Raw material: Star Trek and Firefly
Star Trek
In 1964 an ex-cop with a vision for a peaceful future created the pilot for an intelligent, action-packed science fiction TV show.
The ex-cop was Gene Roddenberry, and the show was Star Trek. It was to be two more years before the show made it to the small screen, and only three years before the original series was cancelled. But in that brief time a flame was lit, igniting a fan base who would ensure the franchise returned, as an animated series in the 70s, as a motion picture in 1979, followed by 11 more films (and still counting) and 4 spinoff series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise.
In the Star Trek future, Earth is part of the United Federation of Planets, a body similar to the United Nations, with a peacekeeping and exploration arm called Starfleet. The mission was set out in the original series: To seek out new life, new civilisations. To boldly go where no man has gone before (it became "no one" in 1986).
What's really extraordinary about Star Trek is the loyalty it has engendered among fans. In 1968 when NBC was planning to cancel Star Trek, a massive letter-writing campaign across the USA saw Star Trek brought back for a third series. Today, Star Trek conventions happen across the world, as recorded in the documentary Trekkies. Fans volunteer their time and money to create fan fiction, often with stunningly high production values and attention to detail.
Star Trek is not "just a TV show" (as William Shatner once famously said in a Saturday Night Live sketch). It's a cultural phenomenon.
Firefly
In 2003 Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, released an innovative new TV show. Firefly was science fiction, but it also harked back to the Wild West.
Set 500-odd years in the future, Firefly portrayed the exploits of one ex-soldier from the losing side of a civil war, whose aim is to fly free and stay out of government control.
To achieve this lifestyle, he runs a criminal operation from his ship, Serenity. His ship is crewed by a ragtag bunch, some of them just there to do a job, others on the run, and others in it for a piece of the action.
Sadly, Firefly was cut short after just one season, despite attracting a cult following. The 2005 film Serenity tied off many (but not all) of the show's loose ends, but the following has remained, and to this day many are discovering the franchise anew through DVDs, comic books and lavishly illustrated guides to the Firefly universe.
