Stupid techie questions...

POSTED BY: TedC
UPDATED: Monday, May 10, 2004 20:55
VIEWED: 6342
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EBONEZER

Friday, May 7, 2004 5:10 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by TedC:
Am I going to have to turn off my brain to make it through the rest of the series?

Have you ever heard of selective hearing? To truly enjoy Firefly you need selective thinking. Ignore all questions about how it runs, what that thingy does, what those switches that Wash always hit do, and how does the gravety drive work. Its not to hard to forget all this once you start focusing on the charchters and whats going on with them. Also, once they start explaining these things, the inconstistancies usually increase, so it's probably for the best that we don't know...

-----------------------------------

"When did this become not funny?"

DRAKON

Friday, May 7, 2004 10:24 AM

It runs on fuel. They never define what the fuel is, and for plot purposes it don't matter. Who cares whether your car runs on hydrogen or gasoline? When its out of fuel you have a plot, er.. problem.

The speed question has led to the debate about whether it is one system or several star systems. If it is multiple systems, then FTL is manditory. But as they never actually explain how the drive works, it really does not matter as far as the plot is concerned. The thing that matters is that the ship takes them to where the writers want it go. And all the writer has to define/create is what is necessary for the plot. Like the kidnapping hillbillies.

You don't have to turn off your brain, and you really don't have to turn off the gear head part that asks questions like this. But it is just a TV show, and more importantly, what the tech is, is secondary, (if that) to the plot, the stories, the characters, and settings.

Your boss does not care how you got to work today. All he cares about is that you are here. Whether you rode a horse, or flew a space craft, it does not matter, (as long as you don't go taking his parking space. )

"Wash, where is my damn spaceship?"

TEDC

Friday, May 7, 2004 4:41 PM

Believe me, I can appreciate doing some things that don't make technical sense for the sake of drama, but I do like to see an overall sense of plausibility maintained. I'll overlook a lot for a good story, and Firefly easily has that on its side (unlike that UPN sci-fi show that shall remain nameless).

"Burn the land and boil the sea, still can't keep the sky from me."

ASTRIANA

Friday, May 7, 2004 4:51 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SigmaNunki:
Quote:
Originally posted by TedC:
How fast are they going? They can apparently get from planet to planet in hours, but they passed the Reaver ship at a snail's pace in "Serenity", even though they appeared to be in deep space.

In the commentary on that DVD I believe that Joss mentioned the flack that he got for that. It's something that they did (as has been mentioned above) for aesthetic reasons.

This one is really the only one I can speak to, since I'm not much of a tech-head for these things... I just tend to write off the slowness of being passed as being the ships' speeds relative to each other - not necessarily absolutes of velocity.

~A~

...I'm still free,
You can't take the sky from me.

SOUTHERNMERC

Friday, May 7, 2004 6:58 PM

There has been alot of debate about the tech on the show. And while the science behind the science-fiction is intriguing, it should not (as has been said earlier) be the sole focus for a TV show. In early sf movies and TV programs, the cast would spend time explaining the science behind the, well, science. And later, Gene Rodenberry said "Yanno? People today don't stand around explaining how car engines work, so why would people in the future stand around explaining why ships engines work?" (paraphrased)

In a similar vein to Star Wars, like today, the tech works, people fix it when it's broken, and ignore it when it's not. There are alot of advances in technology that have happened recently that border on miraculous, so 500 years from now the tech we are so curious about is simply humdrum to them. Even primitive by some standards (Alliance). For them, it is transparent. THAT is, I believe, part of what Joss was going for. With transparent tech, the writers can focus more on the stories, the characters, and their relationships.

For which I say, "Good job."

Jayne: "See, Vera? You get dressed up, you get taken someplace fun!"

SIGMANUNKI

Friday, May 7, 2004 8:51 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Astriana:
This one is really the only one I can speak to, since I'm not much of a tech-head for these things... I just tend to write off the slowness of being passed as being the ships' speeds relative to each other - not necessarily absolutes of velocity.

It just depends on if the Reavers were overtaking Serenity or if their trajectories were skew.

If the Reavers were overtaking Serenity from right behind then it is just relative velocities and all is well and good with the world. If on the other hand there paths were somehow to cross then the slowness can't be explained away like that. Anyone know which happened in the ep? I don't have the time to re-watch right now.

----
"Canada being mad at you is like Mr. Rogers throwing a brick through your window." -Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

KASUO

Friday, May 7, 2004 9:05 PM

A wizard did it.

________
"Let's moon 'em!"

SIGMANUNKI

Friday, May 7, 2004 9:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by kasuo:
A wizard did it.

________
"Let's moon 'em!"

LOL

----
"Canada being mad at you is like Mr. Rogers throwing a brick through your window." -Jon Stewart, The Daily Show

WEERWOLF

Monday, May 10, 2004 8:55 PM

Say the Reaver ship came from north and flew to south, then Serenity moved from the south east to very nearly west. Looked like they did move somewhat closer to each other and one of the ships turned a bit, but it was definately not overhauling. In the very first shot of the Reaver ship, it appears to come practically head on, as if in the opposite lane. They also moved in the same horizontal plane. Mal asks Wash to tell him only if the Reavers change course, which they don't, and neither does Serenity (according to dialogue).

Yep, artistic purpose only. In hindsight it might have been better if the Reaver ship had come from an angle behind them, say 7 o'clock or so and then passed over and by Serenity. Problem with that again is that you have longer warning that something's coming and Serenity might have done a hard burn in time to get away without that spectaculair tension that ensued from the 'slow' crossing. Did anyone notice the creepyfying Reaver music theme, cunningly used later in Bushwacked to accompany yet another proximity warning, which turned out to be the Alliance cruiser?

"Here's a little concept I've been working on: why don't we shoot her first?"

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