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Man I wish everybody had already seen Serenity, so that we could bring the events of that part of the story into this conversation.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Ugh. Chris, I was already nonplussed by the trailer. Could you take the "not really" out of there?
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I didn't think it had anything to do with religion. I do think you're right when you hint that Book is a dominant figure...he commands a lot of respect from Mal, even if Mal doesn't (and won't ever) come to believe in God. What *I* saw wasn't an inkling of belief, but a respect for Book's beliefs. When he said "If there's peace to be had..." it was to show that he respected something that was important and real to Book. It was definitely a 'good captain' move, even if there were some ulterior motives. I think he might have done it even if there hadn't been other motivation.
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Narnia -- I stole one of your avatars, but I couldn't figure out how to comment on your site. Please don't hate me.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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Okay, I read the first few posts and the last few and skimmed the rest of the thread because it's riddled with spoilers, but I just wanted to let y'all know. . .
Firefly will be on SciFi Friday on the SciFi channel at 7/3 Central.
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Kayla, you haven't watched Firefly yet? You shouldn't even be IN this thread, it'll ruin everything!
Porter, again, those avatars were of my SISTER's making. She does think Mal is incredibly hot and she's proud of her little catch phrases. I, on the other hand would not have spent all my time focusing on Mal (as nice looking as he is) because the point of avatars is to give a fair and funny representation of the series as a whole....yeah whatever. I would've done more of Simon myself. *ducks* Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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It must tell someone something, otherwise you wouldn't have posted it. What's the point of a post that doesn't tell anyone anything?
Or is this one of those "It doesn't DO anything" posts? (Not that I have the faintest clue what that joke is about.)
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
Ok - New episode. I know you're all excited.
Ariel-
First off, River's slice at Jayne seemed so completely different than the way she's acted before. I know she' 'getting worse' and I know she's 'unpredictable,' but it seemed too sudden. Thoughts: could she see into the future and know that he would try to betray her and Simon?
Anyway, I got over that. I think the defining line in this episode is the one where Mal credits Simon with having a good criminal mind. I agree. I love watching Mal (in this episode and Out of Gas) be all protective of his crew. He was sharp and businesslike when it came to River's behavior, but he was equally protective of River and Simon when it came to Jayne.
I love watching Wash and Kaylee work together. They seem to be a flawless team (that little scene in Our Mrs. Reynolds when they're under the dashboard is one of my favorites). I loved seeing Simon in the role of "I know what you need to know, so listen to me." I loved seeing Mal, Zoe and Jayne rehearsing their lines; it was like a mini gag reel.
I think it's so interesting that River knows just how good of a Dr. Simon is. It's a good thing because I think Simon is the only person she would ever trust to help her, and it's not necessarily because he's her brother. Like I said, she knows he's good and it was fun to see that during his little life-saving stint during this episode.
This episode was one of the most tense that I've watched. As soon as Jayne's plot became known, I didn't breathe very much through the rest of the episode. It wasn't because I was worried about Simon and River...I knew they'd get out somehow. I was worried about what was going to happen to the crew now that this had happened.
It was perfect. Joss knew I was worried, he knew that I was completely furious at the thought that Jayne might get off without anyone knowing about it...and he let me feel that way until Mal hit him with the wrench. Perfect. I want Mal to be my captain. The crew can always trust him to 'handle' the wrinkles and flat out tears in their relationships. he cares about protecting the crew. Jayne was a threat, he almost let him get sucked out the door (after one of the best talking tos I've ever heard), and then let him stay when he was sure that Jayne was ashamed of what he had done.
Love it. Perfect.
War Stories is tonight.
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
Simon and River's relationship is one of my favorite aspects of the series, and "Ariel" is their showcase episode.
Narnia: Regarding the suddenness of River's latest craziness... Joss hints in the commentary to "Serenity" (the episode) that the organization known as Blue Sun, a massive conglomerate with hooks deep within the Alliance government ("a mix between Coca-Cola and Microsoft"), had something to do with River's incarceration at the academy. Now, take another look at the shirt Jayne is wearing when she slices him. "Looks better in red," indeed. Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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We watched War Stories and Trash tonight, but I'll have to write my thoughts later. War Stories was really really violent...I looked away a LOT.
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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So I've finished the series. We watched The Message, Heart of Gold and Objects in Space in quick succession a couple nights ago.
We were kind of disappointed. I really enjoyed objects in space, but even it didn't seem to fit with the rest of the series. The other two were just mediocre episodes (and while I was pissed off at Mal for sleeping with that woman, I'm glad that something finally forced Inara to show some FEELING about him.)
Anyway, are these those "last three episodes" that I've heard everyon refer to as being the best of the series? They're the last on the DVDs, but I can't bring myself to say that they were anywhere close to being the best 3. Tell me I'm looking at the wrong three episodes.
But now I have to name MY top three...hm. Bushwhacked, Our Mrs. Reynolds, and Ariel. I think Ariel is my favorite. (Close runners up are Out of Gas and Safe.)
Now I've got to watch them all again.
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
The last three are my three favourites by far.
(Bushwhacked, Safe, and Out of Gas are three of my least favourites, along with The Train Job and Shindig. We agree on Ariel, though.)
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
Twinky, can you put your finger on what it is about Out of Gas that you dislike? It's probably in my top three or four episodes. There's one thing in it that seems like a plot hole to me, but other than that I love the episode.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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If I had to pick three favorite episodes I'd have a tough time doing it, but I'd probably finally pick Out of Gas, War Stories, and Objects in Space. Ariel and Our Mrs. Reynolds are close runners-up though.
It's easier to pick my three least favorite episodes. Those would be Bushwhacked, Safe, and The Message.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
I'm not that big on Out of Gas because it has no reason to exist other than revealing backstory; I don't really think of it as having a plot to speak of. Also, I found Kaylee's fling in the engine room with the ship's first mechanic a little jarring (though amusing).
I like the episode and enjoy watching it (my absolute least favourite is Safe), but it still belongs in my "least favourite" pile.
Added: Also, keep in mind that "favourite episode" does not necessarily equate to "best episode." I love Heart of Gold and The Message even though I don't think that they're two of the best episodes in the series. They're my favourites. That's not the same thing. Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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I like 'Out of Gas'. I don't care that it doesn't advance the overarching plot or anything like that. It's just such a beautiful collection of scenes and sounds and colour. The actual real-time plot is unimportant to me except for the way it unfolds and unravels forwards and backwards. It's like one of those perfect moments when the sun slants just right and everything glows. It's only special when you experience it.
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"Out of Gas" is my favorite hour of television ever, period. I lurrrrves my character stories. Plus, as Teshi says, it's one of the most cinematically shot television episodes I've ever seen. It's beautiful to watch, masterfully edited, and both hilarious and heart-breaking.
My other favorites are "Objects in Space," "Our Mrs. Reynolds," and "Serenity (Parts 1 and 2)."
Least favorites are "Heart of Gold" and "Safe," both of which featured villains that were one-dimensional and stupid, far below the caliber I expect from the folks who came up with Badger and Saffron.
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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posted
I love Safe for purely Simon and River reasons. I love the scenes that they have together and what we learn about how they're feeling about the whole situation.
I love Out of Gas too, mostly because the Captain admits to us that he couldn't live without his crew. They're his family, he loves them, and he wants them to be with him. That was enough to make me love that episode.
So tell me why you loved Heart of Gold twinky and why it's one of your favorites. I'd love to hear what it means to you. I didn't mind the Message as much as a few of you seem to, but it definitely has a different mood and feeling than the rest of the season. Can't put my finger on it.
I like to hear what everyone's favorites are though, it's cool. As far as my least favorites, those are tougher to pick because I really liked them all. I guess I'd say Jaynestown, Serenity 1, and Heart of Gold...but I still liked all three of them.
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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I love Heart of Gold because Mal finally opens himself up to somebody, because Inara is wonderful during the birth sequences and because she shows some genuine emotion (both there and when she breaks down) for once.
(Yes, the Mal-Inara arc is my favourite one.)
I love The Message because of the funeral scene. The music in that scene in particular, which was the composer's way of saying goodbye to the series.
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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Yeah, those are really great points about those episodes. I liked the funeral scene too, it really brought home that the crew of Serenity is a family.
I also think you're right about Inara. She really doesn't show emotion often...emotion just isn't part of her job. She was also always trying to hide her feelings for Mal. It was oddly satisfying to see her break down crying when she found out that Mal had slept with someone else. I was finally sure that she did feel something for him.
Was The Message supposed to be the last episode of the series? Do we know what the season finale would've been?
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Again, these are not done by me. They're done by my sister. My hatrack conversion to Firefly resulted in the conversion of three more of my family members, and we've watched most of the episodes together. (That's why I usually say "we think" when talking about my reactions.)
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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"The Message" was, I believe, the last episode that was shot. If it wasn't the last shot, it was very close because the cast and crew knew that the show was canceled at that point. So that last piece of music that plays as they present the coffin to Tracy's family is indeed a kind of elegy for the show as much as for the character.
Posts: 70 | Registered: May 2005
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I always thought that "The Message" was not the last episode shot but the episode on which they knew first that the series was dropped, hence the elegy at the end.
I believe the "never aired" episodes were actually filmed after that, although that makes very little sense economically now that I think of it... It could have been that everyone was on contract.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
"Objects in Space" is the last episode chronologically, but "The Message" was the last episode that the cast and crew shot. IIRC, the unaired episodes were shot before "Objects in Space" hit the air (another case of the infamous Fox Episode Order Switching), but that was the last episode other than "Serenity" to air.
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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