Browncoats get ready. UK promoter Starfury is bringing their popular Firefly and Serenity conventions to the US for the first time.

What is this whole Firefly / Serenity Phenomenon?

In 2003, Joss Whedon, the genius behind the popular TV shows “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel”, got the greenlight by the Fox network to create a third series. But this new show was not about vampires, the occult and the supernatural. The new project was more of a space-western.

“Firefly,” as the series was called, centered on the inhabitants of the spaceship Serenity. This Firefly-class ship was helmed by Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds (played by Nathan Fillion), who once participated in a war against the hated Alliance. Reynolds and his fellow rebels were nicknamed “Browncoats” due to their uniforms. The Alliance inhabited the center of the system, with further planets becoming more and more remote and less technologically advanced. This created the situation where Whedon could write stories that included horses and guns alongside spaceships and lasers.

Also onboard the Serenity was tough-as-nails Zoe (Gina Torres), who fought in the war with Mal and her husband “Wash” (Alan Tudyk), the ship’s pilot; Jayne (Adam Baldwin), a mercenary who became part of the crew after holding up Mal and Zoe; Kaylee (Jewel Staite), the ship’s mechanic; Inara (Morena Baccarin), a companion (sort of a modern-day escort) who conducts her business from the shuttle she rents from Mal; Shepherd Book (Ron Glass), a preacher with a secret past; and fugitive siblings Simon and River Tam.

Simon (Sean Maher), a doctor, helped his genius sister, River (Summer Glau), escape from the Alliance, where they were tapping her psychic powers to turn her into the ultimate killing machine. After being discovered aboard the Serenity, it was up to Mal and the rest of the crew to earn money without revealing their secret passengers to the Alliance.

Knock Firefly Down and It Gets Back Up

The series was doomed from the start. Fox ran the beginning episodes out of order, thinking the third action-packed episode would be more interesting to viewers than the two-part opener that explained the premise of the show and introduced its characters. Then in some markets, the series was pre-empted for other programming. Finally, with only 15 episodes filmed, and less aired, Fox pulled the plug.

For most series, that would be the end of the story. Not “Firefly”. The fans, which took to calling themselves “Browncoats”, waged a letter and email campaign that would not stop. They also bought endless copies of the series DVD boxset when it was finally released. Finally, somebody took heed of all the noise.

Two years after the series was cancelled, Universal Pictures resurrected the show’s “verse” as fans like to call it, and allowed Whedon to produce a film, which was called “Serenity.” Though the film didn’t break box office records, it eventually made its costs back and has gone on to remain a top seller on DVD.

What Is Serenity LA?

Serenity LA is a “Firefly”/”Serenity” convention that is being produced by Starfury Conventions. Starfury is one of the UK’s best known fan convention promoters, and have staged several “Firefly” fan events there. With Serenity LA, Starfury is expanding over to this side of the Atlantic with its first U.S. convention for the “verse”.

The event is scheduled to take place the weekend of November 2nd through the 4th, 2007, at the Element nightclub in Hollywood, California. Select evening events will also occur at the La Cantina restaurant on Hollywood Blvd. Both Element and La Cantina are partially owned by actress Clare Kramer, who starred as “Glory” in the fifth season of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”.

Who Is Attending Serenity LA?

Starfury has contracted with many of the main cast members to appear. Currently scheduled for the weekend are Adam Baldwin (currently seen on TV in the series “Chuck”), Jewel Staite (currently appearing in the series “Stargate: Atlantis”), Morena Baccarin and Ron Glass.

Also set to appear are Mark Sheppard (“Badger” in “Firefly”, and currently appearing in the “Bionic Woman” series), Christina Hendricks (“Yolanda”/”Saffron”/”Bridget” in “Firefly”, and currently appearing in the series “Mad Men”), Jonathan Woodward (one of Whedon’s “hat trick” actors, he played “Tracy” in “Firefly”, “Holden” in “Buffy”, and “Knox” in “Angel”), Nectar Rose (“Lenore” in “Serenity”) and twins Rafael and Yan Feldman (“Fanty” and “Mingo” in “Serenity). A bonus guest is Amy Acker (“Fred” in “Angel”).

Ticket Information for Firefly Fans:

There are two main package passes to Serenity LA.

The Browncoat Pass is the premium of the two, and includes entry to all guest talks and the best reserved seating for them, complimentary autographs from the headline guests (Baldwin, Staite, Baccarin, Glass and Acker), a full color complimentary convention program, admission to special Browncoat Pass parties on Friday and Saturday with attendance by the celebrity guests, and admission to the end of event party on Sunday. This pass costs $400 for adults and $200 for children aged 14 and under.

The Alliance Pass includes entry to all guest talks, complimentary autographs from the headline guests, the full color convention program and admission to the Sunday night party. This weekend pass is priced at $250 for adults and $120 for children aged 14 and under.

For those who don’t need the autographs included, General Admission passes are also available at $60 for Saturday or Sunday, and $135 for the weekend.

Additional autographs, autographs from the supporting guests and photos with the guests are all available for an additional fee to any pass.

Want to Go to Serenity LA?

You can get more information, including tentative schedules, as well as purchase tickets at the official event website at starfuryusa.com.