FIREFLY: Comic Con Press Conference

After a panel that brought the cast and creative team behind Firefly to tears, Joss Whedon, Tim Minear, Adam Baldwin, Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Sean Maher and Alan Tudyk gathered for a press conference to highlight the retrospective special that Science will air for the show on 11 November, following another marathon of the show on the same network.

In much the same way as the panel didn’t always answer the questions as they were asked, it was clear by the end of the conference that the cast and crew love and still respond to their characters. Fillion, who did his fair share of talking in a way that mimicked his role as Captain Mal, always found a way to lighten the mood, while still getting to the heart of the matter–the show’s lasting messages.

Strong women on the show were strong for different reasons, as one person asked about the use of the strong militaristic woman, in Zoe, compared to some other female tropes on television today.

There is a certain amount of perspective that most of the cast has about the show. Tudyk talked about the way that re-watching the show after ten years can change opinions, but ultimately, he still loves the show and loves the premise.

In a question off-topic from Firefly, it seems that Joss Whedon might be trolling the internet if his ideas for a rebooted version of the show were true. Andrew Garfield as Mal; Zac Efron as Simon (again!)? When did he find Tumblr?

The press conference turned a bit somber, as one woman asked about what Whedon thought of why some military men and women respond so strongly to the show and its message. Both Minear and Whedon were happy to know that the show has meant something to those men.

For Dark Horse Comics, the Firefly/Serenity books have been some of the best selling and there are plans for other books in the works.

A string of questions were trying to get at the lasting influence of the show, either in the connection with original fans or the new fans who might have been exposed to the show on a Friday morning waiting in line. Minear hoped that a new generation of fans would know that the show was right and that the show as good. As the youngest of all the Nice Girls told Melissa during the panel, sitting in the room watching the panel made her want to watch the show. [Editor’s Note: That would be my almost-11-year-old niece, Elizabeth, who initially told everyone she was going to the Twilight panel. *sigh*] Hopefully those small fans who have been exposed to the show will care as much about it as this room did.

For a show that lasted thirteen episodes and a movie, it’s hard to imagine the lasting influence, but hopefully there will be kids in Jayne hats, or girls wanting to be Kaylee, by the time most of us are older and maybe a little grey.

Check out Science for Firefly marathons, and be sure to watch on 11 November 2012 when the channel airs a 10th Anniversary special, cut from footage from the Friday panel at Comic Con and a cast and crew roundtable.