How did Mal get back into Serenity

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

How did Mal get back into Serenity - BDM?

POSTED BY: MAVOURNEEN
UPDATED: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 14:37
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Monday, October 30, 2006 6:55 AM

After watching the BDM for the umpteenth time over the weekend, I noticed a problem...

Towards the end of the movie, when Serenity is negotiating its way back through the Reavers and towards Mr Universe's pad, Serenity opens fire on a Reaver ship. This starts the huge chase scene between the Reavers & Serenity.

Mal is clearly seen in a space suit on top of Serenity, firing the cannon at the chasing Reaver ship.

A minute later (or so), Mal appears on the bridge, over Wash's shoulder.

How did he re-enter the ship?

He would have had to re-enter the ship as it was traveling very, very fast...don't you think that would be highly improbable, if not physically impossible?

Also on Haven, Mal tells Kaylee to muck up the engine, and gives her a 2 hour time frame to do it in. He then instructs Jayne and Wash to mount the cannon on top of Serenity.

Would they have been able to get it operational in 2 hours?

Has this been discussed before?

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Monday, October 30, 2006 7:24 AM

SIMONWHO

I think as soon as Mal has finished firing, he drops down into the waiting airlock. Then the acceleration doesn't matter as he's in the ship. The airlock seals, he takes off his suit and heads to the cockpit.

We also know the canon was operational beforehand (Book used it) so all Jayne and Wash had to do was get it lifted up onto the top of Serenity and bolt it into place.

The real question is where the hell did all the red paint come from?

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Monday, October 30, 2006 7:27 AM

TEACHDAIRE

As to your second question, the cannon is an artillery piece, so all they would have had to do was to put it on top of Serenity , and make sure it was secure.

As to the first part, there is a topside hatch (used in Trash). He would have run a line from the hatch to the cannon, and made his way back along it to gain entry (as is actually mentioned in the novelisation of the film).

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For every battle honour, a thousand heroes die along, unremembered and unsung...

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Monday, October 30, 2006 7:53 AM

DRAGONWINE

The red paint comes from Wally Mart. They're on every planet in the verse, right next to Starbucks.

It's a nothing part til you don't got one, then you have to go to ebay.....aaaaagh!

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Monday, October 30, 2006 8:33 AM

GWEK

That hatch Mal uses can also be seen in the Serenity comic ("Those Left Behind"). I believe Joss's 190 page version of the script might actually SHOW Mal getting back inside the ship (the sequence is a bit longer).

www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."

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Monday, October 30, 2006 8:34 AM

GWEK

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Monday, October 30, 2006 8:50 AM

MAVOURNEEN

Ok, perhaps he drops down the hatch before the ship starts speeding away. Perhaps the hatch was open while he was firing to facilitate getting back into the ship quickly.

Thanks, folks. I knew someone would answer this.

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Monday, October 30, 2006 8:57 AM

ZEEK

Why would the speed matter in space? There's no wind trying to push Mal off. I'm sure his suit has some magnetic soles to it like Early's seemed to. All he has to do is walk along the hull and climb in. I mean he's moving through space at the exact same speed as the ship anyway. So, I don't see much problem with it.

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Monday, October 30, 2006 9:03 AM

CYBERSNARK

Yeah, the speed would only matter when the ship accellerates or slows down. Once it gets to a regular cruising speed, inertia takes over and it feels like they're standing still.

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

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Monday, October 30, 2006 9:11 AM

MAVOURNEEN

Sorry, excuse my lack of physics/cosmology training...I was off reading Hawthorne when Mr. Moore was teaching AP Physics. I was never much into science...

So if he's got magnetic soles...and there is no wind resistance...but isn't Wash flying erratically trying to evade the Reavers? Would that matter?
Why can't I just accept this and let it go?

*Mav tries really really hard to wrap her nugget 'round this one*

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Monday, October 30, 2006 1:55 PM

TEACHDAIRE

No. They were already on course. It would just have been a straight line dash.

-------------------------------------------------
For every battle honour, a thousand heroes die along, unremembered and unsung...

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Monday, October 30, 2006 2:26 PM

TRAVELER

Wash would have had to wait to accelerate the ship until Mal got into the airlock. But Mal did not spend much time with the cannon. The Reavers don't need a lot of provocation. So a quick dash to the airlock and Mal tells Wash to hit the gas.

But I have thought about the red paint as well. Unless Kaylee repaints the engine room every week, where did it come from?

Traveler

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Monday, October 30, 2006 2:40 PM

MOOSE

What makes you all think that it's actually paint?

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Monday, October 30, 2006 3:56 PM

FLORALBUNNY

Red paint?
Easy peasy.
Mal's orders are given at Haven.
Haven is (or at least has been) a mining facility.
All that metal needs some protection from time to time.
There could be gallons of Rust-Oleum or its 26thc.
equivalent stored in one of those shacks or shafts.
Better ideas welcome...

bun
~Bastards tinged my turtle~

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Monday, October 30, 2006 5:54 PM

OUT2THEBLACK

Quote:
Originally posted by Moose:
What makes you all think that it's actually paint?

Errr , Mal says , " We'll need paint . Lots of red paint ." I think that was my first clue .

Still Flyin' !

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Monday, October 30, 2006 10:49 PM

BELUGASMOM

Thanks for the explanation(s). The reboarding choreography has bothered me since viewing 1, also.

Life is short, brutal, and unpredictable. EAT DESSERT FIRST.

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Monday, October 30, 2006 10:58 PM

CHOO1701

Joss did say it was a mistake (i.e: ship flew of foo quickly after the cannon fired, thus leaving Mal exposed

)

Although there is a hatch on the dome (yet non by the stair well that everyone come in by [Bushwacked. OiS, etc...]), right near where the cannon would be, so he could just climb down that.

(top view can be seen here: http://www.fireflywiki.org/Firefly/FireflyTransport )

Hope that helps :)

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REAVERS ATE MY HAMSTER!!!

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Tuesday, October 31, 2006 7:00 AM

CYBERSNARK

Quote:
Originally posted by traveler:
Wash would have had to wait to accelerate the ship until Mal got into the airlock. But Mal did not spend much time with the cannon. The Reavers don't need a lot of provocation. So a quick dash to the airlock and Mal tells Wash to hit the gas.

Not really.

Mal fires the cannon, and Wash punches it. Mal hangs onto the cannon (I'm assuming he was secured there somehow), as Serenity grabs some distance and Wash lets up on the accelerator a bit. When the acceleration ends (with the ship still flying at a pretty significant clip, 'cause of Newtonian motion), Mal scrambles to the airlock and Wash can accellerate again if needed.

The actual mechanics of the Miranda-to-Mr. Universe's World flight aren't clear (the 'verse just isn't developed that way). What we see in the movie looks like Serenity and the Reavers accelerate up to speed, then switch off engines, allowing inertia to do the job until they reach the cloud.

They could be accelerating constantly, but by the time they reach Mr. Universe's World, they'd be moving way too fast to be able to manoeuvre (I'm guessing the Reavers wouldn't have followed standard deceleration procedures, given there was a chase on).

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

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Tuesday, October 31, 2006 12:06 PM

KELKHIL

See I always thought it was Jayne firing the cannon. I guess I will have to go back and study that scene now.

As far as falling off during acceleration.... as long as he was tied down to the ship he would be fine. The force from accelerating would not be in existance in the vacuum of space. Sure he might be left behind if he was not tied down, but I do not believe it would take that much effort to hold on.

Kelkhil

The Shirtless Forsaken

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Tuesday, October 31, 2006 2:19 PM

TRAVELER

If Mal were strapped down he probably would be okay. It would depend on the rate of acceleration. I still can't believe the time they did the Crazy Ivan; is that what it was called? Anyway, the thrust appeared immense. How could Mal, Jayne, and Kaylee not be flattened into pancakes. Our astronauts have to be strapped down using the propulsion systems of today's rockets. But they have done this same thing in every other science fiction show, so why not Firefly.

About the paint. I forgot that the sanctuary was an old mining site. They could have supplies like paint in storage.

Traveler

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Tuesday, October 31, 2006 2:24 PM

NVGHOSTRIDER

A morbid thought, but I think they bled out a few of the folks on Haven had they not found any red paint. They mounted a few bodies so why not?

ADD: Remember River stating how quickly the bodiy can be drained of blood? Foreshadowing?

Happy Birthday PsychoBilly!

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Tuesday, October 31, 2006 2:37 PM

GORRAMREEVERS

As some before noted, acceleration in space = no problem in you're secured (mag boots, straps etc)....

It was definitely MAL firing cannon: see his mug in the visor....

He mentions paint on Haven, but I'm sure if they couldn't find enough, they'd "make do" (use imagination)....

For a Crazy Ivan refresher, watch/read "The Hunt For Red October".....

Or, Mal could have just beamed aboard.....whoops sorry mixed up shows!!! :)

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