"Firefly" The Message (2003)

Director:

Tim Minear

Writers:

Joss Whedon (creator)
Joss Whedon (written by) ...
(more)

TV Series:

"Firefly" (2002)

Original Air Date:

28 July 2003 (Season 1, Episode 14)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A dying request from an old army buddy turns treacherous for Mal, Zoë, and the rest of the crew.

Plot Keywords:

Old Friend | Death | Hat | Tape Recording | Back From The Dead

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
Jonathan M. Woodward	...	Tracey
Richard Burgi	...	Lieutenant Womack
Al Pugliese	...	Amnon Duul
Tod Nakamura	...	Fendris
Craig Vincent	...	Skunk
Morgan Rusler	...	Barker
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joss Whedon	...	Man at Funeral (uncredited)

Directed by
Tim Minear

Writing credits
Joss Whedon		(creator)
Joss Whedon		(written by) &
Tim Minear		(written by)

Produced by
Gareth Davies	....	producer
Ben Edlund	....	producer
Lisa Lassek	....	associate producer
Tim Minear	....	executive producer
Brian Wankum	....	associate producer
Joss Whedon	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Greg Edmonson

Cinematography by
David Boyd		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Sunny Hodge

Casting by
Anya Colloff

Production Design by
Carey Meyer

Art Direction by
Colin De Rouin		(as Colin deRoiun)

Set Decoration by
David A. Koneff		(as David Koneff)

Costume Design by
Shawna Trpcic

Makeup Department
Diana Acrey	....	key hair stylist
Camille Calvet	....	key makeup artist
Robert Hall	....	special makeup effects: Almost Human
Tina Hoffman	....	makeup artist
Ron Pipes	....	makeup artist
Allan B. Holt	....	makeup effects lab technician (uncredited)
Kerry Mendenhall	....	key hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Michael Cedar	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Athena Alexander	....	second assistant director
Tony Schwartz	....	first assistant director
Jana Ludwigova	....	second second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Keith A. Cuba	....	lead person (as Keith Cuba)
Tammy DeRuiter	....	painter
Steven Fidler	....	construction coordinator
David Goldstein	....	paint foreman
Jeffrey Moore	....	property master (as Jeff Moore)
Stella Starlight	....	art department coordinator
Stella Starlight	....	graphic designer
Dylan J. Hay Chapman	....	graphic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Deb Adair	....	sound re-recording mixer
Robert Guastini	....	dialogue editor
Bill Jackson	....	re-recording mixer
Tom Perry	....	re-recording mixer
Cindy Rabideau	....	supervising sound editor
David Yaffe	....	production sound mixer (as David Barr Yaffe)
Mark Cleary	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Mike Marchain	....	supervising adr editor (uncredited)
Kevin McCullough	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Bruce Minkus	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Loni Peristere	....	visual effects supervisor
Bryan Whitaker	....	digital artist
Justin Ball	....	senior systems engineer: Zoic Studios (uncredited)
David R. Morton	....	digital artist (uncredited)
Emile Edwin Smith	....	visual/digital effects supervisor (uncredited)

Stunts
Nick Brandon	....	stunt coordinator
Paul Anthony Scott	....	stunt double: Nathan Fillion
Andy Dylan	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Allen D. Easton	....	camera operator (as Allen Easton)
Tom Hutchinson	....	second assistant camera
Dennis L. Peterson	....	chief lighting technician (as Dennis Peterson)
Bubba Sheffield	....	key grip
Jonas Steadman	....	first assistant camera: a
Chris Stanman	....	electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jennifer Fishman	....	casting by (as Jennifer Fishman Pate)
Lonnie Hamerman	....	casting associate
Amy McIntyre Britt	....	casting by
Michael V. Nicolo	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Julia Gombert	....	head ager/dyer

Editorial Department
Sam Bollinger	....	assistant editor
Aaron Miller	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Tim Isle	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Bob Ellis	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Michael Boretz	....	assistant: Joss Whedon
Cheryl Cain	....	story editor
Robert Earl Craft	....	location manager (as Bob Craft)
John J. Gray	....	assistant: Tim Minear
Sam Greenmun	....	spacesuit design/fabrication/set technician
Neil Levin	....	script coordinator
Jenny Lynn	....	translator: Chinese
Jose Molina	....	executive story editor
Elyse Allyn Ramsdell	....	production coordinator (as Elyse Ramsdell)
Jain Sekuler	....	script supervisor
Kelly Wheeler	....	assistant: Gareth Davies
James E. Williams	....	production auditor
Stacey Levin	....	head publicist (uncredited)
Tony Rudenko	....	programming: computer graphics (uncredited)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Joss Whedon		creator

Makeup Department
Christopher Burdett	....	special makeup designer
Jason Collins	....	supervisor: Almost Human, Inc.
Jake Garber	....	makeup artist
Jake Garber	....	special makeup effects artist
Roxane Griffin	....	hair stylist
Margie Latinopoulos	....	makeup artist
Debbie Mezera	....	office manager: Almost Human Inc
James Ojala	....	special makeup effects technician
Leo Corey Castellano	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John P. Aguirre	....	second second assistant director
Lisa Chu	....	dga trainee (as Lisa Chu Dietze)
Ellen Rosentreter	....	dga trainee

Art Department
Banner Agundez	....	assistant property master
Will Batts	....	set designer
Ron Cobb	....	conceptual artist
Skip Crank	....	property master
Rick Heyer	....	assistant property master
Happy Nakamura	....	property assistant
David Saltzman	....	assistant property master
Val Wilt	....	general foreman

Sound Department
Susan Cahill	....	assistant sound editor
Kevin Hyde	....	boom operator
Brian D. Lucas	....	sound recordist
Michael Miller	....	adr mixer
Steven Morrow	....	sound mixer: second unit

Visual Effects by
Raoul Bolognini	....	visual effects coordinator
Brent Burpee	....	systems engineer
Aram Granger	....	digital artist
Jon-Marc Kortsch	....	digital artist
Errol Lanier	....	digital artist
Michael D. Leone	....	digital artist
Mark Lipsmeyer	....	digital artist: Zoic Studios
John McGinley	....	visual effects modeler
Jose Perez	....	visual effects
Kevin Quattro	....	digital artist

Stunts
Cheryl Bermeo	....	stunts
Charlie Brewer	....	stunts
Ken Clark	....	utility stunts
John Dixon	....	stunts
Brian Duffy	....	stunts
Roel Failma	....	stunt performer
Bryan Friday	....	stunts
James Giaquinto	....	stunt double
Mike Gunther	....	stunts
Jes Hellwege	....	stunts
Nicola C. Hindshaw	....	stunt double: Jewel Staite
Nicola C. Hindshaw	....	utility stunts
Mark Kubr	....	stunts
Cheryl Lawson	....	stunts
Larry A. Lee	....	stunts
Will Leong	....	utility stunts
Christopher Leps	....	stunts
Michael Li	....	stunts
Sam Maloof	....	stunt performer
Mike Massa	....	stunt performer
Caryn Mower	....	stunts
Gloria O'Brien	....	stunts
J.J. Perry	....	stunts
Marcus Salgado	....	stunt double
Christie Sanders	....	utility stunts
Felipe Savahge	....	stunts (multiple episodes)
Paul E. Short	....	stunts
Tim Sitarz	....	stunt double
Clark Tucker	....	utility stunts
Jim Vickers	....	stunts
Gary J. Wayton	....	stunt performer
Lee Whittaker	....	stunts (multiple episodes)

Camera and Electrical Department
Gregory Beard	....	best boy grip
Brian Cantrell	....	best boy electric
Keith Davis	....	electrician
Ron Eisenberg	....	still photographer
Samuel Fischer	....	best boy electric
Chris Lewis	....	rigging gaffer
Dan Ming	....	additional first assistant camera
George Santo Pietro	....	dolly grip (1 episode)
James Stiritz	....	best boy grip
Troy White	....	best boy electric

Casting Department
Lee A. Miles	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jayme Bohn	....	assistant costume designer
Susi Campos	....	set costumer
Philip Maldonado	....	costumer
Lawrence Quon	....	costumer

Music Department
David Klotz	....	music editor (multiple episodes)

Transportation Department
John Magoo McGivern	....	transportation captain
Beau Reed	....	transportation co-captain

Other crew
Ted Bayard	....	assistant location manager
Tami Fernholz	....	payroll accountant
Ryan Ford	....	assistant accountant
Steve Karnes	....	weapons armorer
Shaun McNally	....	production assistant
Jim Roberts	....	medic
Caroline Vandenberg	....	assistant production coordinator

Production Companies

• Mutant Enemy

Distributors

• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Viasat3 (2007) (Hungary) (TV)

Other Companies

• Todd-AO Studios (West)  post production sound by (as Todd Studios West)
• R!OT  post production services by
• Zoic Studios  visual effects by (as Zoic)
• Meat and Potatoes  main title design by
• Panavision  processing by
• Almost Human  special makeup effects created by

Runtime:

44 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M

Company:

Mutant Enemy

Trivia:

Although it is not the last episode aired, this was the last episode ever shot.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Towards the end, when Tracey is threatening the crew with a gun into the ship's bridge, just after more snow hits the ship, a crew member's hand can be seen on the left, behind the window, grabbing a piece.

Quotes:

Tracey:Do you think I'm stupid?
Mal:In every way possible.

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Heartfelt and poignant

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I couldn't disagree with the previous disappointed critic more. Continuity errors aside, I felt the story was perfectly balanced between humor, suspense and pathos, especially in its final moments. Yes, Jayne is funny throughout, but he perfectly counterbalances the more serious moments - particularly the betrayal by Mal and Zoe's friend - in the latter half. And for once, it's nice to see someone other than River and Simon bear the brunt of Jayne and Mal's hostility.

Plus, for those blessed enough to catch this one on DVD, Alan Tudyk and Jewel Staite provide a humorous running commentary on the story and all the behind-the-scenes happenings during while this episode was shot. The final sequence is made more touching considering this is everyone's "goodbye" to the series.