From The Alien Online:

Meanwhile, Firefly lovers everywhere can find out more about this phenomenal cult hit in Firefly: The Official Companion: Volume One released in August. Just what the show’s fans have been waiting for, you’ll find unseen photos, scripts, behind the scenes secrets, and exclusive input from the cast and crew, including, of course, creator Joss Whedon.

A labour of love for all concerned, this first volume of a two-volume set covers the principal six episodes of the Firefly saga, with new commentaries, all-new prop and costume photography and factual box-outs. Built around the crew-annotated shooting scripts of the series and all-new retrospective interviews with the entire cast, Firefly: The Official Companion also delves into the process behind the show’s unique storylines, talking in-depth with Executive Producer Tim Minear and the writing staff about the evolution of the show – including the stories that were never filmed.

Preorder it at Amazon and get $7 off the cover price, or order it from Amazon.co.uk and save £5.10.

New at The Prop Store of London: Jayne’s classic pin-up girl T-shirt, cleaned and pressed and on display. This is the shirt he was wearing in the Maidenhead Bar scene and a classy thing it is, too. Excellent display.

Of course, if you just want a shirt like that, check out the Lilac Trading Station…

New from The Prop Store of London: a bar patron costume from the Maidenhead Bar scene.

It consists of “black top with hole cut in it, a fantastic patchwork grey sleeveless jacket and a pair of goggles”.

I have to admit, when planning on a night of heavy drinking, gambling, and getting your ass kicked by a 90-lb girl, goggles are a vital fashion accessory.

New at The Prop Store of London - a Wash costume for your very own!

Seen several times during the movie, it consists of “khaki/brown coloured jumpsuit which has three patches on the chest and both sleeves, a dark green t-shirt (size XL) and a long sleeved green Hawaiian shirt (size medium).”

Also available: a rubber grenade. Lots of fun to throw at unsuspecting Alliance officers or rampaging Reavers. Also, loud neighbors.

I’d say Serenity Day had an impact…

Serenity and Firefly are currently #2 and #3 in total DVD sales, respectively.
Serenity is also #2 in Action/Adventure, #1 in Science Fiction/Fantasy (Firefly is #2), and Firefly is #1 on the Television DVD top sellers list. We’re not listed under Cult Movies, for some reason, or we’d own that.

What will this do for Firefly, Joss, the BDHs, or us? No clue. It’s a spike in sales but only a spike, generated by an organized event, and the Powers That Be will know that.

But it’s also a demonstration that there are still a bunch of crazed people out here who want Serenity stuff. We went back and bought something I’d wager most of us already had, just to prove a point (and to say happy birthday, Joss). We’re stocking local libraries, we’re loaning them out to everyone within reach. Imagine what we might do if something new was offered?

I don’t expect a sequel (although I certainly wouldn’t turn one down). Our numbers aren’t enough to make a blockbuster movie. But we’d make decent ratings for a SciFi TV show, or an animated series, and we’d get original novels on the best-selling lists without even trying. Authors are waiting, patiently, for the chance. We bought all the comics, I’d say more of those are a safe bet. The RPG went back for another printing. Everywhere merchandise pops up, at Hot Topic or TFAW or wherever, it sells out quickly. We want more!

Just imagine what Serenity Day sales would have been like if they had offered a Collector’s Edition Serenity DVD. A US one would have been easy to do, just throw in another disc with the extras that are already available from the UK and Australian versions and we’d buy that mother. Or go a little farther and give us commentary from the cast, video of the first table read (glimpsed in one of the behind-the-scenes features in the Oz edition), or just about anything. Double-dip us, Universal, we’re asking you to.

Out of all those suggestions only the comics and RPG are producing new stuff, and we don’t have a date on the comics yet. We’re out here, Joss, Universal, FOX, Dark Horse, Pocket Books… we haven’t faded away, and we’ve got money burning holes in our pockets. Let us back in the ‘verse.

It’s always fun to win stuff for doing something you’d do anyway for free. And that’s what’s happening at the Booster Event site for the Big Damn Flanvention 2. Just head to the forums and wish Joss a happy birthday to get entered into their contest. The entries will be presented to Joss so this is your chance to say hey (in a limited, non-novel-length fashion, please) and check out what you can win:

Grand Prize: A weekend pass to Flanvention 2.

First prize: Receive one 8 x 10 Booster Exclusive autographed photo from the guest of your choice from one of the upcoming 2006 events.

Second prize:  Receive one 8 x 10 Booster Exclusive photo, unautographed, from the guest of your choice from one of the upcoming 2006 events. 

Third prize: A $20.00 Booster Bucks Certificate.

There will be two grand prizes, five first prizes, six second prizes and ten third prizes, so your chances are pretty good. And say hi to Joss for me.

You do have to register to use the forums, but it’s free and relatively painless. Post your message from now until midnight Monday the 26th. More details in the Happy Birthday thread.

It’s Serenity Day, that joyeous holiday when kids wait for kindly St. Joss to come down the satellite cable and bring wonderful movies for everyone to enjoy. Yay! Also, it’s Joss’ birthday.

More to the point, today’s the day legions of fans have picked to buy copies of Serenity as a way of showing Universal that we’re still out here, we still have money, and we’re still interested. And besides, who couldn’t use a few extra copies? So here’s some links to pick up your Serenity today:

DVD: Widescreen (only $11.88! Woo!) | Fullscreen |  HD-DVD 
OTHER COUNTRIES:

Asia	UK	Australia
Germany	Italy	France

OTHER FORMATS: VHS | UMD
DOWNLOAD: MovieLink

The day is really for Serenity, but you’re always welcome to pick up a copy or two of the Firefly DVD set while you’re there. Currently on sale at Amazon for $24.97!

For more details on Serenity Day and some suggestions on how to get the word out, how to contact Uni people politely, and what to do with the extra 15 copies of Serenity you now own, visit serenityday.org.

Ha! You thought this was going to be her nether-twixing thing, didn’t you? Which, admittedly, would be cool and I expect the prop replica people to get on this right away.

Nope, this is for the mechanical chunk from the Reaver ship that Kaylee picks up in the movie and fiddles with while talking to Jayne about the captain and life and stuff. According to Joss’s commentary it was Jewel’s idea to work on this part instead of tossing it over the side. The first time I saw the movie I thought it was a catalyzer, which would have been even cooler, but that was just wishful thinking.

Still, not as cool as a battery-operated nether-twixer. C’mon, prop replica people! The fake Mal gun is great, but let’s see something creative!

New, at the Prop Store. Also some production artwork for the weapons.

New at The Prop Store of London, a screen-used grenade. Apparently more used than usual, this one is damaged slightly at the top. Maybe it got thrown around a lot?

Solid rubber, painted green, with three buttons on the front. Enjoy.

Chapter two of my Serenity post-BDM fanfic is now up at serenitymovie.org and fanfiction.net.

An excerpt:

“Damn straight.” Jayne stuck out his leg and planted his foot on top of the counter directly in front of Simon’s face. “Got kind of a cheese-ish texture, don’t it?” Simon spun around, gasping for breath and quickly turning the same color as the offending gunk. “One of them soft, oozy cheeses, like broo,” Jayne said happily.

“That’s brie,” Simon said, coughing. He lunged at his shelves and thrust a small bottle into Jayne’s hands. “Here. Rub this between your toes, coat it on thick, leave it on. Do it every day until this runs out.”

“Instead of washing?”

“After you clean your feet. Both of them. Every day.”

Jayne scowled. “I might have to get me a second opinion on that.”