One of the greatest tragedies in TV history is Joss Whedon's sci-fi western Firefly being cut way too short. Despite its now cult following, Firefly only lasted one season as its viewership numbers failed to impress the executives at Fox. It's a crying shame that this television series wasn't given its fair dues at the time, as its plotlines, actors, and directing certainly deserved more acclaim than it got when aired.

Well, hindsight in always 20/20, as Firefly has since grown into one of the most iconic TV series, and its legendary history is now looked upon with both awe and sadness. Joss Whedon is a masterful director and, with his history of producing great shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer , it's a wonder that this show didn't garner the same attention.

Most fans of Firefly will be aware of its tense and fraught history with FOX network and will probably be aware of some of the struggles Whedon faced while trying to get this show off the ground. However, there's a whole lot of behind the scenes action that took lace during Firefly's filming, from forgotten storylines to hidden Easter eggs within the show. If you're a Firefly fanatic, you'll definitely want to know these little known facts about the show.

Here are 20 Secrets About Firefly Only Browncoats Know.

The Serenity Crew Originally Just Included Five

When Joss Whedon originally conceived the idea for his show Firefly, he had foreseen Serenity only having five main crew . However, as Whedon developed the ideas for the series and started thinking about casting, he decided to increase his primary cast to nine .

Although it hasn’t been said who the original five were going to be, it’s safe to assume Malcolm Reynolds was safely in the lineup from day one.

Then it’s a toss up between Inara, Jayne, Kaylee, Wash, Zoe, River, Simon, and Shepherd, although it’s hard to imagine a concept for Firefly without any of these fantastically varied characters who each bring something special and singular to the show. We all have our favorite characters, but let’s be honest, we need all of them in order to be the Firefly crew we know and love.

Rebecca Gayheart Might Have Been Inara

Inara Serra is a much beloved character in Firefly, and actress Morena Baccarin is without a doubt the perfect for the role. Trying to picture anyone besides Baccarin playing the beautiful, sassy, and mysterious companion aboard the Serenity is nearly impossible, but believe it or not, she wasn’t the only lady up for the part.

Before Morena Baccarin was secured to play Inara, Rebecca Gayheart of Jawbreaker fame was the first to land the role.

She even started filming alongside the rest of the cast. However, her Firefly career was short-lived as she was fired after the first day of filming. Apparently she lacked chemistry with the other cast , which is why Baccarin was then cast only two days later and began shooting that very same day.

Neil Patrick Harris Was Almost In The Firefly Universe

Neil Patrick Harris is known for a lot of TV and film projects, but he was very close to being able to add Firefly to his resume.

Before Sean Maher was cast as Dr. Simon Tam, Neil Patrick Harris auditioned for the role and was considered for the part.

If you’re having trouble picturing the legendary Barney Stinson as a medical professional, let us never forget his days as Doogie Howser. However, despite having played a medical prodigy back in his early career, Harris was ultimately turned down for the role, which was then given to Maher. Sean Maher did an undeniably great job as Dr. Tam, and even though we love watching NPH on screen, this part was definitely given to the right guy.

The Iconic Theme Song? It Was Written By Joss Whedon

Love it or hate it, the Firefly theme song is certainly memorable. Who among you didn’t get that jangly, Western song stuck in your head at one time or another? Iif you’re wondering who you have to thank for it, well, look no further than Joss Whedon himself.

Whedon wrote both the music and lyrics to “The Ballad of Serenity” and it stand as one of the greatest Whedon TV theme tunes ever.

The lyrics in the song echo the importance of freedom in the show, signalling independence and liberty as one of the central themes in Firefly. The words “You can’t take the sky from me” really demonstrates the core feel of the show, reinforcing that although the land may have been taken, the sky will forever remain a refuge of freedom and a haven away from the control of the Alliance.

The Show Uses Star Wars Spacecraft

It may not come as too much of a surprise, but Star Wars was hugely influential on Joss Whedon. In fact, in many ways, Captain Malcolm Reynolds is similar to Han Solo and it’s not hard to see how the Milenium Falcon inspired Whedon’s creation of Serenity. However, even more tangible than just these influences and sources of inspiration, pieces of Star Wars can actually be found in the show, namely the spacecraft we see flying around.

In the episode called “Shindig”, if you look closely, you can spot a Starlight Intruder as the crew lands on the planet called Persephone, and in the pilot episode, when Inara’s shuttle docks alongside Serenity, you can see an Imperial Shuttle flying around in the background.

Han Solo Also Pops Up in Firefly From Time to Time

Okay, so Han Solo himself doesn’t make any guest appearances in the show, but his carbonite silhouette certainly does on a number of occasions. Again unsurprisingly, Nathan Fillion is a big Star Wars fan and has a particular affection for Han Solo. Knowing this, the prop department working on Firefly made Fillion a 12-inch replica of Han Solo in his carbonite casing.

If you look closely, you can spot this mini replica in the background of a number of scenes, as the prop department enjoyed joking around by adding it to sets whenever they pleased. This sneaky game soon became a running joke on set, and the replica often wasn’t spotted in time for it to be taken out of the background. Oh props department, you do know how to joke around, don’t you?

Alien Gets A Firefly Nod Too

Clearly Joss Whedon likes to give some cheeky nods to his favorite movies in Firefly, but we wouldn’t be surprised if some of his sneaky film and TV references might go unnoticed by the casual viewer. If you rewatch the pilot episode of the show, you’ll see that Whedon has included a reference to the Alien film franchise.

The opening scene of this first episode features the iconic Battle of Serenity Valley between the Browncoats and The Union of Allied Planets, and we see Captain Malcolm Reynolds handling a cannon bearing the Weyland-Yutani logo. This was the large conglomerate corporation in the Alien films, and as we all , Joss Whedon penned Alien: Resurrection back in 1997.

We can’t blame Whedon for giving his previous work a shoutout, and it makes for a fun Easter egg to hunt for too.

The Uniforms In Firefly Are Recycled

As we’ve seen, Joss Whedon likes to include elements of some of his previous projects and favorite films into his TV series, and Firefly especially has an abundance of nods to other legendary screen moments. While we’ve had spacecraft and props referencing other movies and TV shows, we only have to look at the costumes used in Firefly to see more obvious examples of this happening.

The Alliance officers’ uniforms we see in the show are actually the same outfits used in the 1997 sci-fi film Starship Troopers and which were again repurposed for its sequel. These are great costumes, to be fair, so why not recycle them? Clearly Joss Whedon had a vision for the costumes he envisioned the officers wearing and Starship Troopers was the answer to his imaginings.

Firefly Took A Trip To The International Space Station

If anything truly gives Firefly a golden stamp of approval, it’s the fact that real-life spacemen, aka astronauts, are huge fans of the series.

Clearly Joss Whedon’s space-based creation was loved by many, but the fact that astronauts were fans of the show gives Firefly a real edge.

Steven Ray Swanson, an American astronaut, was such a big fan of the series that he decided to bring along DVDs of both Firefly and its subsequent feature film Serenity along with him when he set off on his first mission to the International Space Station in 2007. To make things even better, the DVDs are now a permanently preserved in the space station’s library. If that doesn’t make Joss Whedon proud, we don’t know what will.

Mal’s Horse Might Be Giving You Some Deja-Vu

If you’re a fan of Firefly, you’ll undoubtedly know that Captain Malcolm Reynolds likes riding a horse. Hey, it’s a space-western after all, and while there might be spacecraft flying around and the odd-looking creature here and there, no Western would be complete without a trusted steed.

You might be thinking to yourself that all the horses, no matter what planet the Serenity crew is on, all look the same. Well, that’s because, according to Firefly lore, Mal always rides the same horse, whose name is Fred. It’s nice to know that Mal has a special bond with his horse, and it gives his whole sci-fi cowboy image a touch more authenticity.

Having Mal ride a horse, despite all the space-age technology there is in the show, reaffirms the series’ message of freedom at its core, and its attachment to this idea of a wandering, rebellious crew.