Friday's "Firefly 10-Year Anniversary Reunion" panel was easily the hottest ticket at this year's Comic-Con. A stroll by the San Diego Convention Center around midnight on Thursday revealed a lengthy line of fans already camped out for the night, determined to get into the 4200-seat Ballroom 20 for the panel's midday kickoff. Billed as a call to all Browncoats - as hard-core Firefly fans are called - to unite to celebrate the show's decennial anniversary, the panel drew excited interest from fans and media reps throughout Comic-Con. Debuting on the Fox network in the fall of 2002, "Firefly", from creator Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel") ran a mere 14 episodes before falling victim to cancellation. But viewers discovered the show in reruns, and a groundswell of fan love led to a major film release ("Serenity") in 2005 that sought to continue the story of a ragtag crew of space travelers in an often-bleak postwar universe of the future.
Firefly and her crew recently found a new home via reruns on Science, one of the channels in the Discovery network. The Science Channel lovingly promotes the show and frequently airs episode marathons, and this fall the network will unveil a world premier special to celebrate Firefly's 10-year anniversary. The hour-long special, titled "Browncoats Unite", will explore the Firefly fan phenomenon, and it features most of the show's cast as well as creator Joss Whedon and show runner Tim Minear.
Following today's SRO Firefly panel at Comic-Con, Science held a press conference to promote the special and to provide the media with a chance to pose questions to Whedon, Minear, and "Firefly" cast members Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Summer Glau, Adam Baldwin, and Sean Maher. Debbie Myers, General Manager of the Science channel, moderated.
As a hardcore "Firefly" fan, I was thrilled to be able to participate in the press conference, and I will be providing a follow up article that outlines the cast Q & A. Questions ran the gamut, with reporters asking about the importance of feminism in the series, how the actors feel about fans dressing up as them at conventions, the continuation of the "Firefly" storylines in other media such as comics, and the inevitable but nonetheless hope-inspiring questions about a possible series continuation or reboot.
The cast's camraderie and chemistry still remains strong ten years after the show wrapped, and Whedon and Minear's responses to questions provided an interesting window into the sometimes-cutthroat world of television production. Comic-Con has been quite a journey, but the reunion of loyal Browncoats with the Firefly crew, even for a few short hours, is the best leg of the trip so far.
Read the transcript of the "Firefly" Comic-Con Panel in our expanded coverage.
