans, and since I'm a long time OBer it would make sense it would reference the OB.

And the criticism that the film didn't talk about anything after the release of the film (except in the commentary), that was also intentional. Our plan was ALWAYS to tell the story about how a TV show, canceled in it's first season, became a major motion picture (the term "We've done the impossible." comes to mind...). So it was a conscious decision to not drag the story beyond that event, for several reasons too, first being, where then do we stop? Flanvention? Serenity Squared? The DVD release? After DVD sales are known? The announcement of Serenity 2? Plus our original intent was to have picture lock in October (remember our original release date was November 2005).

That being said, the review does make a few good points, like I'll admit there were a couple of jarring edits, now that I see them in hindsight, oh well, too late now. We don't plan to pull a Lucas and re-edit now that the film is released.

And yeah, the DVD-ROM alone should have earned us at least a 9 out of 10 for special features... come on! (I don't think the reviewer really checked out the ROM).

Jeremy
DoneTheImpossible.com

[ edited by JeremyN on 2006-08-08 18:21 ]

JeremyN | August 08, 19:41 CET

Hey guys, as the author of the review linked here, just wanted to thank you guys for finding it to be pretty fair. I am inclined to love anything with the name Firefly on it (and my fandom is why the editor-in-chief of the DVD asked me if I wanted to review this), but I tried to be as objective as possible with this. As I said in the review, I found the documentary flawed, but clearly made with love.

On another point, I was amused to see the link went to the UK IGN site, which I forget even exists, much less linking to my stories!

Eric G | August 08, 20:02 CET

We so know where Simon is from.

Thanks for posting Eric, it was a good review. I can see how moments could be jarring and a little explanation could have helped.

YellowBear | August 08, 20:18 CET

Eric - No hard feelings, I appreciate your objectiveness, even if I don't agree with all of your criticisms.

JeremyN | August 08, 20:20 CET

I think other things could've been included without breaking the flow, but I appreciate that it was both an editorial and stylistic choice where to break it up with narration as opposed to running the bites of interview segments on common themes. It would've changed the flow, thats for sure, and made it somewhat of a different animal as it were. I want to make it clear that I did very much enjoy it and its obvious that a lot of love and a lot of work went into it. I also understand that the scope of the project didn't include post-release Serenity bits.

zeitgeist | August 08, 20:30 CET

Ultimately, I think the only critisms that can be made at the documentary team is the focus. What they did focus on, I thought they did well.

I did shoot a lot of footage in the UK, including at the various premieres and with the cast and such, but ultimately I failed to be able to edit to together because I didn't have time, I lack the skills and -- this was the critical one -- I wanted to take a very different focus to DTI with the footage, but realised it would never sell to the actual fandom. So, the summary there is that I suck, and Jeremy doesn't.

DTI will sell to the fandom, so from the point of view of "Why did they make this?", it'll do well.

[ edited by gossi on 2006-08-08 18:34 ]

gossi | August 08, 20:33 CET

To not even acknowledge how the film did after all the discussion of what occurred up to its release, seems like a disingenuous move. Clearly, the passion for the content of the show and film itself hasn't been dampened by the fans, and there's no reason to pretend it didn't perform the way it did.

I did think think this was a little weird. I understand you need to end somewhere, but I think the outcome of the movie (in both ticket and DVD sales) could have been discussed at least briefly. I felt like the filmmakers were indeed trying to cover up the fact that Serenity wasn't a huge success, even if they didn't mean for it to come across that way.

I pretty much agree with the review, but I think they were too tough on a fan-made documentary. I think it's a wonderful film that is truly a treasure for any Firefly fan to own.

fortunateizzi | August 08, 21:01 CET

fortunateizzi - Thank you for the compliment.

We weren't trying to hide the fact that Serenity didn't storm the box office, the documentary was always meant to be about the fact that the movie got made at all, against all odds. Also the title "Done the Impossible, then Fizzled a Bit" didn't really fit on the box. :) Like I had mentioned, we were pretty much at picture-lock (except for a couple of Flanvention interviews) by the time it was obvious that Serenity wasn't going to be the blockbuster we had all hoped for. But, in hindsight, I can see where it might seem like it was an intentional "cover up". However, I did bring it up in the commentary, because I felt it should at least be mentioned somewhere.

JeremyN | August 08, 21:28 CET

It used to be www.ign.com no problem for me but now it defaults to uk.ign.com. Pesky new cookie policy I reckon.

Simon | August 08, 21:39 CET

I'd echo most of the sentiments here.

I guess since hubby and I came into 'the movement' late(we didn't get interested until we got the Firefly DVDs) and weren't very active; when we went to see it at Comic Con, we felt distinctly out of the loop. We didn't know who any of the people in the docu were(except the cast and crew, obviously), and got the feeling it wasn't made for us. And it wasn't. And that's fine, because the people it *was* made for seem to really love it.

I can't comment on the whole documentary, because we left early after we really got the vibe that we weren't the demographic. It's odd going to something related to a tv show and movie we were really passionate about and loved to bits, made by a man we would follow into the fire, yet then feeling rather...unwelcome and excluded. But with something like this, I can see that is unavoidable, so I don't have any particular ill feelings toward the makers or the docu itself(hey, that Jewel edutainment bit on mulch was priceless). Just not something I can see myself buying.

Rogue Slayer | August 08, 22:09 CET

So, sorta like Joanie Loves Chachi meets The Sorrow and The Pity? I’m in, especially if we can use puppets and/or mimes. Mime puppets?

QuoterGal | August 08, 22:42 CET

Rogue Slayer - the Browncoats as a community make every attempt to be welcoming and inclusive. I hope that you don't feel excluded from the community. Nobody is intentionally shutting anyone out.

AnotherFireflyfan | August 08, 22:54 CET

We don't plan to pull a Lucas and re-edit now that the film is released.

That's a crying shame :( There were a couple of scenes that could really have benefitted from a judicious sprinkling of Imperial Walkers in the background...

Grounded | August 08, 23:34 CET

Rogue Slayer - the Browncoats as a community make every attempt to be welcoming and inclusive. I hope that you don't feel excluded from the community. Nobody is intentionally shutting anyone out.

No, of course not. The documentary made me feel excluded by its nature, but most of the other Browncoats I've met have been very nice.

Rogue Slayer | August 08, 23:34 CET

The Browncoat community has many things that are interesting - of course, it has it's loopy side (lets threaten reviewers of the movie to get better reviews!) -- but all fandoms have that. One of things which has bought home to me many times is how alike the fan base is to the actual show.

As Tim Minear says in Done The Impossible, the show is about a crew of losers - they lost the war, they don't have a hope in hell of ever winning the war, they struggle to stay afloat, some of them lost faith in the powers that be, but they formed a family. That's the Firefly fan base now. We're all losers on this giant boat who stay on it... because. Because.

And I don't say losers in a bad way. We could be throwing ourselves into the giant pop culture thing of reality TV and watching Fox News, using Blue Sun Microsoft products... but many people in the fandom don't. Hell, even the documentary is produced on the underdog platform of choice - Apple.

Firefly was not a show about it's fan base. It does, however, speak volumes to that fan base. That fan base isn't going to storm the box office. Which, in some ways, is part of the appeal.

gossi | August 08, 23:59 CET

Interesting sidenote, I didn't make the connection 'til gossi mentioned Microsoft and Blue Sun together, but how about this (feel free to ridicule me if this is obvious): IBM (aka Big Blue) + Sun Microsystems = Blue Sun. Innnteresting... Isn't the underdog platform of choice Ubuntu nowadays? ;)

zeitgeist | August 09, 00:03 CET

I'm using ubuntu. And I used to look after Sun and IBM stuff at my old job. And I've got a final job interview at an underdog Silcon Valley company based around Linux technology on Thursday.

And I wish I was lying.

gossi | August 09, 00:06 CET

Don't tell me you might be leaving these sunny shores gossi, say it ain't so ?

(by which I mean good luck on Thursday obviously ;)

zeitgeist, what is this, the 80s ? We like IBM now ;-)

(I hadn't noticed that either, since they're evil I always just equated Blue Sun with MS + a few of the other usual suspects combined)

Saje | August 09, 00:49 CET

I agree with most of the posters here -- great job making DTI, very professional, but it would be hard to show it to a non-Browncoat without stopping and pausing to explain a lot of things ("Oh, you see that hat? That's something Jayne was sent by his mother in one ep. And that dress is something Kaylee the mechanic wore to a big shindig, which is a fancy ball and what we call our get-togethers," etc.). The interviews were great, but sometimes repetitive, and we didn't hear from the world or from the non-OB sites, but I think Jeremy's explanation made sense, too -- they were trying to document a certain part of the 'Verse. I'm enjoying the DVD, and still working my way through the Timeline (I'm really enjoying the extra videos, especially the one on Halo, lol!), but where are those Easter eggs? I have to admit I haven't found one yet! ;-)

I really want to praise the way this is being discussed on this board (as usual!), where both the writer of the review and one of the co-authors of the documentary appeared to praise each other's work! Seriously, dude -- when does that happen anywhere but here? ;-)

Lastly, gossi, are you really considering coming to the U.S.? World changing -- don't understand -- can't breathe -- *faints* ;-)

billz | August 09, 01:54 CET

I wanna say just how much I've been enjoying this thread. I was so looking forweard to this DVD and was left somewhat more than disappointed. Though the timeline rocks!

I was a big fan of the original Star Trek as a child and fandom as a hobby has always been a part of my life.

When Firefly first aired I was excited as all get out but missed "The Train Job", caught half of "Bushwacked" and the tail end of "Our Mrs. Reynolds" then baseball happened and I lost track. I was sure I had missed something, and I was certain there actually was a something here to get.

Finally "Serenity" aired and I set the vcr. Halfway through the Mal, Zoe and Jayne strolling Persephone after confronting Badger - the picture froze, my satellite froze that scene for the next 40 minutes ! And now finally I was getting it. So I really consider myself a DVD Browncoat. My sweetie and I mainlined it and converted many, many folk and started holding shindigs and using our computer projector to the run the eppys widescreen. We were pretty heavy fans (and my sweetie never watches anything over) and had a huge party opening day that ended with a screening.

I guess I bring this up so you'll know from whence I speak. We were all disappointed that "Serenity" didn't find a bigger audience and I think there's been a fair bit of denial at work in fandom here.

I realize the need to lock a picture (I used to work in the biz, waaaaaaay back, still dabble) but given the time involved it seems really odd to me not to have included some sort of coda, even a minute or two. Yes, the story ends on the triumph of the movie - but we all know it didn't set the world afire so what then? What now?

But back to denial, at no place is this denial more apparent than on "The Signal".

The Signal was my first introduction to podcasting and I was immediately hooked but I have to say that, for me, now that Season 2 is on, I find most of it closer to the cringe-worthy aspect of fandom. All the "campaigning for Serenity 2" stuff is almost embarassing at this point.

Does anyone else feel this way?

malformed | August 09, 01:57 CET

(Not to be rude by hopping over you, malformed, but I don't feel I know enough to respond & wanted to get to:

gossi -- the States, my good man? And not just the States, but my homestate? WeHo's not exactly Silicon Valley (more like Silicone) but if it happens, fatted calves and beagles and pies (or fatted vegetables, if that's your poison) shall be prepared & offered.

Come, and we can, you know, stalk him en masse.

QuoterGal | August 09, 02:18 CET

That's cool Quoter Gal - Gossi moving stateside is way bigger news than my little opinions. I look forward to getting to know y'all better too.

malformed | August 09, 03:54 CET

malformed - There was a point about 2 months ago, (about a month before we finished the DVD), that we seriously considered creating a last minute DVD feature that would have given a summary of much that had happened since the movie came out, including things like Ariel ambulance rescue, more talk about Podcasts, Serenity theatric and DVD sales, etc... But a lack of time and footage prevented it from being practical. We are still considering doing something like that and releasing it for free on our website - no promises though.

For the record, we've never considred the DVD release to be the end-all of the project. We want this to continue to be a two way communication between us all, and this feedback has been a great example of that. Also, you'll note that the Factoids feature on the DVD-ROM is built to be updated by fans. For example, if somebody knows more about a given scene than we did, they are encouraged to submit that information to us and we'll update a single XML file on a server, which seamlessly updates the feature "on disc".

Which brings me to another point, I agree that many of the references in the documentary are very fan centric, and those not in the know are going to be lost, which one of the reasons why we included a 'Verse Dictionary on the disc. And even better that's why we made all the terms in the verse dictionary hypertext links on the DVD-ROM, that way you can learn more about those things in context with the film *while* you are watching it. In fact, with these linked terms and the synced Factoids, I would argue that for non-fan/newbies watching the documentary in IVEX DVD-ROM mode should increase their enjoyment. We actually created the Factoids "track" specifically because we wanted to find a way to explain much of what was in the doc, that simply wasn't possible to include in the base narrative.

On a related note: For those that were having problems with the extented interviews on their PCs, we have released a beta patch. Get it on our forum:
www.fireflymovie.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2703&start=30

[ edited by JeremyN on 2006-08-09 02:03 ]

JeremyN | August 09, 04:01 CET

I have yet to recieve the DVD in the mail...*grumbles damn post!* so I cant speak about the special features, I saw it streaming online.
I am a relatively late comer to the fandom, I joined around last summer(my god its more than a year!!), and I was never participant on the OB except for maybe 1 or 2 times. I am from Canada, and I never went to a convention(but have been in a particiapant in several shindigs and a certain screening). I say all this to say I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Maybe I just dont need alot to make me satisfied. I mean for me, I expected this DVD to be for fans anyways. It was soo cool to see the interviews with other fans, and the cast and crew as fans.

And I guess it would have been good to give a mention about the lacklustre performance at the box office. A possible way of phrasing so that it wouldn't be such a negative disappointing end to the documentary, they could have emphasized that even with that luck lustre performance, there are more and more people joining the fandom, and the fandom is still vibrant and it isnt going anywhere. But because I know that happens, I dont need to know from the DVD.

And in terms of the campaigning for Serenity 2, I can't speak much, and I (and some of the realists amongst us) believe that a chance for a sequel is 99.99% dead in the water. But the more optimistic part of me cant help but hold on to hope. It may seem a lost cause... but I cant speak for the majority of a fandom, but I am a sucker for a lost cause. There are still more people discovering the tv show and movie, even as I write this. Maybe one day we will be at a critical mass that we can support a sequel(and after Joss Whedon becomes a bigger name due to the release of Goners and Wonder Woman).

[ edited by kurya on 2006-08-09 02:18 ]

kurya | August 09, 04:16 CET

We can hope, and actually I still do.

Jeremy, thanks for your thoughtful reply. Thank you for listening and not just reacting.

I do have to say that (other than the fear generated when my mac started going bersekoid when I first inserted the disc) the IVEX is an amazing piece of work and I have to say the first thing of its kind that I have seen. I'd love some background on that process and what it was like to work with.

malformed | August 09, 04:32 CET

This thread has been a great read. I'm still waiting on my DVD, and I'm sure I'll thoroughly enjoy it, latecomer (I also didn't get into FF/Serenity until last year) or not.

ariana75 | August 09, 05:25 CET

Is Joss Whedon being sent a copy of this?? I think he should see it. It's pretty sweet documentary and made me think about rewatching Serenity pilot through Serenity movie. Its a nice ride, the documentary.

ChosenOne5376 | August 09, 05:46 CET

I just got my DVDs last night.

I won't bother to raise some of my critisms, since they've already been said. I'll just go with great job, and that the DVD-Rom stuff frakkin' rocks, even if I got somewhat teased for using a PC. :D

Oh, and I love the part where the subtitle went "Buhh geee thha mmahh" and so on when some of the fans where having an emotional reaction during some of the interviews. For that, I'll even forgive the subtitle spelling Whedon as "Wheadon".

Still have tons of stuff to go through.

NickSeng | August 09, 06:28 CET

Whoa... that misspelling wasn't mine, yikes. Thanks for the tip, we are looking for misspellings so we can fix them on the ROM.

JeremyN | August 09, 06:33 CET

ChosenOne5376 - Jeremy may come in and say so himself, but I'm scooping him :)

The DTI crew was able to give Joss a copy of the DVD in person at Comic-Con.

malformed - I'm not sure what goes on specifically in other areas, but here in SoCal we try to concentrate on the community that has grown from the show and movie. We don't spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to get season 2 made, or whether we can finance a sequel. If it happens, we'll be here to support it. But we do still have shindigs, and chat on our Yahoo group all the time (about a lot more than the verse). I think that is the one thing Browncoats should be known for, a sense of community and family. And I think that's what the DTI doc did a pretty good job of showing.

Also, a few have brought up that the doc concentrates only on the OB and the US. If I remember correctly, don't most documentaries concentrate on one person, group, or place to tell their story? To personalize it so the viewer can get into the story without being told about nameless this or faceless that? And while the doc could have had a wider reach, I don't think it was financially feasible for them to do so.

And lastly, there is at least one Aussie represented in the movie who now resides in Canada. So it's not like there wasn't any representation at all from other countries.

danregal | August 09, 06:35 CET

In terms of the community, danregal, you are sooo right! I have to say that is one of the main reasons of my continual involvement in the fandom. If it was just talk about the movie and show, forgive me Joss for what I am about to say, but I would get bored quick. I'm in it for meeting and chatting and becoming friends with really cool browncoats who are kind and funny, either on the messageboards or in the shindigs we have. I have never experienced anything like this, and I do not intend to abandon this anytime soon, sequel or no sequel. And about the doc showing that, again danregal, you are so correct, which is why DTI moves me, with the flaws and all.

kurya | August 09, 09:23 CET

No stateside perma move. It's got a Manchester R&D office. I take the good luck and thank you guys and gals for it.

Regarding the sequel thing - put simply, the chance of it anything like that happening is down to contracts, legal bunk, and a company with $40m+ spare wanting to make something (uhm, again). Nobody can poop that dream, as nobody here knows if that will happen. Granted, however, it's not very likely to happen.

A lot of the online hardcore fan base do things like charity screenings, shindigs, spreading the word and all that joy, and if that's the way to fandom exists I think that's pretty wonderful.

[ edited by gossi on 2006-08-09 13:23 ]

gossi | August 09, 15:07 CET

My name is gossi, thread killah!

gossi | August 09, 21:40 CET

Brit-zilla, the thread killa, the mo' illa, the lager spilla!

zeitgeist | August 09, 22:02 CET

You should revoke your own posting privileges for that post, zeitgeist.

(Runs away hiding).

gossi | August 09, 22:06 CET

I totally should, but your post made me think Aqua Teen Hunger Force so I got all into the themesong for a second and posted from that headspace ;)

zeitgeist | August 09, 22:08 CET