Firefly

"Take my love, take my land,Take me where I cannot stand... I don't care, I'm still free, You can't take the sky from me... Take me out to the black, Tell them I ain't comin' back... Burn the land and boil the sea, You can't take the sky from me... There's no place I can be
Since I found serenity, But you can't take the sky from me..."

Mindsay's own personal wiki page for the the greatest sci fi show ever!   

Brought to you through a collaboration by  jessicabonnie ,   dayzeday,andvalentinaxxx                  

Also be sure to stop by the Serenity page for previews for the film based on the series.

The Show is set some 500 years in the future, the year 2517 to be exact. Even though it is a typical sci-fi show, Firefly has a stylistic western atmosphere (guns, trains, saloons, bust ups, and horses) that makes the show so much more entertaining. I think the start of the slippery slope for Firefly was that Fox aired the episodes out of order, then cancelled it before people could get their minds around what was happening. In Australia it was not only aired out of order, but in the late night TV timeslot, seriously, when was anyone ever going to see this show!? However, fans of the tv show wanted more, so they made the movie Serenity, which is also awesome!

Cast (Crew, haha!)

• Malcom “Mal” Reynolds - The Captain (Nathan Fillion) A former soldier that lost in the battle against unification of the planets by the Alliance, Mal now captains the ship Serenity. His main goal is to keep the ship flying and its crew intact. His desire for a normal life is a constant conflict with his desire to stay in space. He’s witty, but very bitter over losing the war and sometimes flies on the shady side smuggling, stealing, and conducting illegal salvage operations... but he has his limits and won’t murder, kidnap, or participate in the slave trade--though he certainly won’t hesitate to shoot if needed.
• • Nathan Fillion was most recently seen as one of the stars of Two Guys and a Girl as Johnny Donnelly. He aslo appeared in Saving Private Ryan (as the Private Ryan who's family is NOT dead, I know it is a serious movie but the scene where he cries is a classic), Dracula 2000, Blast from the Past and more. He also appeared in the final episodes of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer playing evil priest Caleb (he is not the only actor to appear in more then one of Whedon's different series).
• Zoe - The Soldier (Gina Torres) A loyal comrade during the war, Zoe serves on board Serenity with her husband, Wash. She has the strength and experience to take command when needed. She is a serious bad-ass, as likely to punch or shoot someone as she is to talk. She is one of the few Mal trusts and she would follow him to hell and back.
• • Gina Torres starred in Hercules and Xena, Alias, 24 and many others. She also ha a role in Matrix 2 and 3 and appeared in season 4 of Joss Whedon’s other series, Angel. She married Matrix star Lawrence Fishburne in 2003.
• Wash - The Pilot (Alan Tudyk) Zoe’s husband, Wash is very calm and laid back with a sense of humor but is otherwise pretty unassuming and far from the hero type. Zoe loves him and his calm demeanor. He can be a bit jealous and doesn’t like the way Zoe tends to blindly (in his opinion) follow Mal’s orders.
• • Alan Tudyk is english and has been in a number of stage performances as well as being several voices in Ice Age. He’s had roles in A Knight’s Tale, 28 Days, Hearts in Atlantis and Patch Adams. He has the title role in I, Robot and appeared in Dodgeball as the pirate (yeargh!)
• Kaylee - The Mechanic (Jewel Staite)The ship’s engineer, Kaylee prefers life on her ship to any planet. She is young, sexy, and relentlessly cheery. She loves life, the ship, and is fiercely protective of Serenity. She has an intuitive sense for ships and how to fix them and doesn't want to let the Captain down in keeping Serenity running smoothly/
• • Jewel Straite - At nineteen, Jewel has already been an actress for 13 years. She’s been seen in The X-Files as well as The Immortal, Seven Days, So Weird, and films Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Dangerous Care and Goldiggers.
• Inara - The Ambassador (Morena Baccarin) A “Companion” by trade, no one seems to know what such a high-priced working girl is doing on the very low class Serenity. She’s elegant, educated, and beautiful. She maintains her own space--a shuttle on the ship--and maintains a high class and decent clientele. Prostitution is legal on almot all planets and she is nicknamed “The Ambassador” by Mal since most worlds won’t let a ship dock without a decent companion aboard. She doesn’t count the crew among the her clients
• • Morena Baccarin is making her TV debut in Firefly coming from the world of theatre and independent films including Way Off Broadway and Perfume.
• Jayne - The Mercenary (Adam Baldwin) Big, tough, gruff, and often unpleasant, Jayne is a loyal soldier... till he gets a better offer. He’s good in a fight, but would sell out the crew in a heartbeat if there was something in it for him. He develops a begrudging respect for Mal and the rest of the crew--but if a better offer does come along, you never know where Jayne might go.
• • Adam Baldwin was most recently seen in the recurring role of Knowle Rohrer in the last season of the X-Files. He also had roles in Independence Day, The Patriot, Wyatt Earp, and Full Metal Jacket as well as appearing in the final episodes of Joss Whedon’s series Angel.
• Simon Tam - The Doctor (Sean Maher) Often disagreeing with the Captain, Simon comes from a wealthy family with a priviledged upbringing quite different from his life aboard Serenity. River is his sister and he is fiercely protective of her. Once he displays his skill at planning capers though, he fits in a little better and even Jayne gives him some respect.
• •  Sean Maher has been in 3 Fox dramas, Party of Five, The $treet, and Ryan Caulfield: Year One as well as having the title role as Brian Piccolo in Disney’s TV remake of Brian’s Song.
• River Tam - The Fugitive (Summer Glau)  River is a lot like other teens--except that she can read most minds and is being sought by the Alliance. Simon is her brother who will do anything to protect her. She is extremely smart,  but severely disturbed. She tends to blurt out what she (and everyone around her) is thinking.
• • Summer Glau guest starred in Angel as a ballerina before getting this, her first series regular role. She’s a classically trained dancer who has also appeared in a variety of theatre productions.
• Book - The Shepard - (Ron Glass) A priest and missionary, he’s the older and wiser member of the crew. He wants to see the universe and wants to spread hope everywhere he goes. While he’s found God, he’s not sure if he’s found himself. He’s well- educated and spends a lot of leisure time with Inara... just to talk, of course.
• • Ron Glass has been in a number of series including Barney Miller and a number of others including stage, tv and film work
    

 Episode Guide: Please there may be spoilers ahead! These are written in order of airing, not how they were MEANT to be aired.

• The Train Job: The episode opens in a dark, musky bar on Unification Day, celebrating the day the Alliance took over the galaxy. Zoe and Mal are playing a game while Jayne watches. Of course, there is a loud mouth who has to insult those who fought in the war against the Alliance (such as Mal and Zoe) and of course, a fight ensues. The bar brawl ends up outside with Wash bringing Serenity over for a last minute rescue along the edge of a cliff. Looking for work, Mal, Zoe, and Jayne meet with a man named Niska and his resident henchman Crow. Niska has a job for them--a job stealing cargo from a passenger train. As it’s supposedly Alliance goods, Mal has no problem. However, he then finds out that the ‘goods’ are actually medicine needed for the city’s residents who are all suffering from a degenerative disorder caused by the mining life. So Mal must decide whether he wants to get paid and be responsible for the death of the miners and their families, or return the cargo and face the wrath of Niska.
• Bushwhacked: A salvage mission on a derelict transport ship goes from dreary to deadly after the crew members find out that it had been ravaged by the cannibalistic Reavers and after Serenity is targeted by an Alliance ship that could do more damage than anyone imagined. The interrogation scene of Wash describing Zoe was part ad lib.
• Our Mrs. Reynolds: The discovery of a stowaway (Christina Hendricks) leads to an even more shocking find--she's actually Mal's payment for helping a small town get rid of a couple bandits.
  
• Jaynestown: Jayne is a local hero of a town Serenity visits. The episode includes a song written by Ben Edlund “The Hero of Canton, the Man they call Jayne.”
  
• Out of Gas: An explosion leaves Serenity without life support and Mal is forced to stay behind on the ship while he sends the others on a futile search for help in the shuttles. This episode is very well put together, even though it jumps between three different time periods: present (Mal bringing a spare part to the engine room to fix the ship), just before the present (the time between the explosion and when Mal acquires the spare part from another ship), and past (flashbacks about how Mal found the ship and picked its crew). Includes a scene of Kaylee showing off her expertise in the engine room.
• Shindig: There’s trouble ahead for Mal after he gets into a dust-up with one of Inara’s less-than-noble clients. Mal makes a social faux pas while attending a fancy ball, and ends up challenging Inara's date, Atherton Wing, to a duel. It would be pretty manly, except that Inara now has to teach Mal how to use a sword. The rest of Serenity's crew would probably enjoy laughing at his predicament, but they are being held hostage by the ruthless crimelord Badger.
• Safe: A battle with cattle dealers leaves Book in dire need of Simon’s aid. Too bad the doctor--and his sister--are out of reach, having been abducted by hillbillies looking for a healer. Includes a bit about Simon and River’s childhood.
• Ariel: The crew helps Simon infiltrate a core planet’s hospital so he can try to figure out what the Alliance did to her brain before Simon rescued her from the government-runned school. However, as he uncovers the cause of her psychosis, a betrayal by one of the Serenity members puts the Tam siblings back into the hands of the Alliance. This job is a big caper a la Ocean’s Eleven with face-paced action and a no-nonsense scene with Mal & Jayne at the end.
• War Stories: Niska, the vengeful crime lord from the first aired episode, happens to come across Mal and Wash making their last drop in selling the medicine from Ariel. Very excited about reputation, Niska wants to make an example of Mal to show others what happens to people who cross him, in any way. After Zoe rescues Wash, the entire crew of Serenity takes on Niska's skyplex on a mission to save the Captain.
• Objects In Space: A bounty hunter is lured into a treacherous game of cat and mouse after he infiltrates Serenity to deliver the much sought-after River to the Alliance.
• Serenity: The original pilot that Fox had Joss replace with an episode of ‘more action’ to lead off the series. This is a truly awesome episode that explains so much and as far as I’m concerned, Fox should have just left Joss alone. I think that the show could have really taken off if given a chance.
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  The following episodes were never aired:
   
  
• Trash: Mal is shocked to discover that one of his old war buddies has married Saffron (here she calls herself Bridget). After blowing her cover, she's furious but offers to cut Mal and his crew in on what she calls the perfect, big-time scam.
• The Message: Mal and Zoe receive a large package containing their dead war buddy Tracey. After the Alliance starts chasing them to get the body back, Simon offers to do an autopsy to find out what Tracey's hiding.
  
• Heart of Gold: The crew comes to the rescue of one of Inara’s old friends, who now running her own house of whores (these women are not Companions) on a distant planet. It includes the first glimpse of technologies like laser pistols and hovercrafts, but has a truly western feel.

LINKS

FireFly Fans

The IMDb Firefly site