Let's Speculate Wildly About the Prologue of "Serenity" by magus3d

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Let's Speculate Wildly About the Prologue of "Serenity"

POSTED BY: MAGUS3D
UPDATED: Wednesday, December 8, 2004 11:00
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Thursday, November 25, 2004 8:20 PM

How does "Serenity" begin? How does Joss introduce the characters to a new audience? And then get on with the movie?

Here's my thoughts...

River. Ain't no two ways about it. She's the best way to tell the story of "What's Happened So Far"... River's an experiential character. She's there to remind us of who we are and what we want to protect. She's the innocent in a den of thieves and cutthroats. She's the freedom we seek. She comprehends, but she does not understand. She's mostly impartial. She IS the third person.

What better way to begin the story, than with River's voice over. Not some stupid crawling text prologue crap... Get right into the heart of the 'verse with a "diary entry" about her "family". Throw in some suitably poinant "deeply intuitive" comments on each of the characters, and their relationship to each other. Talk about the war, and what it meant to those that were in it. Talk about the Alliance, the Reavers, the 'verse -- Talk about the perplexing life of crime...

...Then go straight to a Bank Job!

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Friday, November 26, 2004 8:42 AM

EBONEZER

I hope there isn't a prologue. I hope Joss finds some fantasticly creative way to throw us into the action, and inrtoduce all the charchters to the 'browncoats to be,' without some prologe voice over thing.

That or Wash's dinosaurs doing it.

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Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Friday, November 26, 2004 8:43 AM

MALICIOUS

Ebo! Nasty girl.

Mal-licious

Co-Holder of the Red Bell from Hell

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Friday, November 26, 2004 8:46 AM

EBONEZER

Hey! That not what I ment! You got a smutty mind!

I ment it should open with Wash playing with his dinosaurs, and in their little dinosaur voices they could talk about the crew and do the introductions.

It would be strangly poetical and fitting too (cuz thats how serenity the episode started)

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Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Friday, November 26, 2004 9:00 AM

ZOID

ebonezer wrote:

Quote:
Hey! That not what I ment! You got a smutty mind!

Yes, she does. The Lucious 'Licious is very much like the capital of Hungary: Half 'Budy', half 'Pest'...

v/r,
-zed

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Friday, November 26, 2004 11:50 AM

MALICIOUS

Zoid! How the HECK did you know I am of Hungarian descent?? Weird.

Ratio should be more like 40-60, though, wouldn't you say?

Mal-licious

Co-Holder of the Red Bell from Hell

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Friday, November 26, 2004 11:52 AM

EBONEZER

I think Mal just hijacked another thread. Are you making notches on your mouse now or what?

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Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

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Friday, November 26, 2004 12:02 PM

MALICIOUS

Ooops. Yeah, I think I'm up to like "4 billion hijacked" by now. I can't help it! (begins to whine) I think I have ADD or something. Oh! a new clubhouse thread.....

Mal-licious

Co-Holder of the Red Bell from Hell

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Monday, November 29, 2004 8:48 AM

FORRESTWOLF

Okay, I'm taking a stab at resurrecting this thread. I was just watching Big Red (yep - OLD movie), and the opening has the music merge into the music from a little boy playing a harmonica as he walks down the dirt road.

I got chills down my spine as I imagined instead the opening of Serenity, with Mal as a child walking down a dusty road on Shadow, near his mom's ranch. At a neighbor's porch, an old man is playing the theme song, or something similar, on his guitar; as Mal smiles little boy-like at the old man, a shadow falls from overhead. The Alliance has arrived...

Whad'ya think?

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Thursday, December 2, 2004 9:44 AM

REGINAROADIE

Well, if I were given the uneviable task in having to explain the series and what's happened before to a new audience, I'd have something like the last scene in the Objects in Space episode. Just a long shot showing the interactions and personalities of each of the characters. In their sparring dialogue, all the past history and back story would be explained subtly. And of course, there would be some sort of event happening that could help catch up what the crew's been up to lately for us diehard fans. Like maybe a wedding on ship between Simon and Kaylee (of course I'm plugging my own fanfic here, so bear with me on that.)

They should actually go back to THE TRAIN JOB for inspiration, because if it was the "second pilot", then they did a masterful job explaining the situation and the characters in an incredibly short time.

"NO HAI ES BANDAI. THERE IS....NO.....BAND. AND YET....WE HEAR A BAND."

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Thursday, December 2, 2004 3:48 PM

SWITCHY

Though I run the risk of repeating myself, over a year ago I predicted the movie opening with a thrilling sequence that takes place just before the events in the pilot. It's all about Simon smuggling River out of the academy and ends with their arrival on Serenity. It then picks up after the series where they've become part of the crew and we are introduced to the other characters in the middle of a job.

I did like the image earlier in the thread with Mal as a child and the arrival of the alliance. That's pretty good.

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Friday, December 3, 2004 4:22 AM

EVILTOBZ

Quote:
Originally posted by ebonezer:
That or Wash's dinosaurs doing it.

oh yeah, that's the way to go. i like that idea.

switchy's plan is a good one too.could work pretty nice. but i still like the dinosaur one :)

---------------------------------------------
eviltobz - that's lowercase gorram it!

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Friday, December 3, 2004 5:29 AM

CYBERSNARK

How 'bout the stegosaurus smuggling the T-rex out of the Academy. . .

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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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Friday, December 3, 2004 6:44 AM

GOJIRO

I have it on good authority that this is how Serenity begins:

Select to view spoiler:

We stare into the black, seeing nothing but stars.

FANFARE of music

Text appears at the bottom of the screen and continues to scroll up and seemingly off into the distance:

EPISODE XV: A NEW HOPE

"It is a dark time in the galaxy. The Alliance has conquered the Independent Faction and unified all the planets under their rule. The remaining Independents, or Browncoats, as they prefer, have fled to the rim, seeking what little freedom remains there.

"Among them are the crew of Serenity, a ragtag, fugitive bunch of criminals taking whatever jobs they can find to keep flying. Among them are River and Simon Tam, sister and brother, fugitives from the Alliance..."

As this text fades from the screen, Serenity speeds over our heads and into the frame. She is running hard.

Missles whizz from OS toward Serenity, and soon a huge Alliance cruiser appears. It keeps coming and coming, a massive ship that dwarfs the tiny Firefly transport.

Okay, maybe not.

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Friday, December 3, 2004 9:09 AM

BADGERSHAT

Quote:
Originally posted by ebonezer:
I think Mal just hijacked another thread. Are you making notches on your mouse now or what?

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Four out of five dentists reccomend calling Ebo a girl.

... that's what she does, she hijacks threads (especially any thread that I create... I'd threaten her with a spanking, but I think she'd she that as a promise...

--Jefé The Hat

***************************
--Don't bother trying to predict, figure out, second guess, criticize, or suggest anything that comes from the mind of Joss Whedon, for you shall usually be wrong, and shall find out the Truth and Purpose in due time.
(This is the Truth of Whedoning)

"I like smackin 'em"--Jayne

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Friday, December 3, 2004 11:54 AM

FLUGUFRELSARINN

I was thinking about this the other day. I'm going to put this in spoiler things because it mentions a character from the movie, just in case.

Select to view spoiler:

I think a really cool way to do it was for it to be as a "briefing" from the Alliance to The Operative. The Operative needs to know who he's looking for, so they could explain about River and her situation and how Simon stole her and took her to a Firefly class vessel. I think you could explain everything you need to know, and it wouldn't seem too prologue-like.

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Friday, December 3, 2004 3:36 PM

MALICIOUS

"SHE" is not amused. Be gone.

I think the dinosaurs "doing it" is gross. But if it sells the movie, who am I to complain? Ebo just has that kind of mind, I guess.

Did someone say something about spankin's?

Mal-licious

Co-Holder of the Red Bell from Hell

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Saturday, December 4, 2004 4:06 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

First of all..

Quote:
That or Wash's dinosaurs doing it

Ebonezer, I'm not sure that Jurassic porn is quite the mood Joss wants to start his movie with. I could be wrong.

Per the BDM its self, I'm not too worried. Remember, Joss and Tim had all of a weekend to come up with a script to introduce everyone (again) AFTER the pilot had been done. There are lots of ways this could be done, but it'll just depend on what it is that Joss feels is most important. Is this a story about Simon and River ? Yes, but not so much. It's a story about Mal and his loss of faith and his longing for freedom. Mal looks toward the future while living in the past....literally. Serenity. But of course, that doesn't mean that the main theme is needed to introduce everyone else. It could easily start w/ River and Simon, or Book, or the Alliance, or even Reavers....

Personally, I'm thinking an action scene of some sort. Be it a flashback to the war, or what started the war or perhaps another Train Job scenario ? Naww... done that one already.

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Saturday, December 4, 2004 10:57 PM

DEANNAMAY

I sort of see them giving us a big picture to begin with, the Alliance, the war, the people disinfranchised, almost a quick history lesson. People leaving earth, forming new worlds. Then they have the opening credits. Then we get the more personal view, Mal whose past is formed by the Alliance winning, and Simon/River, their present destroyed by the same thing.

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Sunday, December 5, 2004 3:23 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Quote:
Originally posted by DeannaMay:
I sort of see them giving us a big picture to begin with, the Alliance, the war, the people disinfranchised, almost a quick history lesson. People leaving earth, forming new worlds. Then they have the opening credits. Then we get the more personal view, Mal whose past is formed by the Alliance winning, and Simon/River, their present destroyed by the same thing.

The way I read it, I sense almost a LOTR type opening. I never saw the narrated openings for the series, ( one w/ Mal, another w/ Book? )so I wonder if it'll be something similar. But unlike LOTR, it's my understanding that there are plans to make 2 more movies IF this one does well enough. So we're likely to see some pretty cool action early on, to get the ball rolling, as it were. Yes, maybe a fast paced chase scene between Serenity and an Alliance cruiser ....above a planet that slowly fills the screen ( gee, sounds a bit too familar

)

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

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Sunday, December 5, 2004 4:37 AM

BRIONJAEGER

Greetings&Felecitations:

Heard some good things here and some not so good. It could go either way with the opening scene, action or a broad outline of how they got to where they are. Depends on what the studio wanted I'd think. Joss had wanted a slower intro to the series, but Fox wanted something faster, hence the barroom brawl. Perhaps we'll see something like that with flashbacks on the different characters as they appear in the scene. Or they could do a slower opening, I liked the OIS idea, River's going by each character and having the comment made by each character and a flash of history. That could work as well.
But what my personal favourite would be: Book narrating a three minute opening showing the history of the 'verse from the depletion of old earth, to the Reavers, to the War (every Southern refer's to the War of northern Aggression with a captial letter even after 140 years!)to the current situation, ending on Serenity with him reading from the Book as the others come and go from the galley.
Brion Jaeger of Amber

"Once you've been in Serenity, how can you ever leave?" Zoe to Simon in a scene deleted from the pilot but kept on the DVD

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Sunday, December 5, 2004 1:19 PM

EBONEZER

Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
First of all..
Quote:
That or Wash's dinosaurs doing it
Ebonezer, I'm not sure that Jurassic porn is quite the mood Joss wants to start his movie with. I could be wrong.

Doesn't anybody ever listen to me?

Quote:
Originally posted by ebonezer:
Hey! That not what I ment! You got a smutty mind!

I ment it should open with Wash playing with his dinosaurs, and in their little dinosaur voices they could talk about the crew and do the introductions.

It would be strangly poetical and fitting too (cuz thats how serenity the episode started)

Sheesh, you people don't listen do you.

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Four out of five gynecologists recommend calling Ebo a girl.

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Sunday, December 5, 2004 1:33 PM

KRAD

It's amusing as heck reading this thread, since I know how the movie will go. *evil laugh*

Quote:
Originally posted by reginaroadie:
They should actually go back to THE TRAIN JOB for inspiration, because if it was the "second pilot", then they did a masterful job explaining the situation and the characters in an incredibly short time.

Wow, I couldn't possibly disagree with this sentiment more. "The Train Job" did an awful job of introducing the universe and the characters. I maintain that, had Fox started with "Serenity," and had "The Train Job" never existed, we wouldn't be awaiting the release of Serenity as a feature film, because we'd all be too busy watching Firefly's third season right now. (And the commentary by Mssrs. Whedon and Minear that accompanies "The Train Job" bears me out in some ways.)

Keith R.A. DeCandido
keith@decandido.net
www.DeCandido.net | www.AlbeShiloh.com
www.livejournal.com/~kradical

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Sunday, December 5, 2004 5:06 PM

PIZMOBEACH

... fully loaded, safety off...

KRAD - So just how lethal is your non-disclosure clause?? Any wiggle room... at all... any?
Anyhow... I think it would be great if the movie opened as the trailer *might* suggest with the crew pulling off an incredibly lame heist. This would lower expectations for the new audience in terms of the nobility of the characters, which would perfectly set the scene for the rest of the movie, ie, the true heroics of these characters as they fight for one of their own.

That guy, working electric, he never drank with us!

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Tuesday, December 7, 2004 7:09 AM

AGEHN

*wanders into thread*

There's nothing wrong with scrolling text..
I like the SW intros fine. Not that they'd work well with Serenity, but yeah.

Ooh, food..

*wanders out of thread*

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Tuesday, December 7, 2004 9:53 AM

KAYLEEFRYE

I agree that we don't need the main theme (Ballad of Serenity) to introduce characters, but I would absolutely love! it if Mal or Wash or someone just hummed it or something. Like a little funny 'thanks' to all the die hard browncoats out there come to see the movie. That would be great, and it seems like something Joss might do. Oiy, is it September yet?

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Tuesday, December 7, 2004 12:46 PM

MAUGWAI

It opens with a man running from a pitchfork-waving, torch-bearing type crowd. He looks like a monster, covered in blueish hair and muscles, and he runs barefoot. He stops in an alley, hiding, and finds a piece of paper on the ground. He gets out his glasses and puts them on as the crowd yells for his hide in the distance.

Oh, wait. Did you say Serenity or X-Men 3?
Because I think that intro could work for either film.

"Dear diary, today I was pompous and my sister was crazy."

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Tuesday, December 7, 2004 5:45 PM

E221B

About using a voice over in the prologue:

The thing about voice-overs in cinema today is that they are extremely taboo. Most screenwriters will say that using a voice over ends up being a short-cut that avoid tough and interesting exposition. It is a tell-tale sign of a student horror short-film, if the main character begins the film with a gloomy voice over (I should know, I wrote one with a beginning just like that, but over the course of countless revisions, more and more of the voice over was cut because I was learning more effective ways of "showing" not "telling") The format of film is amazing because you don't even need words to show something, action and visuals can tell so much in a film and most general exposition that you can tell in a voice-over can be told more effectively other ways. It is a cardinal rule of screenwriting (that of course can be broken, but really shouldn't) to "show, not tell" what you want the audience to learn. That's not to say that voice-overs should not be used - I'm sure that if Joss really wanted to use someone like River to do a voice-over, he would write a very effective one - but Joss I'm sure knows the breadth of what he can do in film (as opposed to TV) and will be able to give exposition without resulting to a voice-over.

Inara: What did I say to you about barging in to my shuttle?
Mal: That it was manly and impulsive?
Inara: Yes, precisely, only the exact phrase I used was "don't."

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Tuesday, December 7, 2004 7:05 PM

ROCKETJOCK

We seem to have gone a bit off topic here...

Oh. Wait.

You mean this isn't the "Jurassic Porn" thread?

"Hermanos! The Devil has built a robot! Andale!" -- Numero Cinco

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Wednesday, December 8, 2004 3:18 AM

MAGUS3D

E221b : RE: voice over taboo...
That's exactly why I think it would be fitting for "Serenity" to have a voice-over... It's so retro, nobody does it anymore -- like camera zooms and querky framing... It's possible to have a voice-over with good visual representation to get the exposition out of the way...

p.s. -- "Show... Don't Tell..."

... sorry, makes me laugh...

... I Majored in Professional Writing (Scriptwriting) -- I've been using that exact phrase for many years now... Constantly... especially with a mate of mine who graduated Law and BA English who had delusions of being a writer... Finally got him to do a post grad in pro writing last year -- now he's an assistant lecturer in scriptwriting at Uni, and he's doing his Masters in Professional Writing -- so now he keeps telling me, "Show... Don't Tell..."
Oh, the irony...

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Wednesday, December 8, 2004 11:00 AM

MALICIOUS

Quote:
Originally posted by RocketJock:
We seem to have gone a bit off topic here...

Oh. Wait.

You mean this isn't the "Jurassic Porn" thread?

"Hermanos! The Devil has built a robot! Andale!" -- Numero Cinco

You'll have to get a private room in the treehouse and get Ebo to talk "dirty-dino" talk to you.

Mal-licious

Co-Holder of the Red Bell from Hell

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