| Episode No. | Firefly Season 1, Episode 3 |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Tim Minear |
| Written by | Tim Minear |
0:02 : This episode on streaming has Shepherd Book’s version of the narration tagged to it.
1:00 : It’s nice to know that one of American’s favourite pastimes continues into the 26th Century – the crew appear to be playing something akin to basketball.
1:50 : Simon witnessed River screaming awake from nightmares in the previous episode.
3:16 : Jayne says “My mother!” in exclamation.
3:38 : More emerging psychic empathy from River, again sensing things before they happen.
5:15 : Jayne may not be a very ‘up’ person or very positive, but his theory here is mostly right. Don’t tell him though.
6:30 : Simon, at least, is taking his position as medic onboard Serenity seriously. He was offered the job in Serenity.
6:31 : The space suits used by Mal and the rest of the crew were reused from the movie Soldier ( 1998), with adjustments.
7:13 : Jayne continues to insult Simon, openly and to his face. This will show no sign of stopping until it finally explodes in Ariel.
8:10 : The derelict was an abandoned Power Rangers set that had been left in the San Fernando Valley after use. It was found by accident whilst looking for other locations.
11:32 : We get a better look at Jayne’s shirt, which has the Blue Sun Corp. logo on it. They seem to be the shady guys behind the Alliance.
16:09 : Mal’s lines translate to “Just our luck!”
18:55 : The survivor is never named in the episode. He’s played by Branden Morgan. He worked with Tim Minear again on The Inside and also had parts in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Agents of SHIELD.
19:20 : The look on Mal’s face says that he knows its too late; the survivor is becoming a Reaver. The Reavers were first seen in the pilot, but are more fleshed out in this appearance, which is good since this episode aired before the first. Ironically, this episode is one of the few that WAS aired in the right place!
20:43 : Jayne is petrified of the Reavers, as he was in Serenity. He was quite happy when the survivor was simply a mass murderer though, strangely.
21:39 “They got out to the edge of the galaxy and that’s what they became.” Mal is speculating, but he’ll find out about the origin of the Reavers and who created them in the feature film.
22:43 : A wonderful insight into both Mal’s character and his relationship with Inara. His speech is beautiful and is a truly moving moment. The performance from Nathan Fillion is amazing.
23:46 : Kaylee, the genius. Smartest person on the ship by far.
24:32 : We see Inara painting in Mandarin as a tribute to the departed. She’s also show her painting skills in Serenity.
25:19 : We never see the survivor’s face again after this scene He mutilates his own face, like the Reavers. The Reavers makeup was always particularly gruesome, and it’s deliberately only seen on screen in quick flashes to create a horror movie aesthetic.
26:52 : The Alliance Cruiser isn’t named in the episode, but it’s identical to the Dortmunder from the pilot.
27:09 : Doug Savant plays Harken, the Alliance Commander. After this, Savant would go on to play Tom Scavo in Desperate Housewives for eight seasons.
27:31 : The report the ensign refers to must refer to the Dortmunder‘s contact with Serenity in the pilot. They also now know all about the Tams, as they were informed by the Blue-Handed Men in the previous episode.
27:44 : The ensign is played by Jared Poe, who seems to have left acting behind shortly afterwards.
28:54 : Jayne says that he knew Mal had a reason for keeping the Tams onboard. He told Kaylee the same in The Train Job.
31:44 : In the pilot, Inara tells Book that she’d been on Serenity for eight months. In this episode, she says it’s been almost a year.
33:35 : This is the first time we see Jayne’s – admittedly impressive – weapons compartment, hidden in his bunk.
33:58 : Reference is made to Persephone, where Book and the Tams boarded the ship in Serenity.
34:42 : The clever reveal that Simon and River are hiding on the hull of the ship. River will do something similar in Objects in Space, perhaps inspired by this. For the record, Simon can’t even look at the stars. River is fascinated!
36:21 : Harken refers to Mal as Sergeant, as he was ranked during the Battle of Serenity Valley six years earlier.
36:53 : One of the best lines of the episode comes from Mal to Harken when the commander tells him he fought on the wrong side of the war: “May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.”
37:28 : Translates to “My Heavens!”
43:12 : The Reavers will remain a threat but remain unseen for the rest of the series. They return in the movie, in bulk.
The Watcher's Guide 