Trivia
Jump to:
Spoilers (1)
Summer Glau appeared as a Prima Ballerina in Angel: Waiting in the Wings. Whedon remembered her from this and contacted her about the part of River.
Share this
Chinese phrases are often inserted into the English dialogue, sometimes to get around censors. Some ship signs are in Chinese.
Share this
Originally, the ship had only 5 main characters. Throughout the development process, the character list was increased to 9.
Share this
The entire interior of Serenity, and some of the exterior, was built full-scale and almost completely contiguous. It was split across two sound stages: one for the upper deck and one for the lower deck, shuttle docks, and hold.
Share this
The character 'Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds' was ranked #18 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" (1 August 2004 issue).
Share this
The Alliance's full title is the "Anglo-Sino Alliance." Joss Whedon intended for it to be the merger of the USA and China, the last of the world's superpowers. That's why many characters sometimes speak Chinese. The Alliance flag, seen in the original pilot, is a blending of the US and Chinese flags.
Share this
Joss Whedon originally thought up the premise of the show with his friend Tyler Lovelly, who was not interested in pitching the show, so only Whedon was involved in production.
Share this
Joss Whedon has said that he was inspired by Michael Shaara's novel "The Killer Angels", which also inspired the film Gettysburg.
Share this
Many of the names of off-camera and minor characters are drawn from the ranks of science fiction writers. Notably, Bester (Alfred Bester) as the original mechanic of Serenity and Brennert (Alan Brennert) and Ellison (Harlan Ellison).
Share this
The cast had a running gag where they would yell Summer Glau's name whenever they flubbed a line or messed up. It began after she forgot her line at the end of a particularly difficult scene. The gag continued through the filming of Serenity.
Share this
Some of the weapons used in the series were contemporary with the time of production and chosen based on their somewhat futuristic look. No modifications were made by the prop department to either disguise them or make them look more futuristic. Alliance soldiers are seen carrying British L85A2 rifles and Heckler & Koch MP5s, both in variant models. The Browncoats are seen using Heckler & Koch G36 rifles.
Share this
In several episodes (for example Firefly: The Train Job, Jayne wears a German police jacket, from the state of Rhineland-Palatinate (German: Rheinland-Pfalz). The badge on the right sleeve has the word "Polizei" (German for police) on the top and the emblem of Rhineland-Palatinate underneath.
Share this
The lever-action Winchester carbine carried by Zoe throughout the series was inspired by a similar weapon used by Steve McQueen in Wanted: Dead or Alive.
Share this
The DVDs of Firefly were flown up to the International Space Station by astronaut Steven Swanson on board the shuttle Atlantis during its June 2007 STS-117 mission.
Share this
Every scene in space is shot without sound effects of the ship moving, precisely as it would be in real life; no air, no sound. Of course, that doesn't cover the background music played during those scenes.
Share this
According to an oral history of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog published in July 2008 in Entertainment Weekly, Neil Patrick Harris auditioned to play Simon.
Share this
Morena Baccarin's character Inara is named for a goddess worshiped by the Hittite (Hurrian) Empire of what is now Turkey, circa 1800-1200 BC. Inara was the goddess of the wild animals of the steppe and daughter of the Storm-god Teshub/Tarhunt. She is analogous to the Greek Artemis and the Roman Diana.
Share this
Five of the main cast members have appeared in other Joss Whedon shows as villains. Nathan Fillion appeared in the seventh season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Caleb. Gina Torres appeared in the fourth season of Angel as Jasmine. Adam Baldwin also appeared in "Angel" (1999), but in the fifth season as Marcus Hamilton. After "Firefly" (2003), Alan Tudyk and Summer Glau appeared in Dollhouse as Alpha and Bennett Halverson respectively.
Share this
Serenity's engine room includes the center console from a Boeing 737, complete with throttles, fuel cutoffs, spoiler and flap levers, and pitch trim wheels. It's frequently seen standing on the floor between the cot and the engine.
Share this
The sawed off shotgun that Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) carries is the same prop that Lord Bowler (Julius Carry) carried in The Adventures of Brisco County Jr..
Share this
During the DVD commentary, it is mentioned that there was a subplot for Inara that was never developed but that was foreshadowed with a number of shots and/or lines during the series. At a 2008 Dragoncon panel, Morena Baccarin confirmed the long-standing rumor that that subplot would have involved Inara having a terminal illness.
Share this
All of the main characters have voiced a character of the DC Universe except Jewel Staite and Sean Maher. Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern and Vigilante, Gina Torres as Vixen and Wonder Woman, Alan Tudyk as Green Arrow and the Flash, Morena Baccarin as Black Canary and Cheetah, Adam Baldwin as Green Lantern, Jonah Hex and Parasite, Summer Glau as Supergirl, and Ron Glass voiced a newscaster in Superman: Blasts from the Past: Part II.
Share this
Joss Whedon intended the show to have run for seven seasons. However due to low ratings, the FOX Network canceled it with only 11 episodes out of 14 airing on the network. Prior to it's cancellation fans formed a Firefly Immediate Assistance campaign which involves sending in postcards to the FOX Network to support the production of the show. After that didn't work, the campaign worked on getting another network such as UPN to pick up the series for a second season. The campaign ended up being unsuccessful in securing the continuation of the show.
Share this
Every time Mal rides a horse, no matter what planet, it's always the same horse. His name is Fred.
Share this
Spoilers
In a 2009 speech at Harvard University, Joss Whedon said that Zoe and Wash were the only couple in any of his TV shows that he never would have broken up (if the show had not been canceled).
Share this
