Hulu has Firefly, and you shouldn’t watch it
UPDATED: Hulu, the joint venture from NBC and News Corp. that offers free streaming video (with embedded ads) and will be going public sometime in 2008, has all the episodes of Firefly available for viewing and for embedding in your own web pages and blogs. And they’re offering the pilot episode for free to everyone right now. Which would be cool.
Except that the writers of Firefly do not currently get anything for this service, which is the main thing the Writers Guild of America’s writers’ strike is about. Ordinarily writers get paid an upfront amount and the rest of their pay comes in the form of residuals, percentages of income from re-broadcast. But studios are putting shows and making money from advertising, claiming that playing an entire episode is “promotional” — which is, technically, true, they’re “promoting” Ford and Chevrolet and Bank of America and Johnson and… What it means is that the studios have found a way to make money from reruns without paying the promised residuals to the writers (or actors or directors), and they’re fighting to keep it that way. The writers, seeing that more and more entertainment will be moving to the web, are fighting to keep their future income from being stolen away. And I kinda like the writers.
UPDATED AGAIN: After proudly posting the “pilot episode” of Firefly for free — although it was actually “Our Mrs. Reynolds,” which was neither the pilot episode or the first episode aired — they apparently listened to the comments and put the right one up, and the episodes in order. However, the numerous posts made by viewers expressing their polite regret that they cannot watch the episodes until writers are compensated fairly have not been approved by Hulu. Ah, well.
So I’d like to urge SerenityStuff readers to avoid Hulu completely, “free” Firefly or not. I flatly refuse to watch any licensed streaming video from Hulu or network websites until the strike is resolved and the writers get fair compensation, and I’d appreciate it if you joined me. Go buy the DVDs instead, at least the writers get something for those. Not much, not what they deserve to get, but something.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
Thank you for letting us know! *I’m* not going to watch it.
December 18th, 2007 at 12:12 am
Yeah, amazon.com Last time I checked Amazon Unbox had them in the right order. They listened.
December 18th, 2007 at 2:04 am
I’m not sure that there are any SerenityStuff readers that don’t already own the box set, and if they don’t shame on them. =P I support the writers and I’ve always disliked the networks anyway. All they do is cancel awesome show and promote crappy shows. Boo to them!
December 18th, 2007 at 5:30 am
No online reruns for me, either. And this entry did spur me to buy another box set to loan / never get back / replace the ones that I accidentally spill coffee on.
December 18th, 2007 at 5:50 am
It’s funny you should mention this… I just got my Hulu password yesterday. I sent away for it a while back so I could specifically write the following:
“Dear Hulu Creators,
I wanted to say thank you for the Hulu.com website! I have taken the time to look around and I wanted to say that it looks very promising! I am really looking forward to coming and watching things on this site when the Writer’s Strike is over. I just don’t think it would be right to view episodes on this site until then, however. My main reason for this is that I don’t feel it is fair to the writers that their creations are being used, advertising is being sold for their work, and yet they are paid nothing for streaming content (the so-called “new media” we have all heard so much about). It is frustrating for me that such an unfair system of payment is in place for the people who created the shows, characters and worlds that I love very much. I wanted to thank you for trying to set up something interesting, a new way of watching “T.V.” so to speak. But until this new form of entertainment delivery fairly compensates the people who create the product, I just couldn’t support it. I don’t buy things made in sweatshops, I don’t buy fur, and I don’t buy things that are environmentally unfriendly. Why would I give my money or time to advertisers who are supporting a system that doesn’t remunerate creators of the content they are using? It just doesn’t make sense. Hulu folks, I want you to know when the writers get a fair deal, I’ll be back. But not a moment before.
Thank you!
Tarae”
I posted that on a bunch of different “episode” feedback forms, to their direct feedback email address and on their general “Do you have something to say” feedback area. I sure hope they are listening!!
Hee hee…. :)
Tarae
December 18th, 2007 at 9:45 am
iTunes has the episodes in the right order. I don’t remember ever seeing them in the wrong order on there.
December 18th, 2007 at 11:53 am
iTunes had them wrong when they first put them up. If I recall correctly they fixed them when they got a lot of “feedback”. It happened fairly quickly after they went up.
December 18th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Well, I just went over to Hulu’s blog and left a comment that, simply stated that the writers are currently prevented from getting any residuals from any web broadcast. I left the reply over an hour ago and just checked the site, no posting….no further comments after the 6 original ones that were their when I posted. I’m not saying that there’s anything conspiratorial happening
December 18th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
I think everyone is looking at this the wrong way. Yes it sucks that the writers aren’t getting residuals now for these shows on hulu, but if no one watches then neither are NBC or Newscorp. Now that sounds like enough reason in and of itself to not watch as AMPTP members losing money always makes me smile, but in fact boycotting hulu during the strike only helps the AMPTP’s arguement that they are not making money off of streaming video on the web. In fact if more people watched and it could be shown that the studios are making money, then it would prove the WGA’s point that streaming web video may very well be the distribution system for reruns for the future. When you look at it hulu.com really becomes a toss up. On one side watching makes those tools over at NBC and Newscorp money from advertising revenues, but on the other hand that profit only strengthens the WGA’s position. And no I wasn’t hired by the AMPTP to screw with your minds I just accidentally left my Firefly DVDs at school when I came home for the holidays XD. In fact it is my goal to one day be a member of the WGA and as my main interest is in animation at the moment…well I’ve got as much reason to support the strike as anyone.
December 18th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Mike- I think those are excellent points. The way I see it, there is just one problem. The studios and AMPTP aren’t being honest about just how much they are making from “new media” to begin with. If there was a true hope that they would be honest and “fess up” when sites like Hulu did really well, then I would lean more towards your argument of not giving them a reason to tell the writers they aren’t making anything by not watching streaming media now.
But these are the same folks who said they needed time to study whether or not they could make money off the internet. While they are already making millions… if not BILLIONS… off of it! It’s frustrating, I know. There are so many ways you could turn this issue around in your own head that it is sometimes hard to tell which end is up!!
In the end, my own perspective on it is that I choose to give the enemy no quarter. I see watching new media now as a sort of “policy of appeasement”… if we do this, then we *hope* they will do this. There is no hope about it. They have already shown their true colors by walking away from the table. They won’t do what we want unless we hit them where it hurts… right in the wallet. And if enough people boycott streaming content, then that is exactly what we will be doing.
I hope this helps!
December 18th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Hey thanks for the reply Tarae and I agree with what you’re saying: the AMPTP members have lied about internet revenues already and so have no reason to be honest about what they’re making from hulu.com and similar services on their own websites. However, since the studios refuse to negotiate, the issues of this strike are being fought out in court of public opinon. If enough of the corporations shareholders start expressing concerns about double dealing, then we may start to see some quick changes in the AMPTP’s attitude. My point was that any ammunition the WGA can dig up on successful new media distribution of film is only to the guild’s advantage. If hulu.com is shown to be a successful model, then news of it will start to get out in economic circles. The WGA can and should use this to help sway even more of the viewing public and AMPTP member companies’ shareholders to the writers’ way of looking at things. Either way I think the actual impact of hulu.com, either financially for the corporations or as ammo for the WGA, will be negligible unless the strike continues for a really really long time in which case it could become a major example for either side depending on its success. Mainly though I just wanted to express an alternate viewpoint as contrariness is in my nature. I’m gonna go donate some more pencils now.
December 19th, 2007 at 12:22 am
More effective? Boycott Hulu but let people know you’re doing so. Let the studios and stockholders and advertisers know that Hulu will be a very popular place onice the writers’ strike is fairly resolved, but that you’re afriad you’ll have to avoid it until then.
The studios don’t get the cash, and the advertisers and stockholders know exactly who’s holdimg up their revenue stream.
December 19th, 2007 at 11:53 am
Because the studios are likely to admit that their brand new internet distribution system failed because of the strike? They’ve already deleted most of the pro-strike comments. If hulu fails they’ll attribute it to the uncertainties of new media and end with: ‘it’s a good thing we didn’t have to pay residuals on those shows or we might have lost even more money just like we predicted.’ Unless you want to start a massive email campaign to let everyone know that a website that they’ve never heard of is being boycotted because of the writer’s strike that they may have heard mentioned once or twice in news outlets that always seem to report the writers are doomed despite facts to the contrary. Most people don’t check serenitystuff.com (foolishly) or any other fan sites for that matter, and will therefore never really know or particularly care about a boycott of hulu. However, if NBC and Newscorp start touting hulu as the future of media distibution on the internet because it’s doing so well the WGA can say: ‘yeah that’s what we’ve been saying all along and why exactly aren’t getting residuals from this money making machine that you’re so excited about?’
December 20th, 2007 at 2:26 am
Want some convoluted logic for you? I’m fine with watching streaming UNLICENSED videos online (I need my Dr. Who, and I have no money, dammit!!!), but I’m down with boycotting sites like Hulu.
Yeah, I’m a nut.
December 20th, 2007 at 9:09 am
The whole “watching things illegally online” thing doesn’t bother me…if I know I’m going to purchase that product at a later date. I’ll hit the net every week to stream South Park episodes since I don’t have cable, but I’m for damn sure buying those DVDs when they’re released.
December 21st, 2007 at 3:45 pm
And I AM buying the dvds once I am not poor. Also - I just realized. When it’s illegal, the writers don’t get money… but neither do the execs. HAH!
December 26th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
I do have to put in one good thing about hulu.com….a coworker of mine was watching it, so I pointed him towards the Firefly episodes. He watched, he loved, he’s buying the DVDs. So at least it can be used for some good, and not all evil…
December 31st, 2007 at 6:03 pm
You know, I just buy DVD’s, and send fan mail to the writers not the networks *I usually only watch a few episodes on the T.V. decide if it is good or not, and then wait for the DVD box sets: did it with Buffy, Angel, Bones, House, Firefly* And after I watched them all, turned to the world of Fanfiction.
Yeah :P
January 1st, 2008 at 5:09 am
Well, the folks at SF Signal are definitely Browncoats, and they’ve been putting the Hulu links to very good use…
It’s a Sci Fi Christmas - Firefly
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/006040.html
Sunday Cinema - Firefly: The Train Job
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/006061.html
SF Signal: Firefly Archive
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/cat_tv/firefly.html