People generally believe the episodes get better and better but I tend to think it’s because you’re more and more invested in the characters as you go along. Now, every time I rewatch I still have favorite episodes but I love them all.
tells a lot about Mal... so much that i agree about... like the ent of the train job... "a men has a choice.... no, i don´t think he has...." sorry iif the wording is wrong,. i watched in german...
While episodic, Firefly is really a collection of character portraits, with episodes touching on different characters, or as Joss Whedon stated, "Its a show about a lot of people looking at space and seeing very different things."
episodic, yes, rather than a linear storyline, but not exactly random. each episode adds elements to the stew that eventually comes together at the end
"They're always losing their cargo". That goes to something that was specified and that the network complained about in their many notes. That The crew was always losing, being looked down on, no good solid wins (as Mal said in the first episode "Still flying" was about the best they did. Survive). But Joss explained that them constantly getting beat down and rarely getting a solid win will make it that much greater when they do win.
Because you asked: Regarding gravity, there’s basically three kinds (in general, not on this show in particular): rotational, where a ship/station rotates and induces a gravity-like effect on the interior surface (it pins you to the walls). Gravity will increase towards the outer edge, since the speed of travel is higher. If you cut a 1” strip of paper and tape it into a loop, the floor would be the inside of the loop. Build additional (shorter) strips and you can make a series of concentric hoops with smaller and smaller sizes and you have a scale model of a saucer-shaped space station. Alternatively, you can build a cylinder and walk on the inside of it. In SF, this is generally used for space stations and very large ships. Second, acceleration-based, where the constant acceleration of a ship induces a gravity-like effect opposite to the direction of thrust. This means that “down” is the direction you’re moving away from; this exactly what you feel when an elevator moves up. Useful for ships of any size, but you need to build the “floor” perpendicular to the direction of travel, so that if you stood on the floor whilst in flight and looked straight up, you’d be looking at what you’re thrusting towards. Lastly, there’s “magical science fiction hand wavy” artificial gravity, where highly advanced voodoo creates gravity. This is far and away the cheapest to film, since precisely zero visual effects are needed; “down” is “down”. Babylon 5 (to harken back a bit) uses all three; which one depends on the tech available to a given alien race. “The Expanse” uses a mix of the first two options. Star Trek and Star Wars (the stuff I’ve seen, anyway) is exclusively option 3; this makes sense if you consider the technical and cost restrictions in place when they were created. Firefly seems to use option 3 as well, for the same reason. I’m reasonably well-versed in the basic lore of these universes but I don’t claim to be a hard-core tech nerd on any of them, nor am I a physicist; if I’ve made any mistakes, I trust someone will be along to correct them. Hope this helps.
Slight correction: "Down" is not necessarily the direction you're leaving. It is the direction of your thrusters. The Expanse showed this pretty well. At about the midway point of their journey, the ship flips around and starts thrusting away from the direction of travel to slow the ship for a safe landing and to keep the floor as the floor while they do so. If I remember correctly, everything is free floating during the transition. Firefly uses magnetic boots in their space suits. It's probably Option 3 for interior spaces. Though space stations do have rotating rings so they could be using Option 1 there (though they never say either way so probably not).
Yes, that red balloon was a very deliberate reference to It. Not the 2017 movie, of course, but the 1990 TV miniseries with Tim Curry as Pennywise was very much part of the pop culture zeitgeist, and they would expect audiences seeing that red balloon to instantly think of It and start getting nervous.
You say that the series is basically "Random Adventures". You're not wrong, but Joss Whedan had a long storyline that he wanted to pursue over the next three years. The long range storyline was started to be shown very slowly in the first year, basically revolving around River, but was completely cut off when the series was cancelled. Three years after the series ended the movie "Serenity" was authorized. Two complete years of of the storyline that was left in Joss Whedan's mind was packed into a single, fast and furious, action packed movie.
yep the view was very frightening for her brother.... and i think a revelation to her.... two people looking at the same thing, yet seeing something completely different....
There are a number of throughlines in this show. Yes each episode does stand alone quite well. Sadly the show was cut so short not all of them had enough time to bear fruit. But you'll enjoy the ride.
If you've seen any of Joss Whedon's other series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, or Dollhouse he typically spends much of the first season with what seem to be one shot episodes as he is doing world building and getting you to know the main characters. Typically in the 2nd or 3rd season the series gets going. Even so he does have storylines even in season 1 but they typically aren't in your face. He likes to throw out bread crumbs. Unfortunately, Firefly only had a partial season + miraculously a movie.
NOT A SPOILER: "Firefly" is more like an episodic hybrid, because we do get a growth in character arcs as the series progresses. Mal expects loyalty, and he gives loyalty in return. At this point, Simon has not learned yet that Mal expects his crew to follow orders without question when there is no time for discussion. Simon also has not learned to heed River's instincts. The interrogation montage is one of my favorite scenes for this episode. Personally, I love how they segued from character to character. The Reavers somehow knew that man was susceptible to becoming one of them. That is why they did not torture him to death. It seems true they intended to return to pick him up later.
and in the interrogation scene, i think the Fed truly regretted, to have talked badly of the ship serenity as soon as kaylee came up for "interrogation"......
"Bushwhacked": A game of freeball leads to a proximity warning and an "object in space." A derelict transport has a survivor who bears close watching, and a booby trap. An Alliance cruiser arrives, two people "experience the expanse of space," and interrogations go nowhere. The survivor begins to change, so Capt. Mal has to "send him home." The Alliance captain calls it even, and "Serenity" watches the fireworks. "Firefly" is so much more than "The X-Files.";)
Like @Audra1964 says, the episodes keep getting better from this point. Your feelings for the characters will get stronger but also because some interesting storylines will begin to surface.
we don't even get a full season. a season would have a season finale, which _firefly_ doesn't even. that's one of the reasons everyone watches the movie afterwards.
I have read a lot of biographies on television executives and the history of the Big Three Networks. What happened to Firefly is not unique or out of the ordinary. Let's just say Firefly was set up to fail. If you are a showrunner and you piss off network executives they will destroy your ratings.
Jayne is crude and tactless, but even he has another side. His teasing of Kaylee is theost obvious. Despite the harshness, notice how he always refers to her as "little" Kaylee? A subtle clue there. 2002.
how is he a "bad doctor" for stating a fact. there was no screening. you do not invalidate subjective things like opinions or feelings. if you mace a comment about screening and there is no one in hearing range screening you need to know that, so you can convey to the doctor more accurately what is going on. that is how doctors figure out how to help you. i think i like this show because it is character driven not story driven.
It's one of my least favorites too. It's between this one and one of the last few episodes (I don't want to spoil anything). While I think the first two episodes ("Serenity" and "The Train Job") have a few moments of clunkiness, as the series finds its feet, both of them are, at heart, very good episodes, and I think both are in the top 50%. "Bushwhacked" has always seemed a good deal weaker to me. I mean, it's still got enough cool stuff to be quite enjoyable, but it just doesn't hold together as well, in my opinion, at least. I feel like there's a bit of weak stretch before the show gets really good, but opinions on that may vary.
Episodic TV was the nature of TV before streaming. Producers realized that people had lives, and they may miss an episode here and there, so the made episodic series that allowed that. Now that everything can be streamed the episodes are less important but must contribute to an over all story arc... Jayne had the best lines in this episode "Its amazing what nothing can do to a man" and "He looked bigger when I couldn't see him" ... red neck wisdom, right there...
People generally believe the episodes get better and better but I tend to think it’s because you’re more and more invested in the characters as you go along. Now, every time I rewatch I still have favorite episodes but I love them all.
I think you’re absolutely correct
My favorite line from this episode is from Mal, "May have been on the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one. "
tells a lot about Mal... so much that i agree about... like the ent of the train job... "a men has a choice.... no, i don´t think he has...." sorry iif the wording is wrong,. i watched in german...
I always liked Jayne's line: "He looked bigger when I couldn't see him".
well if you fight something, you don´t know, its wise to think it´s more dangerous than it maybe actually is....
While episodic, Firefly is really a collection of character portraits, with episodes touching on different characters, or as Joss Whedon stated, "Its a show about a lot of people looking at space and seeing very different things."
At least Simon found out he put the suit on wrong thanks to a prank and not when it was actually needed
Chekhov's Gun, at your service!
episodic, yes, rather than a linear storyline, but not exactly random. each episode adds elements to the stew that eventually comes together at the end
"They're always losing their cargo". That goes to something that was specified and that the network complained about in their many notes. That The crew was always losing, being looked down on, no good solid wins (as Mal said in the first episode "Still flying" was about the best they did. Survive). But Joss explained that them constantly getting beat down and rarely getting a solid win will make it that much greater when they do win.
Because you asked: Regarding gravity, there’s basically three kinds (in general, not on this show in particular): rotational, where a ship/station rotates and induces a gravity-like effect on the interior surface (it pins you to the walls). Gravity will increase towards the outer edge, since the speed of travel is higher. If you cut a 1” strip of paper and tape it into a loop, the floor would be the inside of the loop. Build additional (shorter) strips and you can make a series of concentric hoops with smaller and smaller sizes and you have a scale model of a saucer-shaped space station. Alternatively, you can build a cylinder and walk on the inside of it. In SF, this is generally used for space stations and very large ships. Second, acceleration-based, where the constant acceleration of a ship induces a gravity-like effect opposite to the direction of thrust. This means that “down” is the direction you’re moving away from; this exactly what you feel when an elevator moves up. Useful for ships of any size, but you need to build the “floor” perpendicular to the direction of travel, so that if you stood on the floor whilst in flight and looked straight up, you’d be looking at what you’re thrusting towards. Lastly, there’s “magical science fiction hand wavy” artificial gravity, where highly advanced voodoo creates gravity. This is far and away the cheapest to film, since precisely zero visual effects are needed; “down” is “down”.
Babylon 5 (to harken back a bit) uses all three; which one depends on the tech available to a given alien race. “The Expanse” uses a mix of the first two options. Star Trek and Star Wars (the stuff I’ve seen, anyway) is exclusively option 3; this makes sense if you consider the technical and cost restrictions in place when they were created. Firefly seems to use option 3 as well, for the same reason. I’m reasonably well-versed in the basic lore of these universes but I don’t claim to be a hard-core tech nerd on any of them, nor am I a physicist; if I’ve made any mistakes, I trust someone will be along to correct them. Hope this helps.
Slight correction: "Down" is not necessarily the direction you're leaving. It is the direction of your thrusters. The Expanse showed this pretty well. At about the midway point of their journey, the ship flips around and starts thrusting away from the direction of travel to slow the ship for a safe landing and to keep the floor as the floor while they do so. If I remember correctly, everything is free floating during the transition.
Firefly uses magnetic boots in their space suits. It's probably Option 3 for interior spaces. Though space stations do have rotating rings so they could be using Option 1 there (though they never say either way so probably not).
Good point, I stayed it poorly; instead of “the direction you’re moving away from” I should have said “the direction you’re thrusting away from”.
Yes, that red balloon was a very deliberate reference to It. Not the 2017 movie, of course, but the 1990 TV miniseries with Tim Curry as Pennywise was very much part of the pop culture zeitgeist, and they would expect audiences seeing that red balloon to instantly think of It and start getting nervous.
The editing in the interrogation scene is amazing
Wash definitely knows how to describe his wife and his feelings for her! 😊
There is only one thing in the 'Verse that scares Jane Cobb - Reavers
later you can see this when he´s wearing the hat...
You say that the series is basically "Random Adventures". You're not wrong, but Joss Whedan had a long storyline that he wanted to pursue over the next three years. The long range storyline was started to be shown very slowly in the first year, basically revolving around River, but was completely cut off when the series was cancelled. Three years after the series ended the movie "Serenity" was authorized. Two complete years of of the storyline that was left in Joss Whedan's mind was packed into a single, fast and furious, action packed movie.
I can't blame River for wanting to go EV again, that view had to be amazing!
yep the view was very frightening for her brother.... and i think a revelation to her.... two people looking at the same thing, yet seeing something completely different....
There are a number of throughlines in this show. Yes each episode does stand alone quite well. Sadly the show was cut so short not all of them had enough time to bear fruit. But you'll enjoy the ride.
If you've seen any of Joss Whedon's other series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, or Dollhouse he typically spends much of the first season with what seem to be one shot episodes as he is doing world building and getting you to know the main characters. Typically in the 2nd or 3rd season the series gets going. Even so he does have storylines even in season 1 but they typically aren't in your face. He likes to throw out bread crumbs. Unfortunately, Firefly only had a partial season + miraculously a movie.
Took me 3 episodes to understand and be hooked
NOT A SPOILER: "Firefly" is more like an episodic hybrid, because we do get a growth in character arcs as the series progresses.
Mal expects loyalty, and he gives loyalty in return. At this point, Simon has not learned yet that Mal expects his crew to follow orders without question when there is no time for discussion. Simon also has not learned to heed River's instincts.
The interrogation montage is one of my favorite scenes for this episode. Personally, I love how they segued from character to character.
The Reavers somehow knew that man was susceptible to becoming one of them. That is why they did not torture him to death. It seems true they intended to return to pick him up later.
and in the interrogation scene, i think the Fed truly regretted, to have talked badly of the ship serenity as soon as kaylee came up for "interrogation"......
Magnetic boots
"Bushwhacked": A game of freeball leads to a proximity warning and an "object in space." A derelict transport has a survivor who bears close watching, and a booby trap. An Alliance cruiser arrives, two people "experience the expanse of space," and interrogations go nowhere. The survivor begins to change, so Capt. Mal has to "send him home." The Alliance captain calls it even, and "Serenity" watches the fireworks. "Firefly" is so much more than "The X-Files.";)
Like @Audra1964 says, the episodes keep getting better from this point. Your feelings for the characters will get stronger but also because some interesting storylines will begin to surface.
Thank you so so much! It really is growing on me!
Upset that there's only one season (and not even a full season, really)? You're well on the way to becoming a Browncoat. :)
we don't even get a full season. a season would have a season finale, which _firefly_ doesn't even. that's one of the reasons everyone watches the movie afterwards.
Each episode CAN stand alone but they do, eventually, start referencing past episodes ;)
❤🧡💛💚💙💜
Funny thing is the reavers face is the same as alot of people these days.
I have read a lot of biographies on television executives and the history of the Big Three Networks. What happened to Firefly is not unique or out of the ordinary. Let's just say Firefly was set up to fail. If you are a showrunner and you piss off network executives they will destroy your ratings.
Jayne is crude and tactless, but even he has another side. His teasing of Kaylee is theost obvious. Despite the harshness, notice how he always refers to her as "little" Kaylee? A subtle clue there. 2002.
how is he a "bad doctor" for stating a fact. there was no screening. you do not invalidate subjective things like opinions or feelings. if you mace a comment about screening and there is no one in hearing range screening you need to know that, so you can convey to the doctor more accurately what is going on. that is how doctors figure out how to help you.
i think i like this show because it is character driven not story driven.
This is probably my least favorite episode but from here the show really takes off.
It's one of my least favorites too. It's between this one and one of the last few episodes (I don't want to spoil anything). While I think the first two episodes ("Serenity" and "The Train Job") have a few moments of clunkiness, as the series finds its feet, both of them are, at heart, very good episodes, and I think both are in the top 50%. "Bushwhacked" has always seemed a good deal weaker to me. I mean, it's still got enough cool stuff to be quite enjoyable, but it just doesn't hold together as well, in my opinion, at least. I feel like there's a bit of weak stretch before the show gets really good, but opinions on that may vary.
this reaction is far too cut down....
Unfortunately if we don’t cut it in certain ways RUclips pings us for copyright violations
Love the show.
You're too annoying though.
Sorry, just sick of people.
Episodic TV was the nature of TV before streaming. Producers realized that people had lives, and they may miss an episode here and there, so the made episodic series that allowed that. Now that everything can be streamed the episodes are less important but must contribute to an over all story arc...
Jayne had the best lines in this episode "Its amazing what nothing can do to a man" and "He looked bigger when I couldn't see him" ... red neck wisdom, right there...
Give him slack, he's raiding the galley and had been likely concerned about vermin, feral pets, or mold, not a full-grown man sneaking in the dark.