 The A.V. Club cited several actions by the Fox network that contributed to the show 's failure , most notably airing the episodes out of sequence , making the plot more difficult to follow . For instance , the double episode " Serenity " was intended as the premiere , and therefore contained most of the character introductions and back @-@ story . However , Fox decided that " Serenity " was unsuitable to open the series , and " The Train Job " was specifically created to act as a new pilot . In addition , Firefly was promoted as an action @-@ comedy rather than the more serious character study it was intended to be , and the showbiz trade paper Variety noted Fox 's decision to occasionally preempt the show for sporting events . 
