how long has Mal owned Serenity?

POSTED BY: gohm
UPDATED: Monday, March 5, 2007 23:51
VIEWED: 12542
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BOUNTYBOY56

Friday, December 1, 2006 6:58 AM

On Kaylee's section of the Serenity website it says that "Serenity was registered to Malcolm Reynolds in 2512" and in the intro to Firefly when it's aired on TV, it says "2517 A.D." in big ol' letters. So, usin' the art of mathematics, that's 4 to 5 years dependin' on what time of year Mal purchased his fine vessel and what time our window into their little world opened.

SIXGUN

Friday, December 8, 2006 2:45 AM

If they "layed down arms" at the Battle of Serenity as indicated in the pilot, Mal and Zoe probably spent some time as POW's. Maybe that year. Considering they may have gotten back pay and that during the war itself, Mal didn't spend much money, he could have just saved it up for duration of the war. Someone suggested he may have inherited the family ranch but if he had then why leave it? Nothing is said but I got the impression maybe the Alliance took it somehow.

5 years is probably right. You figure the war had to end and things had to settle down and Mal had to actually figure out what he wanted to do with his life after that.

Well, as a rule I say girl folk ain't to be trusted.

MARTIANWAY

Friday, December 8, 2006 4:18 AM

My theory of how Mal got Serenity goes something like this: after Battle of Serenity Valley, Mal and Zoe get put in a POW camp. Peace negotiations start, and one of the first things the Alliance and the Independants agree on is some sort of compensation, whereby soldiers will be compensated depending on their rank. News of this gets to the POW camp, and some Browncoat general, knowing Mal was the guy who commanded 500 troops in SV, figures the guy deserves to be more than a Sargent. He ends up promoting Mal at the very end of the war (explaining why, when the Operative looks up Mal, his rank is given as "Captian") and Mal gets a big ol' compensation package, enough to buy a ship.

I know one thing we did right
was the day we started to fight.
Keep your eyes on the prize
hold on, hold on...

FASTMOVER

Thursday, December 28, 2006 7:56 PM

I've always been amazed at how Mal could have afforded even an old ship like Serenity. Even with a generous compensation a ship would still probably be very expensive and not just like buying a car. It would almost be like someone today going out and buying a used Boeing 747 to fly around. Although it's been done only very few could afford to. I've also wondered if Zoe ever bought in and maybe helped Mal out.

Josh Gray

DAVESHAYNE

Thursday, December 28, 2006 9:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fastmover:
I've always been amazed at how Mal could have afforded even an old ship like Serenity.

Not just old. Obsolete, "They still make those?" and not functioning at the time of purchase. Plus there were already, "forty thousand of these wrecks in the air" when Mal bought Serenity so most people looking for a firefly could probably get a good enough deal on one that was already running. Serenity's value was probably solely that of scrap. Consider the chop shop operator in OMR, "It's a bunch of worthless parts we'll never unload." Twasn't untill it was put back into running order that it actually became worth anything.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

DONCOAT

Thursday, December 28, 2006 9:17 PM

There's a possibility I've been thinking about, but I don't remember seeing it mentioned before.

We've had numerous hints about Mal's family's ranch on Shadow. It seems likely that it was destroyed by Alliance actions during the war. That's the background of the "Take my love, take my land" and "Burn the land and boil the sea" lines in the theme song.

So I believe that at some point we would have learned about a war crime involving Shadow, Mal's family, and his inheritance. I think it's possible that Mal received some form of compensation after the war for the loss of his family ranch. Even if it was "pennies on the dollar" it could have provided enough to finance the purchase of Serenity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm pointin' right at it!

NBZ

Thursday, December 28, 2006 9:20 PM

I would say the main cost for Serenity is the running costs, not it's upfront value.

Like an old gas guzzler.

and going 5 years back from OoG, it would be just over a year after Serenity Valley.

Then the POW camps where there was a possibility of him being tried for war crimes.

I would say he was released under some sort of agreement probably around the first U day or something. A sign showing that the 'lliance is peaceful anf forgiving. A good will gesture.

6 months to a year later Mal buys Serenity. How? Well that is an interesting story that somebody needs to tell...

NCBROWNCOAT

Thursday, December 28, 2006 9:23 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by MartianWay:
My theory of how Mal got Serenity goes something like this: after Battle of Serenity Valley, Mal and Zoe get put in a POW camp. Peace negotiations start, and one of the first things the Alliance and the Independants agree on is some sort of compensation, whereby soldiers will be compensated depending on their rank. News of this gets to the POW camp, and some Browncoat general, knowing Mal was the guy who commanded 500 troops in SV, figures the guy deserves to be more than a Sargent. He ends up promoting Mal at the very end of the war (explaining why, when the Operative looks up Mal, his rank is given as "Captian") and Mal gets a big ol' compensation package, enough to buy a ship.

I know one thing we did right
was the day we started to fight.
Keep your eyes on the prize
hold on, hold on...

How did you steal my theory on Mal's rank? Just kidding. My idea is that some clerk at HQ, just being a clerk, needed a live person to put in the organizational chart for the unit-Mal was commanding the unit anyway so he got a battlefield promotion to Captain. I think Monty was maybe the sergeant major of the battalion and had something to do with his promotion.

I worked as a unit clerk in a Reserve unit once. You gotta have all the slots filled.

My theory on how he got his money is different though. His Ma had a lively trade in beef with the Core planets. She must have had a bank account on one of the Core planets that was frozen when hostilities broke out and it was unfrozen after the war.

Lots of paperwork but the most likely explanation for a sudden windfall of cashy money in a short time.

BAGHEERA

Friday, December 29, 2006 4:07 AM

i always assumed that after the war was resolved, Mal had his pay (combat and regular) largely stockpiled, as he was too busy to go on vacations and splurge at the time... and not the Jayne sort of person to live it up while he could, in any event.

no effort is spared to portray serenity as a piece of junk, and even the salesman didnt waste a breath trying to sell it to Mal...

blahblahblah... Mal took all the money he'd had stashed away in the bank... bought the first junk car he saw.. and drove away from all the bad memories into the sunset.

Oh, and I strongly doubt that he was given a field promotion to captain. It always felt to me that he left the war as sergeant, and Captain was a role and not a rank... hence certain character's insistence that he is captain now and "all just folk now".

ASARIAN

Friday, December 29, 2006 2:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bagheera:

Oh, and I strongly doubt that he was given a field promotion to captain. It always felt to me that he left the war as sergeant, and Captain was a role and not a rank... hence certain character's insistence that he is captain now and "all just folk now".

If you're hinting to Bushwhacked, several times Harken refers to Mal as "Captain Reynolds" when he's indicating the title of the lead rank on a ship, but properly calls him "Sergeant" when referring to his military rank:

Harken: That's a very loyal crew you have there. But then I see by your record you tend to inspire that quality in people -- Sergeant.
Mal: It's not "sergeant." Not no more. War's over.

Exit field-promotion theory.

--
"Mei-mei, everything I have is right here." -- Simon Tam

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