Where does Firefly take place?

POSTED BY: Hans
UPDATED: Sunday, July 2, 2006 05:23
VIEWED: 62435
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HANS

Tuesday, October 14, 2003 1:17 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Drakon:
Besides, how often do you get into real world conversations about the intricasies of the Internal Combustion Engine? Its a very obsequeous part of life on planet Earth, but a lot of folks don't know much about it, and talk about it even less.

A person can see with their own eyes a car driving on the road and extrapolate how it travels, even if they don't know the details of how the engine works. However, we don't see the Serenity entering a jump gate, or a wormhole, or bending space, or anything like that. I don't need to know the technical details of how it works, but we do need to know what is happening.

Quote:
Originally posted by tudyksgagreel:
As for FTL argument i agree wit the fact that its not mentioned because the characters hav no reason to mention it. When ya drive your car ye dont talk about what runs the engine

You say nobody talks about the inner working of an internal combustion engine. That's true. But, if a TV show showed someone driving a car in New York one week, then the same car in London the next week, then Toronto the next, then Paris the next, eventually you'd start to ask how they leap-frog the ocean every week? Are you putting your car on a boat? In a plane? Is it an amphibious car?

Just as the ocean is a significant barrier to a car, the distances between worlds for a conventional starship is also significant. Leapfrogging the ocean isn't just a matter of getting a faster car, it requires a whole different manner of transportation. Likewise, jumping from star system to star system in hours or days is not just a matter of putting a bigger rocket on the back of your ship. It requires a whole new system of propulsion to overcome the problems of FTL travel.

CHARLIEMOUSE

Tuesday, October 14, 2003 2:32 PM

Yeah, i agree. Im all good with suspension of disbelief, but i like to know what it is im suspending about. If its a super fast engine that allows flt travel ('cos it just does) then thats shiny. I just want to know. Since some of the best physicists in the world cant it i dont begrudge joss for not giving us intricate workings and schematics. And what i really dont want is half hour diatribes of Geordi LaForge BS about tachion fields and Heisenberg Compensators.

Personally i go for hypothesis two, for example with the reavers living on the rim, looking out into the black, makes more sense to me if its the rim of the galaxy. Also, the political distinctiion of the cluster of planets originally terraformed, and then people spreading out the frontier every which way fits nicely with a spiral galaxy (in my head anyway). I do also quite like the idea of large scale travel - but then being unable to jump the distances between galaxies. Leaves some things a mystery (or at least never to be dealt with).

"as with other situations, the key seems to be giving Jayne a heavy stick and standing back"

TRAGICSTORY

Tuesday, October 14, 2003 6:04 PM

Quote:
You say nobody talks about the inner working of an internal combustion engine. That's true. But, if a TV show showed someone driving a car in New York one week, then the same car in London the next week, then Toronto the next, then Paris the next, eventually you'd start to ask how they leap-frog the ocean every week? Are you putting your car on a boat? In a plane? Is it an amphibious car?

I personally believe that thier ships work like cars. They go 30 miles around town and 90 miles on the freeway when they need to get somewhere. Like fighter jets and afterburners to have a more apropriate analogy.

-----------
"Societies are supported by human activity, therefore they are constantly threatened by the human facts of self-intrest and stupidity." --Peter Berger

IAMJACKSUSERNAME

Wednesday, October 15, 2003 12:42 AM

Quote:
Has anyone actually seen [The message]? I thought it was one of the unaired episodes...I know they haven't reached it yet on the Space reruns. Was it shown in the UK?
-- Hans

I taped it - that's how I checked. I think the only place that the episodes Trash, The message, and Heart of gold wern't broadcast with the rest, was the USA (coming to Canada on Space). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_(television)#Airing_and_cancellat
ion for its international airing info.

There are (illegal) copies available for download on the 'net.
--
I am Jack's username
"Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?" - Mal

DRAKON

Wednesday, October 15, 2003 8:40 AM

Quote:
I just want to know.

Me too! Sadly, the series was cut short (Damn Faux) and we may never know for sure.

But on the other hand, it does not really matter for the purposes of the show. What we know is that there are a lot of places for our favorite ship to fly to, within its range, whatever that range is. It does not matter whether they are in the same star system, or different star systems, or what.

I'd like to know to, and I have to admit, I am hoping that it is FTL. But it does not really matter.

BTW: does anyone have the map they made up for the press kit? And is there any way of getting a scan of that map?

"Wash, where is my damn spaceship?"

FRANCO

Wednesday, October 15, 2003 7:32 PM

Based on what I have read and seen, I would have to go with #2.

In a series that is more about characters and relationships than scifi technology sometimes the best way to deal with a problem is to ignore it (FTL and gravity). As a hard scifi fan this is not neccessarily how I would like it to be but it beats some dumb explanation and allows you to speculate on your own.

Regarding FTL, I am one of those that believes that the mass and energy implications are insurmountable but who knows, new science bring new solutions.

My own theory on how we will populate the galaxy is that we will extend human life to the point that it changes our perception of time.

Could this be applied to Firefly? I doubt it. I am certain that's not what the writers had in mind but a life span of x-thousand years would allow sub-C interstellar travel and answer questions related to the time required for terraforming.

Companions the creator seeks, not corpses, not herds and believers. Fellow creators the creator seeks -- those who write new values on new tablets. Companions the the creator seeks, and fellow harvesters; for everything about him is ripe for the harvest.
Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

CHARLIEMOUSE

Wednesday, October 15, 2003 7:41 PM

Hmmm. Getting less sure about the galaxy idea. Was just rewatching the train job. At the end of it those pesky blue handed types talk about travelling 86 million miles in the tone of voice that suggests this is a pretty damn long way (which is kinda understandable i suppose). But even in our own little solar system 86 million miles isnt going to get you very far. Maybe its just some weird solar system with loads of really close together planets and moons - although for all i know that might be physically impossible with all kinds of gravity implications. Or then perhaps not. Or perhaps i should just stop talking about things i blatantly don't understand.

Screw it - they fly, they get there, they do the job and then they (usually) get paid.

"as with other situations, the key seems to be giving Jayne a heavy stick and standing back"

ZAPHODB

Wednesday, October 15, 2003 8:54 PM

In a deleted scene from Our Mrs Reynolds, Mal mentions that there are more than 70 'little earths' spinning 'round the galaxy. That's seems to be a rather large number for a single star system, even if it's a binary one.

HOBBES

Thursday, October 16, 2003 1:54 AM

Just pointing out that reflected heat off a gas giant may be enough to support life.

My (non-FTL) theory:
Assume a multiple star system (i.e. something similar in principle to the Alpha Centuari system (3 stars, although in this case they sould all be G-Class stars passing the 5-point promising place to live test)) with at least 2-4 planets around each G class star (Venus, Earth, Mars, equivilants - too hot, just right, too cold but terraformed so now they're livable) that gives you core worlds - as many as 12.

2-3 gas giants around each star each with at least a dozen moons, probably more, gives you anywhere from 70 to a couple of hundred moons assuming most can be terraformed and given artifical gravity. There are the middle worlds in the closer gas giants and as the gas giants get further away from the star it gets you rim worlds.

Reavers are hanging out in the space between Pluto-ish equvivilant and the Oort cloud (The Oort cloud is an immense spherical cloud surrounding the planetary system and it exists approximately 30 trillion kilometers out).

I think that is the best I can come up with right now. Anyone able to improve on it? I'm sure my grasp isn't perfect here.

-------------------------------------------------
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May you be in heaven an hour before
The Devil knows you’re dead.

ZEKE023

Thursday, October 16, 2003 3:08 PM

I actually asked this question on the main board. One of the writers was over there.

He claimed to have absolutely no idea of where the show took place and that no one ever specified. However, it was his assumption that based on the information he had as a writer that the show took place in multiple solar systems.

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