The problem was that Whedon came up with a pretty hard concept to sell to the mass audience. The concept is fascinating and would be great if done, say, on HBO where he could really run with the concept. But as a prime-time drama on Fox? No, it was never going to fly. At least FIREFLY was "Cowboys in space!" (or at least you could sum it up like that).

I give credit to Fox for giving it a good run, waiting for the DVR and early DVD numbers to come in and now for letting it end properly (Whedon has put some closure for the story into the final episodes, apparently) and airing the rest of the season. They'll still get moaned at, but they didn't completely drop the ball this time around like FIREFLY.