"Firefly" Jaynestown (2002)

Director:

Marita Grabiak

Writers:

Joss Whedon (creator)
Ben Edlund (written by)

TV Series:

"Firefly" (2002)

Original Air Date:

18 October 2002 (Season 1, Episode 4)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The crew pulls a heist in a town where Jayne once robbed the local magistrate, making him a local folk hero, and a target for the local police.

Plot Keywords:

Hero | Folk Hero | Heroine | Misunderstanding | Revenge

Cast

Nathan Fillion	...	Captain Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds
Gina Torres	...	Zoë Washburne
Alan Tudyk	...	Hoban 'Wash' Washburne
Morena Baccarin	...	Inara Serra
Adam Baldwin	...	Jayne Cobb
Jewel Staite	...	Kaylee Frye
Sean Maher	...	Dr. Simon Tam
Summer Glau	...	River Tam
Ron Glass	...	Shepherd Book
Gregory Itzin	...	Magistrate Higgins
Daniel Bess	...	Mudder
Kevin Gage	...	Stitch Hessian
Zachary Kranzler	...	Fess Higgins (as Zachary Kranzier)
Jordan Lund	...	Foreman
Bob McCracken	...	Well-Dressed Man (as Bob McCraken)

Runtime:

44 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-14

Company:

Mutant Enemy

Trivia:

Adam Baldwin admitted to swiping the Jayne statue's head as a souvenir after filming the episode. Later on, additional shots were needed for the episode (scene where the crew first sees the statue) and the crack where the head was broken off and then reattached is visible.

Goofs:

Continuity: Jayne is wearing his goggled hat when confronted by cheering Mudders. After the cut when he ducks inside, the hat is off.

Quotes:

Zoë: River, honey, he's putting the hair away now.
River: Doesn't matter. It'll still be there... waiting.

"The man they call Jayne......"

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This was definitely the Funniest episode of 'Firefly', hands down. From Kaylee's line to Inara: "Bye now. Have good sex." to River's last line: "Just keep walking Preacherman." there was never a dull moment.

I could tell from Jayne's behavior at the beginning there was no way he was getting through town without being noticed; but I never saw the statue of him in the middle of town coming. That was just inspired; leave it to Mr. Whedon to come up with a twist like that. And later, when I heard the first word of Jayne's folksong, I was in such a state of shock I couldn't even smile for 5 seconds. As the song continued, I was laughing so much I almost missed the 'plot dialog' from Jayne & Mal. It was priceless!!!!! Pure Genius, that scene was! And there were plenty of fun moments in between. Such as the groups 'consideration' of Jayne's statue, Simon's statements of what it must feel like to go mad, everyone's reaction to the song in the bar, certain Simon-Kaylee conversations, Wash's odd comments (always a pleasure), the interactions between River & Book involving the bible & his hair (highly amusing that latter bit), & of course Mal being the boss even when he tries to look like he's not. I also have to mention the occasional scene with Magistrate Higgins &/or his adorable son Fess. I found the dialog between them at the end very appropriate; particularly the Magistrate clutching the walls and swaying on his feet after his son's line: "You wanted to make a man out of me, Dad. I guess it worked".

The show wasn't without it's serious moments of course. Namely Jayne's interactions with all the mudder's; his reaction to their resistance & rioting on account of him, and his reflections on the whole thing at the very end shed a new light on his character that I rather liked. He didn't change for the better after that (which is okay considering he would no longer be the character we all know & love, or *hate*, or...*love to hate*...*or* hate to love, depending on how you look at it, were that the case); but it shows he has a conscience, of sorts, & that maybe he's not such a rotten guy after all. There was another instance of Simon & Kaylee getting on pretty well: Just as things seem to be heating up between those 2 something happens which basically throws a bucket of ice cold water on them; but before the show ends there's no hard feelings & their behavior is lukewarm again (we see instances of this later on as well). I also liked Book's lines about fixing the bible & how faith isn't necessarily supposed to make sense. Then there were the scenes with Inara, showing her job is more than that aspect of physical pleasure everyone seems so focused on; helping Fess come to realize who he really is, so he stops living under the overwhelming presence of his father, just shows the kind of positive influence she has on others.

I have to give this episode 10 out of ten 'cause I have nothing bad to say about it. Joss Whedon's shows are always entertaining, though. He ranks right up there with Sci-Fi writers/creators George Lucas, Gene Roddenberry, & Douglas Adams. Especially the latter since his works were more comedic than the other 2 combined. He's just a brilliant mind; I hope he stays around for many years to come.