Firefly-help me out

[Tauric]

Okay, I just started watching this last week on SciFi, and I have some questions. I missed the first 10 minutes or so of each of the two episodes so far, so I don't know if the answers were given then, or not. Oh, and no spoilers please, if possible.

1) When does this series take place?

2) What is the relationship to Earth (is it still around, still occupied by humans, was it ever around)?

3) Why, if interstellar spaceflight has been developed to the extent that is has, has not small-arms weapon technology also advanced? I know I saw and AK-47 (or derivation) and an M203 in the first episode. I'm not saying I need ray-guns or anything, but really, they're still using mid 20th century technology?

So far, I'm liking the series, even if I don't quite see the Hand of Joss in it yet.

 

[akchf]

1. 500 years or so in the future
2) not entirely sure but the serenity preview disk in the Battlestar Galactica Season1 set shows one solar system... and most references to earth are as "the earth that was"

 

[Crothian]

2) Something bad happened to earth and everyone had to leave. THey don't go into it with much detail

3) There are more advanced weapons but the people the show focuses on have the old tech, the Alliance probably had firm gun laws to keep the new stuff under wraps.

 

[Tauric]

Okay, I figured the Alliance had the best weapons. Now, who are the Alliance? Are they the same people that Mal was fighting in the first episode? And what was the war about? Do future episodes give more backstory, or should I not worry about it too much?

 

[Lazybones]

2) There is actually some debate on the FF fan boards as to the nature of the "'verse" in FF. It depends on whether there is FTL travel, which isn't clearly defined in the series. In my NWN FF campaign, I placed it in a cluster of closely-situated stars, based on a map of the systems and planets mentioned in the various episodes of the show. About 20 habitable planets are mentioned in all by name, which would pretty much make for a crowded solar system (especially since the band where planets can support life is pretty narrow, AFAIK.

3) The Alliance controls more advanced weapons. (spoilers ahead; I know the OP wanted these left out, but they address the question, so highlight at your risk)

Spoiler

In "Ariel", the Alliance forces use stun weapons that fire an invisible energy wave (sonic?). The episode "Heart of Gold" has a frontier warlord who owns a laser pistol, but it malfunctions after a few shots. Another episode ("Trash") has the heroes stealing one of the few remaining copies of the first laser pistol (which no longer works).

Also, slug throwers seemed to be the standard weaponry during the Alliance-Separatist war. Finally, handheld slug thowers and shotguns might be desirable when one is in space; a more powerful projectile or energy weapon might be more likely to pierce the hull of a spacecraft, potentially killing both the shooter and the target.

 

[Lazybones]

Okay, I figured the Alliance had the best weapons. Now, who are the Alliance? Are they the same people that Mal was fighting in the first episode? And what was the war about? Do future episodes give more backstory, or should I not worry about it too much?

The Alliance is a coalition of Anglo-Chinese forces who control the interior/advanced planets. The Separatists ("Independents", "Browncoats") were the ones that Mal fought for. They represented the periphery/frontier planets that resented Alliance control and tried (and failed) to break off from the central authority represented by the Alliance.

I got the impression that many of the frontier colonies had been "fire and forget" deals that had been mostly abandoned after the initial wave of settlement. Thus they may have gotten used to self-rule and resented attempts to control them after the Alliance coalesced and tried to assert control. At the time of the series, Alliance control over the outer systems is still pretty weak at best, although Alliance military forces do appear fairly frequently at strategic points (e.g. on the train in "The Train Job"), and their cruisers do patrol the 'verse pretty frequently (although there never seems to be one nearby when you really need one!).

 

[Harmon]

About 20 habitable planets are mentioned in all by name, which would pretty much make for a crowded solar system (especially since the band where planets can support life is pretty narrow, AFAIK.

Near as I can tell the number of inhabited planets includes Terraformed moons as well. Anything that could have been was Terraformed.

 

[Welverin]

2) There is actually some debate on the FF fan boards as to the nature of the "'verse" in FF. It depends on whether there is FTL travel, which isn't clearly defined in the series.

There is, because there has to be for the show to work. Travel between star systems at the frequency and speed it is done in the show by the same group of people just doesn't happen without it.* And there is no way in hell all of those planets are in one star system.

*Distance between stars is measured in light years, and since they clearly don't spend years travelling between planets...

 

[Lazybones]

There is, because there has to be for the show to work. Travel between star systems at the frequency and speed it is done in the show by the same group of people just doesn't happen without it.* And there is no way in hell all of those planets are in one star system.

*Distance between stars is measured in light years, and since they clearly don't spend years travelling between planets...

I understand that (hasn't been THAT long since I took physics!); the debate is between multiple star systems (with FTL) or one large system with lots of habitable planets/moons (without FTL). That's why I made the point about it being unlikely that there was 20+ planets/moons that could be terraformed in one system.

 

[Pielorinho]

That's why I made the point about it being unlikely that there was 20+ planets/moons that could be terraformed in one system.

Why would this be unlikely? Why couldn't you end up with a single star system with something roughly equivalent to the asteroid belt, only with half a dozen planets instead of millions of planetoids? And then a couple gas giants with large moons could provide the remaining planets.

Daniel