Subtle yet interesting show observations -- post yours

POSTED BY: AnimalM0ther
UPDATED: Friday, December 7, 2007 19:19
VIEWED: 122045
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LEANN

Saturday, June 10, 2006 12:52 AM

I believe that Jayne is not the neanderthal he would have everyone believe.

Subtle little things like in the first ep Serenity when Book goes to pray over dinner, Jayne immediately bows his head; in The Message he removes his hat when they get to funeral part; and I believe in Heart of Gold he leaves his hat on at the funeral when several other people are also covering their head.

I think his mama may have taught him some manners, he just doesn't see the need for them when killing someone.

Also, the hair braiding bit in HoG...I picture him with several younger sisters and he had to help because his mother didn't have time to fix everyone's hair.

Live as though the world were as it should be, to show it what it can be.

PENGUIN

Monday, June 12, 2006 2:11 AM

Something I saw tonight while watching "The Message"...

St. Lucy's Medical Center appears behind Mal & Inara!

TYRANICLE

Tuesday, June 27, 2006 11:42 AM

in the 1st episode, Serenity, when the crew lands and is looking for passengers, when Wash drives the quad-bike down the ramp, a hand come out in the bottom of the screen (just before Mal, Zoe and Jayne leave) and pulls the quad-bike off screen.

SPACEANJL

Tuesday, June 27, 2006 12:21 PM

Flashback at the beginning of Safe -

Li'l River playing at Independents vs Alliance.

To paraphrase - They were using dinosaurs, so there was a resort to cannibalism...

Foreshadowing much?

ROCKXWL

Friday, July 14, 2006 6:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by elBurrito:
In The Message, after they've 'escaped' from the Alliance, and are being buried in the snow (or somewhere around there) if you look closely at Wash, he's got his hands out as though he's holding the controls, but there's nothing in his hands.

That was the one I was gonna use. But the blooper happens in Serenity, not The Message.

"What'd you all order a dead guy for?"

STILLSHINY

Friday, July 14, 2006 6:31 PM

This one is kind of round about But this is a good a place as any to post it.

I'm watching Angel Season 5 last night. Episode "Unleashed". Suddenly we are at this "party" scene, very uppity & high class. So much so that there is classical music in the background. The very same piece of music from Shindig. You know the da da da dada dum (would you prefer me to hum it for you?)

Anyway, just thought it was interesting. Guess Joss must really like that music.

"We had ties that could not be broken, except by the passing of time. Like a rock. A broken time rock. And you're very special to me, my broken time rock people." - Nathan Fillion

Stillshiny's Shop - I'm thinkin we rose again
http://www.spreadshirt.com/shop.php?sid=4728

http://www.myspace.com/robdhiii

SERENITYVAL

Friday, July 14, 2006 7:05 PM

I was watching War Stories on SciFi (even though I have DVDs- go SciFi!) and I noticed a metaphor...
I may be making a stereotypical observation, but...
Mal isn't one to want to discuss "emotions" (heck neither are most men in general). In fact, I think it would be safe to assume he would consider emotional conversations "torture". I think Joss was subtly conveying how difficult the "Zoe" conversation, which Wash needed to have with Mal, was. It was torture...literally.

I'm seeing the how...just not getting the why.
Mal - Shindig

SerenityVal

MARVLGRL

Friday, July 14, 2006 7:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SpaceAnJL:
Flashback at the beginning of Safe -

Li'l River playing at Independents vs Alliance.

To paraphrase - They were using dinosaurs, so there was a resort to cannibalism...

Foreshadowing much?

Dinosaurs=Wash...Cannibalism=Reavers...Reavers kill Wash in the BDM. *golf clap for Whedon*

STILLSHINY

Friday, July 14, 2006 7:14 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Brexan:
When the crew are looking at the statue in Jaynes town Simon puts his finger up to his mouth in shock, and I believe he did it a second time in the episode. Looking at the yourtube video of Nathan kissing Sean I notice Sean's making the same gesture at one point. Makes me wonder if it was scripted or his natural reaction.

-Brexan
"Also, I can kill you with my brain"

In several of the interviews I've seen with Sean he does hand gestures near the side of his face. This is definately a natural gesture for the Sean himself.

"We had ties that could not be broken, except by the passing of time. Like a rock. A broken time rock. And you're very special to me, my broken time rock people." - Nathan Fillion

Stillshiny's Shop - I'm thinkin we rose again

http://www.spreadshirt.com/shop.php?sid=4728

http://www.myspace.com/robdhiii

DONCOAT

Friday, July 14, 2006 11:53 PM

I just discovered a really cool and subtle touch in Objects in Space. I posted about it in the Random River Moment thread. You're all invited to come over and share it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm pointin' right at it!

ORMAYBEMIDGETS

Saturday, July 15, 2006 5:41 AM

Quote:
I just noticed this, when Mal goes to pick up River, he kicks Jayne to get him up.

Ah! I can't believe I never saw this!

Quote:
...the image of River's brain starts acting up, showing all the areas of her brain that are reacting to her psychic understanding of Jayne's betrayal, reason why she then screams. And Simon is looking at Jayne, yes, so he does miss it.

But I thought that Simon got the scan on tape? Later, Simon tells Mal, "I have the information
I downloaded off the imager." If the image acted up, why didn't he notice it later? Although of course he couldn't attribute it to Jayne's comment. But, then again, if you go by movie logic, Simon already knew she was psychic. So... okay then.

Quote:
Looking at the yourtube video of Nathan kissing Sean I notice Sean's making the same gesture at one point.

Can I have a link?

Edit: I forgot the actual reason I posted.
It's not really subtle, but it is an observation. I've heard it asked elsewhere what Mal meant by "you have no idea", in response to The Operative's "There are a lot of innocent people in the air being killed right now." I think that this is in reference to the Reavers. After all, they were just innocent people. And now they're in the air, being killed by Mal's crew. And, earlier, shot at by The Operative's crew.

-
DB: Doesn't exactly fit the thug in the profile alley. Wait, what?

AGENTRUSCO

Saturday, July 15, 2006 7:22 AM

Quote:
I've heard it asked elsewhere what Mal meant by "you have no idea", in response to The Operative's "There are a lot of innocent people in the air being killed right now." I think that this is in reference to the Reavers. After all, they were just innocent people. And now they're in the air, being killed by Mal's crew. And, earlier, shot at by The Operative's crew.

I think yer quite right.

Now, my observations. Not particularly grand, but all the good ones were taken!

In the barfight in... GORRAM! I cannot recall the episode for the life of me... anyhow, it's not 'The Train Job.' It's the one with the slave traders, can't remember the rest of the ep... My observation is that Jayne has a cigar in his mouth the whole time while he fights off several men with his pool que. (That went well...)

Next observation is that Jayne's spacesuit is a rather garrish yellow compared to the others'. Just interesting and quite Jayne.

In 'Ariel' you see a shot of Zoe stowing a knife in her boot. This may seem dull, but when I first saw that it made me chuckle. Zoe, wearing her combat boots 24/7. The knife part didn't phase me, but the boots, for some reason did.

This was actually brought to my attention by the novelization, but at the begining of the BDM, Simon tries to give River her boots when she is going on the mule. She refuses by ignoring him, and is barefoot in the town when they do the stealing. In the film, however, the boots dissapear as the mule leaves. Wonder where they went. Anyhow, subtleties and whatnot.

My remeaing question is always this: why does Mal still identify with the Browncoats. The Indepentent higher-up screwed him and the rest over royaly in Serenity Valley. I'd think, a man like him, he'd be rather sore at them for the betrayal. (ooo, a fanfic idea)

And with that, I leave you to find more cool and interesting things to note at a later date.

_______________________________________________
Always remember to be yourself. Unless you suck.

CHOO1701

Saturday, July 15, 2006 7:30 AM

"Next observation is that Jayne's spacesuit is a rather garrish yellow compared to the others'. Just interesting and quite Jayne."
---------------------------------------

also shows they can't afford the same type space suits.

Also anyone noticed all the stuff hanging at the back of the cargo bay in the TV series. Got a sled and snow shoes and other stuff. Which is kind of weird since the ship mostly lands in the desert or cities....

-----------------------------
"Remember, always be yourself. Unless you suck."-Joss Whedon

ITES RULE!!!!

SHINYYUKARI

Saturday, July 15, 2006 7:36 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by AgentRusco:

In the barfight in... GORRAM! I cannot recall the episode for the life of me... anyhow, it's not 'The Train Job.' It's the one with the slave traders, can't remember the rest of the ep... My observation is that Jayne has a cigar in his mouth the whole time while he fights off several men with his pool que. (That went well...)

That would be 'Shindig'(I should know considering I've watched that episode the most...XD)

Anyway, I don't know why this passed by me everytime, but when Mal and Nandi start kissing in 'Heart Of Gold', she says "I'm not her..." to which Mal replies with something I can't remember. But I love how EVERYONE can spot the tension between those too...

"Well next time you be the bait!"~Andy Hurley
"Okay! Everybody not talking about sex, in here. Everybody else, elsewhere."~Wash
Browncoats are the coolest fans I've ever seen.

DONCOAT

Saturday, July 15, 2006 11:27 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ShinyYukari:
I don't know why this passed by me everytime, but when Mal and Nandi start kissing in 'Heart Of Gold', she says "I'm not her..." to which Mal replies with something I can't remember. But I love how EVERYONE can spot the tension between those too...

I believe Mal says, "There's nobody in this room but you and me." Which may have been true at that moment, literally and even in the metaphoric sense -- but his reaction next morning when he's busted by Inara shows that there was really somebody there with them all along.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm pointin' right at it!

PIZ

Saturday, July 15, 2006 11:42 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DonCoat:
I believe Mal says, "There's nobody in this room but you and me." Which may have been true at that moment, literally and even in the metaphoric sense -- but his reaction next morning when he's busted by Inara shows that there was really somebody there with them all along.

I disagree. I think Mal would be perfectly able to put Inara away while he's with someone else, although that someone else would have to be a "remarkable woman" (as he himself calls Nandi) in order for him to be able to do that. (I don't think he'd go with a lesser woman, anyway.) Now, Inara would come right back once he's no longer with the other woman, but not during.

--
"That's what government's for: get in a man's way." - Mal

PIZ

Sunday, July 16, 2006 12:01 AM

Something I just noticed in the pilot (which I'm watching right now). At the docks, when Mal, Zoe,
and Jayne are heading back to Serenity after discussing where they can unload the cargo, Mal
says, "We gotta keep our heads down, do the job, and pray there ain't no more surprises."

Given Mal's loss of faith, is this an indicator of something in Mal's character, a slip by the
writer, or nothing of importance because it's a common expression that as most people use it
really has nothing to do with religion, "pray" here meaning "hope?"

I think I listed those three in order from least to most likely. Thoughts?

--
"That's what government's for: get in a man's way." - Mal

ORMAYBEMIDGETS

Sunday, July 16, 2006 12:52 AM

I think it's the second - a slip by the writer. Although I'll be proven wrong if Mal has made another such reference, I think it's out of character for Mal to make such a flippant comment about something that is very serious to him.

To defend the writer, though (Joss, I'm assuming), at that point they didn't know everything about where the character was going. Maybe at the time they were headed in a slightly different direction with regards to Mal's faith.

-
DB: Doesn't exactly fit the thug in the profile alley. Wait, what?

AGENTRUSCO

Sunday, July 16, 2006 5:55 AM

Quote:
Did anyone else notice that the Operative only calls Mal "Mal" after he stabs him during the big fight at the end? It's weird!

Before, he only called him "Captain" or "Malcolm", very formal, very proper. But they're fighting, there's the stab...and a look of almost regret passes over the Operative's face, and he murmurs, "Do you know what your sin is...Mal?"

As neat as this is, it actually isn't the first time the Op calls him Mal. After Haven is attacked and Mal and the Op talk, the Op says "You're not a Reaver, Mal."

Anyhow...

_____________________________
I cannot abide useless people

AGENTROUKA

Sunday, July 16, 2006 3:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Piz:
QUOTE]I disagree. I think Mal would be perfectly able to put Inara away while he's with someone else, although that someone else would have to be a "remarkable woman" (as he himself calls Nandi) in order for him to be able to do that. (I don't think he'd go with a lesser woman, anyway.) Now, Inara would come right back once he's no longer with the other woman, but not during.

But it's still a very significant way top phrase it, don't you think?

He could have said "I'm thinking about you." or "Of course, you're not her." or something equally clear. Instead he chooses a very vague phrase that ultimately doesn't say anything. Why would Joss write it like that if not to say more than the obvious?

Plus, the entire conversation while she seduced him keeps centering around Inara, a woman they both love.
He has his eyes closed while they have sex, never touches her hair, and the look in his eyes (and hers) after they're more or less done, that's not really one of two people happy after a round of mutually beneficial sex. She looks motherly, he looks angsty.
After he comes out of the room and meets Inara, the first reason he states for not wanting to admit he had sex with Nandi was that it might look like he took advantage of her. Must have been on his mind, that thought.

Inara was definitely in that room. The whole scene was suffused with her.

A better example for Inara being out of Mal's mind with another women would be the Saffron scene in "Our Mrs. Reynolds".

Nandi, not so much.

ONEMANSHORT

Monday, July 17, 2006 5:47 AM

I know this is a really obvious one, I hope it hasn't been mentioned before because I didn't feel like reading this whole thread, it took me a good 15 minutes to get about a quarter way's through. I just noticed that in Our Mrs. Reynolds that the speeched sort of correlate and Mal says "Woah, good bible" and Wash says "Woah, good myth." I know probably everyone else realized this on their first time, but I just liked the way it was written.

NAFLM

Monday, July 17, 2006 10:21 PM

Don't know if this would be considered subtle or not but I just noticed it the other day. In Bushwacked, when the alliance is boarding Serenity as everyone stands in the cargo bay, Wash puts up his hands in a "don't shoot" gesture. And I can't be certain but I'm pretty sure that he also has one of his goofy grins on his face as he does so.

SHAMANXIA

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 1:35 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Volk564:
Here's one that is probably the most likely to seroiousley be a coincidence:
In Ariel, when Simon, Jayne, and River are in the brain-scanning room, Jayne says something along the lines of: "Now hurry up, we gotta book," and just at the moment he says the word "book," River starts screaming. Couple of possibilities for this: one, that Book is evil and River just got reminded of it, two: Book WAS evil, and the fact that she is in a hospital run by the "evil" alliance just tuned her into that more, three (most likely one): River wasn't screaming about the fact that Jayne said "we gotta book," but that she knows where they're going to Book too - namely, a trap, or four: none of the above, and I'm just crazy.
Just a thought.

I don't think it's as you think...

I've alway loved that scene in Ariel - with Jayne, River and Simon in the Neural Imaging Suite (Brain Scan thing)

Simon is reviewing the scan and Jayne is several feet back, even when he goes to touch it his hand is reaching out.

The next scene Jayne steps closer, and you can see Rivers brian in the scan activating first for the Yellow (dormant color) to a green - active color. When Jayne is right above Rivers head the the scan starts to tinge red!

And then she screams...

I think she was reacting to Jaynes betrayal, she say something at jayne later in that scene then Jayne does a 'Shut you mouth!' I didn't quite catch what she said. But she knew.

---------------------------
Space... It's so wonderful!

CHOO1701

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 1:23 PM

Any one remeber the Reaver ship that they kind of blew up from Serenity (pilot)? Well its in Serenity as well

http://www.leavemethewhite.com/caps/displayimage.php?album=73&pos=1964

Gotta love those guys at Zoic

-----------------------------
"Remember, always be yourself. Unless you suck."-Joss Whedon

Ralph Wiggum(after walking into the 'Adults Only' section): Everybody's hugging!

MSG

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 2:41 PM

Anyone else notice in Our Mrs. Reynolds that when Saffron is standing there sobbing and Kaylee is comforting her as Mal yells that you see Jayne's hand reach out and gently stroke/rub her arm comfortingly.

I choose to rise instead of fall- U2

SPACEANJL

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 3:03 PM

MSG - 'cos he gets his mitt slapped for it, too. I think by Kaylee.

Wouldn't mind being stroked by Jayne, though...

RUGBUG

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 3:28 PM

I haven't read back through all 200+ posts to see if anyone mentioned this, but Mal has a scar on his chest in the BDM that is mostly likely from that gnarly knife thing Crow throws at him in The Train Job. Nice continuity and all, but the other two times we see Mal without his shirt, War Stories and Trash, there is no scar.

I won't hold it against anyone, though, because, well, shirt off an all.

ONNAHINLI

Saturday, July 22, 2006 12:18 AM

ok this may have been brung up in this thread earlier or even before on this site but i notice in the series whenever anyone seems to refer to mals rank in the war he was a sargent even tracy in 'the message' calls him that, while everyone else refers to him as sir/captain (i figured so in regards to him being captain of his ship) but in the movie when the operative is reviewing his recoird its says his rank was captain.

"I dont know. If i wanted schoolin' i would've went to school"
-Jayne

THEMANTHEYCALLMATT

Monday, July 24, 2006 4:53 AM

This is an interesting little goof. ScrewtheAlliance has an interesting fanwank for this problem that he worked into his fics. He envisions that Mal was field-promoted to captain in a POW camp after Serenity Valley, because they got paid out from some reconciliation agreement based on their rank at discharge, and a superior officer who was in the camp with him felt that Mal deserved the extra for all the work he did in the Valley. Seems like as good an explanation as any.

I think that either they screwed up, or they wanted to make it less complicated for new viewers by sticking with one rank.

ESTHER

Monday, July 24, 2006 11:49 AM

Quote:
Observation from "Heart of Gold": Jayne, this big rugged man's man... was BRAIDING the ladies (whore's) hair. BRAIDING IT. You must check that out. If gives an even newer depth to this supposed hard ass mercenary.

Hi Mistresssahara,
my guess on Jayne: His mother alwasy wanted a girl (that't why he has a girls name), probably even raised him in such a way (so he lerarned braiding). But when he became older, he was fighting to be as "male", as he could be (rememberm how crude he became, when River mentioned the Girls-Name-Thing?). That's why he became, what he is.
Comon theory?
Esther

ONNAHINLI

Monday, July 24, 2006 9:03 PM

oh i just noticed agian in bushwhacked they mentioned he was in the battle oif serenity valley, and he was a sargent in the independents. im thinking maybe the captain thing was just cause he was captain of his ship?

"I dont know. If i wanted schoolin' i would've went to school"
-Jayne

THEMANTHEYCALLMATT

Tuesday, July 25, 2006 12:56 AM

I checked, and it's definitely not because he's captain of the ship. The screen says:

CAPTAIN
INDEPENDENT ARMY
57TH BRIGADE

VOLUNTEER

That clearly links the rank with his military service, and he didn't captain a ship in the war.

DOPEYNAME101

Tuesday, July 25, 2006 1:50 AM

Took me a while to realize this one:

Our Mrs. Reynolds, the whole "dinner" scene, is not in any way an attempt to seduce Mal. The entire purpose of that scene is to get Zoe and Wash fighting.

Yeah, I'm slow, it took me about five times through to realize this.

SPASSJUNGE

Tuesday, July 25, 2006 6:42 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kaneski:

End of BDM - when Mal sits down in the pilot's seat, he flicks the 'magical 3 switches'. Wash tribute?

First time I saw the movie I specifically watched to see if he would do that. I thought it would be a crime if he didn't. But of course, Joss and Nathan were way ahead of me on that one.

And regarding the long walk and talk at the beginning of Serenity, those always amaze me and it reminds me of one of the first scene after the opening credits in the pilot of West Wing. West Wing has loads of long walk 'n talks but that one sticks out since it is the first thing you really see of the West Wing set. Same idea, introduces the set, although in this case, not all of the characters are there for it.

Other little things I liked:

In Serenity, Jayne and Simon are drinking some kind of liquor from a Blue Sun bottle.

The friendship between Book and Jayne throughout the series always gets me.

Glänzend!

PSYCHOTIC

Wednesday, July 26, 2006 12:13 AM

This hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet:

In the BDM, when they first arrive Haven, a little kid (girl?) runs up to hug Kaylee. Later, returning to the destroyed Haven, Kaylee finds the burning corpse of a child. And then comes the shot of River framed in the flaming swing. I love that sad scene!

AGENTRUSCO

Wednesday, August 9, 2006 6:46 AM

Watched The Message again. For like the eighteenth thim. It's one of my favorites. However, this time I caught one more thing and re-remembered another.

In the begining, when Serenity is leaving the dock, a ship takes her place. It is Womack's ship. That could be obvious, but I only just noticed it and it would be impossible to note on a the first viewing.

When Tracey is first revived and is on the machines, you can hear his heartbeat in the background. When Kaylee enters the room, the pace quickens. Makes me laugh every time.

So there.

______________________________
I cannot abide useless people.

CR0SSFIRE

Friday, August 18, 2006 11:59 AM

im sure somone has noticed but i havent seen a post of it but I think there is a blue sun (poster,billboard,shirt,ext.)in evry episode Ive so far seen it in twice in very obscure places and i was wondering if anyone has found it
1st one is in the pilot serenity when the crew is on persphone if you look in the backround on a crate or somthing theres a bluse sun poster
ive also seen it on jayne's shirt i forget the episode. anyone else see these or is it old news?

TERRI

Saturday, August 19, 2006 9:24 AM

Wow. It only took me like an hour to read this whole thread. But I enjoyed it, and you know, I can sleep anytime, right? Of course, the best thing is that now I can watch all the eps again with a new perspective, and enjoy them even more. Plus I'm going to find that Script compainion or whatever right away. Um, anyway, I've mentioned this on another board, but I thought I would mention it here, because it's kind of subtle. You don't really delve into Zoe's realtionships with people (other than Wash and the Captain) on board the ship. I guess mostly because she's a follow orders type of lady, but you see Wash and Kaylee, Jayne and Kaylee, Simon and Jayne, Kaylee and Simon, Book and River, Inara and Book. I could go on. Anyway there's this exchange in War Stories where Zoe and the rest are heading out the door to get on Niska's station.
Zoe: If it moves, shoot it.
Kaylee: Unless it's the captain.
Zoe: Unless it's the captain.

And I kinda got this the first time, but just the tone of Zoe's voice spoke volumes to me about her relationship with Kaylee. Maybe it's a universal, ship wide thing, to appreciate and respect Kaylee's innocence and whatnot, but I really felt like Zoe was respecting her with just that one line.

CRUITHNE3753

Saturday, August 19, 2006 9:44 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Nytegaunt:
From "The Message" when we learn that Jayne has a sick brother named Matty .... brothers who both share feminine sounding names.

*Ahem* That would be an endearment of Matthew... which just happens to be my name.

BOOMERGOODHEART

Saturday, August 19, 2006 10:25 AM

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned already, as I didn't have the time to read this entire thread....but has anyone else noticed that Mal only wears his browncoat when he's doing something not strictly legal or anti-Alliance? 2 examples from OoG: at the end, when he's buying Serenity, he's wearing a regular jacket; after everyone leaves and he goes to the bridge, he wraps up in a blanket, not his coat.

I could be wrong, but I'm almost positive about this.

BoomerGoodheart
"I love my Captain."

GORRAMMALCONTENT

Saturday, August 19, 2006 2:45 PM

I might be late in coming to this,but I haven't seen it posted yet.After seeing the BDM umpteen times it finally hit me that the term Reavers comes from REVERSE,as in those who had the reverse reaction to the Pax.
I also love that "Pax" is the abbreviation for the chemical used on Miranda.As I'm sure many of you know,pax is the Latin word for peace.The Pax Romana or Peace of Rome is a term that has been used as a way of describing the oppresiveness of Roman occupation.

"Would you be killed in your sleep like an ailing pet?"

DONCOAT

Saturday, August 19, 2006 3:37 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Gorrammalcontent:
I also love that "Pax" is the abbreviation for the chemical used on Miranda.As I'm sure many of you know,pax is the Latin word for peace.

My feeling is that it works the other way around. It wasn't so much that the abbreviation of the name happened to be ironic (if that's what you meant). Rather, the chemical's name ("G-32 Paxilon Hydrochlorate") was chosen because of its purpose -- it was intended to pacify the populace. It's hardly unknown for a drug company to pick a name that suggests its product's effect.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm pointin' right at it!

GORRAMMALCONTENT

Saturday, August 19, 2006 3:55 PM

Great point Doncoat,I agree totally.I guess the point that I was trying to make was that I love that Joss doesn't underestimate his audience or feel the need to explain such references.Just reveling in the Joss-iness (or is it Joss-itude?)

"I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar!"

CRUITHNE3753

Saturday, August 19, 2006 4:39 PM

To "reave": [url] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/reave

PEONY

Saturday, August 19, 2006 6:27 PM

I haven't really thought this out, but I think at some point in the series every character "identifies" with the ship Serenity in some way -- either by sideways metaphorical reference, as is the case with Zoe and the "She's tore up plenty, but she'll fly true" line; or by direct statement, as is the case when River pretends to "incorporeally possess" the ship (much less subtle, but then it's River). If other people want to try to figure out how the other crew members fit into this idea -- someone already mentioned the scene where Kaylee says something like, "She usually tells me when something's wrong."

Also, "River" sounds a lot like "Reaver". And the two have a lot in common. But it's River's humanity that sets her apart, which is made clear at the end of the BDM with her line "...but I like to hear you say it." Not sure how intentional that was.

PEONY

Saturday, August 19, 2006 7:15 PM

Also, does anyone know if this was specified in the casting? -- Almost all of the characters in the show look like they have some Asian descent. Every once in a while I look at Kaylee and notice the resemblance, and it's clear that River has some Asian blood in her. Very fitting for a `verse supposedly run by the US and China.

SHROUDED

Saturday, August 19, 2006 11:28 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by peony:
Also, does anyone know if this was specified in the casting? -- Almost all of the characters in the show look like they have some Asian descent. Every once in a while I look at Kaylee and notice the resemblance, and it's clear that River has some Asian blood in her. Very fitting for a `verse supposedly run by the US and China.

I thought along the same lines when I first saw the pilot episode. It's especially noticeable in Kaylee when she has her hair up in the two buns, I think.

In fact, when I first saw it (don't kill me, please!) I completely believed that Kaylee with her hair down was a different person than Kaylee with her hair in the buns.

It's just that she looked more asian with her buns up and that adorable rainbow pastel parasol. xD

---------------------------------------

When you can't run, you crawl, and when you can't do that you sit still and watch episodes of Firefly.

SHROUDED

Monday, August 21, 2006 12:46 PM

Alright, I've made a few observations.... i don't think they were posted here yet, but if they were, I apoligize.

In Jaynestown, when Book finds River messing up his Bible, River tells him, "It's broken. It doesn't make sense." Two episodes prior, in Safe, River tells Simon, "You found me broken, and it hurts you." I think River's need to fix things that are broken when the really don't need to be fixed is kind of like her portraying her anger towards her brother not being able to fix her.

Another one, in Trash. When Jayne goes in to tell Simon and River they have to confine themselves to the one room, there's an interaction that goes somewhat like this:

Simon: this bounty on us just keeps getting more interesting.
Jayne: Well, I wouldn't know.
River: she's lying.

Now, when I first saw the episode - actually, the first several times I saw it - I always assumed River was talking about YoSaffBridge, because I missed Jayne's line. but now I realize she was, in fact, talking about Jayne, because soon after comes her infamous line, "Jayne's a girl's name."

There's probably more, but I thought them up as I was falling asleep last night, and I can't remember them. ^^;

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When you can't run, you crawl, and when you can't do that you sit still and watch episodes of Firefly.

ELDUSTO

Monday, August 21, 2006 8:35 PM

I caught that the second time I saw that episode, I thought it was really funny since River was picking on Jayne for having a girls name. LOL!

SHROUDED

Monday, August 21, 2006 9:13 PM

Yeah, well, we all know "Jayne ain't no girl."

EDIT: Oh, and I caught something else, in the BDM.

River mouths the words, "The people here stopped fighting" along with the Alliance doctor, kinda hinting that this was the big secret she knew - because you can obviously not read the mind of a hologram, so she couldn't know what she was about to say like when she mouthed words alongside Mal earlier in the movie.

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When you can't run, you crawl, and when you can't do that you sit still and watch episodes of Firefly.

HEWHOKICKSALOT

Wednesday, August 23, 2006 10:35 PM

I'm not sure if these are subtle or not, they're simply little things I've noticed.

At the beginning of Serenity when Mal, Zoe, Jayne, and River are about to ship out on the mule, Simon leans close to River and says, "It's okay to leave them to die."

Now this seems like something he would have said during the early episodes of Firefly, considering the number of times he and River have been rescued by the rest of the crew since then.

Later, after River's bar room brawl, Jayne is giving his heartfelt opinion of River and Simon stating, "She ain't my sister and she ain't your crew." Mal had made it quite clear at the end of "Ariel" that Simon and River were part of his crew, and betraying them was betraying him.

I'm sure these points have been made before by people with more extensive knowledge of the show than myself. They're simply things I've been mulling over in my mind when I'm not saving the world from "child molestors and people who talk at the theater."

By the way, discrepancies aside, it's still my favorite show turned into a movie ever made. And that's saying something. (I mean, how can anything compare to Dukes of Hazzard?)

Mercy is the mark of a great man. Guess I'm just a good man. Well, I'm all right.

Rob O.

ONNAHINLI

Thursday, August 24, 2006 4:54 AM

yea even better is the dialog:
river:"afraid"
simon:"we'll be okay"
"why that captain is trusting that [chinese 'dirty bacstabbing bitch]
river:"not her jayne"
simon:"afraid?"
"since when?"
river:"since ariel"
"afraid we'll know"
and simon gives the realizing glance!
yea everyone probably noticed that already but i barely caught it with subs ;p
now im wondering is OiS supposed to be before trash? because she seemed so suprised when she read jaynes mind but shes known all along

"I dont know. If i wanted schoolin' i would've went to school"
-Jayne

MRSU

Thursday, August 24, 2006 2:24 PM

I was watching "Safe" and realized that Tams were Buddists, like Inara.
In the first flashback (Tam's estate) there are Budda statues and shrines all over the place. Funny I didn't notice that before.

SHROUDED

Friday, August 25, 2006 12:31 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by MRSU:
I was watching "Safe" and realized that Tams were Buddists, like Inara.
In the first flashback (Tam's estate) there are Budda statues and shrines all over the place. Funny I didn't notice that before.

Whoa, nice catch. I've never seen that before. Gotta look for that next time around.

EDIT: Oh, and Onna, I'm going to assume it was because she wasn't expecting it. I mean, she's reading his mind. Or, maybe moreso, she was more shocked at what was going through Book's mind.

But Trash definately comes before Objects in Space - you can see Early's ship in Trash, showing that Early is chasing them. Obviously, it's not going to happen that way if Objects in Space.

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When you can't run, you crawl, and when you can't do that you sit still and watch episodes of Firefly.

MRSU

Friday, August 25, 2006 2:38 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Shrouded:
Quote:
Originally posted by MRSU:
I was watching "Safe" and realized that Tams were Buddists, like Inara.

Whoa, nice catch. I've never seen that before.

Yep. And that would explain why River was so unfamiliar with the Bible. Though Simon bowed his head when Book said grace in the pilot, and that got me confused from the beginning. But Simon was probably just being polite.

SHROUDED

Friday, August 25, 2006 4:02 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by MRSU:
Yep. And that would explain why River was so unfamiliar with the Bible. Though Simon bowed his head when Book said grace in the pilot, and that got me confused from the beginning. But Simon was probably just being polite.

Yeah. I can imagine Simon doing that out of politeness. But, he may also have different religious beliefs than his parents. Either/or.

---------------------------------------

When you can't run, you crawl, and when you can't do that you sit still and watch episodes of Firefly.

CRUITHNE3753

Saturday, August 26, 2006 8:19 PM

The technology of public transport hasn't appeared to have changed much in 500 years, is that a late 20th/early 21st Century style double-decker bus I see in the street in Shindig, when they're discussing dresses?

[img] [img]

SHROUDED

Saturday, August 26, 2006 9:30 PM

I love those busses.

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When you can't run, you crawl, and when you can't do that you sit still and watch episodes of Firefly.

LADYLUKE

Thursday, August 31, 2006 12:25 AM

I really hope this hasn't been mentioned already (only made it about 3/4 of the way through this thread so far.)

Anyway, I love that in The Message at the beginning when Kaylee and Simon are on their "date" Kaylee is wearing the same thing she wore (well, put back on, anyway) in Out of Gas -- the first time she was on Serenity.

DONCOAT

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 8:51 PM

From the BDM, at Inara's academy...

When the "not incense" blows up, as the sound of the blast fades, we hear a loud, pure, high-frequency tone on the sound track... exactly the sort of "ringing in your ears" sound you might hear after being close to an explosion. At the same time, other sounds are muffled and only "fade in" over several seconds.

It's a little bit of audio trickery that adds realism to the scene.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm pointin' right at it!

MSG

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 9:10 PM

Again I am compelled to mention some subtle Jayne moments...in Serenity, watch Jayne's hand as they evade the reavers( when he's still in the mule) he's pushing River back and down to keep her out of harms way. And in Out of Gas, the little consoling pat he gives Kaylee is adorable...every so often you see these bits and they increase in frequency as Jayne developes into a better person.

I choose to rise instead of fall- U2

STINKINGROSE

Wednesday, September 20, 2006 9:41 PM

Voshex,
In a non-pregnant female the uterus is tucked safely away behind the pelvic bone, keeping the bladder company. Her belly wound was up and off to the left more, so that shouldn't be a problem. Most of what would have gotten hit would be intestines at that point, which is what makes gut wounds so unpleasant if left untreated. Digestive juices are normally safely encased in the gut, let them out and they don't know to stop working. Ugh.

So yeah, baby making shouldn't be a problem...unless Simon spends a lot of time on the couch.

SERENITYSHADOW

Thursday, September 21, 2006 3:32 PM

Stinkingrose,

wow. you don't happen to have medical training do you? I didn't even know what "phlebotomy" meant until two weeks ago.

I just always wondered about Kaylee as a symbol of, in joss's words, fertility, etc. - after being shot. It seems so ironic. The firefly crew always seems to be hanging out in the belly of Serenity like its a womb in the cold, vast, emptiness of outer space. So I thought there might be a parallel there, too.

Simon was a bastard in that scene though. Toying with Kaylee's life, using it as a bargaining chip. He never deserved some one so fine as K. At least not till the BDM anyway.

voshexter

SerenityShadow

NVGHOSTRIDER

Thursday, September 21, 2006 3:42 PM

I noticed the large man with face paint as Mal, Zoe, and Jayne are on their way to see Badger at the beginning of the Serenity pilot when I first seen it. I never noticed the man he's pushing in the wheelchair is wearing a plains style head dress. I wondered why everyone seemed a bit on edge. Probably never seen so many Indians in their lives.

HERA7

Thursday, September 21, 2006 7:58 PM

Last night I watched Firefly 2 on my laptop using high quality headphones. I was very impressed by the details of sound in each episode. I noticed things that I never heard before listening to the shows through regular speakers. I suggest doing this to really hear the sound details in the show.

For me, the engine and machinery noises stood out much more, with more details. Each area of Serenity has it's own distinct engine sounds along with their own unique sounds. Before I only noticed the background sounds only when they stood out, like when Serenity was increasing power, etc. Details like this are usually seen in movies but are very rare in a television show.

Another thing I noticed while watching Our Mrs Reynolds, when Saffron (Christina Hendricks) was in Mal's bunk, once she slightly rolled her eyes while in her Saffron character, twice she smirked or stopped herself from laughing at Mal. Very subtle character nuances, perhaps showing her impatience at trying to take Mal down.

A couple nights before was watching The Train Job, where I noticed in the bar at the opening scene, the belly dancer has flashing LED lights in her belly button. Something that I did not notice until watching it for the 20th time. It show up best when she passes Mal the note.

There were some other observations I noticed, but can't remember them exactly right now. As always the acting, details and story were top rate in Firefly, feature film quality on a television budget.

Hera7

IFOUGHTFORINDEPENDANCE

Saturday, September 23, 2006 1:51 AM

yeah, i agree. i was thinking maybe he was an alliance general which would also explain his security card when he gets shot.

IFOUGHTFORINDEPENDANCE

Saturday, September 23, 2006 1:54 AM

also, in that video, when kaylee says "in this very bed," in the background, River bends down and snifs the bed suriously. hilarious little details!

IFOUGHTFORINDEPENDANCE

Saturday, September 23, 2006 1:54 AM

also, in that video, when kaylee says "in this very bed," in the background, River bends down and snifs the bed suriously. hilarious little details!

CINDYGROSS

Saturday, September 23, 2006 3:44 AM

In the movie:
When River is triggered to fight in the bar, she has a "Blue Sun" glow around her for several seconds. It gradually fades back to normal colors.

Shindig:
Wash talks to Zoe about her becoming "corpsified" which is a reference to Gina Torres' character Jasmine in Angel.

CINDYGROSS

Tuesday, September 26, 2006 3:30 PM

Some parallelism: In "Our Mrs. Reynolds" it starts out with Mal pretnding to be Jayne's wife and then progresses to YoSaffBridg pretending to be Mal's wife.

ELOISA

Monday, October 9, 2006 5:16 PM

In War Stories, we see Book and Inara putting money into the Mal and Wash redemption fund. Neither would have been paid for the train job had it gone to completion and neither would, presumably, have been paid for the Ariel job, as neither was involved at all. Another moment of crew cohesion.

DESKTOPHIPPIE

Monday, October 9, 2006 5:22 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by PhoenixRose:
Well, I am amazed no one has mentioned these yet. Unless I'm repeating something that's such common knowledge that no one talks about it, but I'm gonna say it anyway:
River hates Blue Sun. A lot. For instance, when she slashes Jayne across the chest, he it wearing a Blue Sun shirt. First time I saw it I thought she was responding to him insulting her brother, but a few viewings in I noticed the logo on the shirt. The "You owe me a shirt" comment helped a little, too. She was after the logo, not Jayne. And, if you zoom in on the box of food she starts tearing up in Shindig, you'll see a Blue Sun logo on the box of crackers and she's saying things like "They're the ones who take you" etc. The extra behind the scenes stuff talks about Blue Sun being both corporate and government, which makes me think they must have been involved in the "Academy" River was in and so she hates them. Pity we never got the full story of that.

Quote:
Originally posted by DesktopHippie:

Something that's not my observation but that comes from the Shindig commentary. The costume designer mentioned that the leather string Zoe always wears around her neck is a symbol of her marraige bond to Wash. Such a subtle touch, and somehow much deeper than if she'd worn a ring - which in the rougher places she always ends up would be a target for thieves.

See, the problem with that statement is that Zoe is wearing that leather necklace in the flashback scene in Out of Gas where she meets Wash. Maybe it was designed by said costume designer to symbolize her bond to Wash, but the fact that she's wearing it when she meets him ruins that a little bit.

That's all I can remember right now. I know there are other little things, though. Guess I'll have to watch it all again and come back

*************************************************
Bible's broken. Doesn't make sense.

Zhu fu ni, mei-mei

Yeah, I noticed the flashback too. It's a pity, as the costume designer was pretty certain what the leather bond meant. I guess she wasn't told that Zoe had a flashback scene to before she was married that day.

I do remember Morena being surprised in the commentary when the costume designer mentioned what the leather neck tie was for.

More graphics available at www.desktophippie.com - yes, I've moved!

AIYANOODLE

Thursday, October 12, 2006 4:18 AM

One of my favorite subtle moments from the movie happens right at the beginning, just after the awesome long shot that folows Mal through the ship. Even though Simon and Mal are arguing rather heatedly about bringing River along with the heist, Simon still gives Mal his shot before he leaves. Mal even calmly rolls up his sleeve for Simon, all the while still arguing. It just shows how even though they may have their disagreements, they're still on the same crew, still doing what needs to be done for each other.

EVILPOPTART65413

Thursday, October 12, 2006 4:55 AM

i liked it when inara kissed that other girl.

=D

MRSU

Thursday, October 12, 2006 5:27 PM

Remember that moment in Ariel when a Nasty Doctor starts harassing Mal and Zoe?
I always thought that him turning on them was random, but it was not. It was yet another example of Mal's folly and Zoe's common sense.

Mal told Zoe to smile to everyone they meet. Zoe reasonably told him that people don't smile in hospitals. But Mal did it anyway, and it was his fake smile that attracted Dr.Nasty's attention. It is very clear when you watch it closely.
But anyway, it turned all right in the end, and it was the result of Mal's folly that allowed them to get medicines from the vault.

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

Friday, October 13, 2006 4:55 PM

The final shot in Safe.
Everybody's sitting around the dinner table eating. THey're passing a plate of bread. River hands it to Jayne, he takes a big ol' hunk and passes it on.River reaches out and steals it off his plate.
Jayne catches on too late, and says " Hey--, " , then reaches out to get another hunk offa the plate.
Life goes on in the black, happy normal family fun, and we fade out...

CAVALIER

Friday, October 13, 2006 5:13 PM

River wandering through the ship at the beginning of OiS. The other eight people are all seen in pairs of friends or couples – Simon/Kaylee, Book/Jayne, Zoe/Wash and Mal/Inara.

In each pair, both people are paying too much attention to each other to notice River, even when she walks directly between the two of them.

It shows how disconnected she was, especially after War Stories.

At the end of the episode, of course, there is a shot to show her as part of the gang.

RAINSTICK

Sunday, October 22, 2006 10:52 AM

from his cut of the hospital heist in Ariel Jayne obviously bought a crate of apples which we see the crew eating in War Stories. The amazing thing is that Jayne is so generous with the apples. Doesn't quite seem in character. Of course, he is a bit guilt-ridden (as far as that's possible for Jayne) about reporting Simon and RIver to the Feds, so the easiest explanation for his generosity is that he wants to make up for it. It's not really subtle of course, but what I find strange is that acting so out of character and being so gorram generous must make the crew suspicious, so the logical thing for Jayne would be not being generous. on the other hand, that is a far too complex concept and too much reverse psychology for Jayne to grasp.

CANTER

Tuesday, October 24, 2006 4:09 PM

I've been watching the series a lot lately (thank you amazon.co.uk for DVD's!!) Something I saw last night was the scull and cross bones on the front of the mule in War stories and other episodes. I thought it was such a little detail, but very cute.

I also love Mal's face in Jaynestown when Simon tries to explain why Kaylee is sitting on his lap. It's hilarious, but you don't initially pick it up because the focus is on Simon.

Burn the land and boil the sea...

LLA

Friday, November 10, 2006 1:54 PM

Something I think is interesting...in Our Mrs Reynolds, when Saffron has run off crying and Mal goes after her, Zoe asks if he's the right person to go after her and he says yes because they are the only ones who don't think its funny...then you see Inara, and her face is not at all amused...in fact she looks downright p*ss*d off!

ELOISA

Saturday, November 18, 2006 12:54 AM

The whole Wash being a leaf on the wind quote.

If a leaf is floating on the wind, it's already dead and it just doesn't know it yet.

That officially felt freaky when I realised it.

ASARIAN

Saturday, November 18, 2006 11:45 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by NewOldBrownCoat:

The final shot in Safe. Everybody's sitting around the dinner table eating. They're passing a plate of bread. River hands it to Jayne, he takes a big ol' hunk and passes it on. River reaches out and steals it off his plate.

I'm not so sure about subtle; or rather, 't was the kind of subtle that Joss, no doubt, really hoped we would pick up on. :) Because it's a small, but precious and endearing River moment. It's, in the generic sense, about familiy and trust. But here, at the closure of the namesake episode, Joss' absolute genius shines thru; it's about River feeling secure enough to do that: she feels "Safe."

--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam

DONCOAT

Sunday, November 19, 2006 1:39 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by asarian:
Quote:
Originally posted by NewOldBrownCoat:

The final shot in Safe. Everybody's sitting around the dinner table eating. They're passing a plate of bread. River hands it to Jayne, he takes a big ol' hunk and passes it on. River reaches out and steals it off his plate.

I'm not so sure about subtle; or rather, 't was the kind of subtle that Joss, no doubt, really hoped we would pick up on. :) Because it's a small, but precious and endearing River moment. It's, in the generic sense, about familiy and trust. But here, at the closure of the namesake episode, Joss' absolute genius shines thru; it's about River feeling secure enough to do that: she feels "Safe."

Good observation!

There's another subtle aspect to it. Earlier in the episode, Jayne stole a lot of stuff from Simon and River. Now she's returning the favor...

Didn't I read somewhere that Summer did that herself, rather than it being written into the scene?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm pointin' right at it!

SIRI

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 6:00 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kizyr:
It wasn't until I'd watched the Serenity pilot three times that I noticed Mal kissing the cross around his neck at the Battle of Serenity Valley. Me and my friend just looked at each other in amazement, since it was the first time he'd noticed it, too. B]

I noticed that when I watched that episode the second time. I thought about the comments about Mal loosing his faith and becoming more cynical about god after the battle of Serenity.

Siri

GOPHER18

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 9:36 AM

to continue from that scene, the operative is shown in complete darkness, sorry if its allready mentioned

GOPHER18

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 9:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Shrouded:
Quote:
Originally posted by MRSU:
Yep. And that would explain why River was so unfamiliar with the Bible. Though Simon bowed his head when Book said grace in the pilot, and that got me confused from the beginning. But Simon was probably just being polite.

Yeah. I can imagine Simon doing that out of politeness. But, he may also have different religious beliefs than his parents. Either/or.

---------------------------------------

When you can't run, you crawl, and when you can't do that you sit still and watch episodes of Firefly.

they all bowed their heads except for mal

SHROUDED

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 1:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by gopher18:
Quote:
Originally posted by Shrouded:
Quote:
Originally posted by MRSU:
Yep. And that would explain why River was so unfamiliar with the Bible. Though Simon bowed his head when Book said grace in the pilot, and that got me confused from the beginning. But Simon was probably just being polite.

Yeah. I can imagine Simon doing that out of politeness. But, he may also have different religious beliefs than his parents. Either/or.

---------------------------------------

When you can't run, you crawl, and when you can't do that you sit still and watch episodes of Firefly.

they all bowed their heads except for mal

Yeah, 'cause Mal lost his faith at Serenity Valley.

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The only animals I'm not comfortable with are parrots, but I'm learning as I go. I'm getting better and better at 'em. I really am. - Steve Irwin, our Honorary BDH

CLEMENTINE

Wednesday, November 22, 2006 4:02 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Volk564:
in the pilot episode serenity, Mal looks at one of Patience's men and after some banter, says "Nice hat," after which Jayne shoots him. The nice hat thing was a signal to Jayne, as he couldn't see who Mal was talking to - the hat gave him away though, hence the shooting.

Actually this one ticks me a little because they're all wearing hats. Maybe his is nicest. Joss has commented that mostly the bad guys wear hats. Although almost all our BDHs do at some point.

SCARECROW866

Thursday, November 23, 2006 3:44 AM

Quote:

Quote:
Looking at the yourtube video of Nathan kissing Sean I notice Sean's making the same gesture at one point.

Can I have a link?
QUOTE]

I was curious too about Nathan kissing Sean so I went a-searchin' and found this!

Annie

ASARIAN

Sunday, November 26, 2006 4:55 PM

In "Ariel", I've always wondered what makes River so panicky about going to the planet surface ("I don't want to go to that place. Don't want to die." And later: "No... can't go back. Don't want to go back.") Sure, the prospect of walking into an Alliance hospital would make her nervous. But still.

Then, recently, I was reading up on the possible location of the medical facility where the Alliance was experimenting on River, said to be likely... Ariel. And now it makes a lot more sense to me why going down to Ariel to River, who's not normally overly afraid, rang just a little too close to home to her. And why she's suddenly so triggered out and cuts Jayne (presumably slices a Blue Sun resembling logo on his T-shirt) when they're all talking about going down to Ariel.

--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam

FOLLOWMAL

Monday, November 27, 2006 4:08 AM

Asarian, I think you may be on to something here.
I had seen bits and flotsam floating about the boards regarding where the Academy was that River attended... but hadn't read til I checked after reading your post that Ariel was the suspected home of the medical facility where she was experimented on. That makes many of her actions explained more fully.

This show... always something more there... no matter how many times I watch it or talk about it with others. Always something new to be discovered.

What a pleasure too, to talk about the 'Verse some. We don't do that around here so much anymore and I miss it. Thank you everyone on this thread. Thanks, RB.

Go to www.goodworkspresents.org to find out how to honor the Captain!

TRAVELER

Tuesday, November 28, 2006 3:28 AM

I was just watching "Safe" when Simon is getting kidnaped and River catches up to him. She says something about being lost in the woods. Bingo! In the the first episode Inara uses this exact term. Mal walks in and says the woods are the only place he can see a clear path. So this phrase has been used more than once. Will have to keep my ears alert in case it is used again.

Traveler

IN2THEBLACK

Tuesday, November 28, 2006 3:37 AM

also from "the message"

When Womack confronts the postal employee and says "the penalty for transporting human cargo, especially dead human cargo..."

I just love that he has to specify "dead" cargo - implying there's a separate law banning mailing live humans

[/img]

Management is not responsible for ball failure

JLIN

Monday, December 4, 2006 5:44 AM

I just watched our Mrs. Reynolds and I love the part when Mal says, "Whoa, good bible." The subtle part was when Saffron is on the bridge with Wash and talking about earth that was. Guess what Wash says. "Whoa, good myth."

Thank Universal for airing Firefly in HD at
http://universalhd.com/Firefly/

JVP

Friday, December 8, 2006 4:27 AM

One I noticed is that the comm-unit in the cockpit has the camera and screen as two different components, so that when you look at the screen, you aren't looking at the camera, but in the dorm rooms and shuttles, the camera and screen are one unit.

RE: The Message w/ Audio Commentary:

I only watched it once briefly, but I think Alan and Jewel were reacting to the fact that Wash threw himself forward BEFORE the ship was hit and every one else started shaking.

VOLK564

Saturday, December 16, 2006 8:46 AM

So I just re-watched Shindig, and I noticed a few little things that I haven't seen on this thread yet that I thought were kind of cool. Feel free to shoot me down if these have been posted already.

When Badger & friends "bump" into Mal and Jayne, you can see some pedestrians in the background scatter away and can distinctly hear someone saying "We've gotta go now."

The nice old man who helps out Kaylee is actually looking at her standing her ground to the other girls during their conversation - look for him in the background, the silver hair gives him away.

"Pretentious" is said twice in this episode, the first time by Jayne, during the scene everyone on this board remembers, and then later by Inara when she's trying to get him to understand her line of work. He reacts similarly both times. Pretty interesting, no?

When Badger knocks on Serenity's cargo hold, and Jayne picks up a shotgun while walking to the door to answer it, he cocks it. On top of the classic click-clack, you can also hear an electrical whine, like the gun is being charged or something. Nice touch by the sound guys.

Last, but my personal favorite: after Kaylee gets back from the ball, she sits with the crew and plays cards while trying to hatch "a complicated escape and rescue op." She's changed into her normal clothes - but look at her hair. She's still wearing the frilly pink bow that came with the dress. Could just be that she was in a hurry to change given the situation, but I like to think that the costume crew was having some fun.

-My two cents.

INDIGOSTARBLASTER

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 9:30 PM

I was intrigued by Mal's expression in _Bushwhacked_, just after he authorizes Book to bury the dead, saying something like, "I don't know if there's any peace to be had, but if there is, those folks deserve some of it." Inara comes up to Mal and says in an admiring way, "Just when I think I have you figured out..."

He doesn't react to the implied compliment, just has this neutral yet tender (or maybe amused?) expression as he looks down at her.

Then we find out it was a pretext for getting everybody off Serenity so they could disarm the Reaver boobytrap without scaring everyone else.

I don't know what the expression means. I guess that's why it intrigues me :)

Indigo S.

BLUEEYEDBRIGADIER

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 9:47 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kizyr:

2) In the Serenity movie... the entire opening with Mal walking through the ship from the cockpit to the cargo hold is shot in one take. No cuts. Not quite subtle, but really amazing when you realize it.

Actually, if you listen to the Joss commentary for the BDM...he states that it wasn't just one take. It was two: one shot starting wtih the cockpit to the hallway leading down to the infirmary. The second take starts with the camera facing back towards Simon and ends with the cargo bay moment. The transition is skillfully done when the camera seems to hustle around the corner to follow the Mal/Simon convo/fight

Literature has shown us some of humanity's greatest achievements; history, some of our greatest failures -- Alun Lewis

ASARIAN

Wednesday, December 20, 2006 7:09 PM

Shindig.

I've always wondered how long River's been listening in on Badger and henchmen before she wandered in, allegedly all confused. And this because River says: "Now you're what, petty thief with delusions of standing?"

What standing? Or rather, what standing that River knows of? It can really only refer to her having overheard Badger say: "Persephone's my home. I gotta do business with the people here. I don't want it known I brought someone in caused this kinda ruckus." But that convo took place several minutes ago. Which means River has been eavesdropping for quite a bit, all the way through the crew discussing strategy, and up and until Jayne's "We need a diversion." Then River happens to wander in, and provides one (the idea of the possibility of Jayne getting nekkid was probably too much for her to stomach, lol).

Seems River played Badger. From minute one.

--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam

BAGHEERA

Friday, December 22, 2006 12:37 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by asarian:

Seems River played Badger. From minute one.

I didnt think that was subtle, so much as obvious.

Perhaps it may have been too subtle for you to pick up on though, but I certainly dont think she was eavesdropping beforehand. She simply displayed the uncanny intuition she always had (or as wash would put it the "scifi-ish psychic ability")

while my example may not be TOO subtle, i certainly love irony when used as humor, and i have loads of examples... the first that came to my head was this one...

On Heart of Gold, when Mal briefs the whores on how to fight he SPECIFICALLY says "Shoot the rider, not the horse. A dead horse will only provide cover for the rider."

Anyone else recall how Mal finished up the fight with what's-her-name on Whitefall by shooting the horse and pinning her ?

I'm confident this (and many other things) were intentional, which is why I love the show.

(ps... while I'm not averse to the idea that Book was an operative or other instrument of the alliance, I harbour my own suspicions that he was a "hand that holds the instrument" and may have been a major player in Blue Sun after his earlier years as a faithful operative or whatnot performed well... and I certainly agree that he turned to faith out of guilt... but he doesnt seem so out of place with guilt over killing people so much as ... something else... he definately shuddered when the two gals in heart of gold told him the last preacher took out the price of the sermon in trade off both of them... moreso then the thought of kneecapping people at Nisca's)

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