Salon.com > Firefly

Can Netflix save TV?

Sat, 11 May 2013 19:00:00 +0000

There are a number of headlines floating around about Netflix the last few weeks, especially because of the upcoming return of “Arrested Development” and the debuts of “House of Cards” and “Hemlock Grove.” What used to be the common refrain of hoping that TBS might save a cancelled show, or that the network in question would recognize its terrible mistake once the DVD sales numbers detonated, has now become the hope that Netflix will be the white knight of disgruntled fans. I’ve seen headlines in the last few weeks, trade news stories written solely about what one disposable Netflix executive or another said when asked about Netflix picking up some random show.

Lights out: 10 shows that ended too soon

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 23:59:00 +0000

To the dismay of Mike White and Laura Dern fans alike, HBO canceled its critically acclaimed dramedy "Enlightened" Tuesday evening. The show, which chronicled the cringe-inducing "recovery" of a business executive scrambling to put her life back together after an office meltdown, offered a searing critique of both the self-help industry and the corporate workplace. In 2012, it received a Golden Globe nomination for best television show in its category, and Laura Dern, who plays the show's lead character, Amy Jellicoe, won best actress for a musical or comedy series.

Salon's Willa Paskin described the sense of loss fans feel after losing a show like "Enlightened," writing: "Show cancellations, like show plausibility, are a very personal thing: Some gut you or make you insanely angry, while leaving others totally sanguine."

In memory of "Enlightened," here are 10 other short-lived shows that left their fans wanting more.

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Lights out: 10 shows that ended too soon

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 20:24:00 +0000

With HBO pulling the plug on "Enlightened," we look back on some of the best series cancelled before their time

We don’t need another “Star Wars” movie!

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 18:32:00 +0000

Two weeks ago, on Dec. 4, federal antitrust regulators cleared a $4 billion deal for Disney to purchase Lucasfilm and all of its properties. Disney first announced the deal in October and said it would begin work on relaunching the "Star Wars" franchise, at one time the most beloved -- and still among the most popular -- series of movies in the history of film. But it would seem that the Disney studio heads have been so preoccupied with whether they could bring back "Star Wars" that they didn't stop to think if they should. (Actually, I'm sure they just thought about which expanded universe novelization has the most action figure potential.)

I would love to love a new "Star Wars" film, and maybe Disney will dazzle me with a truly surprising choice to take over the series. But I strongly suspect that the best we can hope for is blandly competent entertainment that rehashes the same themes of the film and looks like a cut scene from "Final Fantasy XIV." I think it goes without saying that the prequels disabused me of much of my fondness for the saga, though I suspect the last thing the Internet needs is another screed on that topic. But my lack of interest goes deeper than that.

Joss Whedon takes on Shakespeare

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:15:00 +0000

Maybe it's atonement for "The Avengers." On Sunday night, actors Nathan Fillion and Sean Maher, along with costume designer Shawna Trpcic, cryptically tweeted a link to a Web page featuring a photo of Fillion toting a martini glass, somewhere in the middle of a lake. The image announced the completion of a new movie from Joss Whedon, the genius whose "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel," "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," "Firefly" and, to a lesser extent, "Dollhouse" are the very definition of awesome to nerds everywhere. According to the clues, the film stars a veritable who's who of Whedon alums. And it's "based on a play." A Shakespeare play. Oh God. Ohmigod. Then on Monday, Bellwether Pictures officially announced Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing." That thud you heard was everybody in America with a liberal arts degree fainting dead in excitement.