Investigating Firefly and Serenity: Science Fiction on the Frontier

Joss Whedon's Firefly is one of the most popular TV shows ever. Serenity was the wildly successful follow-up to the series. Here is a definitive guide to the series and the movie, offering an in-depth and comprehensive look at the TV phenomenon kept alive by the fans.

The brain child of Joss Whedon--of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel fame--Firefly ran for twelve hour-long episodes before being cancelled by the network. But this premature burial had a remarkable outcome: resurrection. The fans--self-named Browncoats--kept multiplying, the DVDs kept selling and the show forged a new life on the internet, sustained by blogs, fan-fics and podcasts. Films, meetings and conferences ensured their numbers increased, as did the release of the major Firefly motion picture Serenity.

From detailed chapters on scenes and themes, through to explorations of the characters, actors, music, and, of course, the fans, Investigating Firefly and Serenity tells readers everything they need to know about the show and more. With contributions from over twenty of the best international Whedon scholars, TV & film critics, and writers, it will become the must-have book for followers of the series/film, for fans of Joss Whedon and his work, and anyone with an interest in the modern phenomenon of cult TV and the remarkable power of the internet.

Rhonda V. Wilcox is Professor of English, Gordon College, Barnesville, GA and author of Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (I.B. Tauris, 2005). She is co-editor, with David Lavery, of Fighting the Forces: What's at Stake in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and online editor of the International Journal of Buffy Studies, Slayage.

Tanya Cochran is both a doctoral candidate at Georgia State University and Assistant Professor of English at Union College, Lincoln, NE. She is currently Vice Chair of Science Fiction and Fantasy for the American Popular Culture Association.