new captain

POSTED BY: whatnow
UPDATED: Thursday, October 16, 2003 21:14
VIEWED: 8959
PAGE 1 of 1

WHATNOW

Wednesday, October 2, 2002 9:02 PM

I believe the captains character is much too young. Is it possible to trade positions? Make Ron Glass the captain and Mal the Book.

Whatnow

ZICSOFT

Thursday, October 3, 2002 1:10 AM

Oh, right. Put a clergyman in charge of a gang of criminals! That'll work!

Mal may have fewer years than Book, but that's not the same as being younger. Remember, six years ago he was a platoon sargeant on the losing side in a nasty civil war. That's a job they give to young people -- and which ages them very rapidly.

JOSS, WHERE'S MY CHECK???!!!

JERRY

Thursday, October 3, 2002 2:03 AM

Mal was a sergeant during the war, six years earlier. He's the right age for that. It's not like he's commanding the Enterprise, which would take a career to achieve.

ZILL222

Saturday, October 5, 2002 5:23 AM

I would salute hot-Cowboy-pants. mmmmmmhotcowboypants.

BUGDOG

Sunday, October 6, 2002 1:13 AM

My husband is 33, has four years in the army (including time spent in the Gulf War) and had almost 10 years on with the Houston Police Department before he was forced to retire (he's sick - long story there).
So, I figure he's younger than Mal, but he has the common sense and leadership ability to run his own ship. No problem with Mal being young here. Heh, makes me feel less old :)

~bugdog

ZICSOFT

Sunday, October 6, 2002 2:05 AM

I can only quote Tom Lehrer: "By the time Mozart was my age, he'd already been dead two years!"

JOSS, WHERE'S MY CHECK???!!!

ZICSOFT

Sunday, October 6, 2002 2:11 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Jerry:
Mal was a sergeant during the war, six years earlier. He's the right age for that. It's not like he's commanding the Enterprise, which would take a career to achieve.

Actually, if you look at the first season of Star Trek, TOS, you'll see that Kirk is wearing 2-1/2 stripes on the sleeves of his uniform. They're futuristic stripes, but the close enough to the insignia of the U.S. Navy to suggest that he's a Lieutenant Commander. That's about the right rank for somebody in their 30s. And indeed, William Shatner was 35 when Star Trek first went on the air.

JOSS, WHERE'S MY CHECK???!!!

LIVINGIMPAIRED

Sunday, October 6, 2002 3:02 AM

What does it matter what age Mal is? I could do a Forrest Gump, buy a boat, and then I could be a captain too.

What I wonder is where Mal got the money to by Serentiy. It may be an old ship, but ships still can't be cheap. Paticulary one of its size.

________________

"You still don't get it. It's not about right, not about wrong... It's about Power." —Morph-O-Monster, "Lessons"

RIMRAT

Saturday, December 7, 2002 11:08 AM

Okay, my husband was Long Rang Recon going into places no one was supposed to be when he was only 22. By his early 30's he'd earned Staff Sergeant with a squad who'd follow him and his Green Beret to hell and back. I did my time in the Gulf as a enlisted nurse when I was 38 at 15 years into my Army career.

Age has nothing on 'real life'. There are some 'kids' in their 40's and some wise old men in their late '20's.

Getting shot at ages a person fast.

Rimrat

BRTICK

Monday, December 30, 2002 8:37 PM

how could he be too young? He owns the ship right? no one promoted him to captain, its his ship.

Keep Flying!

DUTCH

Wednesday, April 30, 2003 1:59 AM

I like to compare Mal with Han Solo, who wasn't much older when he was captain of the Falcon in Ep4.

Also, remember he's more of an outlaw leader than a captain.

OPTIMUS1998

Thursday, October 16, 2003 2:51 AM

so... Mal is Han Solo, I can see it...
but does that make Zoe Chewbaaca?

.... Wash did say that he wasn't into hairy women before he met her....

TALONPEST

Thursday, October 16, 2003 4:57 AM

Yeah, it's not a military rank at all. A 10 year old could be a captian if he owned his own ship and wanted to run it. The Han Solo analogy is very accurate.

By the way, Kirk was supposed to be the youngest captian ever in Starfleet at 35- he never commanded the ship as a Lt. Comander.

11THHOUR

Thursday, October 16, 2003 6:35 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by whatnow:
I believe the captains character is much too young. Is it possible to trade positions? Make Ron Glass the captain and Mal the Book.

Funny you should say that...

The first time a friend of mine looked at the "Firefly Life Lessons" poster, he pointed to Book and asked if he was the captain!

Granted that my friend was not familiar with Firefly, but at first glance Ron Glass was the one who he assumed looked "captainy".

Of course there is still so much to discover about Book's past. Perhaps he WAS a captain!

11thHour

__________________________________________________________

~ "Every frame of this movie looks like someone's last known photograph." - Joel Hodgson, MST3K

~ "Religion is for people who are afraid of Hell. Spirituality is for those who've been there." - American Indian proverb

11THHOUR

Thursday, October 16, 2003 6:41 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by LivingImpaired:
What I wonder is where Mal got the money to by Serentiy. It may be an old ship, but ships still can't be cheap. Paticulary one of its size.

Excellent question... and the subject of an interesting thread on the OB. There were many theories from the logical to the ludicrous as to how Mal could afford to buy Serenity.

I'm proud to say that my theories definitely fell into the ludicrous camp.

ah the fun...

11thHour

__________________________________________________________

~ "Every frame of this movie looks like someone's last known photograph." - Joel Hodgson, MST3K

~ "Religion is for people who are afraid of Hell. Spirituality is for those who've been there." - American Indian proverb

KISPEXI2

Thursday, October 16, 2003 9:44 AM

Really wish you people hadn't compared Mal with Kirk! Tightpants on Mal are aesthetic; tightpants on Kirk were just embarassing!

I want to ... wear a shiny hat

CHANNAIN

Thursday, October 16, 2003 2:16 PM

Don't let the chronology fool you - war and life in general can take its toll on a fella. Mal's an old soul. Mid-30-something on the outside, closer to ancient on the inside.

Firefly Artwork Series
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

TRAGICSTORY

Thursday, October 16, 2003 7:08 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by LivingImpaired:
What does it matter what age Mal is? I could do a Forrest Gump, buy a boat, and then I could be a captain too.

What I wonder is where Mal got the money to by Serentiy. It may be an old ship, but ships still can't be cheap. Paticulary one of its size.

________________

"You still don't get it. It's not about right, not about wrong... It's about Power." —Morph-O-Monster, "Lessons"

I always figured he pulled a job for Badger and that was how he got the coin.

-----------
"Societies are supported by human activity, therefore they are constantly threatened by the human facts of self-intrest and stupidity." --Peter Berger

CHANNAIN

Thursday, October 16, 2003 8:15 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by LivingImpaired:
What I wonder is where Mal got the money to by Serentiy. It may be an old ship, but ships still can't be cheap. Paticulary one of its size.

Except for the teensy little problem with the engine not running and "something" had been living inside, which means she was being treated little better than those thrashing machines left abandoned the tops of the hill on the side of the freeway. I bet he got her for a song.

Firefly Artwork Series
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

KAYTHRYN

Thursday, October 16, 2003 8:48 PM

Quote:
Posted by Livingimpared:
What I wonder is where Mal got the money to by Serentiy

“My momma had a ranch -- back on Shadow, where I'm from. Ran cattle, mostly. Wasn't nobody ran harder or smarter. Used to tell me: don't brand the cattle, brand the buyer; he's the one likely to stray.” -Mal in OMR

What happened to momma and the ranch? Maybe he used the money from selling the ranch after his mother died to buy Serenity.

-------------------------------------
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
Aristotle

SERGEANTX

Thursday, October 16, 2003 8:56 PM

That's what I was thinking Kayt. I even had a big ole idea for a fan fic based on the idea, cept I can't write. I was imagining the Alliance commandeered it or something, a forced buy out and Mal got the pay off, not as much as it was worth no doubt. He probably wanted to just throw it back at them, but Zoe brought him to his senses and they came up with a plan. Had just enough for a down payment on a ship. Serenity is generally considered a junker, remember. I'm guessing some calamity befell his mother, either before or after. He seem's like the type that would visit if she was still around.

SergeantX

"..and here's to all the dreamers, may our open hearts find rest." -- Nanci Griffith

SARAHETC

Thursday, October 16, 2003 9:14 PM

Please allow me to pimp some Defender82 at you.

Her "Price Paid" series explores this question.

Start here: http://www.fireflyfans.net/sunroomitem.asp?i=139

There's a fairly realistic explantion of a mom, a ranch, a funds transfer and a space-green Mal. The voices are just so and ultimately believable once you've suspended one tiny little sentence of disbelief.

Also, really really tasty Wash'n'Zoe fic, for while you're waiting for her to continue. (Squee.)

I'm a dying breed who still believes, haunted by American dreams. ---Neko Case