TiVo Community Forums Archives - Firefly #1x03 "Our Mrs. Reynolds" (SPOILERS)

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Firefly #1x03 "Our Mrs. Reynolds" (SPOILERS)
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Posted by: Pan Chun

Homina homina homina! :eek:

Holy cats...what a show!

The first half you TRULY think something is going on other than something completely DIFFRENT which is REALLY going on!

Mal thinks he's married a TOTAL HOTTIE who isn't as she seems!

I'll admit I'm only about 40 minutes in, but frankly, I'm enjoying this immensely. I enjoyed it a TON when I thought it was ONE story, I'm enjoying it "that much more" now that I know it's ANOTHER story! :eek:

I don't mind the "creative anachronisms" even in the smallest amount. Fun show...great dialogue...interesting characters and circumstances. TOTALLY THE "ANTI-TREK"...and that just ain't a BAD THING anymore! :up: :up: :up:

Posted by: hfwarner3

OK, I know everyone is ragging on it, but the cowboy thing is really starting to catch on for me. It makes sense the more I see it and how they are using it.

You have cowboys riding horses robbing a wagon train. Some of the cowboys have revolvers (the most dependable of any sidearm) and one guy with a full auto rifle. Cool. Then, Jane has this total custom job sniper rifle back on the ship.

I think we are going to see that the Alliance planets in the center are all really high tech and the fringe worlds are scavenger tech. All the people who know how to build, maintain, and fix the high tech stuff are either on starships or the inner worlds. As a result, the outer worlds take the low tech route. Who wants a Hummer if you are never going to be able to get gas, replacement parts, etc. Heck, even the SF guys in Arghanistan used horses instead of vehicles. It makes sense.

Still, do they have to square dance?

Posted by: ClutchBrake

The last two minutes are the absolute best. Classic!!!
This episode just extended my SP for at least four or five more episodes.

Posted by: Pan Chun

quote:
Originally posted by hfwarner3
Still, do they have to square dance?

I think that generally, the people of the outer planets are simpler...not only in the tech that they posess, but in their attitudes, their religion, their approach to life as a whole.

HOWEVER...as evinced by THIS EPISODE, that generality is subject to qualification...and THAT is what makes the show highly interesting. NOT KNOWING who is who and what is what is half the fun.

I'm loving it. But that's just me! :) :up:

Posted by: unoriginal

I thought the cowboy aspect of the show was going to get real hokey, but after seeing the Amish guys it makes sense now. Now I love the concept.

I also liked the way that well known laws of physics were not ignored, such as when there is no air there is no sound and that combustion requires oxygen.

Posted by: Fleegle

That was one of my favorite parts. Before, when you saw something happening in space, but didn't hear anything, there was generally something else making sound, like music or a monolouge, so it could be written off as artistic. Tonight, they showed that the lack of sound was intentional, just like the explained how the gun wouldn't fire unless it has oxygen.

I Love, Love, Love this show. :D :D :D

BTW: How hot was that con artist?!:eek:

Posted by: doom1701

quote:
Originally posted by fleegle
BTW: How hot was that con artist?!:eek:

Oh, dear God. Had I been in Wash' position, that innocent look with the red hair an the peasent dress might have made me forget I was married...

Last night's ep was great. Joss is definately shining brightly in this show--I'd say the characters are even better than on Buffy.

Posted by: JYoung

KTTV ran it after John Doe and the News in the 11PM-12AM slot.
I suspected that this would be the case and set a manual record.
Good episode, Christina Hendricks was very good and yes, we see that Innara has some strong feelings for Mal.
Several line has me laughing out loud (there's a special place in Hell...) and I liked how they rigged up Vera.
This show is getting better and better,clever story, good characterization (are you paying attention Berman & Braga?) but I'd wish that they'd reconcile the whole galaxy/system thing....

Posted by: ClutchBrake

quote:
Originally posted by doom1701

Oh, dear God. Had I been in Wash' position, that innocent look with the red hair an the peasent dress might have made me forget I was married...

I'm with you, Doom. I would have been on that like white on rice.

Posted by: Ladd Morse

quote:
Originally posted by fleegle
How hot was that con artist?!

Great personality shift on that character. Had me fooled completely.

So what happened to her? I replayed several times the scene when Mal replied to the question "is she dead?", but never could make out his mumbled reply...

Posted by: Pan Chun

She's too A: interesting; B: evil; and C: HOTHOTHOT to kill off. She'll be back and Mal will hope to settle the score.

Or so I predict anyway! :)

Posted by: DLiquid

Definite hottie! :D :D :D

The whole cowboy thing is just a gimmick, but I'm really over it at this point and I'm even starting to like it. Sure, it isn't very plausible, but I think you just have to enjoy this show for what it is. You guys trying to explain the cowboy, horses, and pistols thing are cracking me up. Now stop making me think about it cause I'm really just trying to accept it!!! :)

I thought this episode was very funny, I was laughing out loud through the whole show. Smart writing and very good character interaction. With EPs like this, my SP isn't going anywhere.

They must have explained this, but I missed it, what's with the different languages some of the characters speak from time to time?

Posted by: DanT

According to the closed captions, the language is Chinese. My guess is that they're implying that the Chinese grew to be a big enough influence on Earth that most humans speak both English and Chinese.

"Whoa, good Bible!"

...

"Whoa, good myth!"

Posted by: TiVoLance

Still not into the cowboy thing. It seems that this episode had even more Cowboy Western props/speak than the first one. I'm still watching the show but I won't lie and say that these fake accents and John Wayne in Space plotlines don't bug me a bit.

Are people speaking in Chinese every so often? I think I read in a interview that the US and China were the only nations left in this future. Now where is New Beijing or some planets controled by that nation. Let's cross our fingers they aren't played like Old West movies.

Posted by: warrenevans

I like the Cowboy thing cause I am so sick of Star Trek and there Borgs two shots from your Phaser and you guns or use less.

Posted by: LoadStar

Warrenevans: on behalf of the English speakers among us, I've gotta say one thing: HUH?!?

In any case, I've gone right off this show. I just can't get past the fact that it's a western set in space and in the distant future. I'm watching from time to time - I'm really trying to give it a chance, since everyone raved about it pre-airing, and I trust Joss to come up with something good... but it's just not thrilling me at all.

I think what really set me off was the covered wagon fording the river at the beginning of this episode. They've got spacecraft, and they have to ford a river with horses and covered wagons? WTF?

I'll probably give it a few more episodes, and maybe try and find the unaired pilot ep on the net to see if that helps to explain things... but I'm leaning towards letting this show go and stick to Buffy and Angel.

Posted by: warrenevans

Loadstar:

The planet that they landed on didn't have spaceships the Firefly crew has a ship but the people who live there don't. so they can't use ships they have to use wagons

Posted by: DaveLessnau

A very good episode (though I still wish they'd lose the Western stuff). Right after "Mrs. Reynolds" appeared on-board, I figured she wasn't going to be what she seemed to be. But, my guess had been that she was the wife or daughter of one of the guys they'd just killed. The plant from some kind of scavenger ring was a total surprise. The only problems I had with the episode are minor:

-- Why was "Mrs. Reynolds" IN that village/town in the first place? Was she just waiting for some sucker space captain to show up? Or, had she heard something about their mission and rushed out to the place?

-- The scavenger's "net" was some kind of electric discharge ring. But, you'd only get electrical discharges with some kind of atmosphere. In a vacuum, you wouldn't get that kind of "lightening" affect (nothing to ionize). A surprising lapse, considering the emphasis they put on no sound in space.

-- This isn't really a problem. It might actually be a plus. The bit about the gun not firing without oxygen was a good thought. But, for a gun on a space ship, I'm surprised they didn't have some kind of "space-ready" bullets (i.e., something with an oxidizer built into the firing cap and explosive).

I'd also like to say that if they had never put the introductory narrative in the show, we wouldn't know about the "system with 100 worlds" stuff. All of my "bad science" thoughts would be moot. Once they figured out where they were, they could have slowly introduced us to it. If they just removed that narrative, maybe we could ignore the fact that it previously existed and they could correct the technical difficulties.

Posted by: unoriginal

quote:
Originally posted by LoadStar

In any case, I've gone right off this show. I just can't get past the fact that it's a western set in space and in the distant future. I'm watching from time to time - I'm really trying to give it a chance, since everyone raved about it pre-airing, and I trust Joss to come up with something good... but it's just not thrilling me at all.

I think what really set me off was the covered wagon fording the river at the beginning of this episode. They've got spacecraft, and they have to ford a river with horses and covered wagons? WTF?

They were on the wagon to make it look like they were the Amish people. What part of Amish didn't you understand? :D

Posted by: chris1

quote:
Originally posted by LoadStar
Warrenevans: on behalf of the English speakers among us, I've gotta say one thing: HUH?!?

In any case, I've gone right off this show. I just can't get past the fact that it's a western set in space and in the distant future. I'm watching from time to time - I'm really trying to give it a chance, since everyone raved about it pre-airing, and I trust Joss to come up with something good... but it's just not thrilling me at all.

I think what really set me off was the covered wagon fording the river at the beginning of this episode. They've got spacecraft, and they have to ford a river with horses and covered wagons? WTF?

I'll probably give it a few more episodes, and maybe try and find the unaired pilot ep on the net to see if that helps to explain things... but I'm leaning towards letting this show go and stick to Buffy and Angel.

I feel the same way. The 'Train Robbery' episode was so painful to watch I had to fast-forward through most of it. The only half-decent scene was when the captain kicked that pro-wrestler wannabe and he got sucked into an engine. Call me callous but I thought that was hilarious. Other than that scene this whole series sucks. Joss should stick to what he does best: teeny bopper vamp shows.

Posted by: dmdeane

quote:
Originally posted by unoriginal
I also liked the way that well known laws of physics were not ignored, such as when there is no air there is no sound and that combustion requires oxygen.

Ewww!!!!

That's precisely what the writers got WRONG. Gunpowder (whether blackpowder or modern smokeless powder) contains its own oxygen. If this were not so, then solid fuel rockets (which burn chemicals related to modern gunpowders) would not burn in space, and therefore our modern space program would never have occurred (ie, no solid fuel boosters or thrusters for use in space).

That's why gunpowder is an explosive; it doesn't just burn, using up the available oxygen. It has all it requires to burn in an enclosed, oxygen-free space, thus quickly generating the expansion of gas which makes an explosion possible. Explosives, propellants, gunpowders, etc., all contain their own sources of oxygen and "fuel", and can by definition be ignited in a vacuum (assuming you have a chemical or electrical ignition source, which is the case with precussion ignited ammunition). There was no need to put the gun in a space suit; that was ridiculous. The only downside of using a gun in outer space is finding a way to manage the recoil in zero gravity; lack of oxygen is not a problem.

So far, I give the writer(s) a C- in regards to their science, but then, this isn't meant to be that kind of a sci fi show, I think. Nevertheless, this is an embarrassing mistake. But then Hollywood is always displaying its ignorance of weapons, and technology in general.

Posted by: warrenevans

i have always wondered about shooting guns in space... ie can you. thanks Dm

Posted by: unoriginal

quote:
Originally posted by dmdeane
Ewww!!!!

That's precisely what the writers got WRONG. Gunpowder (whether blackpowder or modern smokeless powder) contains its own oxygen. If this were not so, then solid fuel rockets (which burn chemicals related to modern gunpowders) would not burn in space, and therefore our modern space program would never have occurred (ie, no solid fuel boosters or thrusters for use in space).

That's why gunpowder is an explosive; it doesn't just burn, using up the available oxygen. It has all it requires to burn in an enclosed, oxygen-free space, thus quickly generating the expansion of gas which makes an explosion possible. Explosives, propellants, gunpowders, etc., all contain their own sources of oxygen and "fuel", and can by definition be ignited in a vacuum (assuming you have a chemical or electrical ignition source, which is the case with precussion ignited ammunition). There was no need to put the gun in a space suit; that was ridiculous. The only downside of using a gun in outer space is finding a way to manage the recoil in zero gravity; lack of oxygen is not a problem.

So far, I give the writer(s) a C- in regards to their science, but then, this isn't meant to be that kind of a sci fi show, I think. Nevertheless, this is an embarrassing mistake. But then Hollywood is always displaying its ignorance of weapons, and technology in general.

Well I'll be damned. :o

This really is a SOAK.

Posted by: Fleegle

What's up with SOAK? What does that mean?:confused: :confused:

Posted by: RGM1138

quote:
Originally posted by fleegle
What's up with SOAK? What does that mean?:confused: :confused:

Source Of All Knowledge.

Bob

Posted by: grins

I love the classic Joss in the kicker, too. Mal takes the facts, connects them thoroughly, confronts a character with an inconsistency, gets a stunning and personal revelation, and completely (but plausibly!) misinterprets it.

Ladd, if the 'Is she dead' you're referring to is in the kicker when Innara says 'Does the vixen live?', Mal responds 'Well, if you can call it that....all's well, I s'pose'

The one I had to replay was after Mal asks Saffron her real name...that and some of the shots of her ;)

Posted by: DaveLessnau

quote:
Originally posted by dmdeane
Explosives, propellants, gunpowders, etc., all contain their own sources of oxygen and "fuel", and can by definition be ignited in a vacuum (assuming you have a chemical or electrical ignition source, which is the case with precussion ignited ammunition).

In another thread, you mentioned that this is basic Chemistry. The ignition/oxidation process might be, but the composition of modern bullets is not. Bullets are non-PC. No one talks about them or how they're made (for instance, I worry that these comments in this thread might violate some speech code). I've had two or three courses in Chemistry, been in the military, and watch things like "Modern Marvels" and "Tales of the Gun" on the History Channel. If I had thought about it enough, I probably would have come to the conclusion that the primer (at least) must have its own oxygen supply. After all, it IS and explosive, and it would have to have an readily available and evenly didtributed oxygen source to explode properly. But, no one's ever laid it out. But, are you sure that modern gunpowder contains an oxygen supply? I'm not even sure it's classified as an explosive. My understanding was that the primer explodes and ignites the gunpowder. The gunpowder then burns at a controlled rate and produces the gasses needed to propel the bullet down the barrel. It doesn't explode, it merely burns. But, I guess I just answered my own question: it burns (very fast) at a controlled rate. Thus, I guess it'd have to have it's own oxygen supply.

Posted by: Pan Chun

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/HH/0376716/th-chbs.jpg

Apparently Christina Hendricks appeared in 4 consecutive episodes of ER in January and February of this year as "Joyce Westlake". Other than that, just a handful of guest appearances on her IMDb resume.

Posted by: sync

I'm not having any luck recording this show. Last week I got a baseball game. Today I got the last 10 minutes or so. Now when I do a search I don't see any more episodes.

Posted by: ClutchBrake

quote:
Originally posted by sync
Now when I do a search I don't see any more episodes.

The next one is two weeks away. Probably because of baseball... :rolleyes: :down:

Posted by: vman41

quote:
Originally posted by TiVoLance
I think I read in a interview that the US and China were the only nations left in this future.

Only two languages left? C'est la Vie.

Posted by: Rcrew

Yep, we really liked this episode. Of the 3 I've seen, this one was the best. Aside from the gunpowder in space issues, the silence was one of the best non-special effects I've seen in a while!!!

Posted by: IndyJones1023

I echo many sentiments here, I love this show. As far as new shows this season, I don't know which I like better, Firefly or John Doe. But, as for Firefly, there was some questioning about the backstory. That will be explained soon. They actually shot a 2-hour premier that FOX put on the back burner because they thought it didn't have enough action. What they don't realize is that the dialog and character interaction is what makes this show so endearing. The 2-hour pilot will now be a "special presentation" this November. Here's hoping to many years of this excellent new show! In my opinion, far better than Enterprise.

TL

Posted by: unoriginal

quote:
Originally posted by vman41

Only two languages left? C'est la Vie.

Yeah, English and weird foreign stuff. Just like right now. :D

Posted by: JimSpence

Okay, this past episode was the best. Too bad I only saw the last 14 minutes. Fox 5 NY messed it up, Sunday. Was supposed to be on at 5pm but they aired it early. You'd think that when a show gets yanked around by the affiliates that they would repeat it! This ep was postponed from Friday because of baseball, so they reschedule for Sunday and then air it early. Go figure!

Posted by: Pan Chun

You guys should DEFINITELY check out USENET...they have the episode in VCD format at alt.binaries.multimedia.firefly. If your provider doesn't get that group, try the free 3 day account trials at EASYNEWS.COM or USENETSERVER.COM. There are surely others as well. Don't forget to also scan alt.binaries.multimedia.scifi and alt.binaries.multimedia too!

They may also have the unaired pilot, too! :) :up:

Posted by: JYoung

quote:
Originally posted by Pan Chun
http://i.imdb.com/Photos/HH/0376716/th-chbs.jpg

Apparently Christina Hendricks appeared in 4 consecutive episodes of ER in January and February of this year as "Joyce Westlake". Other than that, just a handful of guest appearances on her IMDb resume.

I had to scratch my head a bit to remember who Joyce Westlake was but she's the neighbor of Abby's who had the abusive husband.

Posted by: DanT

Dave Lessnau -

Primers don't explode either, they burn. If you take a loaded cartridge, pull its bullet and dump out the powder, then hit the primer, you'll see a nice long flame for a fraction of a second. That's why the hole between the primer cup and the rest of the casing (where the gunpowder sits) is called a "flash hole".

I like the theory that Jayne just doesn't know what he's talking about. Either that, or the rifle shot some other kind of cartridge that doesn't exist yet. But him just being a misinformed idiot fits in with his character so well...

Posted by: doom1701

quote:
Originally posted by DanT
I like the theory that Jayne just doesn't know what he's talking about. Either that, or the rifle shot some other kind of cartridge that doesn't exist yet. But him just being a misinformed idiot fits in with his character so well...

Yeah, but Mal would have known better, and he definately wouldn't have waisted a space suite just to stroke Jayne's ego. If we need an excuse, I'd just say that it's a different type of shell--one without an oxidizer.

But, in the end, this comes down to a show making a mistake in trying to be as scientificially accurate as possible. How often do we get to complain about that? It's not like "Throw Physics out the window" Star Trek.

Posted by: vman41

quote:
Originally posted by DanT
Either that, or the rifle shot some other kind of cartridge that doesn't exist yet.

It you want rationalizations, perhaps Vera's reload mechanism was gas operated and it would be unbalanced enough in a vacum to fail to operate
properly. On the other hand, he did specifically say it required oxygen to
shoot.

Posted by: warrenevans

I had to re watch it cause I thought if might have said something about gas powered but he did not

Posted by: Jonathan_S

[cross post from the other firefly thread]
While the propellant for the gun would work in a vacuum, they were shooting a burst or full auto assault rifle, not a six shooter revolver. The lubricant for the bolt, and auto-reloading system probably would have failed if exposed to a hard vacuum, so the gun would have jammed after a couple of shots.

The tolerances on a gun like that are pretty tight and if the crew didn't usually fight in vacuum they might not have bothered to have space rated seals and lubricant on the gun.

Of course since the crew only had once chance at shooting the net they may have opted for better safe than sorry, wasting a space suit is a minor issue compared to not disabling the net and all dying shortly thereafter. Could have figured they _might_ not need the suit, but why risk it.

Posted by: ClutchBrake

You guys know this isn't real don't you? :confused:

Maybe The Matrix has me and I am just too happy to be a little Energizer bunny...

Posted by: grins

quote:
Originally posted by Jonathan_S
The tolerances on a gun like that

A gun like that fictional one?

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

quote:
Originally posted by ClutchBrake
You guys know this isn't real don't you?

What do you mean?

You're not one of those post-modernist, "there is no true reality" crackpots, are you?

Jeez, I hate those nutcases.

Posted by: Ladd Morse

quote:
Originally posted by grins
If the 'Is she dead' you're referring to is in the kicker when Innara says 'Does the vixen live?', Mal responds 'Well, if you can call it that....all's well, I s'pose'

Yup, that's the one.

You (or your system) has better audio capabilities than do I if you can make those words out! :-)

I listened to that line three times again earlier today and couldn't make out the last few words. Now that theoretically I know what he said, I'll try again. Thanks!

I assume the answer is sufficiently nebulous to cover any possible plot twist desired in the future.

Ladd

Posted by: mwhip

This may have been covered in another reply but...

This was a good episode, however I was not excpecting it. My guide data said it was about a duel? So here I am watching it waiting for this lovers triangle and duel. Anyone else have this error?

Posted by: Fleegle

My guide data had it correct, but as well written guida data should, it didn't give away any of the surprising info, just that Mal gets a wife as payment for a job.

Posted by: Pan Chun

quote:
Originally posted by fleegle
My guide data had it correct, but as well written guida data should, it didn't give away any of the surprising info, just that Mal gets a wife as payment for a job.

Same here. My guide was from the TiVo SA (I don't receive the show on my DTiVo).

Posted by: dcheesi

quote:
Originally posted by grins
Ladd, if the 'Is she dead' you're referring to is in the kicker when Innara says 'Does the vixen live?', Mal responds 'Well, if you can call it that....all's well, I s'pose'

The one I had to replay was after Mal asks Saffron her real name...that and some of the shots of her ;)

I had a problem with the post-'name' line too; never did figure it out (something about lying??). Part of the problem is that I'm never sure if he's speaking english or not, since they keep throwing in random chinese. I've had several instances where I simply gave up trying to decypher his mumbling.

BTW, I seem to have to replay a lot of dialogue these days. I don't know if the recorded audio is degraded, or if having the ability to "rewind" has simply made me more aware of it, but there are many cases where I can't understand some dialogue on the first try. Darn it, I'm too young for a hearing aide! :mad:

Posted by: grins

'just would have lied anyway'

eh? Speak up, boy! :D

I'd like to just leave Closed Captioning on, but then I end up reading the captions instead of enjoying the show, even though I get 95% of what's spoken...excepting the Chinese, of course. Any chinese speakers here? I used to work with a Russian who claimed that in movies, the russian dialog was filthy, he was embarassed to watch it with his mother. I'm assuming (hoping ;) ) the Chinese in firefly is the same. Since my mother isn't here, I'd love to know what's being said. It's probably the same things I say to my car when it breaks down; rick-racking fracking backin Jetta! Don't you know I just dropped $1200 into your freakin transmission!

t

Posted by: Pan Chun

I read somewhere that they are cursing in Chinese...not necessarily SWEARING, but making apt side-comments. <shrug> 2nd hand info, however...grain of salt not included. :)

Posted by: BeanMeScot

Anybody have a transcript of the chinese parts? I work next to a Chinese guy who came over from China a few years ago. He could translate.

Posted by: WinBear

The actress who played Saffron bugged me the whole show until I could look her up and figure out where I'd seen her before. She was a regular on the 2nd season on "Beggars and Choosers" on Showtime as Kelly, the intern. She had a great storyline with Charlotte Ross playing her boss.

Posted by: grins

You know what I just thought? Using the whole Western motif allows the whole thing to become iconic, rather than ironic. Westerns are a) Joseph Campbell Power of Myth type stories, with instantly grokkable archetypes, and 2) pre pomo detachment and irony. Mal could not be sweet and honorable in a story set in the present, yet Joss has the talent to craft 'real' characters from the archetypal patterns.

Posted by: DLiquid

I just taped this episode for a friend of mine, and I ended up watching the whole thing again. I found it even better the second time around. If other episodes are this funny I'll watch it for the humor alone. Shiny! :D:up: