Super SPOILER FILLED Serenity thread

[CarlZog]

As for Joss killing characters... while I know that Mr. Whedon has no problem with killing off main characters, I think that, in this case, it was more that Alan had other projects and couldn't (or wouldn't) guarantee that he would be available for the filming of other movies.

That's interesting! Here I was thinking how awful he must feel to be the one who got axed out of all the possible future projects this franchise may have to offer. What else is he working on?

On the other hand, given the typecasted fate of the original Star Trek cast, maybe the smart thing for an actor to do IS to run as fast as he can in the opposite direction.

Carl

 

[Cthulhudrew]

Something occurred to me at work last night... why didn't the crew loot Miranda? Within a couple of hours they would have netted enough money for all of them to retire...

Who says they didn't? Just because we didn't see it?

Or that could be the plot for the second movie- Serenity 2: A Fistful of Loot.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

Unrelated musing...how far gone are the Reavers? They can operate spacecraft, but how good is their maintenance? Lack of maintenance will kill them sooner rather than later, I'd think. Do they just hop from ship to ship when they capture them?

As I recall from the pilot, they don't seem to care much. Seems to me Mal or someone made a comment about them running without shielding around their engine core or something, which would be foolish for anyone sane- which is how they knew it was Reavers that had found them.

 

[sniffles]

Question I had with the Reavers... if they were caused by the drug that was administered, does that mean that their offspring (children born off-world) would NOT be Reavers? Is this a society that will be dead when the last of the children that were on Miranda die?

-Palantir

If the Reavers have children, those children would be raised in the Reaver culture. They would be taught to rape and kill, and that cannibalism is normal. Therefore the Reavers will continue even when all of those who were created by the pax are dead. The Reavers could only be destroyed as a sub-culture if someone took away all their children and raised them in a society free of Reaver influence.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

(Glass was never a big sci-fi fan, and (I think) wasn't particularly attached to this project)

Ron Glass, from interviews I've read, absolutely loved the show and the cast. He was apparently in tears at the news of the shows cancellation.

I know that he had other commitments (philanthropic) that kept his schedule and signing on for the movie on hold for a while, but I never got the impression that he didn't like Firefly/Serenity.

[EDIT] Also, on Alan Tudyk's possible other commitments, here's a quote from him (from the Fireflymovie MB) about Wash's Journey:

I really liked [Wash's fate]. I was a fan of it. Even when we did the show, I felt that Wash was a really good character to kill. In my head, I thought two season and then [Joss] should kill me. No one would expect it. I even mentioned it to Joss once, about Wash being a good sympathetic kill. As it works, where it is in the movie, I really like how it raises the stakes for everybody. We've lost two already and people are bleeding and shot and the captain is a mess. Wash's death helps with the feeling that all bets are off. I kind of also liked that it's not one of those deaths where I'm going, "Go on without me! I'll hold 'em off for as long as possible. You save yourselves, I love you sweetheart." Instead, it's "Whoopee, I just landed the spaceship!" Dead. Joss has a talent for sticking large wooden things through people's hearts.

As for looting Miranda... Mal had Serenity rebuilt at the end of the movie. I was in shock over Wash and all, but even through that, I was thinking, "Where did Mal get the money to rebuild his ship?" Maybe Mr. Universe had some old ships laying around that were scavenged? Or maybe there were some Miranda trinkets that were traded...

The Operative mentions that he allowed the crew to heal and make repairs, so I think it was more to do with Alliance funding than any lootage.

I also found it odd that Zoe was the one to break ranks in the final fight with the Reavers. While she did undergo a deep and immediate trauma, she was also the only hardened military veteran of the Unification War on the line.

To me, that was what really underscored just how traumatic it must have been for her. She, of the eternally cool head, decides to chuck it all when the love of her life is killed.

 

[Darth K'Trava]

Just thought I'd throw it out there - US Weekly says in this week's issue that Nathan Fillion "doesn't have a face for movies" ... WTF??

Or at least not for movie POSTERS. I took a look at the poster and asked who the guy was that looked like Charlie Sheen...

 

[Shadowdancer]

One of the small things I liked about the movie was, when they were preparing to hold off the Reavers, Jayne and everyone else are all busy moving crates, etc. Zoe is just standing there the whole time, staring at the door and loading her shotgun. Nice contrast, with her as the motionless center of the room and everything else all motion around her.

I also liked the Big Damn Tracking Shot near the start of the movie to introduce the ship and everyone aboard. That was pretty impressive, as long, continuous shots like that are hard to do and require lots of rehearsal. What made this one even more difficult is periodically, the cast and camera had to jolt about as if the ship were encountering turbulence.

As for Book and Walsh, and the topic of sequels: The first time I saw the movie was at the first batch of advance screenings last May in Austin. Ron Glass and Nathan Fillion were at the screening. Afterwards, Ron said both Joss and Nathan had talked to him during filming to say that Book's death in this movie did not mean Book would not be in future movies. There is the possibility of prequels (or at least movies set during the time of the series, or between the end of the series and the movie), or flashbacks, or other things. Ron also said he would be in favor of that, depending on the script.

Ron also said, when asked by someone about Book's past, that the only thing he would reveal is that Book was not a virgin.

As for Walsh, Nathan basically said that Alan was too much in demand to be able to commit to future projects. Alan had more credits than any of the others -- except Adam Baldwin -- prior to the series (28 Days, A Knight's Tale, Patch Adams, Wonder Boys, Hearts in Atlantis) and afterwards (Dodgeball, I Robot, Into the West). He's an in-demand character actor with a growing portfolio. I also think Nathan didn't like having him around on the set because Alan is funnier than Nathan.

Like many others, I thought Walsh's death signified a TPK. I thought Joss was going for a Hamlet ending -- everyone on stage is dead. Then when River jumped into the room full of Reavers, I felt she would survive.

 

[Umbran]

Remember from the TV series how they make new Reavers...

Correction - how they tell us they make Reavers. We never actually see the process, only the results. It isn't like we've got a reliable witness who has seen it, now do we? Maybe it's done by brainwashing. Maybe they give the guy a good whiff of the Pax. And maybe it isn't intentionally "done" at all. Maybe it just happens.

 

[Pielorinho]

...or maybe that guy isn't an honest-to-Gosh reaver, but is a guy who has heard the rumors, and who snapped under the horror of watching the atrocities that the real reavers committed, and is now saying, "I'm a Reaver I'm a Reaver I'm a Reaver!" loudly enough in his head that he doesn't have to think about what he's seen.

I really like having a unique and physiological explanation for the Reavers, so that's how it's going to be in my head .

Daniel

 

[Kesh]

The Reavers are very far gone. Not only do they mutilate themselves, they run their ships' reactors "hot." Meaning, they're allowing radiation to leak out. It's not clear if that offers any tactical advantage to the ships themselves, but it's a horrific psychological weapon: seeing a ship that's putting out that much radiation coming at you, knowing the crew has to be suicidal to do such a thing...