Fun Fact that in the Train Job when they land at Persephone when they get off the ship Kaylee says “If the Catalyzer blows we are humped.” Guess what, the Catalyzer blew and they were humped. Kaylee knows her ship. Moral of the story, don’t skimp on maintenance.
There was also another scene where Mal goes into the engine room to find Kaylee and finds it's a total mess. When he finally catches up to Kaylee in Inara's shuttle, he asks why the engine room is a disaster and Kaylee says she has to rewire everything cause "someone" won't replace the scrappy compression coil.
To clarify, cause there's some mixed messages here: It's in the pilot, Serenity, that she mentions it when they land on Persephone. It's in the Train Job that she mentions it after Mal notices the engine room being a mess and finds Kaylee with Inara. The latter was likely put in because The Train Job was written as a new pilot, and they wanted to make sure that got seeded for this episode
It's, "the compression coil busts, we're driftin'" (Best not bust, then.) The in-joke is when the salvage ship's captain tries to suss out if Mal's story has an odor to it, by asking, "compression coil, you said," and Mal replies, "it was a catalyzer." The compression coil is mentioned another time in the series as well, and there's more references to related parts ahead. The writers were really clever and cared about continuity!
in the (i believe) first episode Kaylee is telling Mal how they need to get a replacement part for the engine and Mal puts it off cause of the money i think, which is the part that causes the issue in "out of gas". So now we know listen to your damn mechanic when it comes to the ship maintenance !
I wouldn't say that Kaylee is "pure". She's sort of earthy and honest about sex, as with everything else. If she's upset with you, you know it. If she likes you, you know it. If she wants to have sex with you, she's ready to have a good time. She doesn't have a deceitful or insincere bone in her body.
I'd say she's pure of heart that way. Goes to show you don't have to be a naïve virgin to be a pure soul. I ❤ her so much and Jewel does an awesome job portraying that in her.
I didn't even scroll down to the comments - didn't even wait for her tu utter the word 'pure' I jus _knew_ it would be there :D Kaylee fools so many. She is such a nice trope-breaker ^^
I think she's autistic. Talks straight and square about what she thinks, socially awkward unless you talk about her special interest (engines) in which she excels.
"Out of Gas" is the best of the series. Mal saying, "Everybody dies alone" is crucial. He was dying, but because the crew came back (without him calling them), he was no longer alone. That's why he didn't die. Also, the flashbacks were his life passing before his eyes. The oldest was of him finding Serenity; that's when his life really began. Nothing of the time before, of being defeated in the war. His entire life is the ship and crew. It's really amazing. Tim Minear crushed it on this one.
Jayne pushing over that statue was powerful. He truly felt it was wrong of them to see him as a hero. I think he sees himself as low. Maybe he doesn’t try to be a good person because he doesn’t believe he can be.
According to the DVD commentary, Alan Tudyk took the big red "recall" button from the Firefly set and presented it to Joss Whedon, telling him that if Whedon managed to get the series renewed, he could press it to call the cast back.
@@alicequinn505 Alan had a hard time beating Nathan in stealing mementos from the set. Adam took the head of the statue but had to return it for reshoots.
Jaynestown is all about subjective symbolic value. Jayne to the mudders, sex to the Magistrate, the Bible to Book, manners to Simon... Episode written by Ben Edlund, who created the superhero parody comic The Tick and was involved with all three of its TV adaptations.
That was one of the most concise description of this episode I've ever read. Nailed it! Edlund was also heavily involved with Supernatural. The man has a gift.
Thank you, RUclips guy that I assume is Ben Edlund or one of his relatives. :-) Actually, I'm just kidding. I love this episode, and I loved The Tick! The man has got some talent. Congrats, Ben.
Jaynestown is the beginning of Jayne’s character growth, where he begins to mature. But pay attention in The Message. Something he says is a game changer for him.
Yep, I fully believe the arc for Jayne over the planned 5 seasons was to be from total self concerned mercenary to self sacrificing hero of the resistance.
Yep. But even in the first episode he shows concern. It's brief but he's shown peeking in to watch Simon work on Kaylee after she was shot. He's anxious, biting his nails. He's got a lot of bad, but there's some sneaky good in there as well.
He really had been on the ball in Out of Gas. Very rational, keeps totally cool, like eye-of-the-storm focus. Soon as the fireball came in, he bolted up and immediately began taking care of business. Solid portrayal of silent emotion "saying" goodbye to Mal-he's become *at least* a brother to Jayne, and Jayne's gonna do everything he can for his family in such time of desperation.
@@JaelynMcgeeThat's funny; I was just wondering if anybody was shipping these two? I know people ship Jayne with Kaley and with River; now I'm wondering whether anyone has escaped. :)
@@JaelynMcgee Any chance you remember where you learned this? The only thing I can find are a few fandom/TV trope sites which state that Simon's actor, Sean Maher, supposedly said that Simon has a slight crush on Jayne :)
Kaylee has the sweetness and playfulness usually associated with innocence and often lost with maturity. She’s one of those rare, wonderful people who hang on to those qualities, even through the loss of innocence. But she still knows how to enjoy adult fun! Can’t wait for the next installment!
I don't know why reactors think Jayne thinks highly of himself. Up until now, he pats himself on the back in a way that shows that he is never complimented. This is the first time someone thinks highly of him as a person and his good self starts to shine through as a result.
So true... even after he knows why the mudders love him he can't figure out why someone would take a bullet for him. The kicker is as much as jane is into surviving he thinks the mudder was wrong to save his life...
You realize even yourself was a reactor right when you saw each episode first time ? Any who watches this tv series at home or elsewhere at any point in time, made there own reaction. So you basicly just said every single soul including yourself that this is how we all thought lol.
@UltraSuperDuperFreak you're being hyper specific to the point of pedantry. He's not wrong that in general, youtube reaction channels tend to notice the nuances of Jane's character. He's one of my favorites.
@@UltraSuperDuperFreak Is that how you make yourself feel superior? You know exactly what he meant and yet you showcase what an insufferable jackass you choose to be. Nice job, my condolences to those who have to deal with you on the regular.
"Out of Gas" is my favorite episode. It's not the funniest, or the most significant episode. But it is the most well-crafted episode. If you rewatch this, notice how they used 3 different lighting schemes to represent the 3 different time frames represented in the story. Bouncing back and forth between 3 different times could be hella confusing. But the shifts in lighting and color palette cue the subconscious brain into when & where we are, and we follow the story easily.
I'm a big fan of Out of Gas, but I'm even more excited about the upper bound limits of this young offense and new attack minded defensive coordinator. GPG
"Out of Gas" has to be my favorite because of the artful way they wove three timelines together to tell the story. Also, it marks the first time I started to view the ship is being part of the crew.
I have always noticed how a lot of people see Kaylee as a child when in fact she is a grown woman. Kaylee is a complicated person. Not so much naive, but self actualized and confident in who she is.
People see Kaylee as a child because the writers wanted us to see her that way. If not a child, at least someone who is young and innocent of the harsh realities of life that tend to make the more mature person a bit more cynical. In Episode 1, Jayne complains about Kaylee being so cheerful all the time. Sure, some people are more optimistic than others but I think most people took Kaylee’s cheerfulness as being congruous with youth and inexperience. Mal calls her mèime, little sister. He obviously feels a responsibility to look after her. Feels terrible he wasn’t able to protect her in the situation where she gets shot. Kaylee and Inara’s relationship is portrayed more as little sister/big sister than woman to woman. Inara even says something like ‘someone needs to keep Kaylee out of trouble’ at the end of Safe when she gives Mal reasons why she was going to turn down Atherton’s offer. Even in the origin scene in Episode 8, Kaylee says she works for her daddy, which implies she still lives under his roof. She evens says, “I’ve got to ask my folks” when Mal offers her a job. What grown woman has to ask her parents permission to take a job? I find it interesting that male reactors tend to feel kind of uneasy about the scene with Kaylee in the engine room. Why? It’s because they feel protective of Kaylee. They’re rather peeved - not at Kaylee, but the beach bum banging her. The writers had us convinced Saffron was a naive young thing that “didn’t know a damn thing about the world and needed our protection” too. So, don’t blame people for thinking Kaylee is younger and less experienced than she is. Blame the good writers and actors! They are masters at subverting the expectations that they themselves created.
I don't think Kaylee is complicated. She's a very simple person. She likes what she likes, doesn't like what she doesn't like, and she's VERY open about it. That's why she may seem "whiny" when she's upset, or even "slutty" when talking about sex, etc.
@@Audra1964 Kaylee talking about "daddy" and having to ask her folks to take on a job that takes her away from home is nothing to do with age but with being a woman in a Wild West sort of culture.
"Out of Gas" is one of the most poignant of the show and hearing Ashleigh say "I can't believe I'm getting emotional about a ship" makes me wonder if she's ever watched Farscape and if she hasn't I hope she does because I'm inclined to think that's another show that will, over time, give one big feels about space ships. Additionally, I cannot get enough of how expressive Ashleigh is with both her joy, amusement, disgust but ESPECIALLY investment in this series. I've seen probably dozens of reactions of Firefly at this point and Ashleigh's is without a doubt my favorite, even without being all the way through the series yet.
Ships are castmembers in space opera shows. Nobody is indifferent forthe Galactica, and of course, when the original Enterprise was destroyed in ST IIII, it was A Moment in the star Trek franchise.
You called Wash timid and introvert? 🙂 Frankly, he's not a man of action -- Zoe's the one who wears those pants -- but 'introvert'? Did you see him talking to that Alliance guy about how he loved every part of Zoe's body? I wouldn't call that introvert or timid... I'm sure he's great at parties!
There's a Jewish story about a scholar being burnt to death by the Romans along with the Torah scroll he'd been caught with. His students asked him, "Rebbe, what do you see?" He answered, "The parchment is burning, but the letters are floating in the air." Whedon, speaking through River, is wrong. The symbol remains long after their physical form has just been "turned into paper."
Not to go off on a tangent about the dearth of writing talent in modern media but it's nice to see an episode of a TV show where a subject like _symbols and symbolism_ is given such attention. From Jayne with his statue, to River and those pages, to Inara and Higgin's son's virginity the subject was given quite an examination. TV used to do that. That's why shows like Star Trek TOS are still so popular. While entertainment is at the core of storytelling there is also the theme and the lesson to learn. I don't think many modern writers understand that. What was the theme or the lesson in The Marvels or She Hulk other than _bad writing doesn't sell?_
@@menachemsalomon My interpretation is different. River referred to Book's Bible as "your symbol" and the pages in her possession as paper. The symbol exists within Shepherd Book, while River as a nonbeliever only sees the paper. River does return the pages. The words on the pages do not make sense to River but she recognizes that they do have meaning to Book. And I think that is exactly what the writer(s) intended. This helps define both Book and River. Whedon shared writing credits with Ben Edlund and Jose Molina for Jaynestown.
Adam Baldwin, the guy who played Jayne, kept the head of the statue after filming. It is in his office along side his knit cap (you will understand that part later).
Okay, in Janestown, when the Captain walks up on Simon and Kayli sleeping on the bench, and Simon jumps and says "no, never with Kayli" it wasn't really aimed at Kayli, but at Mal. Simon sees Mal as sort of a father figure to her. He was talking to her daddy!
in "out of gas" mal shows what a great leader he is... he talks to everyone in the way, they need to hear it, to get anyone functioning... to find a way to survival... and as i always said... if the sh!t hits the fan, you want jayne on your team... he´s no good man of many words, but he´s not evil and not as dumb, as seen on first glance... he readies the spacesuit for quick getting in for mal... yet he just nods as he´s about to depart.... man of deeds not words.... and you know really really for sure you´re in deep sh!t, when jayne is the voice of reason.... yet here he is....
LOL! I have been waiting for Ash to see "The Kaylee Scene" since she first started watching Firefly! I knew her jaw would DROP! Kaylee is...a girl who likes what Kaylee likes. That is called a natural woman and I was surprised the first time I saw it too. But I really, really love Ash's "KAYLEE!" reaction...I knew it would happen!
My 2cts prediction: IF she pays close attention, Ash will absolutely love Jayne before the end. Whether or not she'll admit it openly, well.. that'll be an interesting day 😁 Cheers from Amsterdam!
As you saw in "out of gas" we see how Inara and Mal met and they never slept together or had a relationship (as far as we see in the show). My favorite line was when the idiot mechanic asked why he needs two: "I really don't"- awsome
I've watched a lot of reactions to Firefly and women tend to dislike Jayne but I've always said he probably had the most character growth of anyone on the ship. The others are fully formed characters from the start. Jayne's growth, while very subtle, is quite interesting if you pay attention to what seem like throwaway character developments. Plus he has some of the funniest lines in the whole series. :)
I personally loved Jayne from the first few scenes he was in. But I can definitely see why other women would find him creepy/not like him. Not sure why I didn't.. lol. I mostly just found him funny. But I've been drawn to the wrong dudes my whole life, so I'm not too surprised. As my mother says: "Apple didn't fall far from the tree of liking shitty men!"
I think Jayne was a fully-formed character from the start, but he is the most layered, so it takes awhile before you can see the real him. I think he continues to develop while he's also revealing, which is why the character seems to change so much.
"Oh, I never thought I'd get emotional about a ship!" Neither did I. But Serenity grows on you. By now, she's not just a ship, she's part of Mal's crew. She's in the main cast. A full character.
Love the Jayne song. Out of Gas is in my opinion the best episode and a bit of background info. Fun Factoid - Gina Torres was off getting married to a certain Morpheus during this episode. They gave the red button to Joss at the end of the show in case he wanted to make more episodes.
As someone sporting hair like Shepherd Book’s, I always took that scene in ‘Jaynestown’ rather personal-like. And ‘Out of Gas’ is honestly one of the best episodes of television ever made. Serenity is her own character - I love her. She is my favourite spaceship outside of the Tardis. Can’t wait until you find a reason to fall for River - she’s amazing 💜🌈🔥🪰
"They had way better guns than that one handheld". The thing with that is, that Yes, they would win in a gunfight against him in numbers. But he would definitely still kill one or maybe two of them. In that situation, do you want to be the one to die, so that the rest of the crew can have a ship to salvage? They are scavengers, looking for money. Not some cause they are fighting for, that they are willing to die for. In a war you've got "Yeah I might die, but I believe in what we are fighting for, so it's worth it". Even if it's loyalty to the rest of the crew (which they likely don't have much) It's still just risking your life to save their lives, and saving their lives can equally be achieved by all just walking away.
Discounting River so casually is a little like throwing away a treasure map, because it was difficult to read. Sometimes you have to put in a little work to find the treasure. The same is true with Jayne. Mal telling Jayne that, "It's my estimation that every man ever got a statue made of him was one kind of sommbitch or another. Ain't about you, Jayne. It's about what they need", is one of the most wise and profound statements in the entire show.
Just because Kaylee likes sex you think she's not pure? She's honest, caring, and wears heart on her sleeve... I'm not sure how much more pure she could be.
The word "pure" with regards to human behavior is usually associated with Puritanical beliefs. She's not tied down to such a strict discipline of thinking and living. There's no shame in a simple, non-pretentious way of living.
@@westcoast7429 By that logic Kaylee is also not "pure" because of how much she knows about engineering. I mean, at our purest, we don't even know how engines work. Ashleigh's comment was clearly specifically in regards to "sexual purity", which is a shitty way of viewing sexuality.
@@LoganBluth right, and her whole character is based on surprising the audience by showing a seemingly naive character to be a brilliant engineer. i take it you don't have any daughters
@@westcoast7429 Right, but at no point does Ashleigh think Kaylee is "not pure" because of her engineering knowledge, it's only in the context of sexuality that Ashleigh comments on Kaylee not being "pure". And I take it you're one of those creepy people who can only empathise with women you don't know in regards to how they might be related to you: "As a parent of three daughters, I am appalled by this!" How about trying to empathise with women purely because they are living, fully-formed people who deserve respect and compassion, regardless of whether they are similar to someone you personally know.
It's easy to get emotional over Serenity, because she's more than a ship - she's a home. But then, I've gotten emotional over ships before. I died a little when the original Enterprise went down. By the way, for all Browncoats who may not know this, there is a series of Firefly novels out there - I have eight and there might be a ninth by now. They all take place between the show and the movie. They are very good (Joss Whedon has final word). It's like having brand new episodes to enjoy.
I have one of the novels and the serenity novels lol and one of the comics. I actually know someone who's dad designed the model for serenity and the set for the ship itself.
I think the thing with the Shepherd's hair was just another part of the "symbol" theme of the episode, put in a comedic moment. He said that putting his hair up like that was a part of his order. Basically a symbol of a shepherd's station. That was how she saw him, as the symbol of a shepherd. Seeing him not as that freaked her out (because she's a bit off) and in the end she reconciled it with him just being a man.
These are two of my favorite episodes of the whole show. I love jaynestown! And i do love Jayne lol out of gas just gives us a great backstory. A lot of people misunderstand Kaylee. Upbeat, positive, and honest doesn't mean completely pure. She made that clear in other episodes too, i love her character so much. Ok i love all the characters.
I LOVE the end of Jaynestown, the sad guitar is playing a different version of "hero of canton" and its so great! Plus theres no better episode than Out of Gas to explain that Joss really did make Serenity the 10th character of the show.
"Out of Gas" is probably the best episode in terms of writing and directing. That episode is mostly about the back story of Serenity, as a character. Even though it's a ship, it's Mal's ship and "part of his crew." That's the reason he wouldn't leave - the ship is part of his crew. If you listen to the commentary for that episode, that's how it's explained. I love so much that you're watching these epidoes, Ashleigh.
It does grow on you. One of the reasons I didn't actually watch the show during its original run is because I heard the theme and assumed it was just a re-imagining of a classic Western. I didn't even know it was a sci fi show. Immediately change the channel. More the fool me, considering how much I loved the show after the fact when I watched the film "Serenity" largely by chance.
Congrats, Ashleigh, you've officially watched one of the best episodes of television ever. If you're anything like the rest of us Browncoats, Out of Gas will pop into your head for some reason at least once a month. As for Kaylee, she's a country girl from a tiny backwater moon. Can't blame a girl for making her own fun.
Finally, Jaynestown! My favorite episode. It fleshes out Jayne, has one of the best lines ever (Wash wanting to go to the crappy town where HE is a hero), and I believe this one was written by co-creator Ben Edlund of "The Tick" and you can tell by the more light-hearted tone.
The shuttle assignments serve multiple purposes. In addition to Zoe needing doctoring, she carries on for Mal to keep the Tams safe and has the best pilot at the controls. Zoe has the same black market and Browncoat contacts to call upon, if they get picked up. Inara at the controls of her shuttle is second only to ash. If picked up, all four can reenter society with marketable skills. Inara would look after Kaylee. Kaylee could look after the shuttle. Book could keep Jayne from getting troublesome to the girls. It keeps Jayne from temptation, and he'd definitely protect them.
Fire in space is the most dangerous thing that can happen. In the movie The Martian, the character Mark Watney has trouble finding something that's flammable, and has to resort to scraping slivers of wood off a cross one of his crewmates brought along, because the presence of flammable materials is so dangerous. No lighters, nothing that can make sparks, no candles... no open flame of any kind is allowed on space stations or shuttles because it's SO dangerous.
Everything River says makes sense. But you can't understand it all except in retrospect, staring somewhere around "Ariel", more coins drop in "Objects in Space", and the movie Serenity ties up the rest. And it may take series rewatch(es) for it to fully sink in. The character arcs are terrific in this series. Most ensemble cast projects, there are neglected characters and loose ends. Even under a sharply curtailed season and only a brief movie to wrap as much up as possible, it was done better than many shows that have much more time. Many Firefly fans balked at the very different pace of the movie. It's a favorite movie of mine, for the dense character development in a breakneck paced action movie.
I’ve never understood the annoyance people have towards River. I don’t think Ashley is getting Jayne’s character at all. She’s taking him at face value and not paying attention to his actions. Jayne is my favorite so I’m protective. 😂. I do love that she’s enjoying the show as a whole!
People generally are very bad with subtext, and nuance. Things that are required for understanding both River, and Jayne. Ironically, she's as dismissive of River as Jayne was, simply assuming her to be a moon-brained "problem". But even Jayne gains an awareness of how exceptional she is, before it's all said and done.
After this series, you're going to have to complete it by watching the movie that ties it up.. Serenity. There's great moments, and also sad moments.. but it is soooooo worth it..
What an amazing idea! I wish other reactors would have also done that, but I guess you weren't around to tell them. Thanks so much for your suggestion. 😂 Nobody else would have thought of it. We are all now in awe of your giant brain.
Out of Gas is my favorite episode in the series. I love them all, and Out of Gas is the one that emphasizes how close this crew is with each other. This is why Firefly could never be remade. It wasn't the ship, or the show being a space western, or anything else that made this show so good. It was the chemistry among the cast. This crew is so freaking amazing, and it can't be replicated. Anything remade would just be a parody of the real thing.
In Out Of Gas you get the back story of the crew, but if you think about it(and you might have) Serenity is also a part of the crew and needs its hearts(crew) to continue to live. Serenity is living part of it all.
Out of Gas is one of my favorite episodes all around. It is so powerful, and makes you love both the ship and the crew even more. I love that they had actually been setting up that compressor since episode 1, with Kaylee constantly bringing it up as something that needed replacing... and now we saw why.
Great reactions to both episodes. Jaynetown is a fun episode. Out of Gas is one of my favorite episode. I love the back stories of the crew. Kaylee's story surprised me. Gina Torres had a small role in this episode because she was getting married to Lawrence Fishburne.
The best sci-fi are ones that know how to make the ship part of cast. Battlestar Galactica (2004) did this wonderfully. There is a moment in the last season where they say about the ship "she broke her back, she'll never jump again" and its SO gut wrenching to hear. Galactica was home and defender of everyone we loved in the series. She took care of them and protected and sheltered them through the worst. To see her beat up after giving her all to the crew one last time was one of the most emotional moments of a stellar series.
Sidenote about the River & Book bible scene. Book's "faith fixes you" line wasn't even known by Morena until well after the scene and she saw it on replay, much later. Possibly well after the show was over. She comments on how beautiful that scene is, and it reminded me that most of the time the other actors are off working on their own lines and usually don't have time to catch what else is happening on the show.
There's a really good blooper in the scene with Wash's mustache where Wash turns around to face Zoey and Mal, and they're both wearing the same mustache. 😁
Out of Gas - is as fine an episode of storytelling as has ever happened. Rewatching - and watching the making ofs and commentaries - reveal that the entire script is crammed with double and triple meanings. "...[ship]'ll be with you til the day you die..." as Mal is very nearly dying. "Something was living in here" as they walk past where I'm the future he'll be barely living. Can't recommend rewatching this episode enough. Masterwork. Great reactions! Jayne is who he is, and i hate to love to hate him about it. I want a copy of River Tam's Edit of the Good Book. The Better Book.
Interesting fact about Jayne's backstory: he didn't fight in the Unification War. Not as a Browncoat or with the Alliance. Not due to any personal convictions; neither side was willing to pay him enough. (Learned that from the official "Serenity" guidebook.)
When you finish the series and movie, go back and watch them all again right away. You will pick up a massive amount of things that you just didn't see or understand the first time around, and when you get to Out of Gas - it will hit you harder because now you KNOW.
What is amazing about Firefly is the creative team were working on 2 other tv shows at the same time, S07 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and S04 of Angel. Buffy & Angel are the greatest TV shows of all time. "If nothing we do matters, then all that matter is what we do." Best tv quote of all time.
I had friends that I babysat for. One day I was taking care of their youngest (about 3) until Mom got home. When she came through the front door, she had gotten a perm. David screamed bloody murder and ran away from her and to me. Poor kid was terrified of her new hair, so I get River on this one.
Definitely 2 of my favorite episodes. Out of Gas is amazing and so informative with feeding you all that backstory in such an artistic way. In Jayne's Town we actually get to see a vulnerable side to Jayne at the end, when trying to figure out why anyone would think he was worth taking a bullet for.
Simon is not rejecting Kaylee because he would never, he's saying "I would never" because he doesn't want to be the type to take advantage of Kaylee, and he doesn't know how to read the signals AT ALL.
I am just over the moon with how happy this watch-along makes me. I've bonded with so many folks over this show, and to come back to it so many years later just does my heart good. Thank you.
This show understands something missed on a lot of Sci Fi shows - the ship is a character, too. And it's gotta be home to the people, or we don't care. They sure pulled that off.
Jayne's Town is always a fun look into Jayne's past and both episodes 7&8 clearly show us his purely mercenary, money driven personality. Your face when you realized it was Kaylee the original mechanic was "with" in the engine room. OMG I thought I was going to die laughing! What a great reactions to both episodes. I think episode 8 will always be my favorite, though I love them all. I'm off to watch the full reactions to these two. I've found I enjoy watching the short one first and then the two full reviews. Of course more Firefly, the better if you ask me. Don't know if this was on your radar or not, but even if you just watch them for yourself, you should check out the River Tam Sessions. It gives you a look into what happened to River. Though I would say not to watch them until after the movie. Very short, about 8 minutes, and can be found on RUclips. Some other reviewers like you tack them on to the end of their review of the movie. (Just sharing a tidbit.) 😊😊😊
I suggest the river files before serenity. It doesn't spoil anything, since they were filmed in-story even before episode 1, and will contextualize her character far more. It also adds more gravitas to her situation which will pay off in the film. At least that's how i felt when i found them. I wished I'd seen them before the movie😂
@@awkwardashleighbut realize the series was by Fox and the movie was Universal. So there are differences in some characters. Plus there was a board game the provided details about the verse. (Like it's a trinary star system with several gas giants and hundreds of teraformed moons.
Mal's draw to that particular ship is down to his war history. Fireflies were used in the war as bombers, because they have the dual cargo door in the floor. Open the top, load up the bombs, close it. Hover over the enemy at high attitude, open the bottom hatch, fly clear before the payload hits.
The lore of the sjow goes that somebody on the writing staff saw Ron Glass (Book) on the way to makeup with his hair down, and made notation that that would work as a "fright wig" gag some time. Sure enough, turned up here...
Two of my favorite episodes. Out of Gas is fantastic 👏 I also love the continuity of the catalizer part. It is mentioned and shown multiple times in other episodes.
Out of Gas is one of the best episodes of television ever, imo. It's one of the best uses of flashbacks as a narrative device. The episode begins suspensefully with the ship deserted and Malcom falling onto the deck, bleeding out (and suffocating, but we don't know that yet.) He's recounting the recent events that led him to that point, which catches the audience up and lets us in on how things got there. Also, he's losing blood and low on oxygen, so he's thinking about how he got the ship and met the crew that have become his home and family, his life is flashing before his eyes as it trickles away. In the episode's climax, the flashbacks catch up to the present, bringing the threads together for the audience. The whole time the flashbacks have been building tension, revealing just how bad things have gotten for Serenity's crew, replacing the confusion we have from the abrupt beginning where we don't know what's going on with the dread of knowledge. Flashbacks can be cheezy tropes or jarring and confusing, and when they are, they interrupt the flow of a story. When used well, they can drive the whole thing and control the pacing of emotion. Joss Wheadon wanted to show the audience how the ship and crew got together, it's the whole point of the episode. If it was Mal telling his new crew members the story, it'd be obvious to the audience that the whole episode was just exposition. Instead, he hung the flashbacks on an underlying story in a way that makes logical sense. He starts us out confused, so instead of the flashbacks being confusing, they do the opposite and shed light on what's going on. Out of Gas is a masterclass in using flashbacks as a storytelling device.
for a long time now i have had these things in the back of my mind and they have ben REALLY kicking around in there since you started FIREFLY, and i thought i would finally share it with everyone: do you remember how simons parents were not all that concerned about river when simon showed them the coded message from her when she was away at that school or where ever she was, then they were so upset about picking simon up at the police station when simon was arrested in an "out of bounds place and how simons father freaked about how this could jeopardize him becoming a doctor and with little simon talked about wanting his own screen and his dad wanted him to be the best doctor he could be. 1-i have had this thought about river and simon, what if, simons parents weren't able to get pregnant and the "HANDS OF BLUE" people helped them get pregnant , BUT , in return they had to help with something else at a later date, shortly after along comes simon, nice normal with a higher than normal intellect then some time later the "HANDS OF BLUE" people and has the parents carry another "BABY", BUT, this is no ordinary "baby" this is a genetically enhanced baby that they were to look after and raise as their own until it was time, and, along comes river, this would explain how river can do everything she can do. ***+++OR+++*** 2-they were approached, after having their DNA analyzed to be sure that any children they have would be free of diseases, and the results show the possibility of having a child with higher than normal intellect, the parents were offered a chance to become one of the elite upper class and all they would need to do is sell them their second child, first came simon, a higher than normal intellect, but they wanted higher and after she got pregnant a second time, they altered rivers DNA to enhance the effect and then once they raised her to a proper age, they sent her off to the "SCHOOL" and focused all their attention on to simon, only, they never bargained on simon doing what he did. just a thought i had watching my disks of the show, too bad we will never get a chance to see it it was true or not.
Best line of the whole Firefly series? not even said onscreen. Zoe convinces the others to turn around when she woke up in the shuttle heading away from Mal and the dying Serenity. Can you imagine what Zoe must have said to the others to convince everyone to use the last of the shuttle's fuel and air by going back to Mal where he is probably already dead and there is no air??? Best line of the whole series.
Thanks for the continued excellent review of this series (still the GOAT for Ensemble cast). Jaynestown is one of my favorite episodes. Yes...one of the unique things about Firefly is while there are a couple story threads running (loosely) through the series...most episodes stand alone...and often have totally different vibes. Oh...and being from Columbia MO, the Chiefs jersey earned you a Sub. Peace.
Fun Fact that in the Train Job when they land at Persephone when they get off the ship Kaylee says “If the Catalyzer blows we are humped.” Guess what, the Catalyzer blew and they were humped. Kaylee knows her ship. Moral of the story, don’t skimp on maintenance.
She mentions the part in the first episode "Serenity" as well
That's the problem with voyaging, never have the part you need, never have room to stock nor the funds to supply all.
There was also another scene where Mal goes into the engine room to find Kaylee and finds it's a total mess. When he finally catches up to Kaylee in Inara's shuttle, he asks why the engine room is a disaster and Kaylee says she has to rewire everything cause "someone" won't replace the scrappy compression coil.
To clarify, cause there's some mixed messages here: It's in the pilot, Serenity, that she mentions it when they land on Persephone. It's in the Train Job that she mentions it after Mal notices the engine room being a mess and finds Kaylee with Inara. The latter was likely put in because The Train Job was written as a new pilot, and they wanted to make sure that got seeded for this episode
It's, "the compression coil busts, we're driftin'" (Best not bust, then.) The in-joke is when the salvage ship's captain tries to suss out if Mal's story has an odor to it, by asking, "compression coil, you said," and Mal replies, "it was a catalyzer." The compression coil is mentioned another time in the series as well, and there's more references to related parts ahead. The writers were really clever and cared about continuity!
in the (i believe) first episode Kaylee is telling Mal how they need to get a replacement part for the engine and Mal puts it off cause of the money i think, which is the part that causes the issue in "out of gas". So now we know listen to your damn mechanic when it comes to the ship maintenance !
TRUTH
Keep your eyes out for that part. There are no coincidences in the visuals in this show (except Adam kicked that by accident - shh no spoilers)
@@CorwinAlexanderspoilers
@@benjin3993 spoilers
Gorram right! Her name is Kaylee and she speaks for Serenity lol
I wouldn't say that Kaylee is "pure". She's sort of earthy and honest about sex, as with everything else. If she's upset with you, you know it. If she likes you, you know it. If she wants to have sex with you, she's ready to have a good time. She doesn't have a deceitful or insincere bone in her body.
Of course Kaylee is pure. Pure horndog! 😂
I'd say she's pure of heart that way. Goes to show you don't have to be a naïve virgin to be a pure soul. I ❤ her so much and Jewel does an awesome job portraying that in her.
"They got boy whores too!"
"I ain't had nothing Twix my Nethers that weren't run on batteries in nearly a year"
I didn't even scroll down to the comments - didn't even wait for her tu utter the word 'pure' I jus _knew_ it would be there :D
Kaylee fools so many. She is such a nice trope-breaker ^^
I think she's autistic. Talks straight and square about what she thinks, socially awkward unless you talk about her special interest (engines) in which she excels.
"Out of Gas" is the best of the series. Mal saying, "Everybody dies alone" is crucial. He was dying, but because the crew came back (without him calling them), he was no longer alone. That's why he didn't die. Also, the flashbacks were his life passing before his eyes. The oldest was of him finding Serenity; that's when his life really began. Nothing of the time before, of being defeated in the war. His entire life is the ship and crew. It's really amazing. Tim Minear crushed it on this one.
Out of Gas is one of my favorite episodes of television period. Layered with meaning, great directing.
And kinda rare to see an episode with 3 timelines (or technically ~10 if you count meeting each new character as it's own timeline).
Inara and Malcolm have no "history" together beyond him leasing her the shuttle. There's just sexual tension there from mutual want of the other.
WELL.. I NEED IT.
@@awkwardashleighus too. 🤣
pretty sure all need it when it comes to Irara.
With all the sex she has professionally, I'm surprised she still wants Mal. As he would say, 'is that a compliment? Because if it is I need more!'
@@awkwardashleigh patience. theres a movie.
Jayne pushing over that statue was powerful. He truly felt it was wrong of them to see him as a hero. I think he sees himself as low. Maybe he doesn’t try to be a good person because he doesn’t believe he can be.
Or can't afford to be? ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
That and in some ways there are priorities which you see more out of him later.
According to the DVD commentary, Alan Tudyk took the big red "recall" button from the Firefly set and presented it to Joss Whedon, telling him that if Whedon managed to get the series renewed, he could press it to call the cast back.
I thought about that while re-watching the episode.
Aw! Should've gotten it to Nathan Fillion.
@@alicequinn505 Alan had a hard time beating Nathan in stealing mementos from the set. Adam took the head of the statue but had to return it for reshoots.
We're still waiting... Hope Joss gets his sh*t together and makes amends with all the folks he needs to.
Have you seen "Resident Alien"? Alan Tudyk plays an alien stranded on Earth and Nathan Fillion provides the voice for his... distant cousin.
Jaynestown is all about subjective symbolic value. Jayne to the mudders, sex to the Magistrate, the Bible to Book, manners to Simon... Episode written by Ben Edlund, who created the superhero parody comic The Tick and was involved with all three of its TV adaptations.
Wow i never knew that. That's neat❤
That was one of the most concise description of this episode I've ever read. Nailed it!
Edlund was also heavily involved with Supernatural. The man has a gift.
rarely, every once in awhile, there is useful information in youtube comments. thank you
Thank you, RUclips guy that I assume is Ben Edlund or one of his relatives. :-) Actually, I'm just kidding. I love this episode, and I loved The Tick! The man has got some talent. Congrats, Ben.
@@lonnieeastin6401 I'm just a nerd. No affiliation.
Loved the moment when Ashleigh asks..... "What am I looking at dead grass?" I suppose that camo tarp did it's job lol.
Jaynestown is the beginning of Jayne’s character growth, where he begins to mature. But pay attention in The Message. Something he says is a game changer for him.
Yep, I fully believe the arc for Jayne over the planned 5 seasons was to be from total self concerned mercenary to self sacrificing hero of the resistance.
Yep. But even in the first episode he shows concern. It's brief but he's shown peeking in to watch Simon work on Kaylee after she was shot. He's anxious, biting his nails. He's got a lot of bad, but there's some sneaky good in there as well.
He really had been on the ball in Out of Gas. Very rational, keeps totally cool, like eye-of-the-storm focus. Soon as the fireball came in, he bolted up and immediately began taking care of business. Solid portrayal of silent emotion "saying" goodbye to Mal-he's become *at least* a brother to Jayne, and Jayne's gonna do everything he can for his family in such time of desperation.
Despite the way Jayne treats him, Simon still refused to give him up. Shows how good a man he is
Wedon confirmed that Janyne actually has a minor crush on Simon but has no way to express it
@@JaelynMcgee Whedon says a lot of things...
@@theaikidoka lol very true
@@JaelynMcgeeThat's funny; I was just wondering if anybody was shipping these two? I know people ship Jayne with Kaley and with River; now I'm wondering whether anyone has escaped. :)
@@JaelynMcgee Any chance you remember where you learned this? The only thing I can find are a few fandom/TV trope sites which state that Simon's actor, Sean Maher, supposedly said that Simon has a slight crush on Jayne :)
Kaylee has the sweetness and playfulness usually associated with innocence and often lost with maturity. She’s one of those rare, wonderful people who hang on to those qualities, even through the loss of innocence. But she still knows how to enjoy adult fun! Can’t wait for the next installment!
I don't know why reactors think Jayne thinks highly of himself. Up until now, he pats himself on the back in a way that shows that he is never complimented. This is the first time someone thinks highly of him as a person and his good self starts to shine through as a result.
So true... even after he knows why the mudders love him he can't figure out why someone would take a bullet for him. The kicker is as much as jane is into surviving he thinks the mudder was wrong to save his life...
You realize even yourself was a reactor right when you saw each episode first time ?
Any who watches this tv series at home or elsewhere at any point in time, made there own reaction.
So you basicly just said every single soul including yourself that this is how we all thought lol.
@robberrie677 The point is Jayne is into surviving, and he believes everyone else is too and there's nothing wrong with it.
@UltraSuperDuperFreak you're being hyper specific to the point of pedantry.
He's not wrong that in general, youtube reaction channels tend to notice the nuances of Jane's character.
He's one of my favorites.
@@UltraSuperDuperFreak Is that how you make yourself feel superior? You know exactly what he meant and yet you showcase what an insufferable jackass you choose to be. Nice job, my condolences to those who have to deal with you on the regular.
"Out of Gas" is my favorite episode. It's not the funniest, or the most significant episode. But it is the most well-crafted episode. If you rewatch this, notice how they used 3 different lighting schemes to represent the 3 different time frames represented in the story. Bouncing back and forth between 3 different times could be hella confusing. But the shifts in lighting and color palette cue the subconscious brain into when & where we are, and we follow the story easily.
The lighting shift is a trick I’ve seen in several shows & movies in the years since.
I'm a big fan of Out of Gas, but I'm even more excited about the upper bound limits of this young offense and new attack minded defensive coordinator. GPG
When Simon says "it was my birthday" he means he's thinking about the fact that he's gonna die on his birthday not about the lack of celebrating 😢
Oh true, I always took it as... "it was just a quiet, normal day, a happy day.. this wasn't supposed to happen"
"Out of Gas" has to be my favorite because of the artful way they wove three timelines together to tell the story. Also, it marks the first time I started to view the ship is being part of the crew.
I have always noticed how a lot of people see Kaylee as a child when in fact she is a grown woman. Kaylee is a complicated person. Not so much naive, but self actualized and confident in who she is.
People see Kaylee as a child because the writers wanted us to see her that way. If not a child, at least someone who is young and innocent of the harsh realities of life that tend to make the more mature person a bit more cynical.
In Episode 1, Jayne complains about Kaylee being so cheerful all the time. Sure, some people are more optimistic than others but I think most people took Kaylee’s cheerfulness as being congruous with youth and inexperience.
Mal calls her mèime, little sister. He obviously feels a responsibility to look after her. Feels terrible he wasn’t able to protect her in the situation where she gets shot.
Kaylee and Inara’s relationship is portrayed more as little sister/big sister than woman to woman. Inara even says something like ‘someone needs to keep Kaylee out of trouble’ at the end of Safe when she gives Mal reasons why she was going to turn down Atherton’s offer.
Even in the origin scene in Episode 8, Kaylee says she works for her daddy, which implies she still lives under his roof. She evens says, “I’ve got to ask my folks” when Mal offers her a job. What grown woman has to ask her parents permission to take a job?
I find it interesting that male reactors tend to feel kind of uneasy about the scene with Kaylee in the engine room. Why? It’s because they feel protective of Kaylee. They’re rather peeved - not at Kaylee, but the beach bum banging her.
The writers had us convinced Saffron was a naive young thing that “didn’t know a damn thing about the world and needed our protection” too.
So, don’t blame people for thinking Kaylee is younger and less experienced than she is. Blame the good writers and actors! They are masters at subverting the expectations that they themselves created.
I don't think Kaylee is complicated. She's a very simple person. She likes what she likes, doesn't like what she doesn't like, and she's VERY open about it. That's why she may seem "whiny" when she's upset, or even "slutty" when talking about sex, etc.
If like myself, you grew-up in the 1960's and 1970's, Kaylee is a women who would fit right in (smile...smile).
@@Audra1964 Kaylee talking about "daddy" and having to ask her folks to take on a job that takes her away from home is nothing to do with age but with being a woman in a Wild West sort of culture.
"Out of Gas" is one of the most poignant of the show and hearing Ashleigh say "I can't believe I'm getting emotional about a ship" makes me wonder if she's ever watched Farscape and if she hasn't I hope she does because I'm inclined to think that's another show that will, over time, give one big feels about space ships.
Additionally, I cannot get enough of how expressive Ashleigh is with both her joy, amusement, disgust but ESPECIALLY investment in this series. I've seen probably dozens of reactions of Firefly at this point and Ashleigh's is without a doubt my favorite, even without being all the way through the series yet.
omg Farscape.. i would love for her to watch that...
Yeah, but Farscape cheated because the ship had a voice.
@@paulhammond6978 well, a small detail of the fantastic bigger picture
Ships are castmembers in space opera shows. Nobody is indifferent forthe Galactica, and of course, when the original Enterprise was destroyed in ST IIII, it was A Moment in the star Trek franchise.
Or The Expanse. I have strong feelings about the Rocinante.
River and Book talk about faith. It relates to what the mudders needed and why Jayne Cobb is so important to them.
You called Wash timid and introvert? 🙂 Frankly, he's not a man of action -- Zoe's the one who wears those pants -- but 'introvert'? Did you see him talking to that Alliance guy about how he loved every part of Zoe's body? I wouldn't call that introvert or timid... I'm sure he's great at parties!
Alan Tudyk has said that he played Wash as a coward except when he was flying the ship. Then he became a “steely-eyed missile-man.”
@daveolson6001 Did Alan Tudyk say he played him as a timid introvert?
Jaynestone has maybe my favorite line in the series: "I tore these out of your symbol and they turned into paper."
There's a Jewish story about a scholar being burnt to death by the Romans along with the Torah scroll he'd been caught with. His students asked him, "Rebbe, what do you see?" He answered, "The parchment is burning, but the letters are floating in the air."
Whedon, speaking through River, is wrong. The symbol remains long after their physical form has just been "turned into paper."
Not to go off on a tangent about the dearth of writing talent in modern media but it's nice to see an episode of a TV show where a subject like _symbols and symbolism_ is given such attention. From Jayne with his statue, to River and those pages, to Inara and Higgin's son's virginity the subject was given quite an examination. TV used to do that. That's why shows like Star Trek TOS are still so popular. While entertainment is at the core of storytelling there is also the theme and the lesson to learn. I don't think many modern writers understand that. What was the theme or the lesson in The Marvels or She Hulk other than _bad writing doesn't sell?_
@@menachemsalomon My interpretation is different. River referred to Book's Bible as "your symbol" and the pages in her possession as paper. The symbol exists within Shepherd Book, while River as a nonbeliever only sees the paper. River does return the pages. The words on the pages do not make sense to River but she recognizes that they do have meaning to Book. And I think that is exactly what the writer(s) intended. This helps define both Book and River. Whedon shared writing credits with Ben Edlund and Jose Molina for Jaynestown.
has my favorite line too, "They say if the snow is too heavy, the roof will cave in. His brains are in terrible danger."
@@steveboguslawski114 You've got it. It's like the statue. It means something to the people even though it's just "mud" in the shape of a scoundrel.
Never forget; Serenity is the 10th character.
Much like the ship in another - 1960s - science fiction show.
And "No" - nothing produced by Irwin Allen.
Adam Baldwin, the guy who played Jayne, kept the head of the statue after filming. It is in his office along side his knit cap (you will understand that part later).
Man would be powerfully brave to be wearing that cap.
@@TarossBlackburn People know he's not afraid of anything!
I think it's the sweetest hat ever.
We are just over halfway through the series and you are in love with a spaceship. That's how good this show is.
Okay, in Janestown, when the Captain walks up on Simon and Kayli sleeping on the bench, and Simon jumps and says "no, never with Kayli" it wasn't really aimed at Kayli, but at Mal. Simon sees Mal as sort of a father figure to her. He was talking to her daddy!
in "out of gas" mal shows what a great leader he is... he talks to everyone in the way, they need to hear it, to get anyone functioning... to find a way to survival...
and as i always said... if the sh!t hits the fan, you want jayne on your team... he´s no good man of many words, but he´s not evil and not as dumb, as seen on first glance... he readies the spacesuit for quick getting in for mal... yet he just nods as he´s about to depart.... man of deeds not words....
and you know really really for sure you´re in deep sh!t, when jayne is the voice of reason.... yet here he is....
LOL! I have been waiting for Ash to see "The Kaylee Scene" since she first started watching Firefly! I knew her jaw would DROP! Kaylee is...a girl who likes what Kaylee likes. That is called a natural woman and I was surprised the first time I saw it too. But I really, really love Ash's "KAYLEE!" reaction...I knew it would happen!
My 2cts prediction: IF she pays close attention, Ash will absolutely love Jayne before the end. Whether or not she'll admit it openly, well.. that'll be an interesting day 😁 Cheers from Amsterdam!
As you saw in "out of gas" we see how Inara and Mal met and they never slept together or had a relationship (as far as we see in the show). My favorite line was when the idiot mechanic asked why he needs two: "I really don't"- awsome
I've watched a lot of reactions to Firefly and women tend to dislike Jayne but I've always said he probably had the most character growth of anyone on the ship. The others are fully formed characters from the start. Jayne's growth, while very subtle, is quite interesting if you pay attention to what seem like throwaway character developments. Plus he has some of the funniest lines in the whole series. :)
He doers have the advantage of being given plenty of room to grow....
haha. true but it's that we get to see why he's like he is. Why he's so mercenary. Can't say much without spoilers so I won't :)
I personally loved Jayne from the first few scenes he was in. But I can definitely see why other women would find him creepy/not like him. Not sure why I didn't.. lol. I mostly just found him funny. But I've been drawn to the wrong dudes my whole life, so I'm not too surprised. As my mother says: "Apple didn't fall far from the tree of liking shitty men!"
I think Jayne was a fully-formed character from the start, but he is the most layered, so it takes awhile before you can see the real him. I think he continues to develop while he's also revealing, which is why the character seems to change so much.
I adored Jayne. His actor, otoh, managed to ruin the character for me.
"Oh, I never thought I'd get emotional about a ship!" Neither did I. But Serenity grows on you. By now, she's not just a ship, she's part of Mal's crew. She's in the main cast. A full character.
This is how you wind up recognizing you're a Browncoat.
Love the Jayne song. Out of Gas is in my opinion the best episode and a bit of background info. Fun Factoid - Gina Torres was off getting married to a certain Morpheus during this episode. They gave the red button to Joss at the end of the show in case he wanted to make more episodes.
My favorite line from Jaynetown is from Wash, where he says he wants to go to the crappy little planet where he is a god.
As someone sporting hair like Shepherd Book’s, I always took that scene in ‘Jaynestown’ rather personal-like.
And ‘Out of Gas’ is honestly one of the best episodes of television ever made.
Serenity is her own character - I love her. She is my favourite spaceship outside of the Tardis.
Can’t wait until you find a reason to fall for River - she’s amazing
💜🌈🔥🪰
"They had way better guns than that one handheld". The thing with that is, that Yes, they would win in a gunfight against him in numbers. But he would definitely still kill one or maybe two of them. In that situation, do you want to be the one to die, so that the rest of the crew can have a ship to salvage? They are scavengers, looking for money. Not some cause they are fighting for, that they are willing to die for. In a war you've got "Yeah I might die, but I believe in what we are fighting for, so it's worth it". Even if it's loyalty to the rest of the crew (which they likely don't have much) It's still just risking your life to save their lives, and saving their lives can equally be achieved by all just walking away.
Discounting River so casually is a little like throwing away a treasure map, because it was difficult to read. Sometimes you have to put in a little work to find the treasure.
The same is true with Jayne. Mal telling Jayne that, "It's my estimation that every man ever got a statue made of him was one kind of sommbitch or another. Ain't about you, Jayne. It's about what they need", is one of the most wise and profound statements in the entire show.
Simon swearing when seeing Jayne's statue was 'appropriate,' in my opinion.
Just because Kaylee likes sex you think she's not pure? She's honest, caring, and wears heart on her sleeve... I'm not sure how much more pure she could be.
The word "pure" with regards to human behavior is usually associated with Puritanical beliefs. She's not tied down to such a strict discipline of thinking and living. There's no shame in a simple, non-pretentious way of living.
no, its a comment on worldliness. at our purest, we don't even know we enjoy sex. so kaylee is more wordly than Ashleigh anticipated
@@westcoast7429 By that logic Kaylee is also not "pure" because of how much she knows about engineering. I mean, at our purest, we don't even know how engines work.
Ashleigh's comment was clearly specifically in regards to "sexual purity", which is a shitty way of viewing sexuality.
@@LoganBluth right, and her whole character is based on surprising the audience by showing a seemingly naive character to be a brilliant engineer.
i take it you don't have any daughters
@@westcoast7429 Right, but at no point does Ashleigh think Kaylee is "not pure" because of her engineering knowledge, it's only in the context of sexuality that Ashleigh comments on Kaylee not being "pure".
And I take it you're one of those creepy people who can only empathise with women you don't know in regards to how they might be related to you:
"As a parent of three daughters, I am appalled by this!"
How about trying to empathise with women purely because they are living, fully-formed people who deserve respect and compassion, regardless of whether they are similar to someone you personally know.
It's easy to get emotional over Serenity, because she's more than a ship - she's a home. But then, I've gotten emotional over ships before. I died a little when the original Enterprise went down.
By the way, for all Browncoats who may not know this, there is a series of Firefly novels out there - I have eight and there might be a ninth by now. They all take place between the show and the movie. They are very good (Joss Whedon has final word). It's like having brand new episodes to enjoy.
I have one of the novels and the serenity novels lol and one of the comics. I actually know someone who's dad designed the model for serenity and the set for the ship itself.
I think the thing with the Shepherd's hair was just another part of the "symbol" theme of the episode, put in a comedic moment. He said that putting his hair up like that was a part of his order. Basically a symbol of a shepherd's station. That was how she saw him, as the symbol of a shepherd. Seeing him not as that freaked her out (because she's a bit off) and in the end she reconciled it with him just being a man.
These are two of my favorite episodes of the whole show. I love jaynestown! And i do love Jayne lol out of gas just gives us a great backstory. A lot of people misunderstand Kaylee. Upbeat, positive, and honest doesn't mean completely pure. She made that clear in other episodes too, i love her character so much. Ok i love all the characters.
Serenity isn't just a ship, it's a home. And that's why the show and it's cast worked so well.
I LOVE the end of Jaynestown, the sad guitar is playing a different version of "hero of canton" and its so great! Plus theres no better episode than Out of Gas to explain that Joss really did make Serenity the 10th character of the show.
"Out of Gas" is probably the best episode in terms of writing and directing. That episode is mostly about the back story of Serenity, as a character. Even though it's a ship, it's Mal's ship and "part of his crew." That's the reason he wouldn't leave - the ship is part of his crew. If you listen to the commentary for that episode, that's how it's explained. I love so much that you're watching these epidoes, Ashleigh.
Finally...The Hero of Canton!!!
The man they call Jayne!
He... stole from the, to give to the poor
The man they call Jayne
Arguably the 2 best episodes of the series, Jaynestown is my personal favorite.
Not you singing the theme song! 😅😂🤣 I'm dying!
She's a brown coat now...
@@PB-tr5ze She's our new mei mei!
It does grow on you. One of the reasons I didn't actually watch the show during its original run is because I heard the theme and assumed it was just a re-imagining of a classic Western. I didn't even know it was a sci fi show. Immediately change the channel.
More the fool me, considering how much I loved the show after the fact when I watched the film "Serenity" largely by chance.
We all knew she'd come around. Best theme song ever.
@@ravenstromdansLol. The western aspect of the show is what kept me watching because it clearly wasn't just another sci-fi show.
Out of Gas is one of the best episodes of TV ever
River is awesome! Don't dump on her! 😁 She's just a little broken, that's all.
Congrats, Ashleigh, you've officially watched one of the best episodes of television ever. If you're anything like the rest of us Browncoats, Out of Gas will pop into your head for some reason at least once a month.
As for Kaylee, she's a country girl from a tiny backwater moon. Can't blame a girl for making her own fun.
Finally, someone who gets it!
@@alicequinn505 not sure which part you're referring to, but thank you.
Finally, Jaynestown! My favorite episode. It fleshes out Jayne, has one of the best lines ever (Wash wanting to go to the crappy town where HE is a hero), and I believe this one was written by co-creator Ben Edlund of "The Tick" and you can tell by the more light-hearted tone.
Our love for him now, ain't hard to explain!
The shuttle assignments serve multiple purposes.
In addition to Zoe needing doctoring, she carries on for Mal to keep the Tams safe and has the best pilot at the controls. Zoe has the same black market and Browncoat contacts to call upon, if they get picked up.
Inara at the controls of her shuttle is second only to ash. If picked up, all four can reenter society with marketable skills. Inara would look after Kaylee. Kaylee could look after the shuttle. Book could keep Jayne from getting troublesome to the girls. It keeps Jayne from temptation, and he'd definitely protect them.
Fire in space is the most dangerous thing that can happen. In the movie The Martian, the character Mark Watney has trouble finding something that's flammable, and has to resort to scraping slivers of wood off a cross one of his crewmates brought along, because the presence of flammable materials is so dangerous.
No lighters, nothing that can make sparks, no candles... no open flame of any kind is allowed on space stations or shuttles because it's SO dangerous.
Everything River says makes sense. But you can't understand it all except in retrospect, staring somewhere around "Ariel", more coins drop in "Objects in Space", and the movie Serenity ties up the rest. And it may take series rewatch(es) for it to fully sink in.
The character arcs are terrific in this series. Most ensemble cast projects, there are neglected characters and loose ends. Even under a sharply curtailed season and only a brief movie to wrap as much up as possible, it was done better than many shows that have much more time. Many Firefly fans balked at the very different pace of the movie. It's a favorite movie of mine, for the dense character development in a breakneck paced action movie.
Out of Gas is one of my favorite episodes.
I’ve never understood the annoyance people have towards River. I don’t think Ashley is getting Jayne’s character at all. She’s taking him at face value and not paying attention to his actions. Jayne is my favorite so I’m protective. 😂. I do love that she’s enjoying the show as a whole!
People generally are very bad with subtext, and nuance. Things that are required for understanding both River, and Jayne. Ironically, she's as dismissive of River as Jayne was, simply assuming her to be a moon-brained "problem". But even Jayne gains an awareness of how exceptional she is, before it's all said and done.
After this series, you're going to have to complete it by watching the movie that ties it up.. Serenity.
There's great moments, and also sad moments.. but it is soooooo worth it..
How do reavers clean their spears 😂😂😂...to soon?..😅😅
@@John-g6i1j yes.
What an amazing idea!
I wish other reactors would have also done that, but I guess you weren't around to tell them.
Thanks so much for your suggestion. 😂 Nobody else would have thought of it.
We are all now in awe of your giant brain.
@@John-g6i1j Fifty years from now it will still be “too soon.”
Out of Gas is my favorite episode in the series. I love them all, and Out of Gas is the one that emphasizes how close this crew is with each other. This is why Firefly could never be remade. It wasn't the ship, or the show being a space western, or anything else that made this show so good. It was the chemistry among the cast. This crew is so freaking amazing, and it can't be replicated. Anything remade would just be a parody of the real thing.
In Out Of Gas you get the back story of the crew, but if you think about it(and you might have) Serenity is also a part of the crew and needs its hearts(crew) to continue to live.
Serenity is living part of it all.
Like the Millenium Falcon to Han Solo..
Out of Gas is one of my favorite episodes all around. It is so powerful, and makes you love both the ship and the crew even more. I love that they had actually been setting up that compressor since episode 1, with Kaylee constantly bringing it up as something that needed replacing... and now we saw why.
Great reactions to both episodes.
Jaynetown is a fun episode.
Out of Gas is one of my favorite episode. I love the back stories of the crew.
Kaylee's story surprised me.
Gina Torres had a small role in this episode because she was getting married to Lawrence Fishburne.
Adam Baldwin(Jayne) is an amazing actor. He always cracks me up in his characters. He did a great job on the series "Chuck"!
So theres this show called Warehouse 13 where Jewel Staite and the guy who played Simon are in it and a couple in their episode lol
I love in the out-takes of 'Out of Gas' when Alan comes up from behind the console with that 'tache both Nathan and Gina are wearing the same 😁
The best sci-fi are ones that know how to make the ship part of cast. Battlestar Galactica (2004) did this wonderfully. There is a moment in the last season where they say about the ship "she broke her back, she'll never jump again" and its SO gut wrenching to hear. Galactica was home and defender of everyone we loved in the series. She took care of them and protected and sheltered them through the worst. To see her beat up after giving her all to the crew one last time was one of the most emotional moments of a stellar series.
Sidenote about the River & Book bible scene. Book's "faith fixes you" line wasn't even known by Morena until well after the scene and she saw it on replay, much later. Possibly well after the show was over. She comments on how beautiful that scene is, and it reminded me that most of the time the other actors are off working on their own lines and usually don't have time to catch what else is happening on the show.
There's a really good blooper in the scene with Wash's mustache where Wash turns around to face Zoey and Mal, and they're both wearing the same mustache. 😁
I love Ashleigh's arc from "I kind of hate this intro song" to just straight vibing with it.
Out of Gas - is as fine an episode of storytelling as has ever happened. Rewatching - and watching the making ofs and commentaries - reveal that the entire script is crammed with double and triple meanings. "...[ship]'ll be with you til the day you die..." as Mal is very nearly dying. "Something was living in here" as they walk past where I'm the future he'll be barely living. Can't recommend rewatching this episode enough. Masterwork.
Great reactions! Jayne is who he is, and i hate to love to hate him about it. I want a copy of River Tam's Edit of the Good Book. The Better Book.
Interesting fact about Jayne's backstory: he didn't fight in the Unification War. Not as a Browncoat or with the Alliance. Not due to any personal convictions; neither side was willing to pay him enough. (Learned that from the official "Serenity" guidebook.)
When you finish the series and movie, go back and watch them all again right away. You will pick up a massive amount of things that you just didn't see or understand the first time around, and when you get to Out of Gas - it will hit you harder because now you KNOW.
I love Zoe. She is so smooth. She ties so much of the team together and they don't even realize it. Oh and she is stunning, of course.
What is amazing about Firefly is the creative team were working on 2 other tv shows at the same time, S07 of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and S04 of Angel. Buffy & Angel are the greatest TV shows of all time. "If nothing we do matters, then all that matter is what we do." Best tv quote of all time.
I had friends that I babysat for. One day I was taking care of their youngest (about 3) until Mom got home. When she came through the front door, she had gotten a perm. David screamed bloody murder and ran away from her and to me. Poor kid was terrified of her new hair, so I get River on this one.
36:50 always get emotional about that ship. 10 hours of bliss and a lifetime of withdrawal
Definitely 2 of my favorite episodes. Out of Gas is amazing and so informative with feeding you all that backstory in such an artistic way.
In Jayne's Town we actually get to see a vulnerable side to Jayne at the end, when trying to figure out why anyone would think he was worth taking a bullet for.
Simon is not rejecting Kaylee because he would never, he's saying "I would never" because he doesn't want to be the type to take advantage of Kaylee, and he doesn't know how to read the signals AT ALL.
Exactly, but the cultural difference makes it sound unpleasant for Kaylee. And Simon is a hilarious slowpoke
Still trying to get my head around Ash seeing his statue and thinking they built it because they hate him
Like the ultimate wanted poster, physical proportions and all.
River is everyone's fave, that is an issue that's not going away
I am just over the moon with how happy this watch-along makes me. I've bonded with so many folks over this show, and to come back to it so many years later just does my heart good. Thank you.
"Out of Gas" is probably my most favorite episode of television of all time. So well written and a great story.
The hero of canton the man they called Jayne! Best episode imo
The look on Jayne's face when he started pulling the tape off... 😂
Kaylee and her so called purity has a really funny line in the Serenity movie. About a quarter of the way into the movie.
This show understands something missed on a lot of Sci Fi shows - the ship is a character, too. And it's gotta be home to the people, or we don't care. They sure pulled that off.
Jayne's Town is always a fun look into Jayne's past and both episodes 7&8 clearly show us his purely mercenary, money driven personality.
Your face when you realized it was Kaylee the original mechanic was "with" in the engine room. OMG I thought I was going to die laughing!
What a great reactions to both episodes. I think episode 8 will always be my favorite, though I love them all. I'm off to watch the full reactions to these two. I've found I enjoy watching the short one first and then the two full reviews. Of course more Firefly, the better if you ask me.
Don't know if this was on your radar or not, but even if you just watch them for yourself, you should check out the River Tam Sessions. It gives you a look into what happened to River. Though I would say not to watch them until after the movie. Very short, about 8 minutes, and can be found on RUclips. Some other reviewers like you tack them on to the end of their review of the movie. (Just sharing a tidbit.)
😊😊😊
ohhhh thank you for this info - I"ll be sure to check out the River stuff after Serenity!
Ist his personality this shallow?
*Cena creeping through the wall*
Are you sure about that?
I suggest the river files before serenity. It doesn't spoil anything, since they were filmed in-story even before episode 1, and will contextualize her character far more. It also adds more gravitas to her situation which will pay off in the film.
At least that's how i felt when i found them. I wished I'd seen them before the movie😂
But Jayne oddly cares about what people think about him. He was bothered the town viewed him as a hero and was willing to die for him.
@@awkwardashleighbut realize the series was by Fox and the movie was Universal. So there are differences in some characters. Plus there was a board game the provided details about the verse. (Like it's a trinary star system with several gas giants and hundreds of teraformed moons.
Inara renting the shuttle IS how her and Mal first met.
Mal's draw to that particular ship is down to his war history. Fireflies were used in the war as bombers, because they have the dual cargo door in the floor. Open the top, load up the bombs, close it. Hover over the enemy at high attitude, open the bottom hatch, fly clear before the payload hits.
The lore of the sjow goes that somebody on the writing staff saw Ron Glass (Book) on the way to makeup with his hair down, and made notation that that would work as a "fright wig" gag some time. Sure enough, turned up here...
Two of my favorite episodes. Out of Gas is fantastic 👏
I also love the continuity of the catalizer part. It is mentioned and shown multiple times in other episodes.
Out of Gas is one of the best episodes of television ever, imo. It's one of the best uses of flashbacks as a narrative device.
The episode begins suspensefully with the ship deserted and Malcom falling onto the deck, bleeding out (and suffocating, but we don't know that yet.) He's recounting the recent events that led him to that point, which catches the audience up and lets us in on how things got there. Also, he's losing blood and low on oxygen, so he's thinking about how he got the ship and met the crew that have become his home and family, his life is flashing before his eyes as it trickles away. In the episode's climax, the flashbacks catch up to the present, bringing the threads together for the audience. The whole time the flashbacks have been building tension, revealing just how bad things have gotten for Serenity's crew, replacing the confusion we have from the abrupt beginning where we don't know what's going on with the dread of knowledge. Flashbacks can be cheezy tropes or jarring and confusing, and when they are, they interrupt the flow of a story. When used well, they can drive the whole thing and control the pacing of emotion.
Joss Wheadon wanted to show the audience how the ship and crew got together, it's the whole point of the episode. If it was Mal telling his new crew members the story, it'd be obvious to the audience that the whole episode was just exposition. Instead, he hung the flashbacks on an underlying story in a way that makes logical sense. He starts us out confused, so instead of the flashbacks being confusing, they do the opposite and shed light on what's going on. Out of Gas is a masterclass in using flashbacks as a storytelling device.
for a long time now i have had these things in the back of my mind and they have ben REALLY kicking around in there since you started FIREFLY, and i thought i would finally share it with everyone:
do you remember how simons parents were not all that concerned about river when simon showed them the coded message from her when she was away at that school or where ever she was, then they were so upset about picking simon up at the police station when simon was arrested in an "out of bounds place and how simons father freaked about how this could jeopardize him becoming a doctor and with little simon talked about wanting his own screen and his dad wanted him to be the best doctor he could be.
1-i have had this thought about river and simon, what if, simons parents weren't able to get pregnant and the "HANDS OF BLUE" people helped them get pregnant , BUT , in return they had to help with something else at a later date, shortly after along comes simon, nice normal with a higher than normal intellect then some time later the "HANDS OF BLUE" people and has the parents carry another "BABY", BUT, this is no ordinary "baby" this is a genetically enhanced baby that they were to look after and raise as their own until it was time, and, along comes river, this would explain how river can do everything she can do.
***+++OR+++***
2-they were approached, after having their DNA analyzed to be sure that any children they have would be free of diseases, and the results show the possibility of having a child with higher than normal intellect, the parents were offered a chance to become one of the elite upper class and all they would need to do is sell them their second child, first came simon, a higher than normal intellect, but they wanted higher and after she got pregnant a second time, they altered rivers DNA to enhance the effect and then once they raised her to a proper age, they sent her off to the "SCHOOL" and focused all their attention on to simon, only, they never bargained on simon doing what he did.
just a thought i had watching my disks of the show, too bad we will never get a chance to see it it was true or not.
Best line of the whole Firefly series? not even said onscreen. Zoe convinces the others to turn around when she woke up in the shuttle heading away from Mal and the dying Serenity. Can you imagine what Zoe must have said to the others to convince everyone to use the last of the shuttle's fuel and air by going back to Mal where he is probably already dead and there is no air???
Best line of the whole series.
Out of Gas is still one of the best episodes of television I’ve ever seen
Jayne and River are my favorite characters.
"Everybody dies alone." I hope you caught that.
she has a natural talent and she can fix things too.
Thanks for the continued excellent review of this series (still the GOAT for Ensemble cast). Jaynestown is one of my favorite episodes. Yes...one of the unique things about Firefly is while there are a couple story threads running (loosely) through the series...most episodes stand alone...and often have totally different vibes. Oh...and being from Columbia MO, the Chiefs jersey earned you a Sub. Peace.