Hey Browncoats! Episode 3 will be posted on Monday, July 22nd! Episodes 1 - 11 (full length) are already available on Patreon, and early access to the CZcams edits will be posted as they are uploaded. I'm also currently watching THE EXPANSE on Patreon, and ALIEN will be coming to CZcams soon. Thank you! ❤
Well, since you've already finished up to that point, I'll say this here- You never find out about Shepherd Book's past in the show or film but basically he was in the army with the Independance like Mal- but he was a double agent against the Alliance. He worked his way up through the ranks of the Alliance, doing horrible things to make his way to a position of power. He got to a place of command by getting wins against his own side, sacrificing their lives for the "Greater Good" of reaching a high enough spot in the Alliance military to do some real damage. He ended up luring the Alliance troops into a trap and it was a drastic failure for them with a huge loss of life on both sides. It was such a scandal of a loss though that he was dismissed from the military and 'retired'. Due to his history in the ranks though, they let him keep his status, and they never found out he was a double agent working for the Independence the whole time. So he did all those horrible things, sacrificing his own people's lives for the greater good of the war... only for his side to lose. All those lives lost for nothing. All the horrible things he did, for nothing. The guilt was too much for him, and he renounced violence/killing and became a preacher, to seek a more peaceful life and some kind of atonement for what he'd done.
Note on the network problems and airing order. The channel 'Looper' has a short(3min 11sec) video on firefly and and the problems it faces called 'The Truth Behind Why Firefly Got The Ax' on the basics on the mishandeling of the show by the broadcast network.
Firefly was not wanted by the department at FOX responsible for managing shows, so they sabotaged the hell out of it. Serenity was aired LAST, a couple episodes didn't air at all, it was pre-empted constantly by baseball games and shown on Saturday night instead, plus few eps didn't get get aired period. HOWEVER, a leaked low quality version of Serenity found it's way to file-sharing services at the time as well as the eps that didn't get aired. For a year and half I was introducing people to the show via burned discs of bad recordings until the DVD set came out and set sales records paving the way for Serenity the feature film which bombed at the box office but did GREAT on blu-ray. The leaked pilot was wildly different, didn't have the battle in the beginning, had a scene of Zoe explaining what happened at Serenity Valley and how Mal went from squad sergeant to highest ranking man left alive. But since I had gotten a copy before watching The Train Job, I knew what the hell was going on when it was broadcast.
If you go back and watch the Halloween episode of Castle, he dresses up as Mal. His daughter asks, "What are you supposed to be?" His response, "Space Cowboy." She then says, "Didn't you wear that, like, five years ago?" Castle was full of Firefly references.
Castle can also be seen putting on blue gloves and making the "one, two" gesture in one episode. The best Firefly reference may be when Castle speaks Chinese "out of the blue" and he explains his ability to speak Chinese as his having learned it from "an old television show" that he watched
Yup... just keeps getting better and better up until episode 5 or 6 where it really hits full stride. I think most people's favorite episodes fall somewhere in that span between ep.5 and 10 where it really peaks.
The series was destroyed on Purpose. There is a kind of law what is forbidden on the TV, a story about a smuggler and how to cheat the system is among these things
For such a small role, I find Adelai Niska one of the scariest villains to grace the small screen. Michael Fairman plays him absolutely perfectly, polite yet irredeemably evil. His performance is, how you say? Ah yes, solid.
Fun story that Nathan Fillion tells; one day Ron Glass (Shepherd Book) showed up for filming, and Fillion complimented his sweater. Without missing a beat, Glass took off the sweater, folded it, and gave it to Fillion as a gift. Ron Glass was an old-fashioned class act.
@@danielwebb5669Yeah, but I always thought that did a bad job. The graphic novels made the whole Alliance vs Independents a lot less nuanced than the show had it, and the Shepherd Book one was one of the worst culprits. So much better if he had just been legitimately a true believing operative once upon a time.
@@ilmari1452 I agree with you. I wish we could have gotten the stories in the treatment they really deserved. I am sure with the kind of team a show has vs a graphic novel many of those issues would have been tweaked. I didn't say it was a great story, just that it was told.
Yeah, any end-of-supply-chain outpost or frontier situation is gonna be better served by self-replicating beasts of burden/transport than by hard to replace machinery.
@@donrichards271 and, colonies have to start over from scratch. They have no energy infrastructure, no large scale agriculture, no mining nor manufacturing, etc. All of that has to be built up over time with whatever they brought with them, and with a small starting population. They are literally trying to restart civilization on a "baren" planet (baren in that it lacks any civilization, technology, etc. to start from).
That scene with Mal pushing Krul into the engine was when I totally fell in love with this show. It was such a sign that this is not a normal sci-fi show.
Although I agree that it's an awesome scene, unfortunately it also weakens Mal's character. Just one episode previously he told Simon, "If I ever kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be facing me, and you'll be armed." Two out of three is still only two out of three, and it means Mal's willing to compromise his morals. Yes, I know, Krul had made a death threat, and one worth taking seriously. So maybe that could make up for the fact that not only was he not armed, he was tied up. And I suppose we can assume Mal's statement in the previous episode isn't meant to be taken literally. He's not enumerating the only conditions in which he'll kill someone; he's using it to make the point that he'll only kill someone who's not only a plausible threat, but who's also made a conscious decision to become Mal's enemy. So mostly I just let it slide.
@@toddhadley9002 I don't really see it that way at all. He completely followed those previous morals from the previous episode because he attacked Mal with weapons and facing him but lost. Mal gave him an out that didn't involve death that he didn't take so he finished the job. If Mal snuck into the dudes place, kidnapped him to tie him up and do that whole speech then yeah it would compromise those 3 rules. But he followed em all here.
@@shaunswieringa171 Excellent points. Also, I would add that this is, in a way, a continuation of Mal shooting the fed in the second part of the pilot, which in itself was a bit surprising - no talk, just a bullet. The fed didn't have a weapon on Mal, but he did threaten someone on his ship, and the same could be said about Krul. Thus, I see it also as a way to protect his crew, and that is a big part of Mal's personality.
@@toinenosoite3173 oh 100% agree. And with the fed situation a quote from later in the show really explains the point you make there. No spoilers but a convo he has with Jayne. But yeah I think they did a fantastic job keeping characters inline with how they would behave while also growing throughout.
Regarding the "respectable" aspect to companions and the prostitution, the angle is that in this universe, Companions are sort of equivalent to a Geisha. Culturally, they are shown great respect (usually), considered significantly more skilled and talented than just a "common prostitute" though I personally hate that kind of phrasing. And their training does indeed include a lot of cultural and societal things, not just sexing people up. So that's why Shepherd Book genuinely referred to her, without actual irony or malice as a "respectable Companion", because in Alliance society, her profession very much IS respected. They are as much high society socialites as they are sex workers. The kind of person you could hire to accompany you to a formal ball as a date, even if you weren't planning on sleeping with them.
yes, well, Shepherd was undoubtedly part of the Alliance... Mal was Independent... and us country bumpkins have a less-sophisticated take on such things...
A Geisha is just a well-trained prostitute. A successful "escort" in the west, like a Geisha, realizes that men are buying more than just intercourse. Doesn't mean they aren't selling the most intimate lies.
@@brwnvon5421 eh, i'm skeptical of the idea that those women were NEVER propositioned, or agreed to have sex for money. fucking for cash has been something every culture does, and they're already highly situated to do so. i know the public line is they never had sex, but that's the same "official position" of plenty of people and organizations....who it's then later revealed were doing all kinds of fucking
Just as a fun FYI, Robert A. Heinlein once pointed out that, upon initially settling a new world -- even one capable of supporting human life without a lot of technological intervention -- the initial colonists would be short of just about *everything* for at least one or two generations. Oh, the initial colony site would have some manufacturing capabilities, but it wouldn't have any sort of supply-chain to bring in ores and chemicals and other resources until people began to spread out into the world. As people spread, the farther they traveled, the more they would come to rely on simple, robust technologies to enhance productivity, but which they could repair and maintain in a small local machine-shop with limited tools and local resources. Best of all would be productivity-enhancers that didn't need any "spare parts" at all, Heinlein observed. Fortunately, he noted that models existed of exactly that situation: North America, much of Latin America, and Australia in the 19th Century. For instance, early seed-drills and McCormick Harvesters drawn by horses, mules and oxen, and pumping stations powered by rattling metal windmills, allowed a family to produce so much surplus food and livestock it fueled the move to urbanization that took place during that time. The harvesters, themselves, made it *so easy* to bring in a field of ripe serial grains that teenagers, women and old people could do it. The widespread availability of those harvesters in Northern states significantly enhanced the Union Army's manpower pool, making it even more overpowered than it already was, as compared to the Slaver states. Finally, Heinlein noted that the "engines" that powered those productivity-enhancing machines not only didn't need spare parts, they actually replicated themselves. "Horses and cattle *make more* horses and cattle," Heinlein said. "Tractors don't make more tractors." So yeah. I don't know if Joss Whedon had any awareness of Heinlein's observations, but long-time readers of science fiction understand that "space cowboys" is more than just a fun stylistic choice. It's actually a really good idea.
Which is also reflected in the valuables that we see highlighted in the show. In episode one it wasn't bars of gold it was bars of food. In episode two it is medicine. Until needs are met wants are not even a consideration. Having also grown up with Heinlein, Asimov, etc. I thought this point was obvious until I started watching younger people who grew up on "soft" science fiction puzzled about the big deal of food bars, cattle, etc.
Something you learn pretty fast in any city-builder or settlement type of video game: Never expand farther than your supply chain can support. Once you overextend what your infrastructure can support, things tend fall apart rather quickly.
Listen: do NOT rush it, savor the experience. Im not saying it is the best show in the world (OK -I- will say it, I mean: not objectively), but it is like nothing else. And you will catch yourself watching it again and again and love it even more..... Like I am doing ....
@@rayjaymor8754 A friend of mine argued 20 beers long for "the Wire", I have a soft spot for the West Wing and there are Moments in Babylon 5 that are WAY better than they have any right to be... That being said: there is a Starship tattooed in my body, ships name is Serenity.
You watched Serenity, the correct pilot. They originally showed the episodes in the order of 1x02, 1x03, 1x06, week off, 1x07, 1x08, 1x04, 1x05, 1x09, two weeks off, 1x10, 1x14, 1x01. The episodes 1x11, 1x12, and 1x13 were never shown until much much later on a different cable channel. Don't ask why, there's no good reason. Just watch them in the DVD order (which I think all the streaming services follow). If you watch the "previously on" segments, you can watch them for 1x02 and 1x03, but I'd recommend not watching them after that since you're binging the show and won't have forgotten anything. EDIT I see I'm too late with this as you've done Episode 10, you'll have either had the return of Nishka spoiled by the preview or not. At least now we can call him Captain Sassypants Tightpants now. I feel bad about ruining the "redder is better" tagline as I was just informing you that the dark theme has a black subscribe button. You could probably use it without qualification and no one would care.
I didn't know episode 4 & 5 were after 6-8. It makes me even gladder that I boycotted this show when it first came out. (I was angry for Dark Angel's cancellation and Firefly being it's replacement.) So I was grateful that my roommate showed me the show on DVD in the correct order! And took me to the movie (free passes). It has since become one of my all-time favorite shows!!! And I've now seen quite a few reactors to it!
It's strange, because even in the 'proper' order, you get thrown off a bit. "The Message" stands out because it treats the revelation about River as common knowledge...yet that reveal was in the finale episode "Objects in Space". I do recall that "The Message" was the final episode they shot, so perhaps it _was_ supposed to be the finale?
@@dawnfallon6812 None of them were meant to be the finale, because the show was cancelled in mid-season. But have heard that they aired The Message earlier than its originally intended order because they didn't want to end on such a down note.
Lol. A lot of info there but you never actually answered her question. They aired “The Train Job” first because the network execs didn’t think they “Serenity” episode had enough action in it. They thought it moved a little slow and wouldn’t draw viewers in.
@@frankiek2269 I figured there'd be a billion other answers giving the whole story. Even reactors will often answer that they find 1x01 slow. I mean the girl doesn't get unboxed until the hour commercial break. It's too wordy for people that don't enjoy Joss' words.
This is the first sign that she doesn’t have a processing deficit, but in fact has so many trains of thought going on at once that she can’t slow it down to bring you in. She many times, like here, resorts to poetry to get the attention the dense layering of meaning out and communicate with people.
@@seanthompson9163 My feeling is that River herself is confused; she believes that she's hallucinating. Every once in a while she's very clear about what she knows (there's a good example in "Safe," a couple more in "Ariel," and more in "Objects In Space"), but most of the time she just accepts Simon's diagnosis, which is (understandably) wrong. Trying not to insert spoilers here. Hmmm. Okay, remember the scene in the movie where she vomits? Remember what she said just after vomiting? THAT was the moment River finally understood where the "hallucinations" were coming from.
When a network airs 1st season episodes out of order it tends to be because someone high up wants the show to fail. The narration wasn't part of the original airing, it was added much later.
That’s not true. They had the intros from the beginning - at least they aired them in my area because all my VHS recordings of the show from the first run had them. I was lucky to be in an area that either didn’t change the schedule or announced any changes clearly, because I was able to tape all the episodes on their first run. Then Joss “leaked” the other three un-aired episodes online for download, which was so awesome. Honestly, those years of Browncoat fandom between the cancellation and the movie were so much fun!
At the time, it had been less common for a series to necessitate an airing order. They expected a first time audience to be satisfied jumping in at any point in the series, since you couldn't just choose an episode. These days, streaming lets you start from the start at any time.
Mal has a very fast, almost intuitive, way of sizing up and dealing with any difficulty. Very quickly. Shooting a horse, shooting a man, pushing somebody thru the engine. One of the deleted scenes has Zoe saying that he started out as a Sergeant, and 4 weeks in, was commanding what was left of a regiment, so many superiors had been killed. So his approach helped him survive- deal with and dispose of a problem RIGHT NOW, because there'll be another one along any second.
that's what bugs me about most survival shows...everyone always wanna talk about the morality until the problem gets too big...your description of mal is what i hope i would be in SHTF...
16:09 I love this scene because with just one subtle little gesture it shows the Sheriff’s character. He isn’t a cruel man and genuinely cares about his people. Even showing kindness to a man locked up in his cells. It also shows his flexibility. He’s more concerned about having a safe and healthy town than strict rule following as we see again by the end.
I also like the juxtaposition. One can assume easily that the man in the cell was likely there for a petty/minor crime. He may have been desperate considering the conditions they’re under. He is met with empathy. However whoever stole the medicine he would like to throw into the mines to suffer the same fate as the sick, fitting justice in his mind for those who would steal from the sick and let them suffer. Which is why I suppose I assume the man in the cell couldn’t have been there for anything too serious. Not too sure where I was going with that, just found it interesting I guess, lol
"we didn't fly eighty-six million miles to track down a box of band-aids, colonel." i love this line. it so perfectly conveys the man's utter disrespect for that entire planet and its problems.
The way I understand it, FOX hated the Serenity Pilot and told them it was too confusing, they didn't understand what they were watching etc, and to redo it. So they came up with a much simpler episode (The Train Job), which FOX aired as the Pilot. My understanding is they did this multiple times, airing the episodes out of order. Also they moved them to a dead slot on the TV ratings chart so that many people that hadn't already seen it, never would. Those that HAD seen it, couldn't find it again because the time slot had moved with no warning. They also sometimes showed sports in their time slot, not airing the episode until late at night with no advance warning. EDIT: I also remember hearing they thought Mal was to angry and they wanted him to be more jolly. If you pay attention, you can tell that in the Train Job he is more light hearted than he was in Serenity.
Another layer that I recall hearing....I think on the commentary dvd for the show, is that the execs at FOX wanted a more "action packed" opening, so they used the Train Job, since it starts in media rez with Jane dropping onto the train roof. Nevermind that it confuses the audience because they don't know who these people are, what their relationships are to each other, etc. As I understand it, the Train Job wasn't MEANT to be a pilot, but just simply another episode in the storyline of the show, and it was just pushed up to the front due to executive meddling.
That was a common trend with fox at the time. They didn't get Greg the Bunny, The Tick, or Family Guy either. Two of those were also aired out of order as well
There was the added bonus that a guy (don't remember his name) had just been made ?head of programming? and he didn't like that he had inherited all of these programs that weren't his cup of tea. I'm not even sure if he checked them out before deciding they weren't his cup of tea, he just wanted his own crop of shows. He actively sabotaged a few of them especially Firefly. He told Whedon that they needed a different pilot on a very short time frame and Whedon had to put together Train Job. Eventually the guy got his wish and Firefly went away and his show Fastlane took its spot. Fastlane didn't last very longer either (though slightly longer, probably because the guy wasn't messing with it on purpose) and unlike Firefly, no one really cares about Fastlane. I had to look up what it was called and I don't think I know anyone who actually watched it.
@@plothole181 yeah, if you want to hear a similar kind of story from Jim Butcher, about the short lived Dresden Files tv show, do a search for it. Jim has done a LOT of Q&A's at conventions and seminars, etc, and at least once he went into detail about some of the ridiculous meddling aspects of the "business" side of the tv industry, and how it can just cripple the creative process.
As Tim Minear told it, they were informed that they needed a new pilot, so they wrote this over the weekend for filming on Monday. It's possible they already had the bones of an episode and just grafted on the character intro elements. I understand that one of FOX's problems was that Mal wasn't likeable enough in the original, which is one of their few decisions which may not have been 100% bad. I love his character, but this ep really plays up his part as a paladin who thinks he's a rogue. I saw the show in its original TV run, so I don't know if I would have liked him as much if I'd started with his darker, angrier, first episode self.
Fun story, they say that every executive responsible for canceling Firefly and screwing up the airing order and time slot was eventually fired from Fox for losing this show. That's not to say that I'm so petty that I'd be glad for someone to lose their job over one mistake, but it certainly works as a good moral parable on the topic of incompetence.
There's no need for put the word "companion" in air quotes. They aren't prostitutes. A companion is more like a geisha or a courtesan. They are trained in fine arts, music, dance. They are seen as eminently respectable. With some clients there is no sex involved at all. This is one of the reasons why Inara hates Mal calling her a whore and thus he does it all the more.
“Companion” is the translation of the Greek “Hetaira”, which were the highest class of prostitute in classical Greece. The most famous historical examples are Aspasia of Melitos, companion to Pericles (a relationship we’ll see mirrored in a couple of episodes), a Phryne, once tried for impropriety and bared her breasts in court as part of her defense - which worked. Whedon was specifically calling back to this group of women with the Companion’s Guild. Companions are definitely prostitutes, even if things in addition to sex are part of the menu. Don’t let neo-Victorian views about sex being icky cloud your mind.
You mentioned Castle which I absolutely loved till the last couple of seasons. There were serveral Firefly references snuck into Castle. Castle once dressed up as a "Space Cowboy" for a Halloween episode. There was a mechanical part from Serenity sitting on Castle's desk. Several Firefly cast members made guest appearances on Castle.
Fox was under contract to get 1 more show out of Joss Whedon. The leadership at Fox had changed hands and they wanted to go another direction so they aired episodes out of order, preempted some for sports replays, and didn’t keep a “schedule” people could follow. This was intentionally done to kill the show because it never found an audience. In the end, it really backfired on the Execs because it became something much more than an sci-fi one off or cult classic. It is still finding an audience 20+ years later. There was another show on a different network called Dark Matter that tried to fill the void but it only lasted 3 seasons. The captain of the ship in dark matter and National Fillion star together currently on the TV show The Rookie.
Dark Matter was excellent and it is a shame that it only got three seasons (and ended on a cliffhanger), but it was an entirely different thing from Firefly. Ok. I will admit that there were a few similarities, but its initial focus was more on the essential identity of the characters outside actual identity. They also didn't do as much of the mercenary stuff.
The new president hated Scify and instituted an only 1 sci-fi show permitted on the network. He canceled Dark Angel with Jessica Alba to make room for Firefly even though it had a good audience.
Where I was it aired on Friday but it was during the MLB playoffs so would often get preempted sometimes it would air before the game or sometimes after or on Saturday afternoon, or not at all. It wasn't that it couldn't find an audience, but the audience couldn't find the show.
13:33 "There are so many documentary style zooms. The camera work is really interesting" Joss Whedon didn't want the show to have the sterile, futuristic, perfectly composited look that other scifi shows of the time had. So his director of photography brought back obsolete 1970s techniques for filming action. During action sequences you will see abrupt zooms, shakycams, camera moves, off center shots, and rack focus.
I think my favorite rack focus is in ep 1, when the zoom in on the reaver ship towards the end of the episode. Because it’s a CG ship (I mean, I’m assuming), so there’s not actually anything there to zoom in on. Or with. :) (I’m easily amused)
@@noahrobin1941 The reason that particular zoom worked so well was because it gives the viewer the sense or feeling of "looking around for" the Reaver ship, the same way you might have to look around in the sky for a passing airplane before you can spot it. You look around, it catches your eyes, THEN you focus on it and track it as it moves through the air.
By next episode, you'll be singing the theme song, even if you have to distort it for copyright reasons. Glad to see another Browncoat aboard. Keep flying, and stay shiny!
When I was 16, I watched Firefly when it was on TV. Though I was constantly frustrated by basketball pre-empting the broadcasts. My dad was super into Star Trek: Enterprise at the time and was treating it like a competition but weeks into the series, I finally got him sit down and watch an episode. He loved it, but I thought it was an episode I'd missed because it was the pilot, Serenity. Turned out I hadn't missed it, Fox was just airing the episodes out of order and the original pilot was somehow the *last episode* Fox aired. My dad and I were very confused the next week when we sat down and it was a basketball game instead. And it never came back. Either way, I was so happy to see it in a store a year or so later as a DVD. What's funny to me is how little I was connected to the cult fandom or the fan campaign to bring it back. I had just watched it, loved it, and was glad to buy the DVD. Thankfully we got some closure with the movie, but I'm a little haunted by the "what could have beens" of Firefly.
Question: Where you were did they air the full pilot or just the first hour? Because I was watching Firefly when it first aired and where I am they also aired the pilot last, but they only aired the first hour (up until the "Huh.") and never aired part 2. I've seen plenty of people say that they also saw the pilot last, but I can never figure out if they mean the whole thing or just "part 1".
Firefly was 100% WAY ahead of its time. It was an absolute masterpiece and just a shame it never found mainstream success. I am happy they did end the story somewhat with the movie
Back in those days, shows would air in South Africa about 6 months after the US. But when it came on here, they showed it in the proper order. I only found out what Fox did after the show was cancelled, and the whole drama around that. So, we got lucky.
It was similar in the UK, I can't remember exactly how long after the US it was but I do know I heard about the cancellation before seeing the pilot, but at least it was all in order and in a consistent timeslot.
A lot of Firefly fans miss the Ferris Bueller Easter egg. When Mal is talking to Shepherd, he refers to the Simon as “He’s my hero.” He says it in the same quirky voice as Cameron said it to Ferris. “Ferris Bueller you’re my hero.”
Beautiful watching somebody share the delight you experienced yourself, all that time ago. I really thought this was the pinnacle of the tv Sci Fi show. Now is is second, since The Expanse blew everything else away - but it remains totally beloved.
From what I understand, after the season wasn't renewed and the actors went on to other endeavors, there was such a fanbase outcry they brought the actors back to make the movie Serenity.
This is a tale of two Foxes. The first Fox is Fox Studios. They contracted with Joss Whedon to do several TV and movie properties, and they loved what he was doing. When Whedon came up with Firefly, Fox Studios pitched it to several networks, but gave Fox Network a right of first refusal. Fox Network was only luke-warm on Firefly, but the upper management of Fox Networks wanted them to save some money, so they insisted that they take it. Fox Network did, but they put it in a bad timeslot that was frequently pre-empted by baseball games, and they aired the episodes out of order. The idea was evidently to lower the ratings so they could pull Firefly. Not surprisingly it worked. Without being on consistently at the same time each week, and with the episodes being out of order, it never attracted the repeat viewers that it needed to build an audience.
10:45 "this is just a stylistically fascinating show" YES! THANK YOU! Oh my gosh this series is incredible. EVERY aspect is 100% reconstruction era American aesthetic in space.
Curious, what are your tops? I like a few shows, but I honestly will typically rate firefly number one. The Scene with Inara giving Book absolution or a blessing, I always thought was one of the better moments in tv cinematography. Beautiful scene. And it always bothered me no end that some fat, cigar-smoking... Uhmm... executives killed this show because Dancing with my One-legged Grandma, was cheaper to film. Tragic.
This is an outstanding series with many super fans(known as "Browncoats"). I love how each character is important and involved, which is so cool. Remember you called him "Captain Sassy Pants" and a variant of that will reappear later.
@@rainy131313 Yeah do you see Kaylee in a pretty dress? We dont speak about Captain Tight-pants until Kaylee is in a pretty dress. THERE ARE RULES TO THIS SHIT DAMN IT!!
The programming executives who signed Whedon to a five season deal had moved on before the show was in production. The new exec in charge didn't much like Science Fiction and didn't like the idea of running a show he hadn't personally signed off on. He did all he could to make sure the show had bad ratings, so that FOX could void Whedon's contract. Pretty much the senior exec in charge giving the finger to his predecessor. When Whedon screened the pilot, Serenity, for the FOX exec he said he didn't like it and didn't want a two-hour premiere. So Whedon had about a week to write a new first episode, The Train Job, so it could be filmed and finished in time for the premiere date.
After the pilot had been shot, the studio had "notes", so reshoots were done to address them. Despite that, it was decided (again by the studio) to forgo the pilot and air the second episode first, leaving most viewers confused about who the characters were and what exactly was going on. It is my understanding that the episodes from that point on were all shown out of the intended order, causing even more confusion, and the actual pilot wasn't aired until after the series had already been canceled.
I didn't watch this until some time after the movie came out. Some friends were describing it, and I wondered "how I have I never heard of this show?" Bought the dvds and binged them, and I have been a brown coat ever since. Welcome to the club, Jacqui.
I remember being so excited for this show to air, then watching the Train Job and feeling like I had completely missed an episode. They really did the show dirty
Since you're ahead, I'm sure people have already told you a lot of this, but I figured I may as well say it any way. This episode was not just reworked into being a second pilot. It was specifically made to be a new pilot. Fox did not like the original pilot (more on that later). They thought it was too slow. They thought it didn't have enough action (the original version didn't even have the opening scene of the war. It opened straight to the scene of them stealing the cargo) and they just generally did like it. So Joss and the other writers wrote The Train Job over a weekend to be an alternative pilot. I think it worked decently, though obviously Serenity is the better pilot because it actually introduces characters like Simon and River The thing is that it's not even so much that Fox didn't like the pilot. See, between the time that Firefly was green lit (which it was green lit before the pilot was even made) and they finished making the pilot, the leadership at Fox had changed. The new executives were contractually obligated to move forward with everything that had already been approved, but they wanted to get rid of it all in order to approve their own shows. So they did everything in their power to kill Firefly in particular. They gave the show a horrible time slot (Friday night. Not sure what time). They aired episodes out of order (not just this time with the pilot), and frequently preempted it by baseball games. Then with 11 episodes aired, it was canceled. 3 episodes had been completed which never aired to bring the episode count to 14. On an unrelated note, something which I meant to post on your last video but forgot: It's been said (by Joss, I believe) that every member of the crew represents something that Mal lost in the war. The most obvious one is Shepherd Book representing his lost faith (something which you noted in the previous episode), but all of them represent something. I haven't quite been able to place what everyone represents, but I figure it's something you'd enjoy thinking about
I think we can safely say that you now understand why us fans really appreciate the brilliance of this show. The characters and casting, the aesthetic, how the music works so well, and the fantastic dialog. It's stil mind boggling that it was cancelled. You're definitely going to want to do them all aren't you! ( Now you know where Rik got his "Space Cowboy" Halloween costume in Castle!)
They'd actually cast another actress to play Inara, and had already shot most of her scenes for either the pilot or first episode, then Morena Baccarin did an audition for another role and had so much of a presence than they gave her that role instead, and reshot the scenes (though break for the original actress though...). Josh Whedon had also written Badger in the pilot with the intention of playing him himself as a cameo, and finally decided to cast Mark Sheppard after he blew his mind in an audition. Soooo many talented people !
The armor worn by the Federal troops was originally used in 'Starship Troopers' and they are called Purplebellies. One of the actresses from Starship Troopers is my favorite Purple Belly. :)
Fun detail about the face tattooed minion of Niska....that is the actor who played the GLORIOUSLY funny Zangief from the mid 90's live action Street Fighter film.
One of the things I loved about this show was the parallels between post Civil War America(specifically the South) and the way Mal and other former brown coats feel about the universe they live in.
:smiles: The only time ever that I get annoyed by music being distorted is with the theme to Firefly :) It is an anthem for me and never fails to both lift my spirits and, on occasion, bring a suspicious shimmer to my eyes :chuckles:
THANK YOU, JACQUI, for including "Sir? I think you have a problem with your brain being missing." - !! I've watched several (at least?) reactors do Firefly/this episode, and I believe you're the _first_ to include this - one of my favorite quotes from the series!!! YES!!
1:30 Yeah the network showed this series way out of order. The pilot movie you watched last week is really the only introduction we get to the characters...aside from the occasional backstory flashback. The order they are on the DVD IS the proper order you should watch them.
There are many Science fiction stories where colonies bring horses, cattle and seed. That way you have means to plow and plant seed, have some transportation, and without more complex electronics or machinery.
Josh Whedon said if the show had gone on, we would have learned every character had their deep secret. Inara's for example, was she was slowly dying of an incurable disease.
changed the meaning of that syringe..it was medicine, not poison...should she miss her dose and die or take it and keep living and maybe be killed by reavers?
So at the time Firefly came out, there was a change in leadership in the network. Firefly was already in the pipeline when the change happened. The new big wigs in charge didn't really want another outer space show. However, they needed a reason to get rid of it to make room for the projects they wanted to work on, so they actively tried to sabotage the show. The first sabotage was by making them reshoot the pilot with big changes and an unreasonable deadline. Its one of the reasons I think Train job is my least favorite episodes. From what I understand it was put together over the course of a single weekend, so it was a bit of a rush job. Still good, but definitely weaker than the rest imo. And considering the time frame they had it came out far better than could have been expected. After that sabotage failed, they made them air episodes out of order and changed time slots to throw off fans. The sabotage worked in sinking the ratings enough to kill the show. However, it still developed enough of a following that the show got a lot of attention after it was killed. And it definitely ruined the reputation of those execs. They went to such lengths to kill a good show, and it still developed a cult following. I've actually heard them called out by name, in other tv shows and spoofs for killing the show. Also, if you watched Castle, there are a few references to firefly in the show. The biggest of which is in one episode he dresses up as a "space cowboy" for Halloween. (it was the Malcolm Reynolds outfit)
It’s always enjoyable to see another generation falling for these same characters that I’ve cherished for years. This group really grows on you. It’s hard to find any shows with this level of writing in this era.
Yeah, the network messing around with release order of episodes and switching the time slot it appeared in was a major reason it didn't find much of an audience right away and ended up getting cancelled halfway through the first season. Apparently the network thought the original pilot wasn't exciting or engaging enough, which blows my mind because the original pilot is so good.
I completely agree about the original pilot being very good, but having watched a number of reactors do Firefly, I have to say that they actually tend to be underwhelmed by it, at least relative to the rest of the series. Some of this may be because they have to get used to the vibe and the characters, and whatever came first wouldn't have appealed to them as much, but it's pretty common for them to think The Train Job is a step up, and even Bushwhacked. And more than once I've seen people say something to the effect that Serenity is a bit too slow or too drawn out. Don't get me wrong; I like The Train Job (the awkward reintroduction of characters and Jayne acting out of character notwithstanding), but in my book, Serenity is clearly the better episode. And I think it's downright insane to prefer Bushwhacked, which is in the running to be my least favorite Firefly episode (though it's an awesome enough show that even its worst episode is still good).
@@stuffyouotterlistento1461 I like Serenity too. But if viewers are underwhelmed by it, that might have been because Mal was played so dark and humorless in that episode. I get that the show had to portray Mal as damaged by the war. But the subsequent episodes are better for having more humorous Mal bits.
Yes, this character and Richard Castle very much have the same DNA. You can definitely see why Nathan was the actor they wanted for that show, and what that series was his next leading role in a series. My personal headcanon is that when Alexis grows up, she marries a man with the last name "Reynolds" and goes on to have kids of her own, and Rick is a doting grandpa who passes on his sense of fun and humor, while Alexis passes on her sense of doing the right thing and her independent nature. Somewhere down the line, one of their descendants boards a spaceship to take to the stars when we start colonizing out there. (Btw, in the 2nd Halloween episode of Castle, Rick dresses up in his "Firefly" togs. This was about 5 years after the show was canceled, making the dialog quite funny. Nathan has already said the writers on that show were big Firefly fans and they worked in many references over the run, aside from the ones he added himself. Just search "castle dressed as mal" on CZcams
As others have noted, Fox aired things out of order and did a lot of other things that really messed up the show and guaranteed it didn’t have a chance… around that time they actually did similar things to a number of shows, which is why I stopped watching Fox. One other show they similarly abused (made terrible ads for, showed it out of order, only showed four episodes for, and changed the time slot it aired in over those four episodes without announcing it well) was Wonderfalls. It’s an incredible show that eventually got all 13 episodes released on DVD due to fan outcry. If you like snark, it’s considered pretty much THE snark show. I highly recommend watching it sometime, although unfortunately as far as I know the only way to do so is to get the DVD, as I don’t think it streams anywhere. Personally I’d love to see reactions to it, but it may be too niche… regardless I highly recommend it. Also, one of the show’s creators is Bryan Fuller, who also made Pushing Daisies and Dead Like Me, if you want a point of reference you may be more likely to know about. Great reaction as always, looking forward to the rest!
The theme theme song is one of the best parts of this show. It's basically Malcolm Reynolds voice talking about how he has nothing but the sky and his ship left and as long as he has them he'll be okay.
The joke here was he actually was not *that* Ryan. Spoilers below: The characters are looking for a Private James Ryan, and they find one. Not realizing they have the wrong Ryan they tell him his brothers are dead. I recommend watching the scene (just search saving private Ryan wrong Ryan, or better yet, watch the whole movie). Its a weird mix of seriousness and comedy that tugs on the heart strings while also offering a moment of levity in a dark film… which kinda sums up Nathan Fillion’s acting niche .
Back in the day my then husband and i were some of the ones that actually watched every episode and were loving it. It was so hard to keep track of as they pre-emptimg it and moving it around. Then it was just goie and we thought it had been cancelled (it had). But then one night after a long break we saw they were showing a new episode and we were so excited thinking it hadn't been cancelled. It was the actual pilot and we were so confused. I kept waiting for the jump forward in time to explain the "flashback". Took us about halfway through to accept it was just an episode that went before the others. After that, no more Firefly. We weren't perennially online back then so it took some time before i ever heard the whole story.
The idiots at Fox decided that the Pilot didn't have enough action to be a 1st episode. This is just one of many hardships that plagued Firefly and is very likely the reason it was cut short at 14 episodes.
Joss Whedon originally wanted Mal to be a much darker/meaner/cynical character. After Nathan Fillion was cast, he had a conversation with Joss where he said that "I'm really not this kind of guy." He wasn't sure he could play that kind of character, so there was an effort to make Mal a little lighter. "Captain Sassy Pants."
The greatest TV show that never was. You’re going to enjoy, just prepare yourself for a crash into the wall ending which will feel almost worse than your greatest lover punching you in the face and walking out the door. No joke, depression at the end.
Most reactors don’t figure out until much later that River’s “weird” ramblings are actually significant and meaningfull. Also appreciate that Jacqui immediately picked up on Sheppard Book’s subtle clues that he must have a secret past. Kudos to a perceptive reactor, who is already on board as a Browncoat !
The crazy thing about this episode was that it was written over a weekend. Fox didn't think the original pilot had enough action, so asked for a new first episode. This was the result.
Even though Zoe knows that Mal "accidentally" ends up in Alliance bar on Unification Day and starts a fight, she still fallows along. They have a special relation deeper than most marriages. Their relationship is very pure. There is no sexuality involved at all. You just know that either one woulf lay fown their life for the other without a moments hesitation. And she has her husband, Wash, that she would also die for. She is far and away, the best hearted character
I used to work as an extra and was able to work on a number of television shows. I was lucky enough to work on two episodes of Firefly. It was easily the most fun set I ever worked on (with the possible exception of a pair of huge pirate movies). The whole cast and crew ewre obviously enjoying themselves and there was an easy cameraderie on the set that made it obvious they were friends off-screen as well. I'm glad ytou're starting your Firefly journey. Have fun!
12:54 time mark: “No offense but hero is not the first word that comes to mind when I think about you, Hun.” "(Jacqui's reaction to Jayne.) Remember this line, when you get to Episode 7. 😄🤣😋☺🤭
I remember I was flipping channels and landed on the end of this episode. When the Captain got that tired look on his face and kicked the bad guy into the intake, I knew that I had found a new show to watch.
This is fantastic. I've been kinda into reaction videos lately, but watching someone get the joy of Firefly for the first time is just utter perfection.
The one actor you keep passing over is Ron Glass who plays the Shepherd. Prior to this he was known for playing Detective Ron Harris on the brilliant comedy Barney Miller. If you want to watch more Joss Whedon you might want to watch Dr. Horrible's Sing A Long blog (although the music may be difficult). It stars Nathan Fillion (Captain Hammer), Niel Patrick Harris (Dr Horrible/Billy) and Felicia Day (Penny). It is free on CZcams where it was originally released
Hey Browncoats! Episode 3 will be posted on Monday, July 22nd! Episodes 1 - 11 (full length) are already available on Patreon, and early access to the CZcams edits will be posted as they are uploaded. I'm also currently watching THE EXPANSE on Patreon, and ALIEN will be coming to CZcams soon. Thank you! ❤
Well, since you've already finished up to that point, I'll say this here-
You never find out about Shepherd Book's past in the show or film but basically he was in the army with the Independance like Mal- but he was a double agent against the Alliance. He worked his way up through the ranks of the Alliance, doing horrible things to make his way to a position of power.
He got to a place of command by getting wins against his own side, sacrificing their lives for the "Greater Good" of reaching a high enough spot in the Alliance military to do some real damage.
He ended up luring the Alliance troops into a trap and it was a drastic failure for them with a huge loss of life on both sides. It was such a scandal of a loss though that he was dismissed from the military and 'retired'. Due to his history in the ranks though, they let him keep his status, and they never found out he was a double agent working for the Independence the whole time.
So he did all those horrible things, sacrificing his own people's lives for the greater good of the war... only for his side to lose. All those lives lost for nothing. All the horrible things he did, for nothing. The guilt was too much for him, and he renounced violence/killing and became a preacher, to seek a more peaceful life and some kind of atonement for what he'd done.
Note on the network problems and airing order.
The channel 'Looper' has a short(3min 11sec) video on firefly and and the problems it faces called 'The Truth Behind Why Firefly Got The Ax' on the basics on the mishandeling of the show by the broadcast network.
@@Palitato And then, the FIRST day out of the monastery, MAL happened.
Wait until James town the hero of Canton
Firefly was not wanted by the department at FOX responsible for managing shows, so they sabotaged the hell out of it. Serenity was aired LAST, a couple episodes didn't air at all, it was pre-empted constantly by baseball games and shown on Saturday night instead, plus few eps didn't get get aired period. HOWEVER, a leaked low quality version of Serenity found it's way to file-sharing services at the time as well as the eps that didn't get aired. For a year and half I was introducing people to the show via burned discs of bad recordings until the DVD set came out and set sales records paving the way for Serenity the feature film which bombed at the box office but did GREAT on blu-ray.
The leaked pilot was wildly different, didn't have the battle in the beginning, had a scene of Zoe explaining what happened at Serenity Valley and how Mal went from squad sergeant to highest ranking man left alive. But since I had gotten a copy before watching The Train Job, I knew what the hell was going on when it was broadcast.
If you go back and watch the Halloween episode of Castle, he dresses up as Mal. His daughter asks, "What are you supposed to be?" His response, "Space Cowboy." She then says, "Didn't you wear that, like, five years ago?" Castle was full of Firefly references.
Castle can also be seen putting on blue gloves and making the "one, two" gesture in one episode. The best Firefly reference may be when Castle speaks Chinese "out of the blue" and he explains his ability to speak Chinese as his having learned it from "an old television show" that he watched
We need Firefly references in The Rookie..
Wasn't that critical engine part prop on the shelf behind him in that scene too?
@@MagsonDare Now I have to go look. Never noticed it.
That scene never fails to make me cackle.🤣
"I think I like this episode better than the last one."
You might want to get used to saying that.
Yeah, that's a good summary of the whole series.
Hamilton "That's true." :D
Yup... just keeps getting better and better up until episode 5 or 6 where it really hits full stride. I think most people's favorite episodes fall somewhere in that span between ep.5 and 10 where it really peaks.
So FOX' = right! Having something with trains?
@@dallesamllhals9161 Not sure about that. After all, FOX derailed it. 😉
"Do you guys know anything about the episodes being aired out of order?" 1000 comments later...
Yeah, asking Firefly fans that is basically like sitting them down on a couch and saying, "Tell me about your trauma".
@@stuffyouotterlistento1461 🤣🤣🤣 Too true.
@@stuffyouotterlistento1461LMAO Oh man you are so right
"Hey, did you know when Aragorn kicked...."
The series was destroyed on Purpose. There is a kind of law what is forbidden on the TV, a story about a smuggler and how to cheat the system is among these things
For such a small role, I find Adelai Niska one of the scariest villains to grace the small screen. Michael Fairman plays him absolutely perfectly, polite yet irredeemably evil. His performance is, how you say? Ah yes, solid.
Stay tuned, Jacqui (?)
Small screen? Why be cheap, Niska is a scary character period.
You should see him in the WKRP In Cincinnati Thanksgiving Day episode.
"As God is my witness..."
If there was a 2nd season, I have a feeling he would have been back.
@@DocMicrowaveI think he was going to be a big bad of sorts for season one, if they got to finish it.
I was so pissed when this show was cancelled. Someone said once cancelling Firefly was the biggest mistake in TV history. I think they were right.
I still harbor resentment towards Fox for it.
Fun story that Nathan Fillion tells; one day Ron Glass (Shepherd Book) showed up for filming, and Fillion complimented his sweater. Without missing a beat, Glass took off the sweater, folded it, and gave it to Fillion as a gift. Ron Glass was an old-fashioned class act.
RIP Ron 😔 he truly was a treasure to this world
The only other role I've seen him in is as Ross's divorce lawyer on "Friends".
He played a cop in a classic sitcom called Barney Miller. He had big hair in that show too. An old fashioned '70s Afro hairdo.
@@abeartheycallFozzy if I recall correctly, he played an angel of some sort on an 80's sitcom.
Watching people jump when Crow gets kicked into the engine NEVER gets old.
That *can't* be good for the engine 😉
One of my favorite Mal moments. Hands down.
"Kaw, Kaw, Fuck I'm Dead."
The Crow
Watching first airing when this was the introduction to the series I liked it up to this. This, though. This sold me.
@@MichaelGMunz Kaylee will fix it up all nice and shiny.
Of all of the thousands of reasons I'm angry about this show being cancelled, the mystery of Shepherd's past is a very high ranking one.
The graphic novels at least tell that story.
@@danielwebb5669Yeah, but I always thought that did a bad job. The graphic novels made the whole Alliance vs Independents a lot less nuanced than the show had it, and the Shepherd Book one was one of the worst culprits.
So much better if he had just been legitimately a true believing operative once upon a time.
@@ilmari1452 I agree with you. I wish we could have gotten the stories in the treatment they really deserved. I am sure with the kind of team a show has vs a graphic novel many of those issues would have been tweaked. I didn't say it was a great story, just that it was told.
@@ilmari1452 the graphic novels always do a terrible job. I mean, look at what they did to Buffy
For me it is reason number one.
HA HA HA, Jacqui called him "Captain Sassy Pants". Remember this for later..... ifykyk
Close to spoiler, but since his pants are of the fancy sort, I will allow it.
@@erod19969 that’s funny cuz I just posted the same thing 😂
SO close
Very close...lol😂
You have a new sub...just cuz your reactions are great and really pay attention. Keep it up young Lady!
Firefly and Farscape defined early 2000's for me, both are amazing shows.
"space western" is actually a far more realistic outlook on what colonizing other moons/planets will be like.
Yeah, any end-of-supply-chain outpost or frontier situation is gonna be better served by self-replicating beasts of burden/transport than by hard to replace machinery.
@@donrichards271 and, colonies have to start over from scratch. They have no energy infrastructure, no large scale agriculture, no mining nor manufacturing, etc. All of that has to be built up over time with whatever they brought with them, and with a small starting population. They are literally trying to restart civilization on a "baren" planet (baren in that it lacks any civilization, technology, etc. to start from).
Horse is a versatile creature. Can ride it, it can pull a plow, and in a pinch you can eat it.
Horses can make more horses.
Tractors can't make more tractors.
I'm honestly waiting for smuggled news reports from Mars of Elon Musk acting exactly like Rance Burgess.
That scene with Mal pushing Krul into the engine was when I totally fell in love with this show. It was such a sign that this is not a normal sci-fi show.
Plus Nathan Fillion's delivery going right back into the same speech with the 2nd guy was gold haha
Although I agree that it's an awesome scene, unfortunately it also weakens Mal's character. Just one episode previously he told Simon, "If I ever kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be facing me, and you'll be armed." Two out of three is still only two out of three, and it means Mal's willing to compromise his morals.
Yes, I know, Krul had made a death threat, and one worth taking seriously. So maybe that could make up for the fact that not only was he not armed, he was tied up. And I suppose we can assume Mal's statement in the previous episode isn't meant to be taken literally. He's not enumerating the only conditions in which he'll kill someone; he's using it to make the point that he'll only kill someone who's not only a plausible threat, but who's also made a conscious decision to become Mal's enemy. So mostly I just let it slide.
@@toddhadley9002 I don't really see it that way at all. He completely followed those previous morals from the previous episode because he attacked Mal with weapons and facing him but lost. Mal gave him an out that didn't involve death that he didn't take so he finished the job. If Mal snuck into the dudes place, kidnapped him to tie him up and do that whole speech then yeah it would compromise those 3 rules. But he followed em all here.
@@shaunswieringa171 Excellent points. Also, I would add that this is, in a way, a continuation of Mal shooting the fed in the second part of the pilot, which in itself was a bit surprising - no talk, just a bullet.
The fed didn't have a weapon on Mal, but he did threaten someone on his ship, and the same could be said about Krul. Thus, I see it also as a way to protect his crew, and that is a big part of Mal's personality.
@@toinenosoite3173 oh 100% agree. And with the fed situation a quote from later in the show really explains the point you make there. No spoilers but a convo he has with Jayne. But yeah I think they did a fantastic job keeping characters inline with how they would behave while also growing throughout.
I always LOVED Nishka's little lament, "My wife's nephew. I am getting earful at dinner tonight. This is unavoidable."
LMAO.
I didn’t see it until now but the ‘earful’ is foreshadowing…
"Now, this is all the money Niska gave us..." one the greatest gags in the whole show. a literal set up to punch line joke. fucking perfect.
You can tell Michael Fairman was just having a ball playing Niska. He just chews up every scene he's in, he's so much fun to watch.
Regarding the "respectable" aspect to companions and the prostitution, the angle is that in this universe, Companions are sort of equivalent to a Geisha. Culturally, they are shown great respect (usually), considered significantly more skilled and talented than just a "common prostitute" though I personally hate that kind of phrasing. And their training does indeed include a lot of cultural and societal things, not just sexing people up. So that's why Shepherd Book genuinely referred to her, without actual irony or malice as a "respectable Companion", because in Alliance society, her profession very much IS respected. They are as much high society socialites as they are sex workers. The kind of person you could hire to accompany you to a formal ball as a date, even if you weren't planning on sleeping with them.
A formal ball, you say? Something one might refer to as, perhaps... a shindig? 😁
yes, well, Shepherd was undoubtedly part of the Alliance... Mal was Independent... and us country bumpkins have a less-sophisticated take on such things...
A Geisha is just a well-trained prostitute. A successful "escort" in the west, like a Geisha, realizes that men are buying more than just intercourse. Doesn't mean they aren't selling the most intimate lies.
The funny and sad thing is that real geisha had nothing to do with prostitution.
@@brwnvon5421 eh, i'm skeptical of the idea that those women were NEVER propositioned, or agreed to have sex for money. fucking for cash has been something every culture does, and they're already highly situated to do so. i know the public line is they never had sex, but that's the same "official position" of plenty of people and organizations....who it's then later revealed were doing all kinds of fucking
Just as a fun FYI, Robert A. Heinlein once pointed out that, upon initially settling a new world -- even one capable of supporting human life without a lot of technological intervention -- the initial colonists would be short of just about *everything* for at least one or two generations.
Oh, the initial colony site would have some manufacturing capabilities, but it wouldn't have any sort of supply-chain to bring in ores and chemicals and other resources until people began to spread out into the world.
As people spread, the farther they traveled, the more they would come to rely on simple, robust technologies to enhance productivity, but which they could repair and maintain in a small local machine-shop with limited tools and local resources.
Best of all would be productivity-enhancers that didn't need any "spare parts" at all, Heinlein observed.
Fortunately, he noted that models existed of exactly that situation: North America, much of Latin America, and Australia in the 19th Century.
For instance, early seed-drills and McCormick Harvesters drawn by horses, mules and oxen, and pumping stations powered by rattling metal windmills, allowed a family to produce so much surplus food and livestock it fueled the move to urbanization that took place during that time.
The harvesters, themselves, made it *so easy* to bring in a field of ripe serial grains that teenagers, women and old people could do it. The widespread availability of those harvesters in Northern states significantly enhanced the Union Army's manpower pool, making it even more overpowered than it already was, as compared to the Slaver states.
Finally, Heinlein noted that the "engines" that powered those productivity-enhancing machines not only didn't need spare parts, they actually replicated themselves.
"Horses and cattle *make more* horses and cattle," Heinlein said. "Tractors don't make more tractors."
So yeah. I don't know if Joss Whedon had any awareness of Heinlein's observations, but long-time readers of science fiction understand that "space cowboys" is more than just a fun stylistic choice. It's actually a really good idea.
Which is also reflected in the valuables that we see highlighted in the show. In episode one it wasn't bars of gold it was bars of food. In episode two it is medicine. Until needs are met wants are not even a consideration. Having also grown up with Heinlein, Asimov, etc. I thought this point was obvious until I started watching younger people who grew up on "soft" science fiction puzzled about the big deal of food bars, cattle, etc.
Farmer in the Sky. Still one of my favorites.
Heinlein added a great sci-fi element by making the mules genetically enhanced enough to be able to talk. Buck made a loveable character.
Something you learn pretty fast in any city-builder or settlement type of video game:
Never expand farther than your supply chain can support. Once you overextend what your infrastructure can support, things tend fall apart rather quickly.
Frontiersmen always go first into new lands. Wherever those lands may be. Even space.
Listen: do NOT rush it, savor the experience. Im not saying it is the best show in the world (OK -I- will say it, I mean: not objectively), but it is like nothing else. And you will catch yourself watching it again and again and love it even more.....
Like I am doing ....
> Im not saying it is the best show in the world
But.... that would make you wrong.... :-P
@@rayjaymor8754 A friend of mine argued 20 beers long for "the Wire", I have a soft spot for the West Wing and there are Moments in Babylon 5 that are WAY better than they have any right to be...
That being said: there is a Starship tattooed in my body, ships name is Serenity.
Love this comment ❤
You watched Serenity, the correct pilot. They originally showed the episodes in the order of 1x02, 1x03, 1x06, week off, 1x07, 1x08, 1x04, 1x05, 1x09, two weeks off, 1x10, 1x14, 1x01. The episodes 1x11, 1x12, and 1x13 were never shown until much much later on a different cable channel. Don't ask why, there's no good reason. Just watch them in the DVD order (which I think all the streaming services follow).
If you watch the "previously on" segments, you can watch them for 1x02 and 1x03, but I'd recommend not watching them after that since you're binging the show and won't have forgotten anything. EDIT I see I'm too late with this as you've done Episode 10, you'll have either had the return of Nishka spoiled by the preview or not. At least now we can call him Captain Sassypants Tightpants now.
I feel bad about ruining the "redder is better" tagline as I was just informing you that the dark theme has a black subscribe button. You could probably use it without qualification and no one would care.
I didn't know episode 4 & 5 were after 6-8. It makes me even gladder that I boycotted this show when it first came out. (I was angry for Dark Angel's cancellation and Firefly being it's replacement.) So I was grateful that my roommate showed me the show on DVD in the correct order! And took me to the movie (free passes). It has since become one of my all-time favorite shows!!! And I've now seen quite a few reactors to it!
It's strange, because even in the 'proper' order, you get thrown off a bit. "The Message" stands out because it treats the revelation about River as common knowledge...yet that reveal was in the finale episode "Objects in Space". I do recall that "The Message" was the final episode they shot, so perhaps it _was_ supposed to be the finale?
@@dawnfallon6812 None of them were meant to be the finale, because the show was cancelled in mid-season. But have heard that they aired The Message earlier than its originally intended order because they didn't want to end on such a down note.
Lol. A lot of info there but you never actually answered her question. They aired “The Train Job” first because the network execs didn’t think they “Serenity” episode had enough action in it. They thought it moved a little slow and wouldn’t draw viewers in.
@@frankiek2269 I figured there'd be a billion other answers giving the whole story. Even reactors will often answer that they find 1x01 slow. I mean the girl doesn't get unboxed until the hour commercial break. It's too wordy for people that don't enjoy Joss' words.
When River says or does something "crazy," pay attention. It's never crazy.
This is the first sign that she doesn’t have a processing deficit, but in fact has so many trains of thought going on at once that she can’t slow it down to bring you in. She many times, like here, resorts to poetry to get the attention the dense layering of meaning out and communicate with people.
@@seanthompson9163 My feeling is that River herself is confused; she believes that she's hallucinating. Every once in a while she's very clear about what she knows (there's a good example in "Safe," a couple more in "Ariel," and more in "Objects In Space"), but most of the time she just accepts Simon's diagnosis, which is (understandably) wrong.
Trying not to insert spoilers here. Hmmm. Okay, remember the scene in the movie where she vomits? Remember what she said just after vomiting? THAT was the moment River finally understood where the "hallucinations" were coming from.
When a network airs 1st season episodes out of order it tends to be because someone high up wants the show to fail. The narration wasn't part of the original airing, it was added much later.
That’s not true. They had the intros from the beginning - at least they aired them in my area because all my VHS recordings of the show from the first run had them. I was lucky to be in an area that either didn’t change the schedule or announced any changes clearly, because I was able to tape all the episodes on their first run. Then Joss “leaked” the other three un-aired episodes online for download, which was so awesome. Honestly, those years of Browncoat fandom between the cancellation and the movie were so much fun!
At the time, it had been less common for a series to necessitate an airing order. They expected a first time audience to be satisfied jumping in at any point in the series, since you couldn't just choose an episode. These days, streaming lets you start from the start at any time.
Mal has a very fast, almost intuitive, way of sizing up and dealing with any difficulty. Very quickly. Shooting a horse, shooting a man, pushing somebody thru the engine. One of the deleted scenes has Zoe saying that he started out as a Sergeant, and 4 weeks in, was commanding what was left of a regiment, so many superiors had been killed. So his approach helped him survive- deal with and dispose of a problem RIGHT NOW, because there'll be another one along any second.
Indeed, apparently, he was the last commanding officer of the Independents at Serenity Valley. Despite being a sergeant.
that's what bugs me about most survival shows...everyone always wanna talk about the morality until the problem gets too big...your description of mal is what i hope i would be in SHTF...
Yep, that's why she and the rest of the crew are loyal to a fault with him. Even Jayne, maybe even especially so.
16:09 I love this scene because with just one subtle little gesture it shows the Sheriff’s character. He isn’t a cruel man and genuinely cares about his people. Even showing kindness to a man locked up in his cells. It also shows his flexibility. He’s more concerned about having a safe and healthy town than strict rule following as we see again by the end.
I also like the juxtaposition. One can assume easily that the man in the cell was likely there for a petty/minor crime. He may have been desperate considering the conditions they’re under. He is met with empathy. However whoever stole the medicine he would like to throw into the mines to suffer the same fate as the sick, fitting justice in his mind for those who would steal from the sick and let them suffer. Which is why I suppose I assume the man in the cell couldn’t have been there for anything too serious. Not too sure where I was going with that, just found it interesting I guess, lol
"we didn't fly eighty-six million miles to track down a box of band-aids, colonel."
i love this line. it so perfectly conveys the man's utter disrespect for that entire planet and its problems.
The way I understand it, FOX hated the Serenity Pilot and told them it was too confusing, they didn't understand what they were watching etc, and to redo it. So they came up with a much simpler episode (The Train Job), which FOX aired as the Pilot. My understanding is they did this multiple times, airing the episodes out of order. Also they moved them to a dead slot on the TV ratings chart so that many people that hadn't already seen it, never would. Those that HAD seen it, couldn't find it again because the time slot had moved with no warning. They also sometimes showed sports in their time slot, not airing the episode until late at night with no advance warning.
EDIT: I also remember hearing they thought Mal was to angry and they wanted him to be more jolly. If you pay attention, you can tell that in the Train Job he is more light hearted than he was in Serenity.
Another layer that I recall hearing....I think on the commentary dvd for the show, is that the execs at FOX wanted a more "action packed" opening, so they used the Train Job, since it starts in media rez with Jane dropping onto the train roof. Nevermind that it confuses the audience because they don't know who these people are, what their relationships are to each other, etc.
As I understand it, the Train Job wasn't MEANT to be a pilot, but just simply another episode in the storyline of the show, and it was just pushed up to the front due to executive meddling.
That was a common trend with fox at the time. They didn't get Greg the Bunny, The Tick, or Family Guy either. Two of those were also aired out of order as well
There was the added bonus that a guy (don't remember his name) had just been made ?head of programming? and he didn't like that he had inherited all of these programs that weren't his cup of tea. I'm not even sure if he checked them out before deciding they weren't his cup of tea, he just wanted his own crop of shows. He actively sabotaged a few of them especially Firefly. He told Whedon that they needed a different pilot on a very short time frame and Whedon had to put together Train Job.
Eventually the guy got his wish and Firefly went away and his show Fastlane took its spot. Fastlane didn't last very longer either (though slightly longer, probably because the guy wasn't messing with it on purpose) and unlike Firefly, no one really cares about Fastlane. I had to look up what it was called and I don't think I know anyone who actually watched it.
@@plothole181 yeah, if you want to hear a similar kind of story from Jim Butcher, about the short lived Dresden Files tv show, do a search for it. Jim has done a LOT of Q&A's at conventions and seminars, etc, and at least once he went into detail about some of the ridiculous meddling aspects of the "business" side of the tv industry, and how it can just cripple the creative process.
As Tim Minear told it, they were informed that they needed a new pilot, so they wrote this over the weekend for filming on Monday. It's possible they already had the bones of an episode and just grafted on the character intro elements.
I understand that one of FOX's problems was that Mal wasn't likeable enough in the original, which is one of their few decisions which may not have been 100% bad. I love his character, but this ep really plays up his part as a paladin who thinks he's a rogue. I saw the show in its original TV run, so I don't know if I would have liked him as much if I'd started with his darker, angrier, first episode self.
Fun story, they say that every executive responsible for canceling Firefly and screwing up the airing order and time slot was eventually fired from Fox for losing this show. That's not to say that I'm so petty that I'd be glad for someone to lose their job over one mistake, but it certainly works as a good moral parable on the topic of incompetence.
There's no need for put the word "companion" in air quotes. They aren't prostitutes. A companion is more like a geisha or a courtesan. They are trained in fine arts, music, dance. They are seen as eminently respectable. With some clients there is no sex involved at all. This is one of the reasons why Inara hates Mal calling her a whore and thus he does it all the more.
Definitely dance - especially at a mighty fine shindig.
“Companion” is the translation of the Greek “Hetaira”, which were the highest class of prostitute in classical Greece. The most famous historical examples are Aspasia of Melitos, companion to Pericles (a relationship we’ll see mirrored in a couple of episodes), a Phryne, once tried for impropriety and bared her breasts in court as part of her defense - which worked.
Whedon was specifically calling back to this group of women with the Companion’s Guild.
Companions are definitely prostitutes, even if things in addition to sex are part of the menu. Don’t let neo-Victorian views about sex being icky cloud your mind.
Another close historical example would be the hetaira of ancient Greece
Only Nathan Fillion could put so many layers of meaning into a single, "DARN."
21:53
You mentioned Castle which I absolutely loved till the last couple of seasons. There were serveral Firefly references snuck into Castle. Castle once dressed up as a "Space Cowboy" for a Halloween episode. There was a mechanical part from Serenity sitting on Castle's desk. Several Firefly cast members made guest appearances on Castle.
And then several castle stars made guest appearances on the rookie
And he learned Chinese from "an old show he used to love".
You know mandarin? Study abroad?
No, TV show I used to love.
Fox was under contract to get 1 more show out of Joss Whedon. The leadership at Fox had changed hands and they wanted to go another direction so they aired episodes out of order, preempted some for sports replays, and didn’t keep a “schedule” people could follow. This was intentionally done to kill the show because it never found an audience. In the end, it really backfired on the Execs because it became something much more than an sci-fi one off or cult classic. It is still finding an audience 20+ years later. There was another show on a different network called Dark Matter that tried to fill the void but it only lasted 3 seasons. The captain of the ship in dark matter and National Fillion star together currently on the TV show The Rookie.
Dark Matter was excellent and it is a shame that it only got three seasons (and ended on a cliffhanger), but it was an entirely different thing from Firefly.
Ok. I will admit that there were a few similarities, but its initial focus was more on the essential identity of the characters outside actual identity. They also didn't do as much of the mercenary stuff.
Just for clarification Dark Matter was like 10 years after Firefly.
The new president hated Scify and instituted an only 1 sci-fi show permitted on the network. He canceled Dark Angel with Jessica Alba to make room for Firefly even though it had a good audience.
Dark Matter is my most favorite show! It had really good writing and really good acting.
Where I was it aired on Friday but it was during the MLB playoffs so would often get preempted sometimes it would air before the game or sometimes after or on Saturday afternoon, or not at all. It wasn't that it couldn't find an audience, but the audience couldn't find the show.
13:33 "There are so many documentary style zooms. The camera work is really interesting"
Joss Whedon didn't want the show to have the sterile, futuristic, perfectly composited look that other scifi shows of the time had. So his director of photography brought back obsolete 1970s techniques for filming action. During action sequences you will see abrupt zooms, shakycams, camera moves, off center shots, and rack focus.
I think my favorite rack focus is in ep 1, when the zoom in on the reaver ship towards the end of the episode. Because it’s a CG ship (I mean, I’m assuming), so there’s not actually anything there to zoom in on. Or with. :) (I’m easily amused)
“Rack zoom”. Sigh.
@@noahrobin1941 The reason that particular zoom worked so well was because it gives the viewer the sense or feeling of "looking around for" the Reaver ship, the same way you might have to look around in the sky for a passing airplane before you can spot it.
You look around, it catches your eyes, THEN you focus on it and track it as it moves through the air.
@@noahrobin1941 Great point! All those camera effects are CGI too!
He uses those sterile, composited techniques when filming the Alliance ship crew in the first ep's intro, which is clever.
By next episode, you'll be singing the theme song, even if you have to distort it for copyright reasons.
Glad to see another Browncoat aboard.
Keep flying, and stay shiny!
@@JustMe-um8zp Browncoats Unite 🤠
When I was 16, I watched Firefly when it was on TV. Though I was constantly frustrated by basketball pre-empting the broadcasts. My dad was super into Star Trek: Enterprise at the time and was treating it like a competition but weeks into the series, I finally got him sit down and watch an episode. He loved it, but I thought it was an episode I'd missed because it was the pilot, Serenity.
Turned out I hadn't missed it, Fox was just airing the episodes out of order and the original pilot was somehow the *last episode* Fox aired. My dad and I were very confused the next week when we sat down and it was a basketball game instead. And it never came back.
Either way, I was so happy to see it in a store a year or so later as a DVD. What's funny to me is how little I was connected to the cult fandom or the fan campaign to bring it back. I had just watched it, loved it, and was glad to buy the DVD. Thankfully we got some closure with the movie, but I'm a little haunted by the "what could have beens" of Firefly.
Question: Where you were did they air the full pilot or just the first hour? Because I was watching Firefly when it first aired and where I am they also aired the pilot last, but they only aired the first hour (up until the "Huh.") and never aired part 2.
I've seen plenty of people say that they also saw the pilot last, but I can never figure out if they mean the whole thing or just "part 1".
@@plothole181 For us it was the whole thing. Might've been a per-station decision.
@@DCimmerian Well dang.
Firefly was 100% WAY ahead of its time. It was an absolute masterpiece and just a shame it never found mainstream success. I am happy they did end the story somewhat with the movie
Back in those days, shows would air in South Africa about 6 months after the US. But when it came on here, they showed it in the proper order. I only found out what Fox did after the show was cancelled, and the whole drama around that. So, we got lucky.
So jealous for that!
@@andrewschwarz3405 Oh, dodged an absolute bullet! For sure.
It was similar in the UK, I can't remember exactly how long after the US it was but I do know I heard about the cancellation before seeing the pilot, but at least it was all in order and in a consistent timeslot.
A lot of Firefly fans miss the Ferris Bueller Easter egg. When Mal is talking to Shepherd, he refers to the Simon as “He’s my hero.” He says it in the same quirky voice as Cameron said it to Ferris. “Ferris Bueller you’re my hero.”
This was the first episode that aired. So many good, quotable, fun lines. But it was Crow's manner of unexpected exit that hooked me.
"Exit left."
... followed by air.
Beautiful watching somebody share the delight you experienced yourself, all that time ago. I really thought this was the pinnacle of the tv Sci Fi show. Now is is second, since The Expanse blew everything else away - but it remains totally beloved.
Firefly and Deadwood are the two best television shows ever produced, in my opinion.
I've watched both of them dozens of times, they never get old.
Agreed. Deadwood is insanely well done. Similarly great writing and incredibly patient character development. Both shows are rare gems.
From what I understand, after the season wasn't renewed and the actors went on to other endeavors, there was such a fanbase outcry they brought the actors back to make the movie Serenity.
This is a tale of two Foxes. The first Fox is Fox Studios. They contracted with Joss Whedon to do several TV and movie properties, and they loved what he was doing. When Whedon came up with Firefly, Fox Studios pitched it to several networks, but gave Fox Network a right of first refusal. Fox Network was only luke-warm on Firefly, but the upper management of Fox Networks wanted them to save some money, so they insisted that they take it. Fox Network did, but they put it in a bad timeslot that was frequently pre-empted by baseball games, and they aired the episodes out of order. The idea was evidently to lower the ratings so they could pull Firefly. Not surprisingly it worked. Without being on consistently at the same time each week, and with the episodes being out of order, it never attracted the repeat viewers that it needed to build an audience.
Essentially correct. Only mistake is that is was Basketball not Baseball.
10:45 "this is just a stylistically fascinating show" YES! THANK YOU! Oh my gosh this series is incredible. EVERY aspect is 100% reconstruction era American aesthetic in space.
@@Lorrdd Browncoats Unite 🤠
Subtle one that help with the "space western" aspect is the shape of the ship itself. Front end is more like a horse or mule
10:37
@@rogerw5299 well the architecture in the ship itself looks very 1800s.
Fastest conversion I’ve ever seen on a reaction channel. Welcome to the Browncoats Jacqui, you’re one of us now. Fantastic, if short ride
I still can't believe how beautiful Morena Baccarin was in this show, she was the embodiment of grace and charm
She still is. She's barely aged at all in that time it's crazy weird.
Mind you Kaylee was my crush on the show.... *sighs dreamily*
One of my top 5 favorite TV shows of all time, and I’m 68 so I’ve seen a lot. It is such a shame it didn’t get more time.
Curious, what are your tops? I like a few shows, but I honestly will typically rate firefly number one. The Scene with Inara giving Book absolution or a blessing, I always thought was one of the better moments in tv cinematography. Beautiful scene. And it always bothered me no end that some fat, cigar-smoking... Uhmm... executives killed this show because Dancing with my One-legged Grandma, was cheaper to film. Tragic.
This is an outstanding series with many super fans(known as "Browncoats"). I love how each character is important and involved, which is so cool. Remember you called him "Captain Sassy Pants" and a variant of that will reappear later.
"Two by Two, Hands of Blue"
Don't forget those words...
"We're going to call him captain sassy-pants"
Uhm . . . no we're not 😉
I mean, she's not entirely right, but not entirely wrong.
Close to spoiler, but since his pants are of the fancy sort, I will allow it.
Only until she starts calling him Captain Tight-Pants
And later when she calls him Captain No-Pants. 😁
No, it's Captain Tightpants, get it right!
@@rainy131313 Yeah do you see Kaylee in a pretty dress? We dont speak about Captain Tight-pants until Kaylee is in a pretty dress.
THERE ARE RULES TO THIS SHIT DAMN IT!!
The programming executives who signed Whedon to a five season deal had moved on before the show was in production. The new exec in charge didn't much like Science Fiction and didn't like the idea of running a show he hadn't personally signed off on. He did all he could to make sure the show had bad ratings, so that FOX could void Whedon's contract. Pretty much the senior exec in charge giving the finger to his predecessor.
When Whedon screened the pilot, Serenity, for the FOX exec he said he didn't like it and didn't want a two-hour premiere. So Whedon had about a week to write a new first episode, The Train Job, so it could be filmed and finished in time for the premiere date.
Didn't I hear that they also didn't like the portrayal of Mal? That he was to angry and they wanted him to be more jolly?
After the pilot had been shot, the studio had "notes", so reshoots were done to address them. Despite that, it was decided (again by the studio) to forgo the pilot and air the second episode first, leaving most viewers confused about who the characters were and what exactly was going on. It is my understanding that the episodes from that point on were all shown out of the intended order, causing even more confusion, and the actual pilot wasn't aired until after the series had already been canceled.
Speaking of Castle, in one episode Castle dresses up as Mal for Halloween
And his daughter says “Didn't you wear it, like, five years ago?”
And his daughter comments on him wearing it several years in a row (the number of years since Firefly) and "don't you think its time to move on?"
I didn't watch this until some time after the movie came out. Some friends were describing it, and I wondered "how I have I never heard of this show?" Bought the dvds and binged them, and I have been a brown coat ever since. Welcome to the club, Jacqui.
That sass and humor hides an excellent sense of exactly where to subvert tropes/expectations.
I remember being so excited for this show to air, then watching the Train Job and feeling like I had completely missed an episode. They really did the show dirty
Having loved this show for almost 20 years, its great to see someone enjoying it for the first time
Band of Brothers and now Firefly. Right off the bat you're hitting my favorites.
Since you're ahead, I'm sure people have already told you a lot of this, but I figured I may as well say it any way.
This episode was not just reworked into being a second pilot. It was specifically made to be a new pilot. Fox did not like the original pilot (more on that later). They thought it was too slow. They thought it didn't have enough action (the original version didn't even have the opening scene of the war. It opened straight to the scene of them stealing the cargo) and they just generally did like it. So Joss and the other writers wrote The Train Job over a weekend to be an alternative pilot. I think it worked decently, though obviously Serenity is the better pilot because it actually introduces characters like Simon and River
The thing is that it's not even so much that Fox didn't like the pilot. See, between the time that Firefly was green lit (which it was green lit before the pilot was even made) and they finished making the pilot, the leadership at Fox had changed. The new executives were contractually obligated to move forward with everything that had already been approved, but they wanted to get rid of it all in order to approve their own shows. So they did everything in their power to kill Firefly in particular. They gave the show a horrible time slot (Friday night. Not sure what time). They aired episodes out of order (not just this time with the pilot), and frequently preempted it by baseball games. Then with 11 episodes aired, it was canceled. 3 episodes had been completed which never aired to bring the episode count to 14.
On an unrelated note, something which I meant to post on your last video but forgot: It's been said (by Joss, I believe) that every member of the crew represents something that Mal lost in the war. The most obvious one is Shepherd Book representing his lost faith (something which you noted in the previous episode), but all of them represent something. I haven't quite been able to place what everyone represents, but I figure it's something you'd enjoy thinking about
I think we can safely say that you now understand why us fans really appreciate the brilliance of this show. The characters and casting, the aesthetic, how the music works so well, and the fantastic dialog. It's stil mind boggling that it was cancelled. You're definitely going to want to do them all aren't you! ( Now you know where Rik got his "Space Cowboy" Halloween costume in Castle!)
They'd actually cast another actress to play Inara, and had already shot most of her scenes for either the pilot or first episode, then Morena Baccarin did an audition for another role and had so much of a presence than they gave her that role instead, and reshot the scenes (though break for the original actress though...). Josh Whedon had also written Badger in the pilot with the intention of playing him himself as a cameo, and finally decided to cast Mark Sheppard after he blew his mind in an audition. Soooo many talented people !
The armor worn by the Federal troops was originally used in 'Starship Troopers' and they are called Purplebellies.
One of the actresses from Starship Troopers is my favorite Purple Belly. :)
Fun detail about the face tattooed minion of Niska....that is the actor who played the GLORIOUSLY funny Zangief from the mid 90's live action Street Fighter film.
I was today years old when I learned this, but damn, how did I not?
One of the things I loved about this show was the parallels between post Civil War America(specifically the South) and the way Mal and other former brown coats feel about the universe they live in.
:smiles: The only time ever that I get annoyed by music being distorted is with the theme to Firefly :) It is an anthem for me and never fails to both lift my spirits and, on occasion, bring a suspicious shimmer to my eyes :chuckles:
This show is incredibly witty when it wants to be, beautifully written. So many fascinating characters, and Jayne is another personal favorite.
Yea, "Phox Network" really shirtted the bed with the episode release sequence.
THANK YOU, JACQUI, for including "Sir? I think you have a problem with your brain being missing." - !! I've watched several (at least?) reactors do Firefly/this episode, and I believe you're the _first_ to include this - one of my favorite quotes from the series!!! YES!!
1:30 Yeah the network showed this series way out of order. The pilot movie you watched last week is really the only introduction we get to the characters...aside from the occasional backstory flashback. The order they are on the DVD IS the proper order you should watch them.
There are many Science fiction stories where colonies bring horses, cattle and seed. That way you have means to plow and plant seed, have some transportation, and without more complex electronics or machinery.
Josh Whedon said if the show had gone on, we would have learned every character had their deep secret. Inara's for example, was she was slowly dying of an incurable disease.
changed the meaning of that syringe..it was medicine, not poison...should she miss her dose and die or take it and keep living and maybe be killed by reavers?
So at the time Firefly came out, there was a change in leadership in the network. Firefly was already in the pipeline when the change happened. The new big wigs in charge didn't really want another outer space show. However, they needed a reason to get rid of it to make room for the projects they wanted to work on, so they actively tried to sabotage the show. The first sabotage was by making them reshoot the pilot with big changes and an unreasonable deadline. Its one of the reasons I think Train job is my least favorite episodes. From what I understand it was put together over the course of a single weekend, so it was a bit of a rush job. Still good, but definitely weaker than the rest imo. And considering the time frame they had it came out far better than could have been expected. After that sabotage failed, they made them air episodes out of order and changed time slots to throw off fans. The sabotage worked in sinking the ratings enough to kill the show. However, it still developed enough of a following that the show got a lot of attention after it was killed. And it definitely ruined the reputation of those execs. They went to such lengths to kill a good show, and it still developed a cult following. I've actually heard them called out by name, in other tv shows and spoofs for killing the show.
Also, if you watched Castle, there are a few references to firefly in the show. The biggest of which is in one episode he dresses up as a "space cowboy" for Halloween. (it was the Malcolm Reynolds outfit)
It’s always enjoyable to see another generation falling for these same characters that I’ve cherished for years. This group really grows on you. It’s hard to find any shows with this level of writing in this era.
Jayne, the man they call Jayne. You are right, he is not a hero. 🤔
But as the story goes on his character has the most development.
Thanks for the ear worm, now I need a week to get rid of that song :)
Jayne is a Girls Name...=)
@@Konrad-z9w GORRAMMIT! ME TOO!!!! AUUUUUGH!
I saw a recent analysis that said while camera is on the frontier areas it's more free-floating, and if it's in Alliance areas, it's more stationary.
Yeah, the network messing around with release order of episodes and switching the time slot it appeared in was a major reason it didn't find much of an audience right away and ended up getting cancelled halfway through the first season.
Apparently the network thought the original pilot wasn't exciting or engaging enough, which blows my mind because the original pilot is so good.
I completely agree about the original pilot being very good, but having watched a number of reactors do Firefly, I have to say that they actually tend to be underwhelmed by it, at least relative to the rest of the series. Some of this may be because they have to get used to the vibe and the characters, and whatever came first wouldn't have appealed to them as much, but it's pretty common for them to think The Train Job is a step up, and even Bushwhacked. And more than once I've seen people say something to the effect that Serenity is a bit too slow or too drawn out. Don't get me wrong; I like The Train Job (the awkward reintroduction of characters and Jayne acting out of character notwithstanding), but in my book, Serenity is clearly the better episode. And I think it's downright insane to prefer Bushwhacked, which is in the running to be my least favorite Firefly episode (though it's an awesome enough show that even its worst episode is still good).
@@stuffyouotterlistento1461 I like Serenity too. But if viewers are underwhelmed by it, that might have been because Mal was played so dark and humorless in that episode. I get that the show had to portray Mal as damaged by the war. But the subsequent episodes are better for having more humorous Mal bits.
Yes, this character and Richard Castle very much have the same DNA. You can definitely see why Nathan was the actor they wanted for that show, and what that series was his next leading role in a series. My personal headcanon is that when Alexis grows up, she marries a man with the last name "Reynolds" and goes on to have kids of her own, and Rick is a doting grandpa who passes on his sense of fun and humor, while Alexis passes on her sense of doing the right thing and her independent nature. Somewhere down the line, one of their descendants boards a spaceship to take to the stars when we start colonizing out there. (Btw, in the 2nd Halloween episode of Castle, Rick dresses up in his "Firefly" togs. This was about 5 years after the show was canceled, making the dialog quite funny. Nathan has already said the writers on that show were big Firefly fans and they worked in many references over the run, aside from the ones he added himself. Just search "castle dressed as mal" on CZcams
As others have noted, Fox aired things out of order and did a lot of other things that really messed up the show and guaranteed it didn’t have a chance… around that time they actually did similar things to a number of shows, which is why I stopped watching Fox.
One other show they similarly abused (made terrible ads for, showed it out of order, only showed four episodes for, and changed the time slot it aired in over those four episodes without announcing it well) was Wonderfalls. It’s an incredible show that eventually got all 13 episodes released on DVD due to fan outcry. If you like snark, it’s considered pretty much THE snark show.
I highly recommend watching it sometime, although unfortunately as far as I know the only way to do so is to get the DVD, as I don’t think it streams anywhere. Personally I’d love to see reactions to it, but it may be too niche… regardless I highly recommend it. Also, one of the show’s creators is Bryan Fuller, who also made Pushing Daisies and Dead Like Me, if you want a point of reference you may be more likely to know about.
Great reaction as always, looking forward to the rest!
The theme theme song is one of the best parts of this show. It's basically Malcolm Reynolds voice talking about how he has nothing but the sky and his ship left and as long as he has them he'll be okay.
Nathan Fillipn often plays that comedic anti-hero role.
A different character he did well with was Private Ryan in Saving Private Ryan.
That's One great Trivia Question...Who played Private Ryan?...=))
The joke here was he actually was not *that* Ryan.
Spoilers below:
The characters are looking for a Private James Ryan, and they find one. Not realizing they have the wrong Ryan they tell him his brothers are dead.
I recommend watching the scene (just search saving private Ryan wrong Ryan, or better yet, watch the whole movie). Its a weird mix of seriousness and comedy that tugs on the heart strings while also offering a moment of levity in a dark film… which kinda sums up Nathan Fillion’s acting niche .
@@GnarledStaff
Everyone here got the joke
Back in the day my then husband and i were some of the ones that actually watched every episode and were loving it. It was so hard to keep track of as they pre-emptimg it and moving it around. Then it was just goie and we thought it had been cancelled (it had). But then one night after a long break we saw they were showing a new episode and we were so excited thinking it hadn't been cancelled. It was the actual pilot and we were so confused. I kept waiting for the jump forward in time to explain the "flashback". Took us about halfway through to accept it was just an episode that went before the others. After that, no more Firefly. We weren't perennially online back then so it took some time before i ever heard the whole story.
The idiots at Fox decided that the Pilot didn't have enough action to be a 1st episode. This is just one of many hardships that plagued Firefly and is very likely the reason it was cut short at 14 episodes.
Joss Whedon originally wanted Mal to be a much darker/meaner/cynical character. After Nathan Fillion was cast, he had a conversation with Joss where he said that "I'm really not this kind of guy." He wasn't sure he could play that kind of character, so there was an effort to make Mal a little lighter. "Captain Sassy Pants."
But then he played Caleb in the last season of Buffy, probably Joss showing him, "yes, you can play a dark character."
"Captain Sassypants"....cute...wait for it....wait for it....
Kaylee: "Hold my, beer..."🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
We will wait until there is a nice floral dress around, and pick this discussion up there.
@@alexandermarquardt597with food
So glad you're loving the series! It's always such a joy to watch someone get exposed to it for the first time!
The greatest TV show that never was. You’re going to enjoy, just prepare yourself for a crash into the wall ending which will feel almost worse than your greatest lover punching you in the face and walking out the door. No joke, depression at the end.
"Hey I didn't fight in no war." -Jayne Cobb
Keep in mind that literally *everything* River says means something, however weird it may first sound.
Most reactors don’t figure out until much later that River’s “weird” ramblings are actually significant and meaningfull. Also appreciate that Jacqui immediately picked up on Sheppard Book’s subtle clues that he must have a secret past. Kudos to a perceptive reactor, who is already on board as a Browncoat !
Which is funny because a lot of her ramblings were ad-libbed by Summer in the moment.
The crazy thing about this episode was that it was written over a weekend. Fox didn't think the original pilot had enough action, so asked for a new first episode. This was the result.
Wonder what her reactions will be when she gets to the good episodes...
Even though Zoe knows that Mal "accidentally" ends up in Alliance bar on Unification Day and starts a fight, she still fallows along. They have a special relation deeper than most marriages. Their relationship is very pure. There is no sexuality involved at all. You just know that either one woulf lay fown their life for the other without a moments hesitation. And she has her husband, Wash, that she would also die for. She is far and away, the best hearted character
I used to work as an extra and was able to work on a number of television shows. I was lucky enough to work on two episodes of Firefly. It was easily the most fun set I ever worked on (with the possible exception of a pair of huge pirate movies). The whole cast and crew ewre obviously enjoying themselves and there was an easy cameraderie on the set that made it obvious they were friends off-screen as well.
I'm glad ytou're starting your Firefly journey. Have fun!
12:54 time mark: “No offense but hero is not the first word that comes to mind when I think about you, Hun.” "(Jacqui's reaction to Jayne.)
Remember this line, when you get to Episode 7. 😄🤣😋☺🤭
I remember I was flipping channels and landed on the end of this episode. When the Captain got that tired look on his face and kicked the bad guy into the intake, I knew that I had found a new show to watch.
It's fun to watch Firefly and then watch Castle and see all of the easter egg references to Firefly is so awesome, and fun.
Shepherd Book's past remains an enigma, even through the movie. His character's mystery keeps a giant question mark floating over all his scenes.
I love that you said that when it comes to Jayne hero isnt the first word that comes to mind 😂😂😂😂😂😂
This is fantastic. I've been kinda into reaction videos lately, but watching someone get the joy of Firefly for the first time is just utter perfection.
"Hero is not the first thing I think about when I think of you hun"
Boy are you in for a perplexion 😅😂
I do wish there was an "I wil fong you", but this might be the best role of Tudyk's life. So frickin good
The one actor you keep passing over is Ron Glass who plays the Shepherd. Prior to this he was known for playing Detective Ron Harris on the brilliant comedy Barney Miller. If you want to watch more Joss Whedon you might want to watch Dr. Horrible's Sing A Long blog (although the music may be difficult). It stars Nathan Fillion (Captain Hammer), Niel Patrick Harris (Dr Horrible/Billy) and Felicia Day (Penny). It is free on CZcams where it was originally released