'Firefly' Rewind - Episodes'

[AdmiralDigby]

This was a decent episode .

Firmly in the middle .

[AdmiralDigby]

What's Arlo's take on this series of reviews ?


Wait , he's probably too busy trollin' .

[Eric]

What's Arlo's take on this series of reviews ?
Wait , he's probably too busy trollin' .

Adult language warning:

[Phyll33]

  Arlo is normal?

[Spooky]

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/firefly-rewind-episode-4-shindig

'Firefly' Rewind - Episode 4: 'Shindig'
By sepinwall
Tuesday, Jun 29, 2010

We're continuing our summer trip back through Joss Whedon's "Firefly" (at the end of this review, I'll have links to the previous ones) with the fourth episode, "Shindig." A review coming up just as soon as I have money for a slinky dress...

"You think you're better than other people." -Badger
"Just the ones I'm better than." -Mal

In my review of the "Firefly" pilot, I wrote that two of my biggest complaints with the series had to do with the show's depiction of companion culture, and related to that, the ugly tint it gave to the Mal/Inara Unresolved Sexual Tension. "Shindig" is, of course, about both of those issues(*), and while it deals with them in a more interesting way than we got in the pilot, it's still not one of my favorite episodes of the series.

(*) And, as an added bonus, it puts Mal and Kaylee into 19th century formalwear, so it hits the trifecta for my key "Firefly" problems.

There's a scene late in "Shindig" where Inara accuses Mal of hypocrisy for punching her client for implying she's a whore when Mal himself uses the word often in her presence. Mal makes the distinction that he doesn't respect her job, but that he respects her. That distinction makes Mal feel better about himself, and I think Jane Espenson wants it to make us think more kindly on his behavior with her, but it never flies with me. He can have that attitude, and could get away with frequent suggestions that what Inara does for a living is beneath her. Certainly, I've had friends and loved ones with jobs I didn't approve of in one way or another, and we've discussed that and moved past it. It happens. What Mal does, on the other hand, is to be as cruel and nasty as possible in any dealings with Inara that have to do with her profession, and that overrides any notion that he respects her as a person. If he really did, he wouldn't be this consistent an ass to her.

And I'd be fine if we were meant to keep on viewing Mal as a hypocrite, and to acknowledge that even our heroic Captain Tightpants(**) has his flaws. He has a superiority complex, established throughout the pilot and reaffirmed in the scene with Badger I quoted above, and his attitude towards Inara could fit into that iffy character trait easily. But the fencing practice scene, and the Mal/Inara moments that follow in the duel and then on the cargo hold balcony, suggest otherwise; suggest that we're supposed to, like Inara, forgive Mal his cruelty because he does ultmately care about her, and I just ain't having it.

(**) A nickname I've used often in regards to the character, but one whose origin I had forgotten until I re-watched this episode.

One of last summer's DVD projects, "Sports Night," also had a UST set-up with a bitter undercurrent that the show only occasionally wanted to deal with, preferring to keep things on the level of light banter and unexpected flirtation. Nathan Fillion banters as well as anyone in the business, and he and Morena Baccarin had fine chemistry back in the day, but just as I was mainly revisiting "Sports Night" in spite of Dana and Casey rather than for them, I'm glad that Mal/Inara is far from the main subject of "Firefly," even if it is of this episode.

As to companion culture in general, when I objected to it in my pilot review, several of you brought up the historical precedent of geishas (which, given the show's Asian influences, is probably a better analogy than mine to Renaissance courtesans), while others suggested that companions are viewed differently in the sophisticated Alliance planets than they are in the moons out on the rim where Mal and company largely dwell. But Atherton Wing's boorish behavior is the second time in four episodes where we've seen that even Inara's high-class clients view her job exactly the way Mal does. And that's also something that's potentially interesting: that the need for sex and other forms of companionship in post-Earth society became so great that the prostitutes finally wised up and used that need to empower themselves, but that people have certain innate feelings about those who have sex for money that can only be hidden for so long behind all the courtly mannerisms and euphemisms. The problem is that Inara herself always seems surprised when this happens to her. And that's disappointing considering what a smart, tough cookie she's supposed to be.

Given my issues with the larger parts of "Shindig," it's no surprise that my favorite part of the episode was, is and will continue to be Kaylee. It's not exactly an Eliza Doolittle gag - even in baggy coveralls and with engine grease on her nose, Jewel Staite is adorable - but it's still nice to see our resident optimist get to be the belle of the ball, and to do so by being herself. She briefly tries to fit in with the snotty girls, but instead becomes the center of (male) attention from dropping any pretensions and simply talking about engines - while still getting to enjoy the food, drink and how nice she looks in the poofy dress.

"Firefly" unfortunately didn't run long enough to give Kaylee a proper spotlight episode, but at least she gets that moment under the hovering chandelier.

Some other thoughts on "Shindig":

We're still at the point where the show is figuring out how to reintroduce material from the unaired pilot. Badger and Mal allude to their previous standoff in Badger's office (and enough is said, and conveyed by Mark Sheppard's performance, that viewers could easily fill in the blanks), and Kaylee again goes crazy for a strawberry.

The story of the ball and the duel are thin enough that there's time to just hang out a bit on Serenity to see Wash and Zoe enjoy some marital bliss, to see the guys play cards (and to see Jayne, naturally, cheat when the others aren't looking) and to see the two extremes of River's behavior, when she freaks out over the can labels in the pantry and then turns herself into a perfect cockney mirror of Badger when everyone is afraid she might somehow give up her true identity to a man who'd have no problem turning her and her brother in for a reward.
I have a hard time watching elaborately-choreographed formal dance routines like the one Mal and Inara participate in without thinking of this scene from "Top Secret!" (the underrated middle film from the "Airplane!"/"Naked Gun" team).

Inara takes the high road with Mal about him being a thief, but note that she has a fancy gizmo that allows her to break into locked rooms. (I imagine, given her profession, the value might be more in the idea of being about to get out of such a room in the event of sudden client trouble.)
While the crew are all horrified by the notion of Jayne disrobing, I suspect there was a Browncoat or 12 throwing things at the TV when that plan was shot down.

What did everybody else think?

[AdmiralDigby]

Now that the reviewer mentions it , Mal is the biggest jackass in the outer rim .

[Spooky]

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/firefly-rewind-episode-5-safe

Once again, we're spending Tuesdays this summer going back through Joss Whedon's sci-fi/Western mash-up "Firefly." A review of episode five, "Safe," coming up just as soon as I tip you off to my cunningly-concealed herd of cows...

"This isn't our home." -Simon
"If it isn't here, where is it?" -Doralee

The "Firefly" pilot set up Mal and Simon as spiritual opposites: the outlaw vs. the city slicker, the fighter vs. the healer, the cynical wisecracker vs. the earnest straight man, etc. But what we learn in "Safe" is that, for all their surface differences, they share perhaps the most important thing in common: they have lost everything in the universe they care about except the people on that ship.

"Safe" is a fine example of the value of showing over telling. In both "Serenity" and "The Train Job," there was a lot of talk about all Simon had sacrificed to save River from The Academy, but the flashbacks of "Safe" allow us to see it for ourselves. Young Simon(*) had an adoring sister/playmate, a doting mother and father, all of his needs attended to and a place in society's elite. Now he's a fugitive, stuck on a ship full of dirty pirates who don't much like him, traveling to one backwards, superstitious, dangerous world after another, and all for what? To save the sister who's just barely sane enough to recognize how crazy and "broken" she's become.

(*) Played in the first flashback by, of all people, young Zac Efron, doing a fine impression of Sean Maher.

But as frustrated and miserable as Simon is on Serenity, or during his kidnapping misadventure, you also see that he has no regrets - that his love for River, even this version of River, is so strong that he would do it all over again.

Yet at the same time, that love for his sister is all he has left, so when it becomes clear that she's going to be burned at the stake as a witch (and for knowing a little too much about how the community's current leader came to be in charge), he gets up on the platform with her. At first it's an attempt to save her, but when it becomes clear that he can't, he stays. He's her big brother, and he can't let her die alone like that, and he also has nothing worth living for if she's gone. It's a really powerful moment, and well-played by Sean Maher.

In the end, though, Mal comes back in the nick of time to save the day, and he explains in simple, unsentimental language why he did it: "You're on my crew." He and Mal may not like each other, Jayne may be a shaved ape who steals his stuff when it looks like he's not coming back alive, River may be a few sandwiches shy of a picnic and life may always be dangerous, but to the surprise of both Mal and Simon, he really is part of the crew now, which makes Serenity his home, and the rest of the crew his family. It's nothing like the home and family he gave up for River's sake, but it's a start.

Some other thoughts on "Safe":

• River and Simon wind up in the hands of their kidnappers longer than expected because of the shooting of Shepherd Book, which reveals two interesting character points. First is that Mal's hatred of the Alliance is so great that he would risk a man's life rather than take him to an Alliance facility for help. Second is that whatever Book was in life before he became a man of the cloth, it was a position that still holds a lot of sway with the Alliance. 
• Ron Glass, by the way, is very good as a clearly frightened Book responds to Zoe's line about Simon not needing to hurry for such a small injury by saying, "He could... hurry a little."
• It speaks well of Simon that even while kidnapped, he recognizes the need for his services in the little mountain community and quickly gets to work in the makeshift hospital.
• Like Kaylee's "Captain Tightpants" line, Zoe's "Big damn heroes, sir" became one of the series' catchphrases that lived on among the fans long after the cancellation.
• We're getting to the point where the non-airing of "Serenity" was less of a big deal, but Kaylee does briefly reference how Book held her hand after she was shot, which Fox viewers of course had no idea about.
• Mrs. Tam is played by Isabella Hoffman, the second alum of the Judd Hirsch sitcom to have a notable role on a Whedon show. (Harry Groener, of course, played Mayor Wilkins on "Buffy.") I'm assuming this is a coincidence, but if Jere Burns gets cast on Joss's next show, look out.
• This is also two episodes in a row where Kaylee's feelings are badly hurt by a man she admires, this time with Simon both insulting the plate she thought would be a gift for him (albeit with him ignorant to that fact) and then Serenity itself. It's interesting to see the push-pull of the Kaylee/Simon relationship. Every Unresolved Sexual Tension scenario in TV needs some kind of artifical obstacle, and here it's the huge difference in class - and given the inner vs. outer planets society that the show has established, it's more plausible than a lot of excuses on other shows.
• Jayne pretending to read aloud from Simon's diary ("Today I was pompous and my sister was crazy") is one of Adam Baldwin's funnier moments so far on the series.
• The show wasn't around long enough to see if Whedon was going to take it in a more serialized direction, but it's nice to see smaller bits of ongoing storytelling, like the cows from the end of "Shindig" being a key part of the plot here.

Coming up next: "Our Mrs. Reynolds," featuring the always-marvelous Christina Hendricks as Saffron.

What did everybody else think?

[Wyobar]

I posted it at the OB as well. Lets see if Arlo remains a hypocrite and continues to not comment on any of my Firefly related posts, but continues to comment on my posts in the poli threads.

That was excellent and once again I am drawn back into the verse. God, I love this show!

Arlo can remain bitter and alone... I am firmly entrenched with the joy of Firefly 

[AdmiralDigby]

I liked River dancing .

Heh , "Riverdance"

[Spooky]

I liked River dancing .

Heh , "Riverdance"

Miss Glau could pretty much do anything and I think I'd like it.