Shepherd the Book, & Wash

POSTED BY: BrucePluto
UPDATED: Sunday, October 23, 2011 09:02
VIEWED: 7732
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BRUCEPLUTO

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 11:51 AM

Morning Browncoats!

With having so little to watch on television these days (or nights) I broke out my copy of “Done the Impossible” last evening and watched me some Browncoat stuff.

Now, that being said, it was good to see Nathan, Adam, Ron, Jewel, Morena, Alan, Joss and even Christina Hendricks talk about the old Firefly days. I also enjoyed seeing so many folk with a passion for the show as much as I have, heck….even more!

I wasn’t around for FF when it made it’s tour on television, and I apologize for that. I did not catch up with the show until after seeing Serenity the BDM. Watching DTI brought up a few questions that I keep wondering about.

First of all, not becoming familiar with the tv show until after the BDM, at the time the exit of Wash & Book in the movie was less emotional for me. I mean it was sad and all, but I was not investmented in the program like so many others. Still there are many browncoats that didn’t catch up with the best show on television until after it reached dvd.

My question, was it wise for Joss to have exited two main characters from Serenity just as it was being introduced to the masses of the globe? I’m not questioning his talent as a writer, only inquiring as to why he didn’t wait to do such a thing until the BDM2, or maybe even later.

Having first tasted the sheer shininess of the crew of the transport then having two of it’s top folk eliminated before renting the series on Net-Flix, I already knew what was coming. Shouldn’t Joss have known that so many folk wouldn’t know about Wash & the Shepherd before Serenity? I mean, in hindsight, pretty much all that was gained was that he pissed off some browncoats ( both present & future). Not that it would help or hurt the film, but it certainly coulda waited!

I actually find myself in agreement with so many browncoats who voice their total shock and distain as to why Mr. Whedon would do this? Alan and Nathan themselves seem all depressed about it. Had there been a sequel immediately following, I’m sure Joss had a story that would have picked up at the tail end of where it left off. But as we know that didn’t happen.

Wash and Book had their own fans bases while the show was being aired. I’m sure there were a multitude unhappy with the choice of extinguishing these two player at the get-go when Serenity hit the big screen.

Just some thoughts wondering through the old noggin after watching DTI. I was wondering what other browncoats think about this or anything else.

We Hold, BPZ

TWO

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 12:58 PM

I liked Wash being rescued from death in the story that was written the same week the BDM came out -- kieyra's Indistinguishable From Magic at www.fireflyfans.net/sunroomitem.asp?i=5185 It needed more science and less magic, but it is a possible story for Serenity 2.

It's pleasant to daydream that Joss Whedon always had a master plan to resurrect Wash in Serenity 2. Joss is a loving god with power over life and death. I don't want to believe that Joss has no idea where the story for Serenity 2 would be going when he killed Wash and Book. That would be so aimless.

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

GWEK

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 1:37 PM

Daydream all you'd like, but the truth of it is that Joss apparently always planned to kill off Wash. Whedonm himself and Tudyk have both stated it in interviews.

To the point of the original post: Was it wise to kill off two characters as a larger audience was discovering Serenity/Firefly?

I would say, yes, on two counts.

1) Whedon's characters are mortal. If anyone can be at risk, the sense of danger to the crew is heightened at every turn. One of hte problems with most TV shows is that the audience knows that the progatonists can't die/be seriously injured/etc, so there's a certain emotional bubble around them. Shows by folk like Whedon and Abrams often excel because that bubble is popped early on.

2) With a cast of 9 (11, if you could the Operative and Mister Universe), SERENITY has a LOT of characters to care about. By reducing that cast by a few, Joss makes it "easier" to become attached to the survivors.

I should note that Joss actually killed THREE "heroes"--Don't forget Mister Universe. People who are not familiar with FIREFLY are likely to give Mister Universe as much weight as they do Book, since both are about equally important to the movie.

www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."

PIZMOBEACH

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 1:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BrucePluto:

My question, was it wise for Joss to have exited two main characters from Serenity just as it was being introduced to the masses of the globe? I’m not questioning his talent as a writer, only inquiring as to why he didn’t wait to do such a thing until the BDM2, or maybe even later.

It was pretty shitty. He tried something and it failed spectacularly and in so many ways. As you suggest and I agree, it would have been nice if he had waited for movie #2 or #3, nice for the fans that waited and hoped for the movie - they seemed to be treated pretty shabby imho with those deaths. "The Impossible has happened! Joy!" Then, RRrrrriippppPP!
The only spin I can put on it is maybe their absence will make room for 2 more great characters...

Scifi movie music + Firefly dialogue clips, 24 hours a day - http://www.scifiradio.com

BRUCEPLUTO

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 3:06 PM

TWO, I’ve been aware that you’ve posted the s/p where Wash lives and I thank you for posting it, yet I have not actually read the script. Sorry, just me being lazy I guess. I will have to read it………thanks!

PRIZMO….I feel your pain! At least I think I’m feeling it. There’s always that question if you’re reading the vibes of another browncoat correctly?

Anywhoo in reviewing the BDM and DTI, upping the ante for the fans is one thing, but having a fan want to slap you across the mug is quite another (I like her & agree). Yes removing Wash & Book during the BDM does create a certain realism to the show, yet if half of your audience doesn’t realize the significance to what has just happened then they are but set in limbo over the ordeal…. don’t you think?

Gwek I’m not arguing with you…..well, guess that I am arguing with you, but still, daydreaming? Yepper I am a daydreamer, it helps when writing fan-fiction to consider a multitude of scenarios as to why things happen the way they do. Anyway, I never elude to Wash or Book as being dead. In my way of thinking a fictional character can never die. There have been stranger things happen in real life.

Also, reducing the cast numbers? Was that something Universal came up with? I would hope to say, without stepping on Whedon’s toes that had the tv series gone on for several seasons, Hoban Wash & Shepherd Book woulda been part of the crew for long, long, time.

Just some ideas….

BPZ

M52NICKERSON

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 7:58 PM

The first time I saw Serenity had been after watching a few episodes of Firefly. So I knew the characters enough to know who was who and their general backstories.

After Wash's death it made you question if anyone would survive. Mal could have easily died having sent the message as his last act. River could have been killed by the Reavers. The movie could have ended with the Alliance soldiers opening fire as the Operative screamed fro them to stop. You just did not know.

Without the deaths of Wash and Book the movie would not have been anything special.

I do not fear God, I fear the ignorance of man.

ECGORDON

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 11:22 PM

Joss had no guarantee that there would be a sequel (and so far there hasn't been) so he decided to make the BDM as suspenseful as possible. I can't say I loved the idea the first time I saw it, in fact I don't think I was too coherent for the last ten minutes or so, and was fearful that none of them would survive. But on subsequent viewings I came to the opinion that it was the best way to go for a memorable finale.

If we ever do get more from the 'verse, post-Serenity, I don't want either Book or Wash to be reinstated into the story except for flashbacks or dream sequences. Anything else would be a disservice to the heroic way they died.

BYTEMITE

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 11:34 PM

Quote:
I don't want either Book or Wash to be reinstated into the story except for flashbacks or dream sequences. Anything else would be a disservice to the heroic way they died.

And/or River craziness. I can imagine her talking with Wash and Book regularly (so Alan and Ron can still be part of it all if they want to be) and have people asking, are they ghosts? Is she imagining them? Are they a metaphors? And never have it answered, so people are always kind of wondering about it.

CHRISISALL

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 12:51 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
I don't think I was too coherent for the last ten minutes or so, and was fearful that none of them would survive.

Exactly as I felt the first time I saw it. In point of fact, I was crying (y'know, quiet manfull tears).
Few movies in my life have had such an effect on me; I can count them on one hand (Maybe two if you count non-SF films).

The laughing Chrisisall

TWO

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 5:24 PM

We haven't paid sufficient respect to Book. In The Shepherd's Tale comic, Zach Whedon has Book die to protect the town. It's a realistic and very meaningful death. In Serenity, Joss Whedon has Book dying to give a final motivational speech to Mal.

In screenwriting class theory, the Zach and Joss versions can overlap, but they cannot if you consider what large caliber bullets do to real people.

The bullets fired from aircraft are bigger than from rifles. If Book is hit by a .50 caliber (0.50 inch/12.7 mm) he will not be able to pass on wisdom to Mal. Book can moan, but he won't be giving coherent advice, especially after bleeding while waiting for Serenity to land in Haven. If Book was hit by 20 mm or 30 mm autocannon ammunition, it is too messy to contemplate. There is an explanation: maybe Joss was using magic bullets made in Hollywood that let Book say his last words and only then kick the bucket . . . Or have Book's ghost and Mal, which is purer Hollywood. . . .

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

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