SerenityVerse

Drive on Fox TV

November 12th, 2007 Posted in Nathan Fillion, Related Movies and TV

Firefly writer Tim Minear and actor Nathan Fillion (”Mal”) once again teamed up on a Fox TV show, Drive. That’s right, Fox, the very same network that cancelled Firefly prematurely…..and history repeated itself when Fox cancelled Drive after only four episodes. Firefly fans embraced the launch of Minear’s new show, which combined action, character drama, and humor with fast driving, mystery, and, well, Nathan Fillion! Unfortunately, the ratings dissapointed and Fox eliminated Drive.

Drive centers around an illegal, underground cross-country road race shrouded in mystery. Some characters are racing for money….others, like Tully racing to save his kidnapped wife, are unwilling participants, but all are desperate to win.

In an interview with USA today, Tim Minear said, “The race is a secret, so the race itself, I guess you could say, is a conspiracy. And not all the participants in said race are there of their own free will …” Every character has either a desperate reason or a mysterious reason to race that will be revealed over the course of the episodes.” Or would have, I mention as I glare at an imaginary Fox executive in my mind.

Nathan Fillion is Alex Tully, a handsome and haunted nursery owner with a dark past. He is coerced into joining the race when his wife is taken captive, and he larns that his only hope of saving her is to win. Fillion’s performance is captivating; he makes Tully a vastly sympathetic, engaging, powerful character with capacity for deep love and sudden darkness.

Currently, only four episodes of Drive are available for download (on itunes or amazon unbox), but they are well worth your time. Tim Minear and Nathan Fillion are both masters at making one care about their characters, and they work their magic as effectively as ever in Drive.

Drive Vital Statistics

Drive air dates and times: 2-night, 3-hour premier aired Sunday April 15 at 8/7c and Monday April 16 at 8/7c. The next episode aired on the subsequent Monday, and then the series was suddenly yet inevitably cancelled.

Two additional episodes have been filmed. Fox first set an air date of July 4th, 2007 for those two, and then….cancelled that. They set a new date of July 13th….Friday the 13th. Ahhh, the irony.

I think we can all guess what came next for those of us waiting for the July 13th air date. Say it with me…..Fox cancelled it! Permanently. They no longer plan to air the remaining episodes.

Drive creator, executive producer, and writer: Tim Minear with Ben Queen

Drive director and executive producer: Greg Yaitanis

Drive cast members: Nathan Fillion, Melanie Lynskey, Taryn Manning, Riley Smith, Amy Acker, Rochelle Aytes, Brian Bloom, K Callan, Patrick Fischler, Wayne Grace, Kristin Lehman, and Emma Stone.

Official Drive Promo Items (more photos coming soon)

Alex Tully Driver’s License (Mal version) This suprisingly realistic-looking Nebraska driver’s license features a photo of Alex Tully which is actually a picture of Mal! It was taken from a Firefly group promo shot. Larger image in my photo gallery. It has Alex’s address, age, height, weight, and all that fun stuff on it, and is made on nice stiff plastic just like a real license.

Alex Tully Driver’s License (Alex version) The Fox website currently shows a different version of the license with a photo of Nathan in character as Tully.

Drive Air Freshener A circular air freshener imprinted with Drive promo info.

Other character driver’s licenses Four other characters have licenses. More info pending.

Drive Screener DVD A screener DVD of the first episode, The Starting Line.

Drive Press Kit The press kit is basically a little roadside emergency/first aid kit contained in a custom imprinted black bag. It looks like it comes with the character driver’s licenses along with the band-aids and batteries. Chances are I won’t be seeing one of these in person unless someone starts considering this website “press,” (I still don’t have a gorram Serenity press kit!) but the picture is cool to look at. There’s an article about the press kit (which is where I shamelessly yanked the photo from) on ew.com.

Drive Jewelry (unofficial!)

Many of you know me as the Firefly/Serenity jewelry girl, so in the excitement over Drive I couldn’t resist making up some goodies. I’m sure more will follow after I get to, you know, actually see the show! You can see it here.

As always, suggestions are welcome. This initial batch was made in the orange/red, black, and white colors of the Drive logo, with driver’s license and steering wheel charms. I made matching earrings too. The official Drive website and forum seem to be using a bluish color scheme, and I’m seeing a lot of Alex pictures wearing a blue shirt……so I’m considering making some in those colors too.

Drive Websites

Official Fox Drive Website. Fancy graphics, show details, photos, and all that good stuff.

DriveFans.com My favorite Drive website, operated and populated by fans many of whom have followed Nathan and Tim’s careers since the days of Firefly. It has a discussion forum, interviews, photos, promos, and more.

Drive The Race. Another good Drive fan site.

Drive Promotional Photos and Screenshots

I’ve started a collection of the promo photos which have Nathan Fillion/Alex Tully in them in my photo gallery. The gallery also contains hundreds of Drive screenshots and a couple of wallpapers.

Promo images including the rest of the cast can be found at www.drivefans.com. Here’s a nice little pic to get your interest up!