Would a New Firefly/Serenity Work With Only Seven Crew-Members?

POSTED BY: Schism
UPDATED: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 16:40
VIEWED: 12783
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MAKINGVISIBLE

Sunday, February 15, 2009 4:35 PM

Not that two new characters would be NEEDED, but they may help provide a new, long-term story arc, as the previous one - the truth about RIver - has been wrapped up.

I realize there's the whole "Shepherd's Tale" comic in the works with Book's back story, but I always thought that if Firefly were brought back, a cool thing to do would be to add a character of someone who turned out to be Book's son, or Book's partner or something. They could tell the Book story that way and maybe reveal that the crew is/was more tied to Book than we all thought. Could be an interesting arc.

Also, if there were a new pilot, I'd like to see someone of Chinese descent. I agree with the the common criticism of "If this whole culture is half european, half asian, where are all the asians?" I also think this would round out the crew nicely.

Not that I have given it any thought or anything! ;)

PENNAUSAMIKE

Monday, February 16, 2009 3:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Ads:

In a series Joss was always going introduce and kill off characters, even important ones eventually. That's why I like him so much. He makes you fall in love with a character and then kills them in a way that both surprises you and affects you emotionally.

The love of killing fictional characters seems to be the predominate theme of this thread. It is my LEAST favorite Joss Whedon attribute.

So I break out my tired old series continuation from my viewpoint:

In my mind, until a film or series continuation says different, the crew put Wash in River's cryo-box to take him home for burial. Along the way, they are informed by Simon that the same medical tech that produced Tracy's hopped up internal organs ("million credit meat" in Tracy's words) are accessible at Government research facilities. Using a bit of improvisation and Book's ident card, they sneak Wash in place of a politico who bumped a deserving recipient (ala PA's governor Casey who bumped everybody down the list for his transplant). Alliance bashing, witty dialog and some gunplay ensues. The Firefly 'verse returns to normal.

I will miss Book but his death was a more acceptable fit than Wash's.
One: Books death was important to the storyline and character development because Book was the catalyst to Mal regaining a little bit of his "rudder". Book's casual murder by the Operative and his dying wish, nay, DEMAND that Mall "believe" again made Mal and crew confront River's Miranda secret, rather than just run. Wash was sacrificed meaninglessly as a plot gimmick to create peril.

Two: Book was an individual who interacted with the crew but Wash was half of a married couple who as such made up an important ingredient of Firefly's unique-ness. To destroy that couple as a plot device is a cheap shot at all those who reveled in a mature, married couple as part of the cast ensemble. Which ties into,

Three: Book is a more easily replaced character. If another character with deep-seated religious beliefs were to join Serenity, (not a Shepherd but perhaps a person who wouldn't be stereotypically devout, say a blue-collar industrial worker who knows why he trusts in his Christian faith) the conscience-character would not replace Book but add to his legacy.
But if some "guy" just jumped into Zoe's heart and bed, it would be creepy and an insult to both Wash and Zoe.

Four: Also, Book's mysterious past could be explored in flashback, which would keep actor Ron Glass involved in the series without quite the level of sadness that showing widow Zoe's dead husband would cause. Wash is the "funny" character and there is little funny about being reminded of his death.

The dynamic has been needlessly shifted from all the things Firefly used to be about (do the job, keep flying, found family) to life without Wash. Mal has no pilot (and making River skilled at Wash's level is a farce of a fiction if ever there was one), Zoe has no husband, Simon has no friend and advocate, Jayne has no light-hearted counter-point and the ship has no smart-assed comic relief.
Book's role is replaceable, Wash is NOT.

Also, Wash being saved by Simon adds exciting new dramatic tension for the characters. Zoe would now "owe" loyalty to two people; Mal for saving her and Simon for saving Wash. A viable plot/character development would be her journey to her not owing anybody, which would strengthen her relationship with her husband, Wash. ("What this marriage needs is one less husband") And Mal would have less of a subordinate and more of a partner. And Zoe would be an even stronger female character; but dramatically MADE stronger thru growth, not contrivance.

I LOVE the potential storylines and character development that grow out of Wash being saved. I am disheartened and depressed at the downward spiral that is inevitable if Wash is removed from the Firefly equation.

I don't think at the end of Serenity that River is truly "cured". Functioning with more clarity, perhaps, but still working with surgically

INSTANTKARMAGIRL

Monday, February 16, 2009 6:36 PM

All really good points.

I do think that Book was more expendable than Wash.

So at the end of Serenity, do you think they didn't bury bodies, they just lit memorials for their fallen commrades? Yes, that makes more sense, considering that they most likely did NOT go back for Book's body, possibly having buried him on Haven as they were strapping other people's body to the ship.

I agree that bringing Wash back in such a fashion is not only doable in the Sci-Fi 'Verse of Firefly, but also would lead to quite a lot of dramatic impact.

Would he be the same? Being dead probably has an affect on someone (Buffy died for a whole summer...). I mean, I can see him regaining some of his humor, but he would be a changed man, perhaps a little sharper and jaded when it came right down to it. So while we got Wash back, he would be a forever-changed-version of Wash...which wouldn't be a bad thing.

As far as replacing Book, I don't think they would need to. I think that after Miranda, the crew has a pretty good moral compass all on their own...some will always have more than others.

As for River, She's not "Sane" and I don't think she'll ever been sane. I've never understood why Miranda would be the last of it. The Alliance didn't fill her head with other horrible secrets? Why just stop with Miranda? Not to mention the fact that if Miranda ate River up inside, imagine what knowing the the Academy is still in operation is doing to her. There are other kids out there going through the same thing as she did.

Plus, with out a touch of the crazies, is River even that interesting? Yeah, she's got dancer's feet, and has an interesting point of view, but if she wasn't pickin' up guns, thinkin' they were sticks or cutting on poor lil Jayne or talking about strange things, would she be appealing?

Her brain is missing parts. New connections can be made, but she'll always be off.

I don't ever see Simon or River going back to "society," not after what they've seen and experienced. Besides, they have true connections with the people on Serenity.

Simon is a doctor who wants to help people. I think he would feel guilty going back to a surgical practice making big bucks while his friends are getting shot at and possibly dying.

Could you imagine the wave he'd get with Mal telling him that lil Kaylee got hit and no one was there to save her. Because before Simon, I'm sure they got on okay patching up where they could, but a bullet in the belly and a bullet grazing your shoulder are two completely different things.

Sorry, I'm rambling.

Done, now.

~**~
"How come you're flying about with us brigands? I mean, shouldn't you be off bringing religiosity to the Fuzzie-Wuzzies or some such?"~Cap'n Mal

BYTEMITE

Monday, February 16, 2009 6:49 PM

Book's secrets are going to catch up to them; unfortunately, I think his being dead is necessary for that to catch them by surprise. I think his memory will continue to have a big impact on the crew, though, and he'll live on in a lot of ways.

But I hope they do pull some unexpected plot twist to bring Wash back. He's a good candidate for that, he was the guy without a secretive past or a whole lot of troubles. Some chilling Alliance intervention or maybe somehow the crew's own efforts (which would then get the Alliance's attention) would allow Wash's character to develop when it really didn't have much of anywhere to go before.

PENNAUSAMIKE

Monday, February 16, 2009 6:55 PM

I appreciate your points, esp. Wash and River observations.

Wash would still be sarcastic, but with a bit more "bite" in his humor.
The Wash/ Zoe discussions on whether or not to have a child would amp up a notch.
The whole "how long can we stay in the crime business" discussion would get more intense.
Mal and Wash have both been killed.
Mal brought back by Niska's torturer; in my scenario, Wash by Simon, who is the only reason Kaylee isn't dead after getting shot by Dobson.
Book is gone, killed by the Alliance.
"Zoe, honey, I think we need a new line of work."

I think River and Simon would travel with the crew a while longer, but they would end up settling on the Rim somewhere.
Simon would be able to really help in a Rim world hospital, esp. if a general practitioner was all they had. River could grow and heal, away from hi-tech intrusions.

Really that is the appropriate end for Firefly as I see it.
The crew sort of dissolves over the last few episodes, settling down on different worlds, losing touch with one-another.
Sorta sad, seeing the found-family break up;
but not TRAGIC and depressing.
More like real life when people leave a job and lose touch with co-workers they considered friends.

Mike

RALLEM

Monday, February 16, 2009 7:32 PM

I think that the show would work with seven characters, especially when you look at Gilligan's Island which only had seven characters who each represented one of the seven deadly sins. I don't think the show would work anymore though, no matter how many crew members returned because on Youtube I saw an interview with Joss in Australia where he said the television series would no longer work because the necessary elements are no longer there. Joss did not say that there is no future television show about Serenity or set in the Serenity 'verse, but said it would not be the same show as was cancelled, and that the show would have to be somehow derivative of the first series.

http://www.swyzzlestyx.com/index.html

JEWELSTAITEFAN

Tuesday, February 17, 2009 8:15 AM

River is highly talented, she would be pilot.
Simon would be freed up now that River is improving. He could provide much comic relief - geek jokes galore.
Inara can now provide moral compass - she helped give it to Book in Pilot.
Reavers and Alliance still provide antagonists and friction, even without Hands of Blue or Operative. Maybe the BDHs will run across or track down the "antidote" for reaverness.
Other new, temp passengers could provide some excitement - remember several episodes barely touched upon Simon/River fugitive status.

RALLEM

Tuesday, February 17, 2009 8:41 AM

I think if it went on it is possible that Saffron could join the crew, even though I cannot figure out what it would take to get Mal to accept her. I don't know what she would provide for the crew but for the show she would provide a new element where Jayne would still be the brunt of jokes but he would no longer be the dark horse who might turn in the Tams to the authorities. I suppose Saffron could try to involve the crew either in another heist, or maybe some other mission of special interest to her and the crew, secretly hoping to join Serenity because the idea of belonging to a crew where others actually look out for and do for one another intrigued her during her jail time. I think during the show that Saffron wouldn’t do anything to compromise the crew, but she would still be perceived by the others as a threat, and she wouldn’t be exactly a saint either which would fuel the other’s suspicions.

http://www.swyzzlestyx.com/index.html

SCHISM

Tuesday, February 17, 2009 12:47 PM

I have to say, stepping back a few posts, that I would probably stop watching a new series or movie if they miraculously brought Wash back to life.

One of the reasons I like Firefly when I normally don't like sci-fi is that it takes a realistic approach (given, of course, the variables of uninvented technology).

Wash is dead.

Joss killed him for a reason - impact.

There's no impact in bringing him back.

There's impact in him being dead.

Death is like that - you don't expect it, you wish it didn't happen, you theorize ways to undo it, but ultimately it is what it is and you need to learn to deal with it.

Don't cheapen the event with a Marvel Comics-esque back-from-the-dead story.

He was one of my favourite characters.

I can't imagine the series without him.

But he's gone.

Joss has made us hard-core fans experience death, in a fashion. Don't cheapen it with dreams of bad science fiction.

;p

BROWNCOAT1

Tuesday, February 17, 2009 2:16 PM

I could easily see it with just seven crew members. We only had seven for most of the movie anyway with Book settled on Haven and Inara off ship at the Companion House.

I don't see why River, being the genius she is, could not assume the pilot role moving forward. Sure she doesn't have Wash's experience, but she is intelligent, intuitive, and seems to have developed an affinity for Serenity surpassed only by Kaylee's.

Fewer characters would give the writers more time to explore the remaining crew as well.

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