Watching Firefly's "The Train Job" last night, the train seemed to be really shooting along, and just floating over a single track. Any thoughts on whether Joss Whedon was thinking of Maglev trains when he did that, or is there some other technology that might be upcoming that could explain it?
I have been in a car doing 120km down the freeway between Shanghai and Pudong airport, and had their Maglev train just shoot past overhead like we were standing still. So I could easily believe that it was an inspiration for the show.
It looked like a maglev train to me. More or less. I doubt Joss or co-writer/co-producer Tim Minear were really thinking much about the underlying technology. They just wanted a mix of old Western (US) motifs with some more futuristic elements. But they don't invent a lot of magic tech - if there's something that does the job cheaply and efficiently using real-world technology, that's usually what they use in Firefly. Holographic windows and pool tables notwithstanding.
Originally posted by Paul Wheaton: shall we start a ginger vs. marianne debate?
Kaylee. Without a doubt.
Paul, you should see the movie, too. It ties up a lot of the loose ends. Kaylee has a great line near the end. Something like "To HELL with that. I wanna LIVE!!!".
It's hysterical in context.
But be warned - Joss Whedon is a S.O.B. at times with the characters.
Never ascribe to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
Gregg, I would say that the actress Summer Glau is quite attractive, but the character of River is, well, less attractive. Not to mention psychotic and generally scary. I'm a Kaylee man, definitely.
Rating the wimmin of Firefly (on general hotness, of course):
1. Kaylee 2. Inara 3. Yo-Saf-Bridge 4. Zoe 5. River
Not to be negative about the lower rankings. Firefly is blessed with a preponderance of hot wimmin. As a wise man once wrote }}: "I think the lesson we can take out of all this is that, in the future, all women are hot."
Number 3 would probably be higher if she appeared in more episodes. (For Paul and anyone else who doesn't recognize Yo-Saf-Bridge... keep watching) And given Whedon's track record with other shows, she probably would have joined the crew eventually. Damn that Fox network. Anyway...
Rating the characters of Firefly on overall entertainment value:
1. Jayne 2. Wash 3. Everyone else
Rating those same characters in terms of who I'd like on my crew:
1. Kaylee 2. Mal 3. Zoe 4. Wash 5. Simon 6. Book 7. Inara 8. River (after Serenity) 9. Ummm... 10. (Still thinking...) 11. (Do I really have to pick one of the others?) 12. River (before Serenity) 13. Jayne 14. Yo-Saf-Bridge
Anyway, I'm glad to see that Firefly/Serenty is still garnering new fans. Enjoy...
Kaylee is cute, but not so much after she lost weight for the movie. Jo-Saf-Bridge is nice looking, but too scary to be attractive.
My vote is for Inara: breathtakingly beautiful, smart, and trained in the art of pleasure. Sure, she's had hundreds of men and some women too, but I don't care!
Does anyone know if there is a Serenity sequel in the works?
Jim Yingst
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[Greg]: Kaylee is cute, but not so much after she lost weight for the movie.
Apparently that's backwards - she had been asked to put on 15-20 pounds for the part in the TV series. When the series ended, she returned to her normal weight. When the movie came along, she was allowed to just keep her regular weight. I think she's cute either way, but to me the TV version is the "real" Kaylee.
[Gregg]: Does anyone know if there is a Serenity sequel in the works?
I'm pretty sure there's nothing currently in the works. It's still theorectically possible if at some point the studio decides it makes financial sense for them. Meanwhile Joss Whedon just started continuing Buffy in comics form, and apparently there are plans to do something similar with Angel. Wouldn't surprise me at all if they do something similar with Serenity within a few years. Not the same without the cast of course, but better than nothing I think.
Not exactly backwards, but you're right that I should have said she lost weight before the movie to be totally accurate. Joss made her gain weight for the series, but she figured he wouldn't replace her in the movie just because she was skinny, which was surely true. Note to Jewell: Joss is a frickin' genius. Just trust him and do whatever he says.
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