Serenity (20 Dec. 2002)

In the first half of the original pilot episode, the crew of Serenity takes on several passengers and make their way to another planet to try and sell goods they salvaged from a wrecked ... See full summary »

Director:

Joss Whedon

Writers:

Joss Whedon (creator), Joss Whedon

Stars:

Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
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
Carlos Jacott	...	Lawrence Dobson
Mark Sheppard	...	Badger (as Mark A. Sheppard)
Andy Umberger	...	Dortmunder Captain
Philip Sternberg	...	Inara's Client
Eddie Adams	...	Bendis
Colin Patrick Lynch	...	Radio Operator

Storyline

In the first half of the original pilot episode, the crew of Serenity takes on several passengers and make their way to another planet to try and sell goods they salvaged from a wrecked ship. Their efforts are impeded, though, when Wash and Mal realize that there is an undercover alliance fed on board. In the second half of the original pilot, Simon struggles to save Kaylee, and in turn River and himself while Mal, Zoe, and Jayne attempt to unload the cargo from the salvage to a trigger-happy mayor of a border moon.

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Plot Keywords:

26th century | cockney accent | brother sister relationship | faith | heroine | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

20 December 2002 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the pilot, during the opening sequence depicting the Serenity Valley battle, Captain Mal (Nathan Fillion) is seen using a DCA cannon. If you look closely at the head-up display interface of the gun, at the top center you'll see the Weyland-Yutani logo as seen on most of the Alien franchise movies.

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Goofs

Shortly after Serenity arrives at the Eavesdown Docks, Wash drives the mule down the ramp, stops at the bottom and has a few words with Zoe. Just as the mule initially moves, a crew member is visible behind the mule running to screen right after pushing the mule. When Wash drives off, a crew member's hand is again visible grabbing onto the front bumper of the mule to pull it out of the shot.

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Quotes

Wash: Can we maybe vote on the whole murdering people issue?

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Connections

Referenced in Serenity (2005)

User Reviews

Fantastic Series

I've watched it all and loved it.If your into Sci-fi then you've obviously read Henlien, all his colony stuff reverted to the easiest to maintain technology for sustainability. Tractors need fuel and engineers and factories to make more .. Horses sort themselves out and make more naturally.Blacksmith forge requires less training to use than a precision lathe so you can guarantee that if you lose a few people in the colony you don't wind up in the dark ages until the next wave of settlers. The whole dirt grubbing mixed with high tech is like Africa today.. Obviously 'TheDog chap ' hasn't been out of his high tech playpen in a while if he can't understand this.

Firefly is aimed at people who have at least two brain cells which is probably why the Execs at Fox cancelled it, They want shows aimed at the lowest common denominator .. Duh!.

The interaction between crew members has depth you don't see in most programs and unlike star trek isn't clinical.It has elements that you can see from interactions with friends around you.The preacher and River was like watching an uncle left looking after a child and not having a clue.. And his hair.. so funny.. River swaps like a person on drugs and the engineer is so hot.

So disappointing that they didn't make more, its' one of the few programs that where every episode was good.Not one episode of Firefly made me want to wander off, in fact you need to concentrate to catch all the nuances of it.

There's humour, violence and a developing story. Preacher's Reference to Saffron as 'Special' is something you need to watch and pay attention to to get the meaning..

I have like everyone favourite parts and not so favourite parts.. A duel where neither participant showed particular skill ( I was a fencer ) was acceptable as the comment about only toying with him explains.

The engine designs a little iffy , health and safety would have stamped all over it if there was no way to stop someone getting caught in it , but oooh! it's not real, it's fiction and a damn sight more believable and interesting than most of the dross they serve up as entertainment.

Buffy had the girl as the bait to watch but had an interaction between characters, Angel took that further and got more gritty and more believable ( Okay not Vampires and monsters, they just replaced the people in power ). FireFly goes one further, you feel lost at the end wanting to see the continuation of the character's lives.

Very much worth a watch, get the DVD, get serenity the film and watch it you'll like it.