Just what the hell was wrong with Fox, anyway? There is nothing wrong with this double-length pilot that a re-shoot of the flat-out sloppy "invisible steering wheel" wouldn't fix. It establishes the characters very well, sets up a compelling story, and hits the various tones spot-on throughout. Bypassing this and ordering up "The Train Job," which does none of those things (and is one of the less good episodes to boot) was just foolish.
I'm guessing, from what I've picked up, that Fox didn't like Angry Mal. If that is the case, then the violence, the antagonism, and the honest unpleasantness of the setting and some of the characters must have played a part as well: Jayne is a lot less goofy here, and he is less controlled as well; Badger is more dangerous and less of a cartoon, and Patience, from her second line on is, one of the best villains I've ever seen (far better than the irritating ethnic joke that was the twice-appearing Nyska).
I'm sorry that we'll never know what direction this would have gone if Fox had had some stones.
I'm guessing, from what I've picked up, that Fox didn't like Angry Mal. If that is the case, then the violence, the antagonism, and the honest unpleasantness of the setting and some of the characters must have played a part as well: Jayne is a lot less goofy here, and he is less controlled as well; Badger is more dangerous and less of a cartoon, and Patience, from her second line on is, one of the best villains I've ever seen (far better than the irritating ethnic joke that was the twice-appearing Nyska).
I'm sorry that we'll never know what direction this would have gone if Fox had had some stones.