I was around the US Browncoats group, but mainly on the Canadian Browncoats group. Nathan Fillion was born and raised near me in Alberta, and because of this, Firefly has an even stronger fan base here than the already strong one it would have had based on its on merit.
It's interesting hearing him talk about what sealed the deal for him when he was cast for the role of Malcom Reynolds - Joss Whedon had read a book called "The Killer Angels" about the civil war, and wanted to write a space odyssey about a civil war in the future between mankind following that theme. When he told Fillion this during a casting interview, he was shocked to find out that Nathan Fillion is a direct decedent of a famous civil war general from the South, Gen Jubal Early, who is mentioned numerous times in the very book that launched his idea for Firefly. It's a small world.
So many details such as this are part of what made the series, film, and current medium so special IMO. That, and having a cancelled TV show come back in less than a couple of years and start filming a major motion picture, something almost unheard of. I've yet to run into a person, male or female, who says "Firefly, oh, I hated that". It's got something for everyone, and even people I know who HATE sci fi, give Firefly and Serenity a pass and love it.
Rich's point about the legs is very accurate - and if/when the show comes back as either a mini series or a regular series, there is SUCH potential for great stories, "legs" is something that the dozen-ish episodes of the abbreviated first season had built into the storyline so well, in addition to all the other great things that were done. Like I said, some of this has already been done with the Dark Horse stuff, and I would bet some of those stories would be turned into tele-play scripts.
