Dead or Alive Best Script Ever!! by SniperJac

FIREFLY SCRIPTS

Dead or Alive Best Script Ever!!

POSTED BY: SNIPERJAC
UPDATED: Tuesday, November 7, 2006 23:29
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VIEWED: 25223
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Thursday, June 10, 2004 9:58 PM

I just read dead or alive and it is gorgeous. The bits with Jayne and the turtle are just so cute. I imagine Jayne doting over a fluffy turtle he won and it just cracks me up. It is so Jayne. He won it so its his. Doesn't matter if its girly, still his.
It's one of those scripts that has everything. The quintisential bits with River and Simon. I love the fact that Simon admits he's not sure if he did everything he could to save the alliance guy who found out his secret. The bits where River barely a child herself comforts the children.
The hilarious bits with Jayne. Cudos for the bit where he leads the other bounty hunters into the scrub.
The bits where Mal has to admit hes not right on everything.
The emotional bits where Kaylee is the heart and soul.
The gentle mothering bits with Inara. The most obvious nurse of the bunch.
The Zoe and Wash having their little arguement bit. In this one is probably a nasty since its wash dissing an old army buddy.
Admittedly not much play for Book. But he's not one of my fav's. He plays at bein all nice but has un unmistakable darkness about him. I really think he's a monster who has tried to conform. Which will obviously not work because he's using the bible to conform which is warped and evil in itself.
Anyway. I will simply say if this had been made it would be on my list of favs.

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Friday, June 11, 2004 12:18 AM

SPOOKYJESUS

The version we "have" is probably so early it didn't even get any of Joss' little finishing touches that he does to all the scripts - just to polish them and make them ring truer.

But - yeah - I enjoyed this episode, I've only seen it in my brain - but my brain's got 7.1 surround sound so that's ok.

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Thursday, July 29, 2004 3:28 AM

ORCBLASTER

Where can I find the script of Dead or Alive?

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Thursday, July 29, 2004 3:34 AM

NEDWARD

http://www.fireflyfans.net/feature.asp?f=45

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Thursday, July 29, 2004 5:20 AM

MCFLY

Wow, not really a 'feel good' ep. is it?

Except maybe Jayne's turtle...

Hack the planet!

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Thursday, July 29, 2004 7:04 AM

KERNELM

Quote:
Originally posted by Captain:
Perhaps we'll see bits and pieces of this script in the upcoming film(s), which would be a nice little wink in our direction by the production team.

Ideas from the script were already used for some of the later eps in the series, most notably "The Message".

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Thursday, July 29, 2004 8:19 AM

EMBASSY

I asked Joss about this script and he said, essentially, that they didn't shoot it because "it wasn't ready."

Finishing it made little sense with "the Message" in the can. It'd be like Old War Buddy of the Week.

Finally, I read the scene with Simon and the Alliance officer as Simon letting him die because he's a threat to River. Am I the only one who sees it that way? Simon was caught in a conflict between his oath and his sister, and he chose his sister, but it cost him.

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Thursday, July 29, 2004 8:27 AM

KERNELM

^ If you look at the production number on the script, it was meant to be around the middle of the series.

And yes, that was definitely Simon going to a _very_ dark place. Which might be part of the reason why it wasn't shot... Joss didn't feel they had earned going to that kind of place at that time.

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Thursday, July 29, 2004 9:21 AM

SPOOKYJESUS

I agree - I mean it suits his character in a way, adds to his mystery and romance in a creepy kind of way. But it would be to early to play that game at this stage in the series.

I'd say there was also an element of worry the fact that, at about this point in season 2 of Buffy they did a bit of an evil Giles that didn't really do a whole lot except open up his backstory.

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Thursday, July 29, 2004 11:44 AM

RIJPE

Quote:

Captain wrote:

It was quite a drastic turn of events for Simon as it proved that even he could show a bit of ruthlessness to save River, which to me, as others have already said, opens him up more.

I don't think that we see "ruthlessness" in Simon, exactly. I think that he was working towards saving the Alliance officer's life, except that he may have stopped paying attention to his patient when he had what looks to me to be a sort of panic attack.

I think that Simon tries to be very honest with himself. When Book questions him about the incident, he realizes that he had reasons for not wanting to save the officer's life, and doesn't trust that he did everything he could have to save his life as he would have if it had been River he had been trying to save.

I absolutely love the script. I have read this so many times, and it is so good (Kaylee's role does not quite seem right) that I actually feel like I have seen the episode.

Check out "The Summer Tree" by Guy Gavriel Kay if you like this sort of self-questioning moral dilemma. Damn good book.

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Sunday, March 6, 2005 2:57 PM

CROWLEY

I also liked the scene with Simon and Tanaka. River is the one thing Simon's life is anchored on, and if that was to be removed, there is no telling what he would do. Also River's storytime was one of my favourite bits.

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Monday, March 7, 2005 10:40 AM

ZEEK

I liked it cause it helped quench my thirst for more Firefly, but at the same time I don't think it was the greatest of episodes.

A lot of it felt the same as the message. When I read the script I thought it was supposed to be the next episode. That wouldn't have worked well at all.

Kaylee didn't seem to be exactly like Kaylee to me in that episode.

The part I found the most interesting was River storytime. When she said the princess tried to escape but they caught her and punished her by shocking her brain or something along those lines. Makes me wonder if River is not exactly all together with it because they made her that way out of punishment. They couldn't control her so she was a threat. They broke her and then she got rescued. Could be interesting since I'm sure eventually she'll have to face off against other members of the academy.

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Tuesday, May 17, 2005 1:49 PM

CHRISISALL

Really good story. Thanks to this site for us gettin' to see it. It even printed okay.
I'd put it like, between Shindig and Message for the purposes of a rating.

I can read! Chrisisall

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Wednesday, August 17, 2005 8:13 PM

GROOSALUGG

I just finished reading it last night, and honestly, I liked it better than "The Message"... which I know was written by Joss and Tim, but still, it ranks with "Bushwhacked" as one of the only two eps that I didn't just completely love.

Between Jayne's turtle, and River's stories, and Simon's lil' bit o' glimpsed darkness, it was just an overall great read, and it's too bad we never got to see it on film.

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Tuesday, September 20, 2005 2:06 PM

JATINOREI

I also really enjoyed "Dead or Alive". I was directed to it (and this site) from the Browncoats Forum, so I'm doubly glad of it. At first I thought it might be a fanfic script, but about 5 minutes into it I stopped caring either way. One of the nice things about seeing the DVD eps. as often as i have is that anytime I read such a script, or even a well written fanfic, I'm able to play it out in my brain just like I'm actually watching the episode. I see why Joss didn't want this getting aired as early as it would have needed to, especially in relation to Simon's scene w/Tanaka, and of course it's parralells to "The Message". Still, glad it was out there and I got to read it before the movie. So, w/ the DVD episodes, this script and the comic, now we sortof have 16 episodes around...

Can't Stop the Signal!!!

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Tuesday, September 20, 2005 2:33 PM

PIZMOBEACH

... fully loaded, safety off...

I really liked that script too - as someone has mentioned all the character elements rang true without being repetitive. But probably one of the reasons I REALLY liked that script was because I had watched all the eps many times over when I found the link and WHAM! another Firefly episode by the original writers! That was a very good day.

Scifi movie music + Firefly dialogue clips, 24 hours a day - http://www.scifiradio.net

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Sunday, September 25, 2005 4:56 PM

KIZYR

Meh... I'm very hesitant on it. There were a lot of points there where I thought "that character wouldn't do/say that..."

Say, I really can't picture Kaylee ever saying she can sympathize with wanting someone else dead. It's completely unlike her. And, considering how 'forgiving' Simon was to Jayne, I don't see him ever violating the Hippocratic oath, even if it risked his own life.

Although, I do see him rushing into an area crawling with Alliance to do some lifesaving. Hell, he did it on Ariel.

I'd reserve judgment on it unless I saw it produced and filmed. I can definitely see where Joss is coming from when he says the episode is unrefined and needs polish... KF

~Kaiser Farooque

ZOE: Preacher, don’t the Bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing?
BOOK: Quite specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps...

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Monday, November 14, 2005 1:30 PM

VISITINGMYINTENTIONS

I can see what Joss meant about it not being ready. Most of River's lines need to be rewritten (she's more than just a babbling child at that point, not that she ever really was). As people have pointed out, Kaylee is a touch un-Kaylee-ish at certain points. And the Wash/Zoe scenes cover the same ground as in Serenity and War Stories. I'd want a new twist on it if we're going to see it again. In a couple of places the folksy dialogue is a little strained; that should be cleaned up.

On the whole, though, it looks like a very good script, one whose basic premise I like a lot more than The Message. It also shows the good side of the Alliance. As Book said in War Stories, the Alliance is made up of individuals, and some of them are good. It would need a lot of rewriting to be made after The Message, though...

KAYLEE
Come on, Jayne silly, you know me...
I'm always okay.

"it has some sweet character deaths -- I mean moments!" - Joss Whedon

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Tuesday, December 6, 2005 12:02 AM

GEDEON

Quote:
.Kaylee is a touch un-Kaylee-ish at certain points...

I just knew some Kaylee fans would not like that!!! I loved that, feeling that Kaylee has that ability, to sympathise and really, really understand people. Well, something short of being phychic...

Quote:
And the Wash/Zoe scenes cover the same ground as in Serenity and War Stories...

Again, that made sense to me to have more than one episode with marriage problems. Had War Stories come after this, we would have really felt the conclusion of the Two Husbands problem. Like, yeah, they had a problem with Zoe's loyalty, but now, Wash is back in force.

Loved the episode insofar as the Alliance prods could change, be women, disappear, it would make very little difference for the script.

And if the Commander Harken (from Bushwhacked-Alliance ship) happenned to be planetside when a factory blew up, that would be interesting. He would board Serenity himself. He would recognise captain Reynolds.

You guys are right, it was a good FF fix after learning the episodes by heart...

Gedeon

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Tuesday, December 6, 2005 12:19 AM

CALHOUN

Quote:

chrisisall wrote:
Tuesday, May 17, 2005 13:49
Really good story. Thanks to this site for us gettin' to see it. It even printed okay.

Could you give me a quick lesson on how you printed this out please?

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Tuesday, December 6, 2005 7:59 AM

CHRISISALL

I, er... just brought it up onscreen and clicked the print icon on the above toolbar...sometimes I have to change the text size to get the entire page left to right, and as I remember I had to make it small in that instance to get everything. I had to abort the first time 'cause it was leaving out the last word or two at the right due to the medium text size; I had to go to small.

Hope that helps, I'm no computer wiz...

Chrisisallthumbs computer-wise

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Tuesday, December 6, 2005 9:23 AM

CALHOUN

Heya crisisall,

I thought you had some secret method..

I've experimented with a few different ways of printing fanfics etc in paperback format. A4 folded in half, print on both sides of the page. I can do it. It just aint easy is all.

Thanks anyway

LifeStudies 1.01 - The Angle Of The Dangle Is Indirectly Proportionate To The Heat Of The Beat,Provided The Mass Of The Ass Is Constant.

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Saturday, December 31, 2005 9:18 PM

DEMENTEDYAM

I'm curious to know why everyone is so suprised at simon's behavior in this episode:

what he did to the commander is exactly what he threatened to do to kaylee in the pilot, and for exactly the same reason: to save river.

this time, though, he actually had to do it.

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Wednesday, February 1, 2006 12:49 PM

LEIASKY

I loved this script. Are there more like it? Unfilmed Firefly episodes? Not the fan written ones.

I really thought Simon was well handled in the choices he made. I've only read this once, but my first impression was that it was left ambiguous as to whether or not Simon let the officer die. And I like that. Allows the viewer (or reader in this case)to formulate his or her own opinions of what happened. And, especially if this was filmed at the end of season 1 or in season 2, it would have shown the audience that Simon has toughened and grown up a bit more.

Tammy

"A government is a body of people usually notably ungoverned."

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Friday, March 31, 2006 10:49 AM

WHOME

I would have loved to have seen this one on screen. Obviously, there are some conflicts with other episodes (River's never having been to a fair, for instance, and her disjointed babbling), but a little shining up would have taken care of that. And, if the "old war buddy of the week" had been changed to just an old former browncoat, and Mal and Zoe just really wanted to trust him on principle, that might have cleared up some of the parallels to The Message.

I love how Simon is freaking out after Tanaka dies. I know some people read his "I don't know" as an admission of purposeful wrongdoing, but I read it more as an admission of fear that, however unconsciously, he may not have done everything in his power to save his patient. The realization that he could choose to let a patient die would really shake up an idealistic young doctor. (He did say in the pilot that he would let Kaylee die, but I think we all know he didn't mean it!)

I also love the shared look between Simon and Inara at the end, and how Kaylee notices it. She may be bordering on a "Bitch, get off my man!" moment. If this had gone on, we may have seen Kaylee's admiration of Inara turn into jealousy. Oooh, and then Jayne sees how upset Kaylee is, and he goes to comfort her, and they end up making out, and Simon finds out, and he's all, "What the hell?" and then everyone else finds out, except Mal, who's totally in the dark, so Inara tells him, and then Mal gets all jealous 'cause he thinks Simon's into Inara, and then something scary happens and there's a big gunfight and there's blood and explosions and everyone tells the truth while they're fighting off bad guys, and then everyone's friends again. Or not.

And the turtle. Aawwwwwwwwww........... How cute would it have been if Jayne had put a band-aid on it?

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