Whedonesque : Comments on 9657 : Vancouver Browncoats produce fan tv-show based on Firefly.

Oh man, this is hella cool! I'm a fan and I'm yet to see a show. What are brilliant idea, more power to them.

Hey Samatwitch, very nice!!!!! I don't suppose the Toronto browncoats can help in any way?

Best of luck to them.

OH wow. Did you see the ship specs? They really put some thought into it. This is my only gripe about the Firefly is that we don't really know a lot about it other than the general references made in the show. The Samsara is a beaut! Way to go guys! Color me green with envy, wish I could be there to get involved.

DejaThoris | February 27, 18:42 CET

"Matt, Jewel Staite's hubby is in it and he is... well really gorram funny to say the least."

...ooooook. (???)

It's way too early to pass judgment. No images of sets, or cast bios or plot explanations, and of course no actual episodes to view. At this point I'm expecting Better Than Cherub so my critical eye's benchmark is considerably low. Looking forward to seeing it. I'm hoping my being in the Great Big South won't preclude me from seeing something produced in the Great White North.

ZachsMind | February 27, 19:47 CET

I hate to have to do this, but this has become a legal matter.

Sirs --

"According to article 16C-12 of the M.P.A., no entertainment (intended for television, radio or internet broadcast) based upon existing licensed intellectual properties may in any way be allowed or approved of by creator(s) of said intellectual property. Further, upon notification of such unauthorized entertainment, said creator(s) is in no way legally sanctioned to comment upon same. Creator(s) shall in no way refer to said unauthorized 'show' or 'site' as "wicked cool" or "bitchin'." Examination of the ship (herein designated "Samsara") shall not be in any way legally awesome, and creator(s) shall not in any contractually binding way grin. The perpetrators of this entertainment shall not have fuzzy feelings, nor be, under penalty of fine or imprisonment, all up in themselves. Dag, yo."

I hate to throw cold water on a well-meaning enterprise like this, but that's the law. Meanwhile, I in no way eagerly await the first episode or think it's about damn time this universe was expanded just a little bit more. However, I think I can safely make one or two suggestions to help. One: Have the characters get into all sorts of shenanigans on a regular basis. Two: Always remember that the integrity of your universe's reality must be maintained unless you think of something cool. Three: Have Chekhov get really old.

Thank you for understanding my precarious legal position on this. I wish I could be more supportive, but I am a machine. An android cannot cry, except that nancy-boy The Vision, who, let me tell you, you don't wanna see "Terms of Endearment" with that guy, you can't even hear the movie.

Sincerely, The JossWhedonbot, model 421-C-aplhadog-12(defective).

joss | February 27, 19:48 CET

Haha, posted way later and then modified my post time for I am drunk with power! Mwahaha! I mean, hey, cool and stuff. Awaits the beating stick...

zeitgeist | February 27, 19:50 CET

First post after Joss!

Caroline | February 27, 19:52 CET

He had me at 'Sirs'.

Simon | February 27, 19:57 CET

Joss is the cool-beany-est. I mean, seriously.

ETA: And holy frick. I just looked at the ship stuff. Wow.

[ edited by pat32082 on 2006-02-27 18:00 ]

pat32082 | February 27, 19:57 CET

Woah. And people called me a wet blanket w/regards to Cherub. *smirk* So the basic gist of this is that the 'law' allows fan oriented creations of unauthorized duplication meticulous to the deletious iterations of unctuous testosterone machismo if said creations are not actually entertaining or give anyone warm fuzzy feelings. So Cherub is completely legally sanctionable provided more college level words are incorrectly utilized as per article 16C-12 of the M.P.A, clause 72, subjection Zed Plural Zed Alpha, paragraph pi.

In other words, Cherub's safe because it's not funny enough. Into The Black better not be funny or of any mainstream level quality, otherwise Fox's lawyers will pounce on them like Hobbes. Remember what happened to the overexhuberant fans of X-Files websites and whatnot? What? You don't remember them? Exactly! That's because Fox executives abducted all of you one at a time late at night and did experiments with your brains! Then blamed it on aliens and Pamela Anderson videos with subliminal messages.

[ edited by ZachsMind on 2006-02-27 18:01 ]

ZachsMind | February 27, 19:59 CET

Is this supposed to be a downloadable deal or what?
I couldn't find anything to that effect at the website.

ShelaghC | February 27, 20:01 CET

You mean it *wasn't* Pam Anderson's fault? But, her breasts...I mean...FOX told us they were evil.

The breasts made them give her a TV show and everything. They're very powerful, you know.

pat32082 | February 27, 20:08 CET

Yep, the big man posts, and within six posts we're on the subject of breasts. Whedonesquers are ever so predictable :-p

Anyway, looking forward to seeing this. Also looking forward to hearing more about it, because I've become quite curious now...

GVH | February 27, 20:17 CET

Sweet! I wish they had more on their website, but I can be patient.

lekiare | February 27, 20:19 CET

Ah, I am so gonna get litigious on this Joss person. I totally copyrighted the 'Old Chekhov' idea for my 'Sound of Music 2285: Eidleweiss This !' production approximately 1 Planck Time after the formation of the universe. Allowing for Disney's copyright extensions it should still be valid.

Unfortunate but I guess Joss has to protect his livelyhood. After all, a large part of his income must come from the Joss Whedon (TM, Pat. Pending) Stamp of 'wicked cool'ness and/or 'bitchin'osity so it's unfair to expect him to just throw those terms around willy nilly (it'd weaken the endorsement value). These guys will just have to content themselves with being illegally awesome and feeling unfuzzy.

(Great. About 8 posts After Joss and we've mentioned breasts and willy. Maybe we're just not meant for polite company).

Saje | February 27, 20:25 CET

"...except that nancy-boy The Vision..."

...and just what have you got against The Vision, JossBot!?? Avengers rule! You suck!

ZachsMind | February 27, 20:30 CET

Well from what it looks like, they could require another 4-5 months. Since they aren't doing this as a fulltime job, and I dont think they finished building the set. Then they have to go into filming, doing CG effects, and then there is the editing, for video, sound etc. I admire them for doing something they love,(kinda similar to another group of people you may know... you know...some guy named Josh Wheldon?). Although in this case, they dont get paid for their efforts, which is astounding.

You know when I first saw Joss's post, and the"sorry to pour cold water", I kinda freaked and worried there was some legal crap. Thank god its just his absurd and odd humour, which almost nobody gets. Btw, just curious, the "Chekov" getting old, is that a reference to the another fanfilm project for star trek(New frontiers I think), where they had Walter koening do a stint on their show? I remember reading about it, I have yet to see their fan films.

ETA: I thought the choice of name "Samsara" is interesting. Its Sanskrit and its from Hindu/Buddhist/Jain theology, where samsara is the cycle of birth/death/rebirth our soul is trapped in, and we must attain enlightenment to escape it.

Wikipedia defination

[ edited by kurya on 2006-02-27 18:54 ]

kurya | February 27, 20:49 CET

I don't understand. What is Joss saying? They're not allowed to do it at all, or not for comercial purposes, or what? Could somebody clarify?

Sorry, sometimes my english gives out on me.

Harpy | February 27, 20:54 CET

Joss was joking, he wasn't quoting actual legal matters, and he seems quite pleased with the efforts. I had trouble discerning if he was serious or not, until I saw:

"wicked cool" or "bitchin"

And technically speaking its ok, I guess, as long as they dont make money from this. It is all done for free. This is in the same tradition of the Star Wars Fanfilms, and the fan made show Star Trek:New Frontiers.

kurya | February 27, 20:58 CET

Harpy, he's kidding, in the style of an overbearing creator smacking down fan efforts for legal reasons (my first glance made me wonder as well and I supposedly speak English like a native ;).

Saje | February 27, 21:01 CET

Kurya there's nothing odd or absurd or funny about this. JossBot has put the hammer down break one nine ten four good buddy gotcha in the back door there's a smokey on the five oh nine..

ZachsMind | February 27, 21:07 CET

Yay for laughter on a Monday morning!
My personal favorite legalisms: "fuzzy feelings" and "dag, yo." :-)

And all the best to the Vancouver Browncoats - what a great project!

acp | February 27, 21:11 CET

You guys really know how to ruin the punchline on wry humor. You're supposed to pretend Joss was being serious cuz it'd freak out the straights. What's wrong with you people? I bet you're the same people who tell everyone that rosebud was his sled-- *WHOOPS!*

"Three: Have Chekhov get really old."

If you put a Chekhov in your post you must fire it.

[ edited by ZachsMind on 2006-02-27 19:21 ]

ZachsMind | February 27, 21:21 CET

zeitgeist, you are the Keanu Reeves of time.

delirium_haze | February 27, 21:22 CET

The world is conspiring against me. I can't register for the site, because it requires a browser my computer is too antiquated to use. Does anyone have an extra $1500 lying around so I can get myself a current laptop that won't be a dinosaur for at least 3 years?

I guess I could just wait for Joss's actual work to be presented for public viewing. That may happen before I can get an upgraded computer. (pouts, but oh so coyly...)

zeitgeist, you are the Keanu Reeves of time.

Does this mean he's cute, but a terribly bad actor?

[ edited by Nebula1400 on 2006-02-27 19:25 ]

Nebula1400 | February 27, 21:23 CET

Does this mean he's cute, but a terribly bad actor?

I was going for a double reference, he can bend time to his will (Neo could bend Matrix to his will) and also "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure." I guess it fell flat.

delirium_haze | February 27, 21:28 CET

It's not you. It's me, delirium_haze.

Dang! Joss crashed the server again!

Nebula1400 | February 27, 21:42 CET

Okay, ZachsMind, here goes:

I can't believe Joss would be so protective of his work to get all legal on their ass. Isn't he usually for all creative endeavors? I remember he even bought bootleg Serenity stickers at a recent Con and joked about fanfiction. I really think that email is forged.

foofaraw | February 27, 21:43 CET

Aurra here - producer of this little thing.

First off, I want to clarify that Matt, Jewel's husband is not in this production. The message that was referred to was about his recent Classholes production.

Second, JOSS KNOWS WE EXIST! How shiny is that? That has totally made my year.

Thirdly, no we are not doing this for any commercial gain. We're making it with money from our own pockets. I think we're okay on the legal side, since the show is "inspired by", as opposed to "based on". No well known characters, planets, or men with blue hands - just a few references here and there.

Lastly, more content should be added soon. We have cast photos of everyone, and character bios have been completed since like August. So check back in the next few days for even more shiny goodness!

Aurra | February 27, 22:01 CET

/me *glares* at zeitgeist.

Caroline | February 27, 22:09 CET

Zeitgeist:

Haha, posted way later and then modified my post time for I am drunk with power! Mwahaha! I mean, hey, cool and stuff. Awaits the beating stick...

The mods here can alter time?!?!? Damn! Now i want to be a mod! Do you get your own TARDIS? :p

WhedonTrivia | February 27, 22:20 CET

If you put a Chekhov in your post you must fire it.

Ow, ow, ow.

But since you made a theater crack, I'm going to improperly link to this thing about what not to do when producing Shakespeare, because I read all three posts last night and it took me two hours to do so because I was pretty much in tears by #130.

I'm also improperly linking to such a horribly off-topic item because maybe Joss will see it, 'cos he needs to.

[ edited by theonetruebix on 2006-02-27 20:29 ]

The One True b!X | February 27, 22:29 CET

/me *cowers*

zeitgeist | February 27, 22:37 CET

"because maybe Joss will see it, 'cos he needs to."

That's no Shepherd.

ZachsMind | February 27, 23:07 CET

LOL@zeitgeist & caroline. Hmmm. This is proof that manipulation of time, results in disastrous consequences... and I am sure zeitgiest can attest to that.

And Aurra, that is way cool! Congrats on getting noticed, and yay to you for working on this project! Do you guys have a timeline when you think you will have the first episode ready for download/viewing? Or are you peeps taking it a week at a time?

[ edited by kurya on 2006-02-27 21:17 ]

kurya | February 27, 23:13 CET

"No well known characters, planets, or men with blue hands - just a few references here and there."

Now that's what I'm talkin' about! INSPIRED! Not "faded carbon copy of the original but with bunny slippers." Definitely am on board to wait for this one with anticipation.

ZachsMind | February 27, 23:48 CET

This sounds really great...but my PC's wacky and the font appears to be the size of ant's pinky. But...from what I could discern, I am genuinely excited for this project.

Oh, and Joss? You need to be a lawmaker just so we can have the word "bitchin'" in the Consitution.

UnpluggedCrazy | February 28, 00:08 CET

Four score and seven years ago our forefathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the propotition that all fanbased fiction media is bitchin'.

ZachsMind | February 28, 00:33 CET

Oh, Joss's legalese would totally stand up in court. And I should know, because ~~I'm~~ my friend's an attorney, and he's smart as all that, and he says that the implied disclaimers, caveats, and qualifications, like, rock. So there.

I have no idea how to modify my post time. Perhaps that is why I am a lowly ModBot, not a ruling AdminBot.

SoddingNancyTribe | February 28, 00:49 CET

Congratulations samatwitch, on only your fifth post you managed to coax Joss out of hiding (not that that's proven especially difficult as of late...;-)
Much love to my fellow Vancouver Browncoats, fellow Whedonesquer Aurra chief among them for the flan film crew's terrific efforts so far and into the future. I don't have any hand in this so I won't take any credit, just pass it along (much like the Groosalugg would) with well-deserved praise and moral support.
I love the site layout and (as many have said already) the obvious effort and thought put into the ship.

You know the old saying...

gorramit | February 28, 01:11 CET

Kurya - I have no idea when this will be done. Hopefully, filming will be completed in a couple of months, but then there is all that gorram post-production work....

Everyone involved is doing this in their spare time, in between work, school, and general day to day life. So progress is not going to be swift!

But yeah, if anyone has any questions about anything, ask away!

Aurra | February 28, 01:35 CET

aurra - what CGI tools are you using?

[ edited by Scotto on 2006-02-27 23:41 ]

Scotto | February 28, 01:41 CET

So where do you suppose I can get me one of those JossWhedonbots?
And how long are its batteries good for?

Lioness | February 28, 01:47 CET

Sweeeeeeeet! (and shiny!) : )

harvey chin | February 28, 01:58 CET

Please note that JossWhedonBots is a character (or characters) created by 30th Century Bot. "Joss Whedon" should cease using "JossWhedonBots" in fictional situations, on pain of a visit from Da Man.

Yours faithfully,

Da Trio
.
(Not to be confused with "The Trio" for legal reasons).

gossi | February 28, 01:59 CET

Maybe Bendis' Vision is kind of a "nancy-boy" but that's not my Vision. My Vision is out boinking the Scarlet Witch like a machine!

And just for Joss, an android side note...When I think sissy android, I picture Bishop from Aliens. At first you might think, "Bishop?? Isn't he the thoughtful & quietly ominous guy that is ultimately ripped in half while spewing white liquid at the film's climax?" Yes that's the one. Isn't he a sissy?

alexreager | February 28, 02:06 CET

Bad news: FOX just gave this show a timeslot on Friday nights. While it could work in its favor that the rainy season in the tropics is about to begin, I'm a little worried that...

Oh.

Nevermind. It just got canceled.

Well then! I'm not going to sit quietly and let the show fade to black! (<--Get it?) I'm taking action! The "Save 'INTO THE BLACK' internet fan-paign starts here! Join me now at www.sail-on-Samsara.ne....

Whoa, what?

Oh. The fan-paign has already been launched elsewhere. Sorry, I hadn't realized. (Huh. That was fast!) Um, okay, so I guess we should all combine our forces in the hope that together, we'll be able to make our voices hea-- Oh, hold on...

Okay, so the show has been brought back (victory!), but now it's going to be a Flash cartoon on the internet instead of a live-action thing. Don't panic though. They're still going to have all of the original cast doing their own voices, except for McGrunnionson, who will now be voiced by (and I think this is a casting COUP) Alan Thicke!

Also, the title is now See Three! One FOR!, which, frankly, worries me. Sure, it will probably appeal to the fans, but what about the casual internet surfer who comes across it while looking for a copy of that animated gif of David Hasselhoff in the thong? They might not give it a second glance with such an esoteric name. The name should have the word 'TEEN' in it somehow. Let's brainstorm.

Or let's not: I just learned that the Flash version of the show has been shut down due to the cost of the bandwidth. There's still hope for another revival in theory, but not in the near future, as the creators are focusing their efforts on a fanscript for a Xena: Warrior Princess spin-off. Should be interesting!

Okay. I'm going back to bed now.

gurglesnap | February 28, 02:13 CET

IntoTheBlackSeason2.com is free if anybody wants it.

gossi | February 28, 02:15 CET

IntoTheBlackSeason2.com is free if anybody wants it.

Yes, but this "gossigangerhill" person who I hear is going to register that domain clearly has no idea how the industry works and is only going to falsely get everyone's hopes up.

[ edited by theonetruebix on 2006-02-28 00:23 ]

The One True b!X | February 28, 02:23 CET

Please. *gasp* Stop. My stomach hurts!

You guys are so hi-larious! Post after post on this thread...you're killing me! :D

This is THE funniest thread I've read in a long time.

Even if everyone IS just showing off for Joss, KEEP doing it! I haven't laughed this hard in months! Whedonesque rocks.

Willowy | February 28, 02:46 CET

Yes, but this "gossigangerhill" person who I hear is going to register that domain clearly has no idea how the industry works and is only going to falsely get everyone's hopes up.

They say that the Internet has no sense of comic timing (or at least my friend Neal says that), but theonetruebix, you got it in spades. Thank you for a truly delicious, evil laugh!

gorramit | February 28, 02:50 CET

Tee hee, this thread be funny!

Scotto - I have no idea 'bout the CGI tools. The whole technical side of things makes my head hurt. All I know is that our ship is very purty.

Aurra | February 28, 02:51 CET

Yes, but this "gossigangerhill" person who I hear is going to register that domain clearly has no idea how the industry works and is only going to falsely get everyone's hopes up.

How could you say that?

Anyway, I'm pleased to announced I have cleared Josh Wheldon's schedule for 2007. We have moved production to London, and replaced Samsara with a flying sail boat (they're the in thing, and ecofriendly) called Enterfly. T4 will show it on Sundays, and Josh can give highly informative interviews each week.

gossi | February 28, 03:17 CET

I heard that Kristin at E! saw the city of Vancouver leaving the office building where a guy named CW works, so maybe they are doing another season of "Into the Black," after all. This should really boost the DVD sales of the movie version of "Samsara"! ;-)

billz | February 28, 07:06 CET

From the Offices of - Dewey, Rookum and Howe:

WITH PREJUDICE ...

Whedonesquers, you are hereby given notice to cease and desist immediate addition to this thread. Your writings are the cause of evil laughter (gorramit), death (Willowy - "you're killing me!") and libel (gossi - "How could you say that?").

Ben Dover, Esq.

coolpeace | February 28, 07:11 CET

Wow, two legal notices on one thread. We are so busted! ;-)

billz | February 28, 07:19 CET

"...boinking the Scarlet Witch like a machine!"

Oh yeah she was a piece. But what baggage!

"Even if everyone IS just showing off for Joss, KEEP doing it!"

Is that what we are doing? I hadn't noticed.

Hey JossBot! Call up Tudyk and do a series of short subject films for the Internet where he plays with shadow puppets and does all the voices. No fair starting this time with sticking a pen in your throat to get our attention. That's training wheels man. Shadow puppets! Take some risks.

[ edited by ZachsMind on 2006-02-28 05:20 ]

ZachsMind | February 28, 07:19 CET

Argh! I started on this thread and then missed out on all the fun in between. Damn my schooling cutting into my Whedonesque time.

nixygirl | March 01, 08:54 CET

I don't know if anyone is still following this thread at all, but we officially started production today.

There's even a couple of outtakes posted on the site - they're in the forum, under Current Production.

Zeppo | March 05, 15:37 CET

February 27 2006