The Sci Fi Channel has acquired the cable rights to Joss Whedon's short-lived Firefly TV series, and will begin airing the episodes on July 22nd.  The deal includes three episodes that Fox, which had the first-run rights to the series, never ran. 

 

The TV exposure will provide a nice run-up to the September 30th release of the Firefly-based feature film Serenity, which has an extensive licensing program including trading cards, comics, toys, books, and magazines.