Firefly

[coalescent]

Well, it went out in style.

Final standings of the alt.* 5-star polls:

1. 'Serenity' 4.72
2. 'War Stories' 4.55
3. 'Ariel' 4.52
4. 'Objects In Space' 4.41
5. 'Out Of Gas' 4.07
6. 'Our Mrs Reynolds' 4.06
7. 'Jaynestown' 3.81
8. 'Safe' 3.70
9. 'Bushwhacked' 3.64
10. 'Shindig' 3.46
11. 'The Train Job' 3.10

Mean: 4.00

A couple of things to note: The episode ratings improved almost constantly whilst the show was on the air, from 'The Train Job' to 'Serenity'. And whilst it's probably true that 'Serenity', airing after the news of cancellation, received some sympathy votes, 4.72 still makes it the highest rated episode in any alt.* poll, ever. For comparison, 'Reunion' got 4.66; 'Reprise' 4.43; 'Fool For Love' 4.68; 'Once More, With Feeling', 4.65. Nothing for any other show comes close, except for a few episodes of Dark Angel such as 'Freak Nation', which rated 4.44.

Farscape isn't polled. It might have been interesting if it had been.

All of which means nothing, except that the fans really started to like Firefly. Hopefully those last few episodes will make it to DVD.