Critical Info Or Red Herring?

POSTED BY: zoid
UPDATED: Tuesday, June 8, 2004 21:31
VIEWED: 6932
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ZOID

Thursday, June 3, 2004 8:50 AM

Browncoats:

Last night I grooved on the unedited version of the pilot, "Serenity I & II". That version includes the cut scene wherein Simon queries the encyclopedia; but it is different from the cut scene on the DVD extras disc, and both of those are different from the script excerpt included on the Fox Firefly website. What the heck is going on?

In the script excerpt, the Alliance mastermind of the "deep-flank maneuver" is given as "General Richard Wi-", whereupon it is interrupted by Zoe. On the DVD extras you can hear the full name, "General Richard Wilkins" (I listened to it four times, to make sure I got it right). On the unrevised version of the pilot, Simon stops the recording at "General -"; you can't even hear "Richard", let alone "Wi-" or "Wilkins". Methinks -- now more than ever -- that either something is up with that General, or this is the most sinister red herring in history. If it's a misdirection, Joss Whedon is a criminal genius. (and people call zoid twisted, conspiratorial and convoluted)

Try as I might, I've never been able to latch on to Buffy or Angel intellectually. Therefore, I'd never heard of Sunnyvale, let alone knew that it has an immortal(?) mayor serially named Richard Wilkins. Might Joss have created a character in Firefly with the same name? Might he have used the name as an in-joke?

Only God and JW know for sure; but why change it four times? Why put half of the name in (original script), take the name out of the scene (unrevised pilot), remove the scene entirely (aired pilot) and then put the name back in, in a more complete form than the original script called for (cut-scene on DVD)?

There's something rotten in Denmark, or wherever Joss is keeping the jar with his brain in it these days. If Book isn't Wilkins, then Joss is a very wicked man indeed. Although I've also been toying with the idea that Jayne's been playing possum ("Pretentious?")...

Respectfully,

zoid
_________________________________________________

"I knew a man once. History will never recall him, or what he gave to make us free. That's the way he wanted it. But as long as I live I'll remember, and he'll never truly die."

- River, from A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence Wilkins, Richard

STEALTH

Thursday, June 3, 2004 9:44 AM

Well that is an interesting plot twist that I hadn’t noticed before and there is another version of a pre pilot that has “not for air” at the bottom of the screen and is half way between the un-aired version and the final pilot, don’t remember if it has that scene in it, have to pull it out and have a look.
Also notice in the scene with Badger that a line from Mal is cut when he says ”happy thoughts” or “think happy thoughts” when he turns to Jayne. Couldn’t understand why they cut those few words out.

SPOOKYJESUS

Thursday, June 3, 2004 10:43 AM

Ok - this is funky and I must check it out but you're sure of the name? -"General Richard Wilkins"

'Cause Mayor of a little town on the Hellmouth called Sunnydale - he had a name too - and I'm fairly certain it was Richard Wilkins the third (but not really the third because he was 100 years old).

SPOOKYJESUS

Thursday, June 3, 2004 10:45 AM

I only metion it because it's such a weird thing for Joss to do. It must just be an in joke thing and Joss decided it wasn't funny only confusing hence all the re-cuts of one silly little name.....?

BLINKER

Thursday, June 3, 2004 11:00 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Stealth:
Well that is an interesting plot twist that I hadn’t noticed before and there is another version of a pre pilot that has “not for air” at the bottom of the screen and is half way between the un-aired version and the final pilot, don’t remember if it has that scene in it, have to pull it out and have a look.

There's another unaired pilot? Where'd you get it?

Quote:
Originally posted by Stealth:
Also notice in the scene with Badger that a line from Mal is cut when he says ”happy thoughts” or “think happy thoughts” when he turns to Jayne. Couldn’t understand why they cut those few words out.

The scene works better without them. It's funnier to see Jayne look at all the guns surrounding him and silently, sullenly reholster his.

_________
Sliders: Gate Haven - http://slidersweb.net/blinker

GUNHAND

Thursday, June 3, 2004 12:33 PM

Most, not all but most writers no matter the genre use in-jokes in their books/scripts/movies etc. Even if they aren't jokes, easteregg is maybe a better term for them.

So Joss using the name of the Mayor of Sunnyvale may be one of those things that he cut because too many people would go,"Doh!" BUT...and there's always a but, if that were just the case then it'd be all manner of simple to just change the name, but obfuscating it further, that makes it seem to me that there is something more that was intended to come out about this General at some point.

I know you're keen on it being Book Zoid, but the one thing is if it was then why doesn't everyone recognise him? It'd be like people in 1870 not recognising General Grant if he happened to come into town. Not likely back then because of Harpers, not likely in the 'Verse because of the Cortex. You win the Mother of All Battles and your face is probably all over the place up to and including stamps and pictures of restaurant owners having holopictures of the man when he came in for a ribeye. Know what I mean?

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"Oh hey, I got an idea. Instead of us hanging
around playing art critic till I get pinched by
the Man, how's about we move away from this
eerie-ass piece of work and get on with our
increasingly eerie-ass day, how's that?"

FINN MAC CUMHAL

Thursday, June 3, 2004 12:33 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Spookyjesus:
I only metion it because it's such a weird thing for Joss to do. It must just be an in joke thing and Joss decided it wasn't funny only confusing hence all the re-cuts of one silly little name.....?

Not necessarily. Writers often use names from previous works. This is very evident in short stories. It doesn’t really mean that there is any plot connection between the two stories. Only that, to the author, the name represents a certain type of character. Obviously, to Joss, the name Richard Wilkins invokes images of a power hungry evil bad guy. If could have some significance, but it's hard to say.

HOAGIE

Thursday, June 3, 2004 12:48 PM

I'm with Finn. It's probably just a coincidence or a filler name. i think that simply because, no matter what version of the scene you watch, it was still cut.

BROWNCOAT1

Thursday, June 3, 2004 1:04 PM

Gunhand wrote:

Quote:
I know you're keen on it being Book Zoid, but the one thing is if it was then why doesn't everyone recognise him? It'd be like people in 1870 not recognising General Grant if he happened to come into town. Not likely back then because of Harpers, not likely in the 'Verse because of the Cortex. You win the Mother of All Battles and your face is probably all over the place up to and including stamps and pictures of restaurant owners having holopictures of the man when he came in for a ribeye. Know what I mean?

Good point Gunhand. One would think that General Wilkins would be a face that many would recognize.

I wonder though..... What if General Wilkins changed his appearance? If Book is actually General Wilkins, as Zoid theorizes, is it possible he changed his appearance to escape his past? If a soldier left the service and became a priest to try to leave his past behind, his profession may not be the only thing he changed.

Remember how the purple bellies jumped when they saw Book's ident card? Could be the name on that card was Wilkins, or perhaps an alias that the Alliance knows he uses.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

SKYDANCE

Thursday, June 3, 2004 4:00 PM

Well, if Book was Wilkins, that would certainly result in someone jumping to help him. I'm not ready to believe it, though.

*laughs* Those of you who have never written ... well, coming up with names can actually be a real hassle. Writers tend to reuse names because it's easier than thinking up new ones.

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