Is it even possible? I don't know if it is, but it's nice to dream.
There's a survey asking people if they would contribute to a viewer-funded TV show season. Episodes would be available for download or by mail or by pay-per-view. Honestly, I don't think it would be possible to make a new Firefly season through such means. It requires too many special effects and the actors aren't as small time as they once were. I mean, that's a lot of contributions that would have to be made. Plus, you'd have to collect quite a bit of it beforehand, with really no guarantee of getting a show out of it. Then there's the piracy issue; how much would the average joe be willing to pay to download an episode if they can just get it for free elsewhere?
It certainly does raise questions about the future of television shows. I'm not saying it isn't possible to produce any show in such a way. Get a small comedy or drama that can be filmed on a couple of cameras, with mostly no-names. It'd probably be fiscally feasible then. Of course, you wouldn't have as much up-front support that way. Still, it's interesting to think of television production as a publicly controlled enterprise.
I still signed-up, of course. Just in case. ;)