So my girlfriend watched this with me for the first time last night and I noticed a reaction from her that I also noticed when I saw Serenity for the first time in the movie theatre.

When Sheperd Book died, she was solemn but didn't show any outward emotion but when Wash died, her eyes actually teared up and she gasped! This is exactly the same reaction I saw from 2 people who were sitting next to me in the movie theatre when I first saw the movie.


So my question is,

Why no love for Book?

Book was found after an attack, dying from wounds. To wash it was two-fold: a sudden mortal wounds... and dying in front of his love and his friends. I think it's mostly the empathy for her, losing the man she loves, that draws forth the tears.

For me, it was the suddenness combined with the fact that he was my favorite character. I started the series with the movie (I know backwards) but after watching the TV episodes I liked him even more.

I am a leaf on the wind!

S

Same here. When I watched Serenity again after I finished Firefly it was like a completely different film.

I can never forgive the director for offing wash... never...

which probably means it was a good move on their part to get that strong of an emotional reaction.

Besides, Joss Whedon knew that "Serenity" would be it for the Firefly franchise so why not take some creative risks?

If watching the movie is your first introduction to Firefly, as it was for me, then you don't really get much opportunity to know Book before he dies... for a first timer there's not much difference between Book and Mr. Universe, and their deaths elicit about the same emotional response.

Wash, on the other hand is presented as a member of the core-team and the audience gets to know him well in the movie so when his death happens it has much more impact. And, as mentioned, there is the impact on Zoe and the suddenness with which he dies. In fact, there's a dramatic pause which makes the moment more poignant: he succesfully crashlands and it looks like he pulled off the impossible but in that split second later he gets hit and you think "what? what just happened?" and in the next split second you realize that he's just received a mortal wound from the reaver spear/whatever it is.

I think it was brilliant to kill him off... his death heightens the uncertainty (for the audience) of the other characters' survival during the reaver attack.

Even after having all the episodes of Firefly, and getting to know Book much better, Wash's death still has more impact than that of Book when I watch Serenity. Perhaps its because he gets alot of the comic relief lines and his relationship with Zoe...

That said, Book gets some pretty good lines too "a special kind of hell", and the whole scene where River is terrified by his loose hair. It's clear that Whedon had a back-story on Book but due to cancellation never got a chance to flesh it out.

Agree on all your points. I think another factor may also be that Wash was young and in the prime of his life as well as his cheerful personality. Book was much older and wiser and seemed to be someone who would come to terms with his own death whenever it came due to his spirituality.

Of course, Whedon is well known for killing off characters. He seems to take a kind of glee in getting his audience to feel unsettled by binding them to characters and then cutting those bonds in the least gentle way possible.



The Jedi Master

I really want to know Book's back story. You get hints of his familiarity with the alliance and the operatives and it just wets the whistle. I love black ops stuff and this was going to be a whooper. Dangit!

S

I forget the name of the episode but it's the one where Book gets shot and he's taken to an Alliance medical facility and when the Alliance scans his ID card, they freak out and immediately give him the attention he needs. Naturally, Mal becomes suspicious about this.

iirc, Book's real identity is also hinted at in the last episode when the bounty hunter Jubil says something like "he ain't no shepherd" with a scoff...

My guess is that Book used to be one of the black ops guys like the main bad guy from the movie but then retired and wanted a quieter life. (which he didnt find)

Sigh, so much potential with such a great set of actors.

Another little anecdote: Towards the end of the film when we see Simon and Kaylee kissing in her quarters, my girlfriend said "well, we know that he's certainly ACTING in that scene".

Actually, he was hoping it'd do well enough for a sequel, and he has/had an idea for that story planned, but yes, he knew there was a chance that Serenity would be its swansong. Also, I think it partially the fact that light or no casualties amongst the BDH would serve to cheapen the element of danger they were facing throughout the movie (and series).

That back story is explored in a graphic novel, but I personally find all the Serenity comics disappointing, if only b/c there's no way to recapture the dynamics of seeing the actors.

I see no value in killing either Wash or Book. Book in particular was particularly galling as it served no plot development or dramatic purpose whatsoever, for such a backstory-rich character to die that cheaply is akin to James Kirk's ignominious and equally pointless death under some falling scaffolding.

Wash... well, it might have elicited the odd gasp and tear in the theatre but again I don't think there would have been any lessening of drama has it not occurred and it did slam a door shut for no obvious gain.

I rewatch the series every now and again, I don't view the film overly fondly. Maybe I just prefer a more shapely Kaylee

There are certain shows/films with ensemble casts that create the perfect "lightning in a bottle" which can't be easily explained but as a viewer you know if it's there or not. Firefly was one of those shows.

Seen Jewel Staite in a film yesterday, Widow on the Hill, it was only when she smiled that I recognised those dimples
Yep Firefly was one of those programs that really clicked but my wife really does not like it at all, then again she dosn't like any thing that maybe SciFi

Jewel was a regular during the end of Stargate Atlantis' run.

The Book backstory done in the comic was a total screw up. It was completely rote and standard and didn't really fit all the clues given in the series, plus the circumstances surrounding his exit from Alliance service were inconsistent with them deciding to give him emergency medical care instead of perhaps locking him up instead!



The Jedi Master

Comic books were definitely a phase for me. I absolutely loved GI Joe and Transformers comics as a kid but by the end of junior high school I got bored of comics.

Yeah, killing Jayne would have gotten a "ho hum" and maybe a cheer or 3 from people who'd seen "Ariel" LOL

He wasn't doing too good a job of it in "Out of Gas." River had to help him LOL

Oh that's right. I had forgotten about that. What a great episode "Out of Gas" is. Actually, all 14 episodes are great.

What I missed most was the telling of Inara's story. We were only ever offered glimpses, and Mal was always too interested in her past as opposed to her present and future to see what was right in front of him.



The Jedi Master

One thing about Serenity that went against the Hollywood grain is the fact that the main antagonist wasn't killed off. I was rather surprised that the Alliance operative didn't die at the end and he even ends up having a civil chat with Mal!

Mal's not a killer, although he kills with regularity it seems. The guy was beaten, he didn't need to be finished off, especially as he was broken too.



The Jedi Master

He was a believer in an ideal, and when Mal showed him how this ideal was as monstrous as he was, he had no reason to continue to kill for it. His path might have eventually echoed that of Sheppard Book. We'll have to use our imaginations.

Mercy is the mark of a great man. Well, Mal's alright. LOL

You know, it was only when I saw "Ariel" for the third time that I understood why Whedon has River attack Jayne at the beginning of the episode; that it wasn't just random River craziness.

If I had to pick a favorite episode it's that one, hands down.

Yeah, that's a pretty difficult task. Other than "Out of Gas" I'd say my favorites are probably "Objects In Space" and "The Message", with honorable mentions for "Jaynestown" and "Our Mrs Reynolds" on the lighter side. Given there were only 14 though, they're all on my rewatch list!

My personal top 5

1. Out of Gas
2. Ariel
3. The Message
4. Objects in Space
5. Serenity (pilot)

I don't know if I can pick. I don't even know if I have a LEAST favorite episode!

Maybe Jaynestown gives me the biggest kick, but I don't know that it's really the BEST.



The Jedi Master

The season two finale was my favorite episode. Seeing Jubal Early return like that was really cool.
Oh, wait...

LOL You almost had me fooled there for a split second.

Heart of Gold, for me. I don't like it at all.

The one where they defend the whorehouse?



The Jedi Master

Yup, that's the one. The end of that episode at least has a big event occur which ties in with Serenity quite nicely.

I'd say setting up two events that are important in 'Serenity' - a death and a disturbance of the Inara/Mal non-relationship.

That episode just further illustrated how thick Mal was when he literally couldn't see what was right in front of him.



The Jedi Master

Speaking of Wash - does anyone else dig the 'Bedlam Bards'?

I'm always on the lookout for amusing Firefly references in Fillion's Castle, pretty sure I saw Adam Baldwin in the preview for Monday's episode so there's BOUND to be something.

maybe something like "I'll be in my squad car"?