You seem to get Mal and don’t judge him. Jayne will grow on you. Also, hearing a reactor laugh out loud is such a delight. Looking forward to much more of that. 😅
Any time River says something cryptic ("Two by two, hands of blue" is one example) or says something that sounds like she's hallucinating, pay attention. It's always important. We gradually get to know River as the series progresses, but we never really understand her or what was done to her; that was all supposed to be revealed in the fifth season. The movie resolved most of those questions, so be sure to end your _Firefly_ odyssey by watching it.
"Do you know what the chain of command is? It's the chain that I beat you with until you realize who is rutin' command here." This episode had so many good lines.
That laugh alone is worth the trip to see your videos, may you never lose it. Your reactions are great. "Two by two, hands of blue." They were there, hope you saw them. -- As we say in Texas; y'all be safe.
'He was a Browncoat (= a fighter on the other side, against the Alliance, before Unification), right?' Yes, he was!! And now you know why we Firefly fans like to call ourselves "browncoats". 🙂
Love your reactions to “Firefly” ! You pick up on many details others often miss… one bit of advice: if you pay attention to River’s apparent ramblings, you’ll see they are actually prescient statements about current - or future - events. In this episode, “ 2 by 2, hands of blue” references the agents tracking her, who work in pairs and wear blue surgical gloves (for reasons revealed in later episodes).
i love the line "we didn't fly eighty-six million miles to track down a box of bandaids, colonel." just such complete and total disrespect for that entire planet, its people, and its problems.
"So....would his job be open?" One of my favorite lines in the series. There's a lot that's clunky about this forced second pilot, but there's some genius parts too.
I've always had the feeling the sheriff had also been a Browncoat. He didn't flinch when Mal maligned the Alliance, and there seemed to be a low-key understanding between them.
Agreed. I like the way they are feeling each other out in that conversation. Mal didn't say anything about the Alliance until he had a sense of how it would be received. (And I love the touch of the sheriff sharing his cigarette with the guy in the cell. That gave Mal a hint about him.)
The seroes was set up so any guest could come back- just go back to his planet, there he could be again.( Even in 13 episodes, we will see a little of that.) I think this sheriff could have been a long-term friend.
The writing, acting, wardrobe, set design, and score make this the very best of television. Everyone should learn from this and make things better for us to watch. Love your reaction!
Don't put any stock into anything the FOX Execs said. They were just making excuses to cancel the series. They waited until the last minute on a Friday to tell Joss Whedon the original pilot was rejected. Whedon & Minear had only the weekend to write a new pilot script to turn in on the following Monday morning or be canceled through a breach of contract.
To say the execs at Fox where idiots is an understatement. Even though this episode did explain much of the backstory, ep. 1 Serenity was still the best way to go. Think some of them were doing a power trip wanting to be controlling. Other than Jayne, this is an example of how the crew still had scruples and for the most part morals when it came to others.
Two by two, hands of blue... one of those guys were also on Buffy and Angel as one of the Council's clean up team. You know, the ones that were sent to "deal with" Faith? Also in the first episode, the undercover police guy was on Buffy in Anne, and on Angel as Doyle's ex-wife's new hubby. :)
i had the biggest crush on inara back then. just everything about her made me swoon. the way she carries herself, her mind, her elegance, her outfits. just all of it.
I think it was only in the broadcast episodes. (I got a DVD with the episodes as they were broadcast, and one with a 'cleaner' version of them; Book's intro shows up in the former, not the latter.)
PLEASE continue doing this series - I promise that while I certainly enjoy a reactor to "Firefly" - YOU are going to **love** the character development. Every reactor is SAD when the last episode is being done. THANK YOU for doing this reaction - loved your "take" on things.
From what 'i understand Fox didn't so much think "Serenity" was too complicated rather they didn't want to air a 90 minute pilot. The biggest question raised by this episode is whether or not River had ever come into contact with blue-gloved Alliance agents before. If she had then she was simply conjecturing from previous experience. But if she hadn't... Well, what does that mean?
@@sirmoonslosthismind This is simply a question I had the first time I watched the episode. Clearly something was being set up, but what exactly was it? Perhaps I've merely read so much Science Fiction that multiple possibilities come immediately to mind.
It is easy to have a love/hate relationship with Jane at the beginning… he is so selfish but delivers some of the biggest laughs. I know Sophie will come around.
Despite the extraneous stuff; intro; exposition we got in the real pilot etc, this is a tremendous episode; especially because of one of TV's great villains, but also because of one of the greatest one-shot characters in the Sheriff & one of the greatest exchanges between two characters since The Outlaw Josey Wales; not forgetting the brilliant death of an evil flunkey - and it's not even in my top ten Firefly episodes ;-) kerk
It's interesting to note (and it comes up in this episode a lot) when he uses Malcolm vs Mal vs 'Captain'/his full title. And the noted fact that despite his name being the more heroic Malcolm, he usually chooses the 'bad' Mal.
I love the relationship between Book and Inara He is a Shepard of the Christian persuasion and she is a Buddhist. It is a great example of two people from different religions having tolerance. It also adds to the juxtaposition from the pilot where Inara gives comfort to Book while he is on his knees in front of her.
I really enjoyed that you are catching on to what the crew are like. I also like that you have caught on to something that we see plain as day, but that Inara and Mal are having "difficulties" with... You mentioned that it was obvious that they had feelings for each other. But they don't seem to be acting on them. I think Mal is intimidated that she has so much experience with men, potentially "better' than him, so he turns the frustration into sarcasm. I really enjoyed how you appreciate the humor in Mal's methods... When he is telling Zoe he lover her because she's his wife, or when he kicks the guy into the engine... I am looking forward to seeing the rest of their journey through your eyes!
"simplicize" The standard English word for that is simplify. One of the good things about English is that you can make up a word like simplicize and everyone will understand what you mean, but in this case where there's a perfectly good word that already exists with the same meaning it's probably better to just stick with it.😀
'And what are you going to do about it?' 'Nothing. I just wanted you to face me so she could get behind you.' Firefly, perhaps more so than any other Joss Whedon show, is totally full of zingers and one-liners and wonderful little repartees that bring sheer delight to all viewers, browncoats or not! Everybody has their favorite ones, so do I... This episode is already great, but wait till we get some more episodes done, there are some real undeniable gems to be picked!🙂
When Fox rejected Serenity as the pilot episode, they gave Whedon less than a week to come up with a new one. Him and Tim Minnear(?) spent the whole weekend writing this, submitted it on the Monday, and it got approved.
The arrogance and stupidity of those people at Fox, rejecting the brilliant "Serenity" and then demanding the writers to write an entire episode script over one single weekend, is simply unbelievable. They were probably on a power trip, taking pleasure in making other people's lives miserable...
From what I understand, this show had two executives involved with it at Fox. The first one helped start it and then left Fox. The second guy hated the first guy and took it out on the show he helped start. Basically, the second guy intentionally mishandled the show to screw the first guy.
Jayne plays a selfish hard ass, don't let it fool you. He is greedy, but look at the first episode. When Kaylie was being treated Jayne was hiding outside hanging onto every word being said, but doesn't want to be seen. I think if the show didn't get cancelled. Jayne would have developed into a way deeper character. and it is easy to love / hate him early on.
I think this episode does the ssme job as Serenity, but it does it in half the time, so it doesn't give us the same ammount of time to react. I like Serenity better, but that"s a choice. EDIT- I see Mr HWS, above, told the story. Beat me tio it. Has anybody told this story yet? Fox previewed Serenity. didn't care for it, so they scheduled a meeting with Joss on a Friday, told him he had to shoot a new pilot starting Monday. Joss and Tim Minear wrote this over the weekend, so it's not as carefully written as other episodes.
"The Train Job": The written-over-the-weekend second pilot that Fox TV brass ordered. A job taken with Adelai Niska, a ruthless Godfather, overseen by #1 pug-ugly, Crow. The aerial heist goes sideways, leaving Mal and Zoe "married." The goods are badly needed meds, Jayne "sees angels," and Inara retrieves her "errant servants." Crow and crew arrive for the goods and a fight ends with Jayne missing his target. Mal returns the meds, Crow doesn't deal, but his second in command does.
"Why unify the planets if you don't give a shit?" Welcome to classic colonialism. Conquer, exploit, and don't really worry about the impact on the locals.
"The Alliance's view was to unify the planets." A lot is not explained in the Firefly universe due to its untimely cancellation. But as far as I understand it... the Alliance are basically a union that started out as self-defense and evolved into a big political body, forming a single "country" as it were (it has a congress, a system of government with democratic elections, etc...). The 'outer planets' were further from it and had lower technology. Perhaps initially for good reasons, the Alliance started expanding; later, as they grew more powerful, this became more like conquest. So after a military conflict (we saw the Battle of Serenity in the first two-part episode) all human worlds (all apparently in one big solar system) were unified as part of it, making the Alliance kind of like the local United States (call it United Planets). Hence the celebration of 'Unification Day'.
Having watched a few reactions a lot of people struggle with how the pilot episode just drops you into the action without any explanation of what is going on. The short narrative at the beginning of this episode does a great job with that. If you took the narrative up to "there was some disagreement on that point." and added it to the beginning of the pilot episode it would make it much easier to get into the story.
"Let the locals handle it"... The Alliance is like a Federal Government that regulates the planets, but planets manage their civic responsibilities (like a state) and enforce the laws using locally managed forces. This is done to ensure that each planet can have a certain amount of leeway in how the govern as long as they stay within the limits of the Alliance's regulations. The Roman, Persian and Mongol Empires were like this. They allowed a certain amount of local autonomy (religion, language, culture etc) as long as tribute/taxes flowed and access and control was given for any imperial purpose. Mal and people like him, believe in a more libertarian approach where all the planets should be governed independently if they want. They don't like the idea of a large, remote entity controlling their lives. They don't like regulation. They want to do their own thing.
and both sides are wrong. the alliance fundamentally misunderstands the purpose of governance, but the rebels are wrong to think "doing their own thing" is practical with a large human population that doesn't possess star trek style post-scarcity technology.
@@sirmoonslosthismind If you notice, most of the rebel planets were backwater remote planets with the cowboy vibe. They were more outpost planets than thriving centers of commerce and technology like some of the Alliance planets we see. Those outlying planets (just like in Star Wars' Outer Rim) tend to like their distance and independence because they are freer to do what they want (less laws, regulation and taxation). But the tradeoff is more criminality and more opportunity for strong men and crime syndicates to come in. Mal and the Serenity are essentially smugglers and freelance haulers. Of course he's going to push back and resent the Alliance since regulation and oversight is the opposite of what Mal wants. I'm not sure if it's made clear if there were votes of planets entering the Alliance and the Browncoats were the holdouts saying "we don't care. We don't want the Alliance". Either way, most of the planets go along with the Alliance while Mal and a handful of outliers hold resentment.
Yeah, Fox (in all its forms, from TV to news) always assumes that their audience is stupid. So they just assumed that "Serenity" would be too complicated for our feeble minds. I hate Fox, in all its forms.
Everyone always ignores River, AND when she says "two by two, hands of blue", even when the two guys who show up looking for them at the end have blue hands ... Loved your reaction, but I need to warn you, this series is VERY dialog centric, and a LOT of the conversations will set up something that will come back around again later, so you NEED to pay attention to what they say and NOT talk over it. I'm not being snippy, just trying to help. I've seen this entire series well over 100 times, via TV, my own copies and all the reactions I've watched. So, I know where and why people get lost and/or confused, and it usually has to do with not hearing or paying attention to the dialog. It's a hallmark of the Joss Weadon style and experience, found in ALL of us TV series AND movies. Can't wait to see you do the rest of this series.
Idk. It seems like a lot of people get tripped up by the whole pilot thing. Maybe because I am so dang old I remember that it used to be pilots were never even broadcasted. Pilots were just low budget visuals that creators would show network exects to give a vague idea what a show would look like. Star trek, and Big Bang Theory both had very different pilots than how the show actually debut.
Some people dismiss Nishka as just some cruel mafia boss, but I like his philosophical expositions. "So this man, he... didn't do job, so I show you what I do with him, so my reputation with you no longer just reputation, now fact, you see?" 🤔
I'm thinking the people who unified the planets aren't the same as the Alliance officers who don't care. And why should they care? It's not their planet, not their people, the medicine is delivered, it's just on the black market now. To them it's low priority, so what if the people now have to pay extra now and suffer as a result, they checked their boxes and they have to go back to their jobs now. I also like the terraforming details in the show.
the use of uniforms from the movie starship troopers shows how low budget the series was made. it would only be more obvious if they used starwars stormtrooper uniforms! by the way, is there a volunteer to clean an engine?.. 😊
If you're annoyed that there's no firefly S2 and on. Don't be.. With AI going the way it is you can be sure that within our lifetimes the tools will become available for any person with some skills to create new episodes of TV shows that look real with real looking actors using their home PC. Then release these A+ quality fan made episodes anonymously on the internet. The MPAA and content owners can't sue people for releasing their own content based on copyrighted shows if it's all released anonymously for free. I have no doubt we will eventually get more firefly.
"Why did you unify the planets if you don't give a damn about things like that?" In defense of the Alliance... despite the people who would die without the medicine, this is a local affair. It's not a big interplanetary crisis (like the Klingons invading the Federation in Star Trek). I guess those military people in their fancy spaceships are there to take care of these big things -- just like the Enterprise wasn't there to solve little problems on the Earth, but to explore and go where no one has gone before... So that particular captain has a point: it's a tragic event, but not a big crisis that calls for a big cruise ship or something. It's something the local authorities -- police, etc. -- should be able to deal with. One of the things I love about Firefly is that it definitely does NOT take the viewpoint of the Big Picture actors -- we're not dealing with Star Trek's Captain Picard or Star War's Rebel Alliance and the Empire. No--we're dealing with little people like Mal and his old damn firefly-class vehicle that has seen better days and is badly in need of some maintenance... It's like exploring the Star Wars universe from Han Solo's perspective before he met Luke and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
I don't really like the indroduction scenes. They are not necessary. The episodes speak for themselves, the world building is sooo good - you don't need a narrator to spell everything out for you.
@@roguechevelle 100% projection on their part. When they were 1st introduced to the show they told Joss that they loved it, but asked if he'd be willing to change the the whole "cowboys in space" concept. They couldn't wrap their little pea brains around it. ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
When this episode aired, I wasn't feeling it. Cowboys in space?! I like my sci-fi to be sci-fi. I thought they were just going cheap using old west costumes and sets. Then Mal kicked that guy into the jet intake and I was in. :)
Hi Sofie, just FYI I think you meant 'simplify' rather than 'simplicize'. Can I ask, do you have French ancestry? I can't place your accent. The executives at Fox really made a mess out of Firefly, it had potential to be massive and no-one saw it on release - it took word-of-mouth to make it into a success.
Nobody was watching the show when it was on the network. The few people that were, absolutely loved the show, but the cross cowboy/space genre wasn't hitting with the general audience. Fox cancelled the show because it wasn't making any money. Fox threw a bone to the fanes with the movie to try to save face, but Firefly was a commercial failure. It became a cult show and got a good reputation from word of mouth after the cancellation, but the viewing numbers weren't there. Arrested Development is another smart show that got cancelled before its time.
@@swordmonkey6635 It might have found its audience if Fox hadn't first screwed up the air order and then kept shuffling it on the schedule and pre-empting it for other programming.
@@kirkdarling4120 This has been floated before, but at the time, the show's genre crossing was just too niche for what viewers were looking for. Sometimes great shows fall through the cracks and aren't appreciated until they're gone. The magic of Firefly was the fan loyalty and most of that had to do with the small number of fans and how passionate they were because the show was cancelled. If the show had gone on uncancelled, it wouldn't have the romantic underdog vibe it has now.
You seem to get Mal and don’t judge him. Jayne will grow on you. Also, hearing a reactor laugh out loud is such a delight. Looking forward to much more of that. 😅
18:22 I don't know what that sound is, but I love it.
As a substitute pilot, this one works, but Fox shall still never be forgiven
It’s a very good episode, but confusing to be the first one to watch. Fuck FOX.
"Simplicize" is now a word in my vocabulary. It fits in with "flustrated" a word I learned from another reactor. Thank you, SoFie.
You're welcome 😉
Don't forget 'supposably' 👍
You mean like a no good, dirty "Deceiver"
“Simplicize” works just fine, thank you for the new word.
Any time River says something cryptic ("Two by two, hands of blue" is one example) or says something that sounds like she's hallucinating, pay attention. It's always important.
We gradually get to know River as the series progresses, but we never really understand her or what was done to her; that was all supposed to be revealed in the fifth season. The movie resolved most of those questions, so be sure to end your _Firefly_ odyssey by watching it.
7:23 "Who are they?"
They're Starship Troopers! 😂
The helmets and gear the Alliance soldiers are wearing are being re-used from that film.
No kiddin'? Do you have a reference on that?
@@Asehpe I can't post links here, but if you Google "Firefly Starship Troopers", you'll find plenty.
"Do you know what the chain of command is? It's the chain that I beat you with until you realize who is rutin' command here."
This episode had so many good lines.
EVERY episode has at least 10 good lines and iconic quotes 😅
... It's the chain I *go get and* beat you with 'till you *understand* who's in ruttin' command here. 🧐
The 2 best dialogue writers at Mutant Enemy wrote it so.... :-)
I love a good heist, and Firefly always has fun ones
That laugh alone is worth the trip to see your videos, may you never lose it. Your reactions are great.
"Two by two, hands of blue." They were there, hope you saw them.
--
As we say in Texas; y'all be safe.
'He was a Browncoat (= a fighter on the other side, against the Alliance, before Unification), right?' Yes, he was!! And now you know why we Firefly fans like to call ourselves "browncoats". 🙂
Love your reactions to “Firefly” ! You pick up on many details others often miss… one bit of advice: if you pay attention to River’s apparent ramblings, you’ll see they are actually prescient statements about current - or future - events. In this episode, “ 2 by 2, hands of blue” references the agents tracking her, who work in pairs and wear blue surgical gloves (for reasons revealed in later episodes).
This series is so good! Somewhere around episode 6/7 you will start to hate that Fox canceled the series so soon.
So many years later, and I still seethe...
Curse their sudden but inevitable betrayal!!!!
i love the line "we didn't fly eighty-six million miles to track down a box of bandaids, colonel." just such complete and total disrespect for that entire planet, its people, and its problems.
"So....would his job be open?" One of my favorite lines in the series. There's a lot that's clunky about this forced second pilot, but there's some genius parts too.
I've always had the feeling the sheriff had also been a Browncoat. He didn't flinch when Mal maligned the Alliance, and there seemed to be a low-key understanding between them.
Agreed. I like the way they are feeling each other out in that conversation. Mal didn't say anything about the Alliance until he had a sense of how it would be received. (And I love the touch of the sheriff sharing his cigarette with the guy in the cell. That gave Mal a hint about him.)
He was a great character. Too bad we didn’t get to see more of him and Monte (Trash). Feel like Mal needed some more likeminded friends in the ‘verse.
The seroes was set up so any guest could come back- just go back to his planet, there he could be again.( Even in 13 episodes, we will see a little of that.) I think this sheriff could have been a long-term friend.
The writing, acting, wardrobe, set design, and score make this the very best of television. Everyone should learn from this and make things better for us to watch. Love your reaction!
she laughed and said...
lol worship on Sunday and bible study on Wednesday...
Every outfit of Inara's through this entire series is just jaw-dropping. I can't wait for you to see her dress in episode 4!
Don't put any stock into anything the FOX Execs said. They were just making excuses to cancel the series. They waited until the last minute on a Friday to tell Joss Whedon the original pilot was rejected. Whedon & Minear had only the weekend to write a new pilot script to turn in on the following Monday morning or be canceled through a breach of contract.
To say the execs at Fox where idiots is an understatement. Even though this episode did explain much of the backstory, ep. 1 Serenity was still the best way to go. Think some of them were doing a power trip wanting to be controlling. Other than Jayne, this is an example of how the crew still had scruples and for the most part morals when it came to others.
I miss you so much my bff Sofie🥰🥰..take care of yourself always💖💖
Two by two, hands of blue... one of those guys were also on Buffy and Angel as one of the Council's clean up team. You know, the ones that were sent to "deal with" Faith? Also in the first episode, the undercover police guy was on Buffy in Anne, and on Angel as Doyle's ex-wife's new hubby. :)
Oh, I didn't know the last one -- Doyle's ex-wife new hubby! One thing I love about reaction series is how much trivia I learn from them 🙂!
i had the biggest crush on inara back then. just everything about her made me swoon. the way she carries herself, her mind, her elegance, her outfits. just all of it.
When I saw this first episode, it was Mal kicking the crook into Serenity's engine that make me think I would really like it.
86 million miles? I hope that they got the premium points plan
It's Caleb and Jasmine!
before they were Caleb and Jasmine
I'm so glad that you are experiencing this show in the correct episode order
Firefly in my heart...❤
Strange, I don't remember that intro narrated by Book. Was that even on the DVDs and blu rays?
I think it was only in the broadcast episodes. (I got a DVD with the episodes as they were broadcast, and one with a 'cleaner' version of them; Book's intro shows up in the former, not the latter.)
I'm really addicted to your laughter during this show. I love it.
PLEASE continue doing this series - I promise that while I certainly enjoy a reactor to "Firefly" - YOU are going to **love** the character development. Every reactor is SAD when the last episode is being done.
THANK YOU for doing this reaction - loved your "take" on things.
From what 'i understand Fox didn't so much think "Serenity" was too complicated rather they didn't want to air a 90 minute pilot.
The biggest question raised by this episode is whether or not River had ever come into contact with blue-gloved Alliance agents before. If she had then she was simply conjecturing from previous experience. But if she hadn't... Well, what does that mean?
you're asking leading questions based on knowledge of future episodes; that's called a "spoiler".
@@sirmoonslosthismind This is simply a question I had the first time I watched the episode. Clearly something was being set up, but what exactly was it?
Perhaps I've merely read so much Science Fiction that multiple possibilities come immediately to mind.
I hope you noticed that the two agents were wearing blue gloves.
Sofie, I love how much you're enjoying this, and am already looking forward to the next one!
It is easy to have a love/hate relationship with Jane at the beginning… he is so selfish but delivers some of the biggest laughs. I know Sophie will come around.
Despite the extraneous stuff; intro; exposition we got in the real pilot etc, this is a tremendous episode; especially because of one of TV's great villains, but also because of one of the greatest one-shot characters in the Sheriff & one of the greatest exchanges between two characters since The Outlaw Josey Wales; not forgetting the brilliant death of an evil flunkey - and it's not even in my top ten Firefly episodes ;-) kerk
It's interesting to note (and it comes up in this episode a lot) when he uses Malcolm vs Mal vs 'Captain'/his full title. And the noted fact that despite his name being the more heroic Malcolm, he usually chooses the 'bad' Mal.
I love the relationship between Book and Inara
He is a Shepard of the Christian persuasion and she is a Buddhist.
It is a great example of two people from different religions having tolerance.
It also adds to the juxtaposition from the pilot where Inara gives comfort to Book while he is on his knees in front of her.
I'm still passed that they ended the series,but the film helped naked up for it
Rewatch the last scene keeping in mind River's statement about "two by two hands of blue"
Fun fact - The soldier's uniforms were left over from the film Starship Troopers.
I really enjoyed that you are catching on to what the crew are like. I also like that you have caught on to something that we see plain as day, but that Inara and Mal are having "difficulties" with... You mentioned that it was obvious that they had feelings for each other. But they don't seem to be acting on them. I think Mal is intimidated that she has so much experience with men, potentially "better' than him, so he turns the frustration into sarcasm. I really enjoyed how you appreciate the humor in Mal's methods... When he is telling Zoe he lover her because she's his wife, or when he kicks the guy into the engine... I am looking forward to seeing the rest of their journey through your eyes!
All I can say is that you're in for a treat on every episode from here on out. :) Welcome to the 'verse!
Great videoooo 😍😍😍
"simplicize" The standard English word for that is simplify. One of the good things about English is that you can make up a word like simplicize and everyone will understand what you mean, but in this case where there's a perfectly good word that already exists with the same meaning it's probably better to just stick with it.😀
'And what are you going to do about it?' 'Nothing. I just wanted you to face me so she could get behind you.' Firefly, perhaps more so than any other Joss Whedon show, is totally full of zingers and one-liners and wonderful little repartees that bring sheer delight to all viewers, browncoats or not! Everybody has their favorite ones, so do I... This episode is already great, but wait till we get some more episodes done, there are some real undeniable gems to be picked!🙂
When Fox rejected Serenity as the pilot episode, they gave Whedon less than a week to come up with a new one. Him and Tim Minnear(?) spent the whole weekend writing this, submitted it on the Monday, and it got approved.
The arrogance and stupidity of those people at Fox, rejecting the brilliant "Serenity" and then demanding the writers to write an entire episode script over one single weekend, is simply unbelievable. They were probably on a power trip, taking pleasure in making other people's lives miserable...
"Two by two, hands of blue." Did you notice that the two guys in the last scene had blue hands?
From what I understand, this show had two executives involved with it at Fox. The first one helped start it and then left Fox. The second guy hated the first guy and took it out on the show he helped start. Basically, the second guy intentionally mishandled the show to screw the first guy.
Jayne plays a selfish hard ass, don't let it fool you. He is greedy, but look at the first episode. When Kaylie was being treated Jayne was hiding outside hanging onto every word being said, but doesn't want to be seen. I think if the show didn't get cancelled. Jayne would have developed into a way deeper character. and it is easy to love / hate him early on.
I think this episode does the ssme job as Serenity, but it does it in half the time, so it doesn't give us the same ammount of time to react. I like Serenity better, but that"s a choice.
EDIT- I see Mr HWS, above, told the story. Beat me tio it.
Has anybody told this story yet? Fox previewed Serenity. didn't care for it, so they scheduled a meeting with Joss on a Friday, told him he had to shoot a new pilot starting Monday. Joss and Tim Minear wrote this over the weekend, so it's not as carefully written as other episodes.
Love your reaction, as always! Looking forward to more!! ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
I think you misunderstand the word "unification". The word the Browncoats would use is "conquer".
i never saw that intro o.O what is that
Two by two, hands of blue
"The Train Job": The written-over-the-weekend second pilot that Fox TV brass ordered. A job taken with Adelai Niska, a ruthless Godfather, overseen by #1 pug-ugly, Crow. The aerial heist goes sideways, leaving Mal and Zoe "married." The goods are badly needed meds, Jayne "sees angels," and Inara retrieves her "errant servants." Crow and crew arrive for the goods and a fight ends with Jayne missing his target. Mal returns the meds, Crow doesn't deal, but his second in command does.
"Why unify the planets if you don't give a shit?"
Welcome to classic colonialism. Conquer, exploit, and don't really worry about the impact on the locals.
"The Alliance's view was to unify the planets." A lot is not explained in the Firefly universe due to its untimely cancellation. But as far as I understand it... the Alliance are basically a union that started out as self-defense and evolved into a big political body, forming a single "country" as it were (it has a congress, a system of government with democratic elections, etc...). The 'outer planets' were further from it and had lower technology. Perhaps initially for good reasons, the Alliance started expanding; later, as they grew more powerful, this became more like conquest. So after a military conflict (we saw the Battle of Serenity in the first two-part episode) all human worlds (all apparently in one big solar system) were unified as part of it, making the Alliance kind of like the local United States (call it United Planets). Hence the celebration of 'Unification Day'.
Having watched a few reactions a lot of people struggle with how the pilot episode just drops you into the action without any explanation of what is going on. The short narrative at the beginning of this episode does a great job with that. If you took the narrative up to "there was some disagreement on that point." and added it to the beginning of the pilot episode it would make it much easier to get into the story.
Two by two, hands of blue...
"Let the locals handle it"... The Alliance is like a Federal Government that regulates the planets, but planets manage their civic responsibilities (like a state) and enforce the laws using locally managed forces. This is done to ensure that each planet can have a certain amount of leeway in how the govern as long as they stay within the limits of the Alliance's regulations. The Roman, Persian and Mongol Empires were like this. They allowed a certain amount of local autonomy (religion, language, culture etc) as long as tribute/taxes flowed and access and control was given for any imperial purpose.
Mal and people like him, believe in a more libertarian approach where all the planets should be governed independently if they want. They don't like the idea of a large, remote entity controlling their lives. They don't like regulation. They want to do their own thing.
and both sides are wrong. the alliance fundamentally misunderstands the purpose of governance, but the rebels are wrong to think "doing their own thing" is practical with a large human population that doesn't possess star trek style post-scarcity technology.
@@sirmoonslosthismind If you notice, most of the rebel planets were backwater remote planets with the cowboy vibe. They were more outpost planets than thriving centers of commerce and technology like some of the Alliance planets we see. Those outlying planets (just like in Star Wars' Outer Rim) tend to like their distance and independence because they are freer to do what they want (less laws, regulation and taxation). But the tradeoff is more criminality and more opportunity for strong men and crime syndicates to come in. Mal and the Serenity are essentially smugglers and freelance haulers. Of course he's going to push back and resent the Alliance since regulation and oversight is the opposite of what Mal wants.
I'm not sure if it's made clear if there were votes of planets entering the Alliance and the Browncoats were the holdouts saying "we don't care. We don't want the Alliance". Either way, most of the planets go along with the Alliance while Mal and a handful of outliers hold resentment.
two by two...hands of blue
Yeah, Fox (in all its forms, from TV to news) always assumes that their audience is stupid. So they just assumed that "Serenity" would be too complicated for our feeble minds. I hate Fox, in all its forms.
Good one, SoFie! 🙂
Everyone always ignores River, AND when she says "two by two, hands of blue", even when the two guys who show up looking for them at the end have blue hands ...
Loved your reaction, but I need to warn you, this series is VERY dialog centric, and a LOT of the conversations will set up something that will come back around again later, so you NEED to pay attention to what they say and NOT talk over it. I'm not being snippy, just trying to help. I've seen this entire series well over 100 times, via TV, my own copies and all the reactions I've watched. So, I know where and why people get lost and/or confused, and it usually has to do with not hearing or paying attention to the dialog. It's a hallmark of the Joss Weadon style and experience, found in ALL of us TV series AND movies.
Can't wait to see you do the rest of this series.
Firefly reaction so subscribed
Idk. It seems like a lot of people get tripped up by the whole pilot thing. Maybe because I am so dang old I remember that it used to be pilots were never even broadcasted. Pilots were just low budget visuals that creators would show network exects to give a vague idea what a show would look like. Star trek, and Big Bang Theory both had very different pilots than how the show actually debut.
Some people dismiss Nishka as just some cruel mafia boss, but I like his philosophical expositions. "So this man, he... didn't do job, so I show you what I do with him, so my reputation with you no longer just reputation, now fact, you see?" 🤔
I'm thinking the people who unified the planets aren't the same as the Alliance officers who don't care. And why should they care? It's not their planet, not their people, the medicine is delivered, it's just on the black market now. To them it's low priority, so what if the people now have to pay extra now and suffer as a result, they checked their boxes and they have to go back to their jobs now. I also like the terraforming details in the show.
the use of uniforms from the movie starship troopers shows how low budget the series was made. it would only be more obvious if they used starwars stormtrooper uniforms! by the way, is there a volunteer to clean an engine?.. 😊
🥰❤️🔥🇨🇦
If you're annoyed that there's no firefly S2 and on. Don't be.. With AI going the way it is you can be sure that within our lifetimes the tools will become available for any person with some skills to create new episodes of TV shows that look real with real looking actors using their home PC. Then release these A+ quality fan made episodes anonymously on the internet. The MPAA and content owners can't sue people for releasing their own content based on copyrighted shows if it's all released anonymously for free.
I have no doubt we will eventually get more firefly.
But this would be Firefly without Joss Whedon... I'm not sure it would be the same thing... 😢
"Why did you unify the planets if you don't give a damn about things like that?" In defense of the Alliance... despite the people who would die without the medicine, this is a local affair. It's not a big interplanetary crisis (like the Klingons invading the Federation in Star Trek). I guess those military people in their fancy spaceships are there to take care of these big things -- just like the Enterprise wasn't there to solve little problems on the Earth, but to explore and go where no one has gone before... So that particular captain has a point: it's a tragic event, but not a big crisis that calls for a big cruise ship or something. It's something the local authorities -- police, etc. -- should be able to deal with.
One of the things I love about Firefly is that it definitely does NOT take the viewpoint of the Big Picture actors -- we're not dealing with Star Trek's Captain Picard or Star War's Rebel Alliance and the Empire. No--we're dealing with little people like Mal and his old damn firefly-class vehicle that has seen better days and is badly in need of some maintenance... It's like exploring the Star Wars universe from Han Solo's perspective before he met Luke and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Man subtitles just totally ruin comedic timing.
It's too bad Sofie doesn't get the humor in this show....
I don't really like the indroduction scenes. They are not necessary. The episodes speak for themselves, the world building is sooo good - you don't need a narrator to spell everything out for you.
Yeah apparently Fox thought people were too dumb to understand it, this is why studios need to chill and be less controlling.
@@roguechevelle 100% projection on their part. When they were 1st introduced to the show they told Joss that they loved it, but asked if he'd be willing to change the the whole "cowboys in space" concept. They couldn't wrap their little pea brains around it. ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
@@becca1189 Nothing stupider in the 'verse than a Fox executive.
@@Asehpe True that!!! ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
When this episode aired, I wasn't feeling it. Cowboys in space?! I like my sci-fi to be sci-fi. I thought they were just going cheap using old west costumes and sets. Then Mal kicked that guy into the jet intake and I was in. :)
Hi Sofie, just FYI I think you meant 'simplify' rather than 'simplicize'. Can I ask, do you have French ancestry? I can't place your accent. The executives at Fox really made a mess out of Firefly, it had potential to be massive and no-one saw it on release - it took word-of-mouth to make it into a success.
Nobody was watching the show when it was on the network. The few people that were, absolutely loved the show, but the cross cowboy/space genre wasn't hitting with the general audience. Fox cancelled the show because it wasn't making any money. Fox threw a bone to the fanes with the movie to try to save face, but Firefly was a commercial failure. It became a cult show and got a good reputation from word of mouth after the cancellation, but the viewing numbers weren't there. Arrested Development is another smart show that got cancelled before its time.
@@swordmonkey6635 It might have found its audience if Fox hadn't first screwed up the air order and then kept shuffling it on the schedule and pre-empting it for other programming.
@@kirkdarling4120 This has been floated before, but at the time, the show's genre crossing was just too niche for what viewers were looking for. Sometimes great shows fall through the cracks and aren't appreciated until they're gone. The magic of Firefly was the fan loyalty and most of that had to do with the small number of fans and how passionate they were because the show was cancelled. If the show had gone on uncancelled, it wouldn't have the romantic underdog vibe it has now.
@@swordmonkey6635 But then they also chose to air it on Saturday afternoons -- the opposite of a prime time slot.