The infamous catalyzer.

POSTED BY: kayleesboy
UPDATED: Wednesday, February 11, 2004 11:16
VIEWED: 6923
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KAYLEESBOY

Saturday, February 7, 2004 5:23 AM

I just noticed this as I am sitting here watching the episode "Ariel". When Wash and Kaylee are going through the junkyard at the beginning and wash picks up that piece of "junk" then throws it at the ambulance they use. I swear that piece of "junk" was a catalyzer like the one they needed from "Out of Gas". I've watched that part like 5 times now. Just kinda ironic that this piece of junk was so important the prior episode but gets tossed by Wash in this one.
Oh, and if this was pointed out before...then my bad.

DORAN

Saturday, February 7, 2004 7:52 PM

You know I wouldn't put it past Joss to have stuck that in there on purpose; he's so good at irony and very subtle foreshadow. He often goes the extra mile and throws things for the one or two people in the audience clever enough to catch them.

I notice in "Serenity" Kaylee mentions she wants to replace the whole compression coil which would include the now infamous catalyzer; she warns," "if it blows we're drifting". I'll bet Mal wishes he'd listened to her now.

DTT

Saturday, February 7, 2004 8:07 PM

Nice catch! I agree completely -- that's a sand-filled catalyzer that Wash picks up & throws. Gotta love Mutant Enemy

CAPNRAHN

Saturday, February 7, 2004 9:26 PM

You know what the other funny thing is...

... that prop looks EXACTLY like a desiccant (absorbs moisture) unit for a B-52 doppler radar unit waveguide.

If it is, the sand is really small beads of desiccant, basically calicum oxide or silica gel beads.

The ones in radar unit were a tan color with a few blue beads mixed in.

When the desiccant was overloaded with moisture, the blue beads turned tan - which means it is time to refill the tube with fresh desiccant...

...OR ($$ saver) pour out the saturated desiccant beads into a mirowave safe container and nuke it to dry out the beads! Once the blue is back, itis good for another 300 flying hours.

WOW, that was a huge sidetrack - sorry!

Ignore the old AF vet ... carry on!

"Remember, there is only ONE absolute - There ARE NO absolutes!!!"

OKKAY

Monday, February 9, 2004 7:19 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Doran:
You know I wouldn't put it past Joss to have stuck that in there on purpose; he's so good at irony and very subtle foreshadow. He often goes the extra mile and throws things for the one or two people in the audience clever enough to catch them.

I notice in "Serenity" Kaylee mentions she wants to replace the whole compression coil which would include the now infamous catalyzer; she warns," "if it blows we're drifting". I'll bet Mal wishes he'd listened to her now.

See, but since Ariel was after Out of Gas, that wouldn't really be foreshadowing, would it?
In this case, it doesn't really make any sense for Wash to throw it away unless he didn't know what it was (in OOG I think only Kaylee & Mal knew exactly what the problem was).

Given what happened in OOG, it would make sense that while they were in the junkyard, they picked up some extra parts for the ship. At least we know they have extra sychronizers, whatever those are.

STATIC

Monday, February 9, 2004 7:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by CapnRahn:
You know what the other funny thing is...

... that prop looks EXACTLY like a desiccant (absorbs moisture) unit for a B-52 doppler radar unit waveguide.

Nooooooooooooooooo. . .

YOU'RE thinking of the 'synchronizers' that Kaylee found. And the Catalyzer. . .from what I can see of it, appears to be part of a SDC (shaft-driven compressor) unit from a CH-53 helicopter. And I'm sure any of you military-type aviation-type enthusiasts noticed that body of the Space Ambulance (Spambulance? Ewwwwwwwwwwwww.) is actually an Mi-24 HIND (D). . .an old Soviet Gunship/Troop Transport Helicopter. The ancient nemesis of the Apache. Wanna bet this scene was filmed in an aircraft graveyard somewhere?

==================================================
"Wash. . .we got some local color happening. A grand entrance would not go amiss."

ADEPTUS

Monday, February 9, 2004 7:55 PM

Quote:
In this case, it doesn't really make any sense for Wash to throw it away unless he didn't know what it was

Exactly! Wash probably wouldn't have any idea what a catalyzer looked like, because as the captain of the salvage ship said in OoG, "Catalyzer's a nothin' part." I believe the whole thing was meant to be one of those ironic moments that make you cringe to see what the character is missing. It was a nice touch, I thought.

No power in the 'verse can stop me.

DRAGONFLYDIRECTOR

Monday, February 9, 2004 7:58 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Static:
Nooooooooooooooooo. . .

YOU'RE thinking of the 'synchronizers' that Kaylee found. And the Catalyzer. . .from what I can see of it, appears to be part of a SDC (shaft-driven compressor) unit from a CH-53 helicopter. And I'm sure any of you military-type aviation-type enthusiasts noticed that body of the Space Ambulance (Spambulance? Ewwwwwwwwwwwww.) is actually an Mi-24 HIND (D). . .an old Soviet Gunship/Troop Transport Helicopter. The ancient nemesis of the Apache. Wanna bet this scene was filmed in an aircraft graveyard somewhere?

DOH, yer right, I haven't had my DVDs for 2 weeks, they have been out infectin' folks!

The catalyzer looked a bit like a steering pump to me, but never took a close look at it.

The Mi-24 hull is on the 'prop' yard of ... durn it ... I can't remember the company's name.

Anyhoo, they are the folks that rent a drenn load for props, large props and vehicles in LA.

Paramount, most notably Trek productions, rent from them ALOT!

"Observe Analyze & Respond"
Motto of the A.P.E.s

DTT

Monday, February 9, 2004 8:00 PM

Quote:

In this case, it doesn't really make any sense for Wash to throw it away unless he didn't know what it was (in OOG I think only Kaylee & Mal knew exactly what the problem was).

Personally, I think it's a great little moment. It has a "one man's trash" feel to it. In one episode, the catalyzer is a precious part that has crippled the ship. In the very next episode, a catalyzer is junk hardly worth tossing. In my opinion, it kind of increases the power of OOG. Very nice inclusion.

"You didn't have to wound that man."
"Yeah, I know. It was just funny."

STATIC

Monday, February 9, 2004 8:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Adeptus:
Quote:
I believe the whole thing was meant to be one of those ironic moments that make you cringe to see what the character is missing. It was a nice touch, I thought.

I'm going to be the 'downer' here and suggest that it might have all been a great big coincidence. . .if the scene was NOT filmed in an aircraft graveyard, and it was instead a sound stage filled with a bunch of props. . .when they filmed OoG, Joss or Tim could have just easily told Asok, their faceless intern, "Yeah. . .go to the prop shed and look in the pile of junk we used in 'Ariel'. . .find a part about 'this' big. . .Jewel will ad-lib where it's supposed to go. Oh yeah. . .and grab me some more coffee."

That's me. . .Mister "Too Much Reality".

I hope I don't offend.

==================================================
"Wash. . .we got some local color happening. A grand entrance would not go amiss."

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