Which one is your least favourite Firefly episode?
POSTED BY: Khyron
UPDATED: Thursday, March 22, 2007 00:07
VIEWED: 56043
PAGE 7 of 16
Probably Safe, because it's the least interesting in my opinion. However I don't like wathing Our Mrs Reynolds much becuase "saffron" really pisses me off.
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I really don't like "The Message." Yeah, it gave some character to Mal and Zoe...but it just wasn't my cup of tea.
But can I say how proud I am that everyone recognizes HoG as a 'Seven Samurai' parallel. Though I liked certain parts of it. It added a lot of tension between Mal and Inara.
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Interesting mix of replies...
Mine is Objects in Space, despite the presence of Richard Brooks - one of my favorite actors from Law and Order who really should be getting more work.
Strangely, I had never listened to the commentary on that one - probably because it wasn't one of my favorite episodes to start with. (The whole air of voyeurism creeped me out.) So, in preparation for the movie and because Joss said in interviews that OiS was partly the inspiration for the movie, I listened to it and was totally dismayed. I had already bought the Visual Companion and read spoilers for the BDM so I could see the links from the series to the movie and how the movie became all about River.
It was painful listening to Joss babble on about existentionalism and Summer's feet because it confirmed the suspicion that he had pretty much lost interest in Mal and Zoe's characters.
For me, Mal is the central figure in the Firefly 'verse. That's the show I fell in love with - I could have bought the dvds of Buffy if I had wanted a show about a little girl continually kicking the daylights out of men twice her size. But that's Joss's obsession, not mine - although to give him credit, it's one lots of others seem to share.
It leads me to wonder how much of what I loved about Buffy, Angel and Firefly was due to others, not Joss. Is Tim Minear as necessary to Joss as Paul McCartney was to John Lennon? Not that I'm implying that Tim is as fluffy as McCartney but is there that weird synergy going on that becomes totally evident when the artists do solo work? (Totally OT - I still miss John Lennon after 25 years and FTR, I did love most of his solo work. Still, it didn't get much better than Lennon/McCartney at their peak.)
Terry
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Forgive the newb digging up this topic from the depths of the archives.
My least favourite episode? EASILY The Message, I think. Yes, it has its brilliant bits (Jayne's hat, Wash's greeting of the cow fetus), but frankly I would be content not to watch it again (I've watched it once, and then checked the commentary a second time). I had two major problems with it.
1) The entire premise is based on everyone being really STUPID. And not just Tracey; in fact, barring the idiocy of the whole organ smuggling thing in the first place, his behaviour was actually somewhat understandable. But no, everyone else was being morons, and I have reached that conclusion after Jewel and Alan pointed out stuff on the commentary track. So Book has a plan... why communicate it through eye contact rather than just say, "Hey, these people are obviously out of their jurisdiction, we just need to threaten them a bit?" There is absolutely NO reason for him not to say what his plan is; he doesn't know Tracey's standing there, and even if he DID, all the more reason to be clear about what's going to happen (otherwise look what happens!) And what about Mal? A few people have commented that, as captain, he shouldn't have to explain his actions, but jeez, would it kill him to say, "Don't worry, we have a plan, trust me?" He hasn't seen Tracey for ages, he shouldn't demand the same trust of him as for his crew. At least in Bushwacked, Simon knew and trusted Book's advice, plus there was almost certainly an explanation off camera. Really, Mal dropped the ball totally on this one. And as a result, I feel somewhat nauseous when he says, "You murdered yourself. I just carried the bullet for a little while." It's cold, cruel, and totally absolves Mal of any blame... blame which he SHOULD be willing to take for his mishandling of the situation.
And as for other idiots, what about the feds themselves? As Jewel notes in the commentary, they come on board with dinky little pistols up against about, what, four people with weapons? Laaaaaame.
2) Look, I know that Simon is awkward and inept at talking to women, but jeez, Kaylee was a real bitch to him in this episode. I'm a woman, and if a guy had said the whole "only woman in the world" comment to me, I would not have been offended at all. I would have either taken it as a joke (which is what Simon POINTS OUT it was, but Kaylee refuses to believe him) or as a sweetly awkward compliment that just happened to blow up in his face. It is obvious that Simon is a sweetie, and that his "bad" lines are actually meant to be kind and respectful. WHY OH WHY does Kaylee get her panties in a twist over it? Why is she so sensitive, and why doesn't she see how CUTE it is? But no, she treats him horribly for the rest of the episode until the very end. Which would be OK if the episode at least indicated that Kaylee is WRONG for behaving this way, that the mature response would be to giggle at Simon's awkwardness and let it pass! This complaint is also relevant in Safe (another of my least favourite episodes) and Jaynestown (though there it is redeemed by the scene in his room where he explains his politeness is his way of showing respect to her... did she just forget that?) It really turned me off the episode to have Kaylee behave that way and yet SIMON was supposed to be the "stupid" one.
I also wasn't fond of Shindig or Safe (I've only watched them once and don't really have the urge to see them again). I'm not fond of public humiliation like Shindig has, and Safe... the scene where they leave Simon and River is painful, plus it suffers from the second problem of The Message. I also didn't INITIALLY like Our Mrs. Reynolds and Jaynestown, but a second viewing of both has brought me around.
Every other episode is pure brilliance. And I do echo the sentiment that the worst of Firefly is better than the best of some shows.
"This must be what going mad feels like."
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Seeing that there were so few episodes... it's really hard for me to nit pick.. say there were 50 or at least 150 to choose from, I'd find more comfort in picking apart a weak story. With that said, I'd have to say "bushwacked" and only because to me it didn't move along strongly. Although, it did have some very poignant and remembered quotes.. hmm, guess all of them kinda did that..
For the 'verse, it did bring question about the reavers, and when compared to the BDM in learning about the reaver's beginning, this episode kind of steps around things...
"...use of a swhat??"
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Gees... I seem to the opposite of a lot of people.
Least favorite: bushwhacked (cause the best part of that episode was cut and is in the extended gag reel: wash's interregation)
Close 2nd least favorite: Objects in Space and HoG. They had their moments, but both kind of bored me. Also never really liked Jaynestown.
My favorites gotta be: Shindig, Out of Gas, War Stories, and the Message. I seem to be the only person who doesn't resent the Message. Can't think why. It's iconic (jayne's hat and the funeral), great dialog (my food is problematic and what'd you order a dead guy for), historic, and action oriented. I love it!
"I also hear that there's something called Firefly, which is either a canceled science-fiction television show or a new religion, I'm not clear on that. Either way, prayers for the resurrection are involved." – Lore Sjoberg
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Least favorite: bushwhacked, completely unmemorable.
Favorite: Serenity (Pilot): This one had everything -- I could watch it a hundred times in a row. Everything that was great about the series distilled into 2 hours.
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Quote:
Originally posted by jetflair:
For me, it's Bushwhacked. I don't enjoy horror, so the horror overtones of this episode ruin it for me. There is still plenty to love, as with all of Firefly; the interrogation scenes, the crew playing in the cargo bay, Mal saving the day even when unarmed and handcuffed, and so forth.
This is pretty much exactly how I feel too.
As far as the other episodes people have mentioned - I guess I don't feel the weak points of them as much as others do, but also every single one of them has something that to me is quintessentially Firefly - the embodiment of something I love about the show.
Train Job: My favorite Jayne moment of the entire series - "The lights. From the console. Keep you. Lift you up. They shine like little angels!" And the two decisions Mal makes at the end that are so quintessentially Mal: About giving the stuff back, you don't have a choice. About kicking a guy through your engine, not so much.
Shindig: Ok, I'm just a sucker for Kaylee in this episode. "It's the buffet table." "But how can we be sure... unless we question it?". The way she ends up surrounded by guys laughing at stories about engines. And her sheer contentment at the end with the dress on her wall. Plus: River and Badger, which was the moment I knew I was in love with the show in the first place. "Guess I'm just a good man. Well, I'm okay". And the reveal of the cows at the end.
Safe: Simon and River. The scenes between them are so utterly beautiful and heartbreaking throughout the whole series, and never more so than this ep.
Our Mrs Reynolds: This is one of my favorites of the "funny" eps. So many great comedic moments. Especially the whole scene leading up to "my days of taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."
War Stories: War Stories? Seriously? This is my absolute favorite! Most of the episodes are either mostly funny or mostly serious drama, and I love both kinds, but this one works fantastically well on both levels which makes it the embodiment of everything I love about the show. I can't pick one scene - the whole damn thing is perfect. I can't believe anyone would pick this as a least fave.
The Message: Plot holes, schmot holes. Jayne's hat! The Simon/Kaylee/Tracey mini-triangle. And - especially noticeable once you've heard the commentary and know what was on the composer's mind - the music to the last scene in the snow...
Heart of Gold: Inara bawling her eyes out. But most of all... When I watched this one for the first time I remember sitting literally inches away from the screen at the end with my mouth wide open waiting for Inara to finally fess up to her feelings for Mal. After "I'm leaving" I think it was about a minute before I could actually move a muscle...
Objects in Space: Well, it's the end, so I get that it's heartbreaking. And I didn't find Early a terribly believable character. But I think in this ep more than any other you get a sense of the crew as a family - and what more fitting way to end the series than that?
[edited to add a couple more eps people mentioned that I missed before]
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There's a such a thing as "least-favorite"?
If I'm actually being forced to admit such things, I'd have to say "Bushwhacked". And truth be told, it's only certain scenes. I don't think there's one episode that is worth complete dislike.
At last.
We can retire and give up
this life of crime.
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The first time I saw anything Firefly was the sword scene in Shindig. I didn't stick around to watch the rest. It's still my least favorite, mainly because of the "ugh, Mal, stop running into swords" feeling. A close second is Trash, only because I can't really stand Saffron. Bushwacked I like but don't watch too often because it creeps me out.
Oh, and Teacandtrip said: "Least favorite: bushwhacked (cause the best part of that episode was cut and is in the extended gag reel: wash's interregation)", to which I say, "What friggin' extended gag reel?!?" My itty bitty DVD set only has the one. (The mid-season party gag-reel.)
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