Trivia

Between shots, the cast preferred to wait in the ship's lounge instead of their trailers/dressing rooms.

Nathan Fillion considers this to be the most fun he's had on a television series, and compares every other job he gets to it.

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 (2005).

Fox originally aired the episodes out of chronological order. The proper chronological episode order is as follows:

• 1.) Serenity (2002).
• 2.) The Train Job (2002).
• 3.) Bushwhacked (2002).
• 4.) Shindig (2002).
• 5.) Safe (2002).
• 6.) Our Mrs. Reynolds (2002).
• 7.) Jaynestown (2002).
• 8.) Out of Gas (2002).
• 9.) Ariel (2002).
• 10.) War Stories (2002).
• 11.) Trash (2003).
• 12.) The Message (2003).
• 13.) Objects in Space (2002).
• 14.) Heart of Gold (2003).

Syndicated runs, streaming services, and the DVD/Blu-ray's all use this correct order.

The Alliance's full title is the "Anglo-Sino Alliance." Joss Whedon intended for it to be the merger of 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.