Would the Reavers ever have talked?

POSTED BY: two
UPDATED: Saturday, June 4, 2011 01:50
VIEWED: 4810
PAGE 1 of 2

1 2 NEXT PAGE

TWO

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 7:20 PM

Four questions, out of many, answered by Joss Whedon from an interview in Firefly: The Official Companion, Volume Two (2007), ISBN 9781845763725
“Time to buy.” - Roy Batty from Blade Runner, which is a very unsubtle hint to purchase the book.

Q: Would the Reavers ever have talked?
I certainly didn't intend them to. But I was still playing with different ideas about the Reavers. The idea that I used in the movie with the Reavers did not come right away. The idea of a planet being killed I had in my head. The idea that the Reavers had come from that, I didn't have until later in the process, until actually I was writing the movie. I think they would have been about the same [as they were in the film if they had been depicted on Firefly]. I had a whole thing worked out where Kaylee was going to go to a carnival and see one in a sideshow and then it was going to turn out to be a guy in a costume, because Mal explained that no Reaver would ever, ever let themselves be caught alive, that they'd eat themselves first. And I always wanted to keep that. It would have been a long damn while before we ever really caught sight of one. We had a lot of shows and ideas for shows, where we were constantly under threat of them, but they were in another ship, they were in another place, we didn't see them for a long while. And then once we saw them, oh, the terrible, terrible things I was going to do. There are some things I won't say [laughs], because I will never give up on a story completely, but it wasn't going to be pretty.

Q: What was in Inara's needle?
One of the things that I'm still going to keep for myself. It may be in the special edition once I finally wake up to reality. But my unreality occasionally opens in theaters, so ...

Q: How did you originally intend to end season one?
No idea. Because I really did think season two would be a good place to reveal River's troubles, so I didn't have anything in mind.

Q: Were the elements of Serenity originally intended to eventually be part of Firefly, and if so, about where would they have come in?
My estimation was, towards the end of season two was going to be where we would find out about Miranda and the Reavers. This would not have led to any overthrow of the government, necessarily, but it would serve the uncracking of River's mind and rebuilding of her. I was giving it two seasons - could've ended up being one if we felt like we needed a little more momentum. But that was in the back of my head.

BYTEMITE

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 7:37 PM

Well, there's two ways to look at it. From the soft SF perspective, unspeaking former humans that have become terrifying monsters, have a lot more emotional impact in terms of storytelling than human-like speaking monsters. There's a human response that equates wordless destruction with a force of nature. Terrifying because it is unpredictable, unknowable, and cannot be reasoned with.

On the hard SF side, it would depend on the action of the Pax on the brain. I mentioned in another thread today that I think the explanation might be damage to dopamine producing cells and the Pax can damage either way. Either the cells produce too little dopamine (leading to lethargy and abulia) or too much dopamine (leading to aggression, psychosis, reduced empathy, and hypersexuality).

Technically they should be able to talk, unless neurodegeneration from exposure was very advanced. But if it was that advanced, the Reavers would probably show reduced control of muscles and movement.

GEEZER

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 9:35 PM

Joss might never havew shown them talking, but I find it difficult to believe that Reavers could operate space ships and plan attacks as well as they did in both the BDS and BDM without some form of communication.

"Keep the Shiny side up"

CYBERSNARK

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 10:53 PM

I like to think they'd all have upper-class British accents. . .

Quote:
Originally posted by two:
It may be in the special edition once I finally wake up to reality. But my unreality occasionally opens in theaters,

I love this line. Here's hoping.

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

INVADERCHAT

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 1:22 AM

Yeah, I feel like Reavers would kind of have to speak because of their surprisingly good coordination of attacks and their ability to fly spaceships as Geezer said but definitely agree that they would have a more terrifying persona if they never spoke on-screen. Deep growly voices are so much less scary than the mindless destruction that the Reavers display and I like the fact that Joss had planned to not even show them for quite a while, enigmatic 'faceless fears' are also more scary than most things you can confront. I think it was enough that EVERYONE was scared of 'em.

@ Cybersnark - I too like that line, I wonder if he's STILL hoping though? I know I am.

LWAVES

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 9:04 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Cybersnark:

Quote:
Originally posted by two:
It may be in the special edition once I finally wake up to reality. But my unreality occasionally opens in theaters,

I love this line. Here's hoping.

Yeah, it's a great line and a fine example of why Joss writes so well, he thinks a little differently.

I too think the Reavers must have been able to speak although I imagine it as more of a limited, gutteral version of the common tongue. I can't see them using it for conversations about the weather and see it just using it to give orders, argue and have basic social communication etc. I also think that it would probably be kept amongst themselves and only used in 'public' when necessary, thereby helping to maintain the savage image, even if it isn't a concious decision to do so.

"The greatest invention ever is not the wheel. It's the second wheel." - Rich Hall

PIRATENEWS

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 12:43 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by two:

Q: Were the elements of Serenity originally intended to eventually be part of Firefly, and if so, about where would they have come in?

My estimation was, towards the end of season two was going to be where we would find out about Miranda and the Reavers. This would not have led to any overthrow of the government, necessarily

Now I'm glad Fox cancelled FF, which forced Joss to overthrow The Govt.

ZEEK

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 1:54 PM

I guess the thing I've been wondering about reavers is why they don't kill each other? You'd think if all that the pax did to them was make them hyper aggressive then there would be like a giant fight for supremacy until there was just the strongest reaver left. I don't see reavers ever giving up.

BYTEMITE

Wednesday, June 1, 2011 5:49 PM

Nah, not really. Even in the movie it's suggested that the Miranda broadwave didn't do much beyond give rest to the dead and closure for the living. 'Verse rolled over and went back to sleep.

Zeek: I guess for the same reason normally UNreasonable psychopaths can organize. Pecking order, and on some level a kind of understanding.

INVADERCHAT

Thursday, June 2, 2011 1:58 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Zeek:
I guess the thing I've been wondering about reavers is why they don't kill each other? You'd think if all that the pax did to them was make them hyper aggressive then there would be like a giant fight for supremacy until there was just the strongest reaver left. I don't see reavers ever giving up.

I asked myself that same question when what happened on Miranda was revealed. I mean, they're turned into super hostile beasties who kill out of pure rage and yet they've clearly allied themselves with each other.

Going with the possibility that Joss was getting some of his ideas from Firefly out in Dollhouse though, I think the line about 'An army programmed to kill anyone who's not programmed to kill anyone' is a reasonable explanation, they attack anything that isn't a reaver? Obviously it wasn't done on purpose though.

The other option of pecking order etc. also seems equally reasonable though. They can fly ships, set traps and basically reproduce by mindraping their victims so they're clearly smarter than they're given credit for. Maybe they're like pack animals or something...though I still find it weird that such primal creatures band together at all. How would reavers even differentiate another reaver from a human? Especially back on Miranda before they started cutting on themselves and stuff.

1 2 NEXT PAGE