(Unaired) This episode was depressing to watch. Why? Because it never made it to air. This, my friends, is a fine example of what Firefly is all about. It's when you get a good mix of science fiction and good ol' Western-like heists and gunplay that this show shines. But I have a confession to make -- this was the first time I saw this episode.
The return of Saffron (had we established her real name at all at this point?) was a great surprise. I'd said before that 'Our Mrs. Reynolds' was possibly the best episode of the series, and this just gives that episode even more weight by extending it. I wonder if Joss had a sort-of Firefly bible in mind when this series was being written, before the Serenity movie. Did he consider bringing Saffron back for a third or fourth time in future seasons? For that matter, did he have an idea on how everything would go down in the end?
Oh, can I just add that Christina Hendricks is mighty fine (that's Firefly-like talk for you).
Inara played a great part in this episode. The fact that both Inara and Saffron consistently demonstrate how calculating they can be proves why being a registered companion isn't necessarily considered a lowly profession. I say "necessarily" because, well, Mal doesn't so much care for what she does for a living.
The backdrop for this story was one of my favorites so far. The air-floating, cloud city-like islands was a cool touch. And the objects from "Earth that was" were great as well -- the old phone booth in Haymer's office, and the legendary "Lassiter" pistol, one of the first laser guns of its time. Did anyone else want to see that thing work?
We get another example of what makes River special in this episode, as she demonstrates how she clearly read the mind of Jayne to learn of his plan in 'Ariel' to turn them in. Oh, and that she can kill Jayne "with her mind." Couldn't anyone?
Oh, and did anyone else catch the Windows OS on the trash bin when Jayne was working on it? Hm... Windows... Trash bin... That sounds about right.
Jayne-ism of the episode:
Jayne: "Well, as a rule, I say, girlfolk ain't to be trusted."
River: "Jayne is a girl's name."
Jayne: "Well, Jayne ain't a girl! She starts in on that girl's-name thing, I'll show her good 'n' all, I got man parts!"
Simon: "I'm trying to think of a way for you to be cruder. I just ... it's not coming."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-12-2006 @ 12:10AM
Erik said...
had we established her real name at all at this point?
Nope. Some people call her Yo-Saf-Bridge based on the three names we hear for her. (Yolanda, Saffron and Bridget)
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8-12-2006 @ 7:26AM
Ryan said...
>that's Firefly-like talk for you
This show above all others I've watched really pulls in the viewer so that after 2-3 episodes you're randomly speaking Firefly-speak. Well it also happened with Buffy for me. Ah Joss, come back to TV. PLEASE?
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8-12-2006 @ 11:33AM
doc said...
"the first time I saw this episode"
Wow. The mind boggles at that statement. How is that even possible? I'm actually a little jealous of that, because it would be cool to be able to see an episode of Firefly for the first time again.
The unaired episodes were an interesting adventure for those of us that were into the series when it originally aired. I remember counting down the days until they finally aired overseas, and then everyone hammering all the various P2P options until we found them. Then we would spend hours on IRC talking about the details.
It's something that doesn't get a lot of mention, but you can make a pretty good case that P2P had a lot to do with the post-series success of Firefly. The Firefly fandom grew a lot between cancellation and DVD release. I know a lot of people that downloaded every episode. There were also people making DVD and VCD sets and sending them all around the world. It was a pretty amazing thing to watch. In the end, I think the DVDs and, by extension, the movie both came about because copyrights were infringed all over the place.
Oh, and yes, Christina Hendricks is mighty fine. She was also in Showtimes brilliant, but short-lived, Beggars and Choosers. There may be a DVD set, eventually. It keeps getting delayed. Keep an eye out for it. And if my recommendation isn't enough for you, I'll just add that you get to see Christina's boobs. How can you pass that up?
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8-12-2006 @ 12:20PM
doc said...
And digging through the archives, I managed to turn up a photo of my early VCD set. This was from before the unaired episodes became available. Check out those custom labels!
http://thecarnage.geckobrothers.com/disks.html
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8-12-2006 @ 3:00PM
Sorcerer Mickey said...
when watching the episode with the captions turned on, when Mal calls her "Yo-Saf-Bridge", the captions interpret this as (Speaking Chinese).
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8-12-2006 @ 3:08PM
Eric J said...
In my fantasy extension of the series, Yo-Saf-Bridge becomes a member of the Serenity crew.
In my fantasy extension of my fantasy extension of the series, she spends a lot of time in Inara's shuttle.
I'll be in my bunk.
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8-12-2006 @ 5:01PM
Nicholas said...
Firefly. Best. Show. Ever. Made.
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8-13-2006 @ 2:01AM
Manny said...
"YoSafBrig" was uttered by Mal in this episode.
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8-13-2006 @ 2:09AM
Manny said...
(.....when watching the episode with the captions turned on, when Mal calls her "Yo-Saf-Bridge", the captions interpret this as (Speaking Chinese).)
LOL, I noticed that too when I watched it, even though "YoSafBrig" is clear as day.
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8-13-2006 @ 11:42PM
Karen said...
Wow. You can really tell when a guy is writing the reviews. And the comments. All this talk of how fine *Christina Hendricks* is, and not one word about how the episode began and ended with Mal stark naked?
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8-14-2006 @ 3:57AM
Doug Hayes said...
I picked up the DVD of Serenity while in Bahgdad (Victory Base)to kill some time. What I found was that I really enjoyed the movie. (Usually watching films becomes just an escape from 2 hours of your day.) I could go on about what I liked about it and why it hooked me but that isn't the point... The point is I finally found a show that spoke to me... Yeah I know.. Most of you feel the same. But I have been working overseas for 17 years. Out on the fringes (the black).
Well I had to buy the series and it was even better in most ways! TRASH was by far my favorite. From beginning to end. I don't need to say anymore except that I actually sat through an entire show of "Miss Match" because Nathan Fillion was on it. A crew full of smart-asses... What more could you want??? Oh yeah... More episodes. Lots more. Firefly. My favorite of all time.
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8-14-2006 @ 4:19PM
Jennifer said...
Naked Mal! *swoons* One of the reasons why this is one of my favorites.
There, now it's been mentioned.
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