Wash and Book
POSTED BY: BYTEMITE
UPDATED: Wednesday, November 14, 2012 04:49
VIEWED: 13117
PAGE 1 of 3
A lot of fanfic writers include them after the movie, often without any explanation about just HOW that happened.
While fun, does it reduce or diminish the emotional impact of the movie?
If Joss could have done the second season of Firefly without any gap after the movie, which would you prefer: dealing with the aftermath of the movie, ignoring the movie, the movie was all River's dream and the second season details River's efforts to prevent certain things from happening, complete series reboot, other?
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:I will take the challenge.
Originally posted by BYTEMITE:
. . . which would you prefer: . . . the second season details River's efforts to prevent certain things from happening . . . ?
Since I like Doctor Who, my Firefly Season 2 starts this way: River was there when Wash died so she believes she could have saved him if she had had a premonition of his death. Sorry about Book, but since River wasn't there when he died, she can't save him.
River makes plans to telepathically send a message to herself in the past explaining how Wash will die. Everybody knows she's crazy and only sweet Kaylee is willing to give technical help with River's wild plan. Essentially, River is doing fundamental research into the physics of telepathy. Eventually River puts everybody's life at risk. The cliff hanger for Season 2 – does Wash live or does the crew all die together?
The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity," where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
I'd prefer they remain dead. They gave weight to the movie. The cast of Buffy and Angel changed over the course of each series. I suspect our crew would have changed with time. Wash and Book are just the first permanent changes.
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Eventually, characters must have an arc. Sometimes losing other important characters pushes them along. I agree with this. But maybe it wasn't the best time to end these plotlines. Well, Wash gives Zoe her single mother thing, but what is served by having Book die before his secrets can come into play in the story proper? And there might have even been a more interesting use for Wash.
Just exploring possibilities here.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
I think that one of the things I regret most is how Book's secrets were left so underexplored. So I would want whatever approach was taken to include a thorough unraveling of Book's thread, preferably by means of periodic reveals of bits of his backstory, gradually building his character arc over the course of a full season or even more than one season. The episodes gave tantalizing hints about Book; the movie declined to address Book's secrets (explicitly, when the Shepherd answered Mal's request to reveal his past with, "No, I don't"). Even Joss and Co. felt this was an underdeveloped arc, and devoted an entire comic book to it; unfortunately, a comic book is not the ideal medium for exploring something that promises to be so thoroughly twisted and deep.
While Wash's death serves a dramatic purpose in the movie (and it is effective), again, I could wish for more exploration of the character before retiring him. More Mal-Zoe-Wash loyalty triangle tension; more Zoe-Wash "to have kids or not to have kids" discussions; more reveal of Wash's backstory (which we know would involve wacky fun); and especially more married couple dynamics. The death of Wash leaves a serious hole in the cast of characters. I particularly liked the fact that the original crew included a married couple -- a form of diversity that's often ignored on TV (see, interesting adventures don't just happen to single people; and people don't automatically become boring if they're married). It's a little hard to imagine what could fill that hole -- would Simon and Kaylee be precipitated into a married relationship prematurely, in order to take their place?
As a fanfic writer, I've simply accepted the events of the movie and worked with it, while trying to include Book and Wash as characters in the stories as frequently as is reasonable for characters who are no longer living on the ship. But if the TV series were to continue, I think I'd want to see it with Book and Wash aboard.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Hello again Byte.
My personal take is that I'd have liked the second season to carry on after their deaths.
To answer your questions:
Quote:
"but what is served by having Book die before his secrets can come into play in the story proper?"
Well there are many narrative devices to have Book's past catch up with the crew without needing the character around. It could still be a major part of a season. As an example, somewhere here at FFF, while we were all speculating, I suggested a scenario where a long outstanding bounty on Book haunts the crew. At the time I think the idea was in the form of a person claiming to be Book's off spring, however that was just a throwaway notion. To my mind there's something grand about Book's spectre (so to speak) haunting the Crew.
°...Well here I am.°
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
As witnessed by events in both Buffy and Angel, it was pretty much inevitable that all the crew would not have survived a continued series. Joss has said the movie was a condensed version of what might have occurred through Season 2. We'll never know if it would have played out exactly that way, but he endeavored to have the film be as exciting as possible, and as complete a story as possible, since he had no assurances he would get another chance. I have no doubt he has ideas of where he could take the story from here, and I still have not given up hope of seeing some of that, even if it is just in comics. I would love for Joss, or whoever has the rights to do so, to authorize a series of novels instead.
I was as upset as anyone else about Wash's death. I hated losing Book too, but I had already speculated that he would not survive the movie more than a year prior to its release. Any continuation should either be set between the series and movie, or continue after the events of the movie. Both Book and Wash could still appear in flashbacks or dream sequences, or just be referenced by dialog. The movie events should not be ignored. Both characters died a hero's death, and that should be honored and remembered.
But what if someone else had died? What about Inara? How would Mal's arc play out then? Or how would Simon cope if it was Kaylee, just after he had decided to pursue a relationship with her? What if it had been Jayne? Well...Jayne...maybe okay. 
wo men ren ran zai fei xing.
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by Morse:
The series is better off dead. The comics are a commentary of what 'would have happened' should the series have continued. They are all a fuckin' mess.
But I think skipping the movie is best. - But it'll never get resurrected.
I don't know about better off dead... Or the comics, some of them are enjoyable. I liked Better Days the best as it does perhaps the best job of capturing the feel of the series with a bunch of little character subplots going on.
I think maybe even though Joss and his brother have experience with comics and writing comics, they don't really know what to DO with THIS series in comic form. I don't think the problem is that they didn't have ideas for a continuation past the second season/movie, I'm sure they did. Joss himself said he had a five year plan.
(In regards to comics and not bad ones either, Joss has written for Marvel and people think his contributions are pretty good unless they have a hype-hate for him)
So the only way they could ACTUALLY ruin Firefly for me though is if they forget that it's a story about crime and fugitives and turn it into a love boat shipper fest soap opera, where in every episode someone gets sick/nearly dies, a couple hooks up, a couple breaks up, and someone has a baby. Gag.
The very most recent comic was disappointing in it's length, art, and plot holes, but the other recent comics have their positives. They aren't perfect, but neither do I regret buying them.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Even Joss and Co. felt this was an underdeveloped arc, and devoted an entire comic book to it; unfortunately, a comic book is not the ideal medium for exploring something that promises to be so thoroughly twisted and deep.
Yeah. Or maybe not THAT comic book necessarily, even though the flashback format was neat, like life flashing before the eyes - a comic book could have worked but it needed to be just the start of a series of comics, where like Somnambulist says, Book's past catches up with them. We're revealed Books past in relevant snippits, but a lot of it still remains a mystery. In the end, all we really know is that Book was seeking redemption for a previous lack of belief in anything and the ruin that caused. Leading to the exchange he has with Mal in the movie.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
One possibility for Book's past to come out is if someone still had access to the feed his eye implant was sending. They could have seen everything going on with River on Serenity. Could lead to a kidnapping attempt or some sort of blackmail.
I'm sure there are plenty of clever ways to have Book's past revealed to the crew over time.
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME