Joss Whedon's 'Firefly' Takes Flight Again on Science Channel

Entertainment Weekly reports that the Science Channel has acquired the rights to "Firefly" and is planning to air the Joss Whedon series in its entirety and in the right order. This will be the first time fans have had the opportunity to watch the series on a fully distributed basic cable channel since 2008, when it ran on USA Network.

Firefly Canceled

As reported in Firefly & Serenity Cast Still Active on Popular Television Shows Today, "Firefly" premiered in the United States and Canada on the Fox network on September 20, 2002. The television series featured a cast including Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, and Summer Glau that remains popular on television and movies today. In spite of its excellent cast and cult following, the series was aired only partially and in a peculiar order and only averaged 4.7 million viewers per episode, landing 98th in the December Nielsen ratings. "Firefly" was canceled after only eleven of the fourteen produced episodes were aired to the dismay of its very avid fans.

Serenity

Due to continuing fan demand, the movie "Serenity" was made in 2005. "Serenity" brought some closure to the series by fleshing out some of the mysterious back stories and bringing them to a conclusion of sorts. A game or two followed, and the series was released successfully on DVD, and that was pretty much the end of "Firefly."

Firefly Revived

But there is good news for "Firefly" fans! The series has been revived along with some new bonuses. According to Science Channel, the revamped series will feature segments in each episode with physicist Dr. Michio Kaku, who will discuss the theoretical science behind the show's sci-fi concepts and explain why the science fiction featured in the show isn't far from science fact.

Firefly - Sci-Fi/Western Series Set 500 Years in the Future

The sci-fi/western adventure series is set 500 years in the future, following a devastating multi-planet civil war. Much of the action takes place on Serenity, the small spaceship helmed by Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), who opposed the totalitarian Alliance which won the civil war.

Criminals, the Alliance, & Reavers, Oh, My!

The plot of each "Firefly" episode (as well as the movie "Serenity") usually revolved around a hair-brained scheme to earn money to keep the ship running. Usually the crew ran afoul of a desperate criminal, or the Alliance, or even worse, the Reavers, cannibalistic flesh-eating zombie-like creatures who live on the fringes of the Alliance-held universe.

Firefly Premieres Sunday, March 6

The new-and-improved "Firefly" premieres Sunday, March 6, 2011 on the Science Channel. No word yet on whether or not the follow-up "Serenity" movie will also be telecast, but it would make sense to include it at some point.

For more information on the cast, read Firefly & Serenity Cast Still Active on Popular Television Shows Today.

For a fun mini-interview with Nathan Fillion about the series, visit Entertainment Weekly.