things I wish they hadn't said
POSTED BY: meleaux
UPDATED: Saturday, April 17, 2004 10:20
VIEWED: 14297
PAGE 2 of 6
I found Mal's space monkeys quote to be bitingly sarcastic and in-character.
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Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
Figuratively speaking, Mal's a Southern boy. According to that code of chivalry, it's an abuse of masculine power to call a female a whore, even if she is one.
I've seen the assertion that Mal is a "Southern" gentleman several times, and it just doesn't wash. Remember we're talking about somebody who shot a lawman in the face with no warning, robbed the dead, punched a woman, killed an at-the-moment defenseless man, and set up a sniper attack. (Note that I personally don't have a problem with any of these things, especially if I was in his situation, but I'm pretty sure they'd violate the usual "Southern" chilvaric code. Not to mention fighting alongside a woman, and a black woman no less.) Mal is nothing if not practical (in most situations), and that generally precludes chivalry.
Mal calling Inara "whore" is an integral part of his contradictory relationship with her, from the first time they met onwards.
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Quote:
Originally posted by KingoftheMudders:
"Space Monkeys" by Mal. Why is Mal talking about Space Monkeys? Too cutish for Mal.
Really, I found a lot of Mal's dialogue at the beginning of "The Train Job" to be somewhat out of character; he's a little too quippy and loose. Sarcasm is a definite part of his nature, as is a little bit of wordplay when the time is right, but a lot of the "quick exposition" dialogue that begins the episode after the opening credits feels forced. I would guess that it ties directly into Joss Whedon's assertion that the Fox brass wanted the new pilot to be "funnier and faster paced," so we get dialogue that feels markedly different than anything else written for the show. They did have to write the episode in under a week, mind you. Many of the jokes in "The Train Job" seem to feel more like they came from Buffy in tone and style. Firefly has its own sense of humor, and I think we see that clearly in other episodes.
You got a wife? All I got is that dumbass stick sounds like it's raining.
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Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
As politely as I can, I think y'all are off on this one. Mal could give a rat's ass about somebody else's idea of the law; but, he's a chivalrous man.
Who mentioned anything about they law? I talked about her job and his dislike of it and his strange sense of morals probably a result of the browncoats defeat.
I'll agree along with everyone else (including my wife) that Mal's personal feelings come in to play here as well. They are most likely the most compelling reason for this behaviour.
----
"If you truly love the memory, you must set it free()!" -Me
"Also, I can kill you with my brain." -River
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Quote:
Originally posted by Arden:
Really, I found a lot of Mal's dialogue at the beginning of "The Train Job" to be somewhat out of character; he's a little too quippy and loose.
...
They did have to write the episode in under a week, mind you.
The episode did seem somewhat forced.
But, according to the commentary they got the order for the new pilot firday and it needed to be on the execs desks before they go in Monday morning. So, about a weekend.
----
"If you truly love the memory, you must set it free()!" -Me
"Also, I can kill you with my brain." -River
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Speaking as a man who was raised by that same "Southern gentility" code. . .Mal IS very much a Southern Gentleman. It isn't all white suits, verandas and mint juleps. We don't slap each other with gloves. . .
"You, suh. ..have offended mah honah. Ah demand satisfaction. Pistols at dawn, suh."
We do what needs to be done and when. Stealing from the dead is no sweat if it's not offending your family or a family you're well acquainted with. . .he hit a woman, sure. . .but in an honest fight. . .and the sniper attack was a turning of the tables in which a sniper attack was set up against HIM. A 'just desserts' sort of thing. Also. . .your mention of the fighting alongside a black woman. . .let's remember that Joss is capturing an IDEAL, not mimicing the reconstruction detail for detail. The whole southern chivalric code is BASED on practicality. . .with gentility.
I agree about the whore thing. He calls her a whore in "OoG" because he feels insulted by her at first. . .and later because he loves her, and she is unattainable because of her job. It's his way of lashing out at circumstance, not her.
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"Wash. . .we got some local color happening. A grand entrance would not go amiss."
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Ditto, Static, and thanks for helping another Southern boy out. Some apparently have no idea what a code of honor is, or else their's is too different from ours to comprehend. To each his own...
As for you, personally, 'keep flying'.
In regard to my statement about Mal's disregard for someone else's law and his chivalry: Well, ya' got me there, Sigmund'sUnkie.
I figured as soon as I said Mal was a man of honor (do word search on internet for definition), you'd come back with "he breaks the law". So I thought, "Head the trolls off at the pass" by prefacing Mal's chivalry with his disregard for laws written by other people, many of which are designed solely to deprive a person of freedoms his chivalric code guarantee.
But, you turned the tables on me! By throwing up the "who said anything about the law?" gambit, you forced me to explain the whole thing anyway. Good job...
Now maybe you could do me a favor? Please look up 'chivalry' before making any counterarguments. Southern chivalry is deeply based on Arthurian chivalry. Further half-logical arguments will be ignored. Here's an acceptable URL for chivalry: http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall/chivalry.html
Respectfully,
zoid
_________________________________________________
"River didn't fix faith. Faith fixed River."
- Senator Richard 'Book' Wilkins, Independent Congress
author of A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence
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I agree that some of these seem out of character. I trust Joss however, and believe that there are reasons, and it is just that we don't understand their character yet. In particular Mal's, is so contrary to everyone else in the show (companions are highly respected). Even Book respects her; when Mal baits him with the 'ambassador' line, he is flustered about his faux pas, but later in the ep he shows his respect by seeking solace with her in his moral quandry. So why does Mal have this attitude? I don't know, and I hope Joss tells us eventually.
I don't think Jayne's getting poetical, is out of character, just crude. A _lot_ of people wish he hadn't said it.
My wish (not verbal) is that the CGI guys had gotten the Reaver sequence right in Serenity. Mal says that they are _passing_ another vessel. Yet, the Reaver ship is shown _facing_ them. The slowness makes no sense with them going in opposite directions, but is perfectly reasonable if they are going in (roughly) the same direction.
Corwyn
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I think what a lot of people here seem to be missing is the fact that the characters dont belong to us. We talk about them, use their catch-phrases, hell, we even write fan fiction about them, trying to find their voices, but they ain't ours. We can guess at their motivations and the heart of the character, and therefore the underpinning aspect the actors taps into in order to become that character, but its just a guess. Strictly speaking there isnt any such thing as out of character. They're imperfect poeple, so they wont always say the right thing or do the right thing. Do you? I sure don't and I class myself as a good person. They wouldn't just write something for the sake of it, its written in line with what information or background they have on the character from the creator.
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Well said, GeordieSteve2003.
But still, there are things I wish they hadn't said. That applies to real life, too! "Ooh, I wish I hadn't said that..."
Wash: "WWhhaaaaaargh!" - the commentary tells that Wash changed his flying style from calm to panicky for The Message.
Jayne: "Pretentious?" - the source of much debate that Jayne is actually an undercover University professor or something.
That's all I can think of now.
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