"War Stories" writer Cheryl Cain's FF script "Dead or Alive"

POSTED BY: AnotherCoatOfBrown
UPDATED: Saturday, March 26, 2011 04:55
VIEWED: 3138
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ANOTHERCOATOFBROWN

Friday, March 25, 2011 8:25 PM

This scrip was slated to be made on it's own, but got split up and used in part in "The message"
It's written by Cheryl Cain who wrote "War Stories"
I copied this from www.whedon.info I would have linked to it, but there is some kind of malware virus attached to the page. Enjoy, it's a great story.

Firefly

"Dead or Alive"

Episode # : 1AGE06
Story # :

Written by : Cheryl Cain

Directed by : Marita Grabiak

WRITERS DRAFT : August 16, 2002

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

TEASER

EXT. SERENITY RAMP - NIGHT

A motley group of immigrant workers walk down the ramp onto the dirt of a border planet. MAL and an equally motley bulbous man, the CASHIER, count them as they walk off.

MAL
Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen.
Seventeen.

CASHIER
(bored)
Sixteen.

MAL
Hey, that beefy guy easily ate enough
for two.

CASHIER
Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen.

Mal points to a skinny guy off to the side of a larger guy.

MAL
I believe we’re up to nineteen.

CASHIER
He was number seven.

MAL
Guess you could be right. Must’ve
forgot his knapsack. Eighteen.

ZOE follows the last two guys down the ramp.

CASHIER
Nineteen. Twenty.

MAL
And done.

The cashier hands Mal a wad of bills. Mal starts to count it.

MAL (cont’d)
Not that I don’t trust you... but I
don’t trust you.

Mal counts the last bill. Looks at the Cashier. Beat. The Cashier gives him two more bills. Grumbles, ambles off.

ZOE
Ever full with the customer
relations, sir.

MAL
He works for the Alliance.

ZOE
And we worked for him which would
technically mean we also worked for
the Alliance.

MAL
Yep. Have to say not unhappy to be
makin’ a buck off ’em.

ZOE
Ah, change is good. The crew ?

MAL
Like the makin’ money off the
Alliance bit, but really don’t want
to push it by takin’ part in their
celebratin’... makes me all twitchy.

Zoe just looks at him.

MAL
Fine, but —

KAYLEE comes running down the ramp. Followed by JAYNE and BOOK.

KAYLEE
We’re goin’ to the fair.

MAL
An hour. Sixty minutes. Nothing
more, nothing less, Miss Kaylee.

KAYLEE
No need to do a flippy-hiss, Capt’n.
We gotcha.

Mal gives her money. Then Jayne and Book.

MAL
Don’t spend it all in one place.

Kaylee puts one arm through Book, another through Jayne.

KAYLEE
You can win me stuff.

BOOK
My pleasure. Always have enjoyed
guessing games.

JAYNE
Nope. I win it. I keep it.

Mal hands money to Wash. Wash swings his arm around Zoe’s shoulders.

WASH
Let’s go get us some of those curly
carrots. Love ’em deep fried.

Wash starts to move her off. Zoe stops him, turns to Mal.

ZOE
Capt’n ?

WASH
(dropping his arm)
Yeah, dad. Can we go ? Promise to be
home before midnight.

Zoe gives him a look.

MAL
Go. Wouldn’t want to be responsible
for cold curly carrots.

ZOE
Thanks, sir.

They move off. Not quite as happily as before. Mal, money in hand, turns to the next person in line. It’s INARA.

MAL
(bit awkward)
Guess I’m not giving you money.

INARA
No.

MAL
(smilin’)
Well, unless there’d be some kind of
benefit for the exchange of said
money...

INARA
Definitely, no.

MAL
Then I suppose the least I can do is
escort you to the fair.

INARA
How adolescent... and charming of you.

They start to walk off when Mal notices SIMON at the top of the ramp. Mal approaches him.

MAL
Hey.

SIMON
River has never been to a fair and
she hasn’t had a chance to do much
that is fun in awhile...

MAL
Alliance jail could be fun.

SIMON
Of course, I just, had to ask. For
River. She’ll understand.

MAL
(beat)
Sure.

Mal moves back down the ramp to Inara.

INARA
Everything okay ?

MAL
Kids wanted to go to the fair.

They step away. PULL BACK AND UP to the wi

TWO

Friday, March 25, 2011 8:58 PM

The "Dead or Alive" pdf is inside zip file 'Dead or Alive' Unfilmed Firefly Script Plus More.zip at www.mediafire.com/two

There is also a broken version of the screenplay at www.fireflyfans.net/feature.asp?f=45

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity," where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

ZEEK

Friday, March 25, 2011 9:08 PM

I've seen this one before. I didn't really like it too much. Obviously it has way too much in common with The Message. So, that may be tainting my appreciation of the story.

HAKEN

Friday, March 25, 2011 9:09 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by two:
There is also a broken version of the screenplay at www.fireflyfans.net/feature.asp?f=45

I think that was destroyed when we were attacked by a bot a while back. I should try and restore that stuff for the 2.0 site.

http://about.me/haken

LOIRE

Saturday, March 26, 2011 1:54 AM

I liked it. Pretty different feel to the message. Got to see Simon wasn't perfect, and the stuffed turtle thing made me smile. Also brought up the possibility of indepent factions that were still working.. thats a whole story arc they could have taken.
L

RIONAEIRE

Saturday, March 26, 2011 4:55 AM

I've read it before and I enjoyed it, a good episode. Thanks for sharing it again, if only it had been made into a proper episode.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya