The easy answer is that Fox did absolutely everything wrong.Originally Posted by Formalhaut
The actual answer is more than that, though Fox screwed the pooch in a significant manner. They marketed it incorrectly, they aired the episodes out of order, and provided no real help for it in general. It wasn't a critical hit right away, which is something that big companies like Fox take note of, and it didn't catch a big enough audience for a show in the time slot that it was in. It could not compete with the rest of the shows airing at the time it aired, so it was canceled.
Another reason is, at least in my imagination, is that Fox thought they were getting another Buffy or Angel from Whedon. Instead they were handed this oddly themed show that was hard for audiences and critics to wrap their heads around from the get go, which is something you need to do with a show on a major network.
It does amuse me that the people responsible for canceling Firefly got fired though.
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