Cult-TV Blogging: Firefly (2002): "Objects in Space" (December 13, 2002)

In “Objects in Space,” the crew of Serenity runs afoul of a unique and dangerous bounty hunter: Jubal Early (Richard Brooks).

Early has been secretly shadowing the ship for some time, and plans to acquire River (Summer Glau) and return her to the Alliance for a big pay day.

Early sandbags much of the crew in short order, including Captain Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), but finds that River isn’t the easy mark she appears to be. 

In fact, River unnerves Early by claiming to be “one” with Serenity, and revealing personal secrets about him that she couldn’t possibly know.

But Early only grows more dangerous as River grows craftier…

An argument can be made that “Objects in Space” is the most complex, and also the very best episode of Firefly (2002), as well as a perfect distillation of the series’ overall aesthetic values. 

The episode’s central villain, Jubal Early is named for a Confederate General in the Civil War, and thus revives the series’ exploration of that milieu, although in a future/outer-space setting. 

In particular, the real Jubal Early (1816 -1894) was a man who served General Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson in the Civil War, but not before making known his point-of-view that secession and war were the wrong courses of action.

In some way, the Early we meet here seems similarly conflicted.  The man boasts a singular intelligence, and a unique manner of expressing himself, yet he also seems captive to his baser instincts…to his sadistic side.  

It seems like anyone as smart as Early should know better, and it is clear that he has come to deceive himself about why he acts as he does (“it’s my job,” he notes). 

But River cuts through the lies. She “sees” Early for what he really is: a monster.

There’s a great and totally odd-ball Jubal Early moment mid-way through the show in which Simon (Sean Maher) asks the bounty hunter if he is working for “the Alliance.”  Jubal mishears the term, and thinks that Simon has asked him if he is “a lion.” 

This description gives Early reason to pause and reflect, and he actually contemplates if he is, in fact, symbolically “a lion.” 

It’s a crazy, weird, inventive, out-of-the-norm moment but it exposes to crucial aspects of Early’s psychological gestalt. The first thing to consider is that he is a vainglorious narcissist.  The second is that, as base and monstrous as he is, is Early wicked smart, and a philosopher even. 

The question of whether or not Early is “a lion” adheres to the overall approach to the hour, which stresses existentialism, and the idea that we are “just floating in space,” and thus objects without meaning…at least until we imbue ourselves with meaning.   We could all be lions, or even a spaceship, if that is how we choose to regard ourselves, the episode intimates.

Jubal Early stops to consider if, metaphorically, he could be considered “a lion” (a fierce and cunning animal), and that odd reckoning emerges from his ability to philosophize and rationalize away “meaning” in his own life.  He hurts, maims, and kills people for a living, but Early contextualizes those acts as merely being part of a “job.”

Similarly, River wishes to vanish from existence itself, to become one with “Serenity” because she feels unloved and unwanted by the crew.

What “is” River? 

A danger to the crew? A sister? A crazy woman? A psychic “reader?”  Is she something with independent, objective meaning, or is River actually only the “thing” that others view her as?

River grapples with this idea, perhaps, because of her mental aberrations.  At one point during the episode, she holds up a gun, but importantly, she views it as a tree branch.  Again, we asked to consider the meaning of this “object in space.”  A gun is designed expressly for killing.  Contrarily, a branch is a stick or part of a tree that grows out from a central bough or trunk.  It is an extension of something, an outgrowth from a hearth.

In grabbing hold of the branch, is River actually contextualizing herself (and the gun) as an outgrowth of Serenity (presumably the tree in this metaphor)?  Is her act of holding the gun, actually the action of protecting the hearth, or reaching out to the others?

What’s important, perhaps, is the “boundary transgression” River undergoes in this particular episode, at least according to scholar Karin Beeler in her essay “The Transformation of River Tam.”  Beeler notes (in Seers, Witchs and Psychics on Screen; 2008, page 47) that “Objects in Space” showcases River’s essential other-ness by moving from being human to being part of the machine (as part of Serenity, during her ruse).  Then she becomes human again, and finally another machine, in the form of Early’s spaceship.  As J.P. Telotte notes in The Essential Science Fiction Television Reader, River comes to identify herself “more closely with the intert technology of the ship than the crew.”

On a more basic level, River is able to put herself into the “experience” of reading and sympathizing with others.  She takes over the sheltering/protective duties of Serenity, and also sits in Early’s chair, and comes to see him as he really is.

“People don’t appreciate the substance of things,” Jubal Early says in “Objects in Space,” and perhaps that phraseology is a way of noting that the crew can’t appreciate the substance of River, because she is so different from the other humans. 

Ironically, Early is guilty of the same transgression.  He doesn’t see -- until it is far too late -- the substance of River.  His misreading of her -- his misinterpretation of the “substance” of her -- is what leads to his downfall.  Early and River are both dangerous, and both cunning, but River can “become” something else, becoming something outside her psyche so that she can see and appreciate the substance of things.  Early can’t escape his ego and narcissism enough to see that perspective.

This episode is very cleverly constructed and brilliant executed, but ultimately, one need not ponder any of this material to enjoy “Objects in Space.”  The episode is tense, the conflict is direct and urgent, and Early is an unforgettable villain.   

Accordingly, Firefly ends its TV run on a high note, and perhaps even the highest note of the series

Cult-TV Blogging: Firefly: "Heart of Gold"

A friend of Inara’s (Morena Baccarin) -- a former companion named Nandi (Melinda Clarke) -- contacts Serenity in desperate need of help.   A rancher and power-hungry psychopath, Rance Burgess (Fredrich Lehne) is threatening the women in Melinda’s house of prostitution on a barren desert world.  In particular, a young woman named Petaline (Tracy Leah Ryan) is pregnant with Rance’s baby.

Mal agrees to help Nandi, and the women under Nandi’s care.  However, when he meets Rance face-to-face, Reynolds realizes that his crew and Nandi’s group are in serious trouble.  The man is every bit as dangerous as Nandi suggested, and more. Still, Nandi would rather fight than run.

Accordingly, Mal and his crew prepare for battle.  And on the night before that battle comes, Nandi and Mal sleep together.  Inara pretends not to be bothered by their intimacy, but is shattered by it.

Rance kills Nandi while attempting to claim his child, but the crew of Serenity ultimately defeats him. Petaline kills Rance thus saving her child.

Afterwards, Inara reports that she will be leaving Serenity permanently…

The “hooker with the heart of gold” is a long-standing Western movie trope, and thus fits in well with Firefly’s (2002) Western, post-Civil War approach to the future, or outer space. 

A hooker with a heart of gold might be said to be a woman of virtue working in an occupation where virtue is not expected, nor sought.  Sometimes, but not always, the “hooker with a heart of gold” is a tragic character, who despite her core decency experiences an unpleasant fate at the hands of a cruel patriarchy.

In “Heart of Gold” -- which clearly takes its name from the trope -- the crew of Serenity helps a group of women, led by Nandi (Clarke) face off against a sadistic bastard that runs the local town, and makes plain his view of women and their place.  When not making babies for him, women are to be his compliant sexual servants. 

In one scene that seems shocking for network television circa 2002, Rance Burgess forces a prostitute to perform fellatio on him in public while delivering an address before a crowd entirely of cheering men and minions. 

It is easy to suggest that Nandi is the hooker with the “heart of gold” of the episode’s title: a woman of virtue protecting her friends, and standing her ground.   But importantly, the “heart of gold” descriptor may also apply to Serenity’s resident companion, Inara. 

Inara’s heart of gold is clearly broken here when Mal chooses to sleep with Nandi.  This development is particularly intriguing because Inara’s sobs suggest that all her high-handed talk of companions “choosing” their lifestyle, and exerting “power” of others in society is just that…talk. 

Inara speaks frequently in the series as if sexual intercourse is a kind of therapy and her role as companion is part psychologist, part sexual partner.  If this is indeed the case, and companions are liberated from traditional gender roles and parochial attitudes about sex, then what explains Inara’s emotional breakdown over Mal’s actions?  Why are her words about being glad for him so obviously a “cover” for her true feelings?

Her response could be evidence of the fact that Inara is, actually, someone who has bought into a lie and become trapped in a patriarchal structure that requires her to use her body for men’s pleasure.  Inara is thus the proverbial “hooker with a heart of gold.”  This interpretation fits in well with some other aspects of the series.  The Alliance loves to convince people they are empowered and free when, in fact, they are slaves.  

That metaphor has never been explicitly connected to Inara in the series, but “Heart of Gold” implies that this is the case.  Inara has been convinced she is “enlightened” and “evolved” about matters of sex when, in fact, she is, as Mal always insists, but a glorified “whore.”

Or, contrarily, Inara’s emotional breakdown could suggest that even when one is “enlightened” about issues of sex, it hurts to see the one you love with someone else, especially a friend.  Perhaps Inara’s “power” as a companion is valid, but it’s something she would rather shun at this point, for a committed relationship (presumably with Mal).

Joss Whedon is an acknowledged and vocal feminist, and his characters in programs such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dollhouse certainly reflect this fact.  Yet what “Heart of Gold” really seems to concern is freedom; the idea that we should all choose to be what we want to be; and not be pulled into society’s definitions for us.  The tragic thing about Inara here is that she doubles-down on the lie of what being a companion means, instead of choosing the very thing that she thinks would make her happy: a romance with the man she truly loves.

Next week: “Objects in Space.”

Cult-TV Blogging: Firefly: "The Message" (July 28, 2003)

In “The Message,” Serenity makes a quick stopover at a bustling space station and bazaar. Mal (Nathan Fillion) and Zoe (Gina Torres) unexpectedly receive mail in the form of a giant crate, and Jayne (Adam Baldwin) receives a care package from his mother.  

Inside the over-sized crate is a dead veteran of the Unification Wars, a fellow soldier, Lt. Tracy. Included with his body is a taped message from Tracy asking Mal and Zoe to bring his corpse home to his parents on a frozen outer planet.

Mal and Zoe take their new mission very seriously, despite the fact that a sadistic Alliance captain (Richard Brugi) is also after Lt. Tracy’s casket, and pursues Serenity to get it.

When Tracy unexpectedly awakes from a coma, the crew learns the reason for the pursuit and his deception.

Inside his very body, Tracy is carrying special human organs worth a fortune on the black market.  He is not just a carrier, but an “incubator” for these organs.  While Tracy attempts to make a profit off of his own flesh, the captain is looking or the same payday…

“The Message” is probably my least favorite episode of Firefly (2002).  In part this is because the episode already recycles information about the characters that audiences already know. 

Specifically, “Serenity” and “War Stories” both feature flashbacks to Mal and Zoe’s past.  In the case of “Serenity,” we see the duo in the Unification Wars (at the battle of Serenity, rather than the Battle of Du-Khang), but we clearly get the message about them: they are honorable brothers-in-arms fighting a just war against impossible odds.  Nothing that happens in “The Message” really adds much to that information, or character equation.  Here, they agree to take home the body of a fellow veteran, because of the bond they still share with their fellow soldiers.   The “leave no man behind” edict has been voiced before on the series, and to have it front and center here adds little new.  It’s not the information is bad or unworthy again, it’s that we already know it.

We have also seen the “Simon-says-something rude-and-offends Kaylee” subplot before, particularly in the story “Safe.”  Here, Simon (Simon Maher) again comes across as “too good” for Kaylee (Jewel Staite), and she gets into a snit about his high-falutin’ ways.  In this case, Kaylee contrasts the stolid Doctor with the “down to Earth” Tracy, and in the end, sees that Tracy’s “down to Earth” behavior comes at a price.  Simon would never treat her so disrespectfully.  Again, this aspect of the episode is something of a rehash of Simon/Kaylee repartee we’ve seen before, and just serves as another (unnecessary) bump in the road preventing them from getting together as a couple.

The episode doesn’t really come together in the end, and is one of the few episodes of Firefly (2002) that seems to be treading water.

Again, the message of the episode is good, but the tragedy seems a little manufactured; a bit too patently “sad” and without reason.

Mal and Zoe finally shoot (and kill…) Tracy, and then, in the end, deliver his body to his parents, thus living up to the “leave no man behind” edict. The worthwhile message is that after the war, many soldiers simply didn’t know what to do with their lives, and strayed to a life of crime…even though at heart they weren’t really criminals.  This notion reflects, even, on Mal and Zoe, who also turned to a marginal existence.  But they possess a moral compass that Tracy doesn’t seem to.

Next Week: “Heart of Gold.”  

Cult-TV Blogging: Firefly: "Trash" (July 21, 2003)

In “Trash,” Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and the crew of Serenity cross paths once more with treacherous Saffron (Christina Hendricks), the duplicitous criminal who nearly conned them into a pirate’s space trap some time earlier (“Our Mrs. Reynolds.”)

In exchange for rescue from a dead moon, Saffron offers to share with the Firefly’s crew the treasure from the heist of a life-time, or “the perfect crime.”  In particular, Saffron claims to know the exact location and security codes of the Lassiter, the first laser gun, and thus a valuable antique.  The ancient gun now is on display in a private collector’s home on the planet Bellerophon, one of the central planets.  If Mal and the others can steal the Lassiter, it will fetch a high price on the black market.

Malcolm and his team plan the caper -- which involves disguises, a futuristic gated community of sorts, and an automated drone garbage system -- but everyone is nervous about working with Saffron, a criminal know that they will double-cross them without thought…

Like “Ariel,” “Trash” is a great Firefly (2002) caper story, but one made even better by the presence of Christina Hendricks’ Saffron -- “a brilliant, evil double-crossing snake” in Mal’s words -- as an uncertain ally.

As the end of the episode reveals, everyone is playing everyone else in “Trash,” and so the episode is a con within a con within a con.   The twists and turns are brilliantly orchestrated, especially when Saffron lives up to form.

Structurally, “Trash” is intriguing because it opens after the caper’s end, with Mal sitting naked on a rock in the arid desert.  He says “Yep, that went well,” and the suggestion is pretty clearly that he’s been had or tricked again; that he’s failed.

As the remainder of the episode leads up to this denouement, however, we start to see that our assumptions about Mal’s presence there (and his tone…) are not correct. On the contrary, he is undeterred and un-phased about being stripped of his clothes. And for once, “the job” actually did go well.

The most delightful revelation in the course of “Trash” is that Inara (Morena Baccarin) -- who has been vocally upset with Mal and the plan involving Saffron -- is actually in on the secret, and is present at the end to procure the Lassiter.  It’s nice to see Inara so expertly playing her role in an under-handed crime plan.

I wrote some about Saffron (and Hendricks) in “Our Mrs. Reynolds,” but she is the most charismatic -- in my opinion -- of all Firefly’s villains for the mere fact that she is such a talented chameleon.  She changes approaches or strategy depending on who she is in the room with, and seems to make that shift as easily as she breathes.  Here, Saffron is able to trick Mal again, by once more showing a vulnerable side.  He knew that moment would come and planned for it, but the fact is that Saffron again gets the better of Mal. This makes Mal either an easy mark, or Saffron a positively exceptional con-artist. Whatever the truth, the moments Mal and Saffron share are wonderful, tense, and charged with sexual tension.

I would have loved to see a second season of Firefly for many reasons, but not the least of which is the return of Saffron.  It would have been great to see her return one more time, or even join the crew for a time.  Could you imagine a ship with both Jayne and Saffron among the crew?

In “Trash,” we do learn some more about Saffron’s background, but these facts don’t fully illuminate her, or make her transparent.  We learn that she is the mark’s wife, and that he has been searching for her for six years.  He calls her “Yolanda,” but Saffron also goes by the named Bridgette.  Thus there’s the sense in”Trash” that we may know one chapter of Saffron’s life, but not necessarily the most important one, or the truth of things.   We also learn that Saffron ran off with an associate of her husband, and that the associate mysteriously died soon after.  Saffron claims she didn’t kill him, but the problem is that we simply can’t trust a single word that she says.

If Saffron gets her comeuppance in “Trash,” then Jayne (Adam Baldwin) gets his as well.  Thanks to River (Summer Glau), Simon (Sean Maher) learns the truth of what happened on Ariel, and gets Jayne on his medical bay…where he can threaten him with bodily harm.  Showcasing his essential decency, however, Simon never harms Jayne.  Instead, he shows simply and effectively that he is -- and always will be -- better than Jayne.  He shames him, and Jayne, for all his flaws, is still susceptible to being shamed.

Next week: “The Message.” 

Cult-TV Blogging: Firefly: "War Stories." (December 6, 2002)

Aboard Serenity, Simon (Simon Maher) seeks answers about River’s (Summer Glau) medical condition following the group’s visit to Ariel. 

At the same time, Inara (Morena Baccarin) worries that Mal might interfere with her next appointment, involving a prominent councilor. 

Wash (Alan Tudyk), meanwhile grows ever more concerned about Zoe’s (Gina Torres) seemingly unquestioning loyalty to Mal.  He says that their marriage needs “one less husband.”

On a trip to sell the stolen medical goods acquired at the Alliance Hospital, Wash replaces Zoe as Mal’s enforcer, and both he and Mal are captured by the forces of a gangster named Niska, who Reynolds betrayed recently.

When the captain and Wash do not return on time from the deal, Zoe plans a rescue mission to save both men, but is faced with a difficult challenge when she attempts to buy their freedom from Niska. 

He says he will release one and only one prisoner.

Who will it be: Captain Reynolds or Wash?

“War Stories” is another solid, well-executed Firefly (2002) story, and one that, like virtually every other entry in the canon, succeeds in exploring interactions between the main characters.

For instance, we saw in “Our Mrs. Reynolds” that Wash and Zoe had some marital discord.  Nothing major, perhaps, but it was present nonetheless…and Saffron (Christina Hendricks) was able to drive a wedge into the gulf.  

Here the gulf widens, as we learn that Zoe obeys Mal’s orders without question, while lying to preserve Wash’s feelings about matters of some import (like how to conduct business).  Zoe’s history with Mal is the problem of course, since they served in the war together, and remain, more or less, comrades in arms.  Wash can’t hope to compete with this history, and so constantly feels that Zoe is choosing the Captain over him.

When captured, Mal plays up this “love triangle” so as to keep Wash’s mind off the physical pain of the torture, and, finally, Zoe chooses her husband as the man who will be released.  She does so without question, and the matter is settled. 

What’s interesting about Zoe’s selection is that she may have picked Wash because she, simply, loves him more.  

Or, perhaps she chose Wash because she knew that Mal would bear up under torture better.  It’s an intriguing moment to think about.  At first, it seems like an acknowledgment of Zoe putting her personal life ahead of her professional one, but it could be, simply, a matter of survival.  Wash won’t endure; Mal would. It’s that simple.

What doesn't quite succeed about this plot-line for me is that Wash picks up guns, and goes into battle like Rambo in the third act to save "his" captain after being saved, and after realizing that Mal kept him alive.  

Sure, Wash should be loyal and grateful, but his strength is as a brilliant pilot, not as a warrior.  People should help out where their expertise is, and Wash's rests in the cockpit of Serenity.  

And in fairness, Wash manages a brilliant docking at the station.  That should be enough, and I don't think it's strictly necessary to see him leading the charge as a soldier, afterwards, issuing macho one-liners.  

Jayne and Zoe fit that "puzzle" piece in the crew -- as soldiers -- it isn't entirely believable to me that Wash is so handy (and apparently so comfortable...) using fire-arms in a pitched fight. Wash is a great character, and can be a hero without wearing a sleeveless shirt and brandishing a pistol in a gun fight. 

“War Stories” also provides the first evidence of River’s fearsome fighting  abilities, which come to full flower so memorably in the motion picture Serenity (2005).  

Here, River is called upon to protect Kaylee (Jewel Staite) during the gun-battle with Niska’s goons.  She takes Kaylee’s gun, “senses” her targets, and shoots them dead in the blink of an eye.  I love this moment, as it hints at what River is becoming, and I love that Kaylee is the one who witnesses it.

“War Stories” is also important because it demonstrates that, in the universe of Firefly, actions have consequences.  In “The Train Job,” Niska is established as a corrupt gangster who will go to the ends of space to punish those who have wronged him.  In the course of that tale, Mal does wrong him…surrendering the medicine he procured for the gangster.  Mal made the decision because the medicine was needed on the planet, or families would die.  But here the decision to be a good person comes back to bite Mal, and nearly costs him an ear.  Niska has not forgotten his betrayal…

Finally, I love the running gag in "War Stories" regarding Jayne.  He keeps saying "I'll be in my bunk," and what inspires that phrase is the thought of Inara with the councilor...another woman.

These and other moments in "War Stories" are inspired, but occasionally this episode plays as a little bit cheesy, especially vis-a-vis Wash.  He suddenly sees the light about Mal, and makes that decision to go all Rambo.  Most Firefly episodes proceed without such whiplash-provoking turnarounds, and without the beloved crew-members acting out of character (and out of their experience...)  For once, a character arc doesn't quite work as well as it should.

Next week: "Trash."

Cult-TV Blogging: Firefly: "Ariel" (November 15, 2002)

In “Ariel,” Simon Tam (Sean Maher) realizes that his sister, River (Summer Glau) is not getting any better, and that he must get her to a state-of-the-art medical facility to diagnose her condition; a condition brought on intentionally by the shadowy forces of the Alliance.

Accordingly, Simon makes a deal with Captain Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) that makes the possibility of a visit to an Alliance Planet appealing. 

With Simon’s help, the Firefly crew will break into a state-of-the-art hospital on the planet Ariel and steal a boatload worth of valuable medicine, which the crew can then sell on the black market. 

While the medicine is being stolen, Simon will have enough time -- but just barely -- to look at his sister’s brain on a high-tech image scanner.

The plan is exhaustively planned out at every step, but what neither Simon nor Mal can account for are the actions of Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin), who plots to sell out the brother and sister Tam to the Alliance for a big payday.

 “Ariel” and “Trash” are two of the most exciting episodes of Firefly (2000), Joss Whedon’s late, lamented science fiction series.  Both episodes showcase visits to high-tech Alliance Worlds, and significantly open up the “world” of the series in terms of visuals and background.  

But both episodes are also out-and-out “caper” shows that dramatize heists which rely on split-second timing, disguises, trickery, and other tricks of the trade.  Both episodes are purely and simply fun, in the same way that Oceans 11 might be said to be fun.  In the case of Firefly, there’s something inherently enjoyable about watching a band of merry men (and women) outsmart a vast, tyrannical bureaucratic establishment.  

There’s even an explicit Robin Hood mention here, as the crew discusses “stealing from the rich; selling 

to the poor.”

But, as always, Firefly is not content to be merely entertaining or fun.  Although the episode is ostensibly about Simon and River Tam, and Simon’s attempt to cure his “damaged” sister, “Ariel” really focuses on a different character, and one of my favorites: Jayne.

I wrote about Jayne some in terms of “Jaynestown,” but I often find him the most compelling of the Firefly characters (at least outside Mal…) because although he possesses a sense of morality, he doesn’t exercise that sense very often. Jayne finds it easy to rationalize a terrible betrayal, and in “Ariel,” he sells out his ship-mates.  He’s not a good man, though he does, paradoxically, understand the difference between right and wrong.

Obviously, a traitor of Jayne’s caliber could prove to be enormous trouble for Firefly in terms of believability.  One need only remember the name of Dr. Smith on Lost in Space to consider another character that would behave terribly, time and time again, and not get redressed for his betrayals by his shipmates. 

In fact, the famous joke -- from David Gerrold, I believe -- suggests specifically that the Robinsons should have kicked Dr. Smith’s ass out of the Jupiter 2 airlock and been done with him once and for all.

Amusingly, “Ariel” actualizes that scenario. 

It does so as if in determined, post-modern response to fears that Jayne’s behavior would go unaddressed, and he would mutate into a toothless, trouble-prone Dr. Smith-type character.  Here, Mal clocks Jayne and literally puts in him in an airlock.

Thus “Ariel” features a terrific final scene in which Mal calls Jayne on the carpet…and nearly kills him for his trespasses.  “You turn on any of my crew, you turn on me,” he declares.

The beauty in this scene, finally, however, comes from Jayne. 

He knows he is going to die, and accepts that fact.  But he asks Mal not to “tell ‘em” -- meaning the crew – “what I did.”  He knows he did wrong, and is even willing to face punishment for his actions, but he just doesn’t want to be remembered as a rat.  He doesn’t want to live on in the memory of his shipmates as a traitor.  I love this very humanizing touch, and it raises “Ariel” from being a mere caper show to a show that examines the morality of one particular outlaw.

“Ariel” also goes a little further depicting the agents (or are they Operatives?) of the Alliance who seek to take River back into custody. Here, they commit murder with a terrible, hand-held weapon, and don’t seem to care at all who gets in their way.  They are very frightening, and monstrous, and therefore perfect avatars of a thoughtless, inhuman State.

“Ariel” moves with slick ingenuity, features a stand-out coda in terms of character development, and absolutely nails a tense, dynamic caper situation. 

If I were to introduce Firefly to someone who had never seen the series before, this might very well be the episode I’d choose.

Cult-TV Blogging: Firefly: "Out of Gas" (October 25, 2002)

This week’s Firefly (2002) episode is titled “Out of Gas,” but the creative and heartfelt installment actually proves that this Joss Whedon science fiction series almost never runs on empty.  In fact, this is one of the most inventive and entertaining segments of Firefly thus far.

In “Out of Gas,” we see a dead-in-space Serenity captained by a near-dead Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion). 

As Mal struggles to survive alone on the all-but-abandoned ship, the episode cuts back to different points in its (and Mal’s…) life.

In short order, we see Mal purchasing Serenity, Wash’s (Alan Tudyk) first moments aboard as ship’s pilot, and even Kaylee’s (Jewel Staite) impromptu introduction as engineer.  Another flashback showcases Inara’s (Morena Baccarin) first time aboard the Firefly class ship, and finally, Jayne’s (Adam Baldwin) addition to the crew.

These views of the family forming are intercut with views of it being torn apart, as Firefly’s life-support systems fail, Zoe (Gina Torres) is badly injured, and desperation sets in. 

With Serenity’s death imminent, Mal sends everyone away in the shuttles, while he remains behind with the ship he so dearly loves…

In very simple, but emotionally resonant terms, “Out of Gas” is all about the way that home and family can get us through the rough times.  “Everybody dies alone,” Mal notes at one crucial juncture, but that’s not strictly accurate.  Everyone goes through the physical process of death alone -- even a starship, perhaps -- but friends and family can be there when the end comes for a loved one, and make it less lonely, even if the outcome is the same. 

Despite its flashback structure, “Out of Gas” is purely and simply about that notion, of a crew or group of people cohering into a family, even as Serenity functions as a home or hearth for it. 

When death is broached, it is easier to face it all together, instead of isolated and separate.  Mal tries to expunge that notion, and send his people away.  But they come back for him and for Serenity too.  And they do it without having to be summoned.  Thus, by episode’s end, Mal is a very happy man.  He has a crew; he has a family. His loyalty to his crew has been returned, and he knows where he stands.

 “Out of Gas” also serves ably as a near-perfect contrast to latter-day Star Trek -- and by that I mean Next Generation (1987 – 1994) through Enterprise (2001 – 2005).  This story is very much the brand of tale that Star Trek vetted so frequently: the starship-gets “stuck”-and won’t-go, thus threatening-the-lives-of-the-crew story.  You might know it as “Night Terrors,” or “Where Silence Has Lease,” or “The Cloud,” or any other of a dozen titles.

But where modern Trek relies on endless, tongue-twisting techno-babble and re-set buttons to depict such stories, “Out of Gas” eschews both crutches.  This is not a story about escaping a trap…it is a story about reckoning with mortality, and recognizing, in that reckoning, what matters about life: family and home.

This episode, written by Tim Minear and directed by David Solomon also resurrects a romantic notion from  Star Trek that has been lost in the 1990s -2000s: that of a captain’s love for his ship. 

We know that Kirk loved his Enterprise with an obsessive passion, but the idea was dropped from subsequent series, perhaps so that characters such as Picard, Sisko, Janeway and Archer couldn’t be pinned as imitations or knock-offs.  But Captain Picard actually stood in the ruins of his ship -- his home of seven years – in Generations (1994) and off-handedly remarked that he doubted it would be the last starship to be named Enterprise.  This is a far cry from Kirk’s remorse at the destruction of his ship in Star Trek III (“My God, Bones…what have I done?”)

Mal Reynolds is clearly more in the mold of Kirk, and “Out of Gas” does a terrific job of establishing Mal’s undying love for his ship. In fact, the episode culminates with a perfect visual moment of  love at first sight. 

Mal spots Serenity in the distance, in a field, and the ship holds his gaze…and his heart.  

Indeed, there seems to be a symbiotic connection between Mal and Serenity in the episode: both are injured and on the verge of death, and both come back from the precipice.

Next Week: “Ariel.” 

Cult-TV Blogging: Firefly: "Jaynestown" (November 1, 2002)

In “Jaynestown” Serenity makes a stop at the “mudder” settlement on poverty-stricken Canton. 

There, Mal (Nathan Fillion) and Jayne (Adam Baldwin) attempt to recover a long-lost loot, only to discover that since his last visit there, Jayne has been deified as “the Hero of Canton.”  On his last visit, years earlier, Jayne dropped his cargo -- money – on the mudder town, and so now boasts a reputation as a kind of modern Robin Hood.

While Shepherd Book (Ron Glass) cares for River (Summer Glau) and introduces her to the Bible, and Inara (Morena Baccarin) sees the son of a wealthy client, Jayne comes to reckon with what it really means to be a “hero.”

“Jaynestown” concerns the Hero of Canton, Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin), and he even gets his own theme song here. 

I’ll be honest: Jayne -- Serenity’s muscle -- is one of my favorite characters on Firefly, and episodes such as “Jaynestown” and “Ariel” (coming up in a few weeks), establish why.  Jayne is most definitely not a hero.  

He’s not even a good man, at least most of the time.  He’s an opportunist and a man who is interested in his own survival, first, second, and last.  “Out of Gas” reveals how Jayne joined Serenity’s crew in the first place, switching to the highest bidder during a confrontation.  And “Ariel” explores how he is willing to sell his shipmates out for a big pay-day.

But Jayne is also funny as hell, and, most significantly, he does possess a conscience, even if he doesn’t always choose to listen to it.  In “Ariel,” after Mal learns of his sell-out, Jayne accepts his own death, but pointedly asks the captain not to tell the crew about his mis-deeds.  He doesn’t want to be remembered that way….as a rat.  That fact suggests that Jayne knows that he did wrong.  A real monster, a real bad man, wouldn’t have understood the error of his ways.

Likewise, in “Jaynestown,” Jayne is bowled over by the fact that someone else would die for him, as a young mudder does in the climactic battle. 

Would Jayne have died for that boy?  Not bloody likely. 

Jayne realizes this fact, and so the episode ends with him confused, and downright contemplative; the most thoughtful we’ve ever seen Jayne, in fact.  He can’t understand why his life would matter to someone else, because most of the time the lives of others don’t really mean much to Jayne.  He is shamed by the fact that someone better than he is died for him.

“Jaynestown” is a strong episode of Firefly because it asks the viewer to accept multiple and seemingly contradictory truths about Jayne, and what he did on Canton. 

On one hand, we know that Jayne dumped the cash in the haste of a failed escaped, and didn’t intend to do good at all. 

On the other hand, Jayne did (inadvertently) do good, in the final analysis. He made a difference in the mudders’ lives, and now they veritably worship him as a Robin Hood figure.  

In this situation, are Jayne’s intentions (or lack of intentions) important?

Or are his deeds what truly matter?

In studying that question, the episode examines how we can’t really know a “hero” by his or her actions, and furthermore, explains that heroism is a matter of a perception.  As Mal says in the episode’s coda: “It isn’t about you…It’s about what they need.” 

In other words, the mudders find a purpose, unity, and even a meaningful life “story” in Jayne’s actions, and that “myth” becomes infinitely more important to them than the reality of Jayne’s intentions in one moment of time. 

At first, we want to laugh at the colonists for building this huge heroic mythology around Jayne, a dunce and a scoundrel.  But then we see how the “Hero of Canton” has made their lives better; has rallied them.  That Jayne is a dunce and a scoundrel matters not a whit, really.

This theme finds an interesting and meaningful reflection in Shepherd Book and River’s sub-plot.  There, Book introduces River to the Bible, and she proceeds to tear it up.  River starts scribbling in the book, and tearing out pages.  She says she can “fix it” and that the Holy Book is “broken.”  Sherpherd Book tells her that you “don’t fix the Bible!” with a bit of righteous indignation.

But in this scenario, the Bible is, essentially, serving the same purpose as Jayne does.  It is a well-spring from which many people have drawn inspiration, faith, and the strength to continue facing the difficulties of life.  The Bible may not be “perfect” in some ways -- as Jayne isn’t perfect or even heroic -- but so many people draw strength from its words and lessons.  It has become more than a mere book, and an integral part of a whole culture’s “life.” Yes, there are some aspects of the Bible which might (arguably) be termed archaic today, as there are some elements of Jayne that aren’t so great. 

But Jayne and the Bible have managed -- each in their own, very different ways -- to bring hope to the hopeless, and faith to the faithless.  What “Jaynestown” seems to state most clearly is that sometimes the messenger may be flawed or imperfect, but the message can still be fruitful, and worth hearing.

Next week, one of Firefly’s greatest episodes: “Out of Gas”