Boss Joss speaks on Official Firefly Website
POSTED BY: NewsAdmin
UPDATED: Saturday, August 3, 2002 20:44
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Quote:I'm betting that "Blue Sun" simply refers to the fact that all the planets orbit a sun that puts out a lot of blue light. So everybody would call it "the Blue Sun system." But there'd also be a lot of entities that used "Blue Sun" in their names: "Blue Sun Evil Monopoly", "Blue Sun Boy Scouts", "Blue Sun Bar and Grill," etc.
Originally posted by Guantes:
I'm glad you guys picked up on the whole 'Blue Sun' thing I'm still at a loss as to what it all means.... I was thinking corporation?
The logo in that picture looks like it is on the side of a cargo container so I'd guess it was something the crew were haulling.....
The frustrating thing here is the absence of official explanation. Perhaps the Mutant Enemies are too busy to write up all the technical details -- or maybe they just think all those Trekkie pseudo-technical handbooks are just plain lame. In any case, there's a lot of vague second hand information, that hasn't been officially confirmed.
For example, all the news stories (mostly written by people with a limited interest in "hard" SF) seem to say that there will be no interstellar travel on this show. Everything will take place in a single solar system with several planets that were terraformed and colonized some unspecified time in the past.
At least that's the picture I'm getting. But if there's any "cannonical" version, I've missed it.
But while I crave technical specifics, I do not crave spoilers! So if you've been to an advanced screening and feel compeled to provide details therefrom, please put them between [ spoiler ] tags.
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I agree with Zicsoft. If there is no interstellar travel, I'm inclined to believe that the sun of the system may be a blue star. However, when Joss mentions Blue Sun, he says: "There are certain things that we are going to be threading throughout the show to keep the world alive and insert in the background. So the two words I have to say to you right now are "Blue" "Sun"." This, to me, implies something more important to the plot and background of the series... but who's to say? I still think a literal blue sun is the most likely.
--Dylan Palmer, aka NoVaGrAsS--
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Knowing Joss Whedon, it just means that his outdoor shots look really cool. That was his main explanation for the air cars in "Fray"!
But he may also feel smug because he's managed to score one against the less imaginative TV shows that came before. Everything would look different on a planet with a blue sun. If JW's managed to make that effect work, it'll be the first U.S.-produced space opera in which all the alien planets didn't resemble southern California!
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Quote:
Originally posted by Zicsoft:
it'll be the first U.S.-produced space opera in which all the alien planets didn't resemble southern California!
Wow... my world has just been thrown asunder.
However, there have been press release shots of outdoor scenes from Serenity... and the previews indicate a traditional western yellow sun look. Maybe the effect hasn't yet been applied? OR... maybe it's a dual star system. That would be kind of cool.
--Dylan Palmer, aka NoVaGrAsS--
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Tara: "Yeah, you learn her source, and we'll introduce her to her insect reflection. (everyone stops & stares at her) Th-that was funny if you, um, studied taglarin mythic rites... and are a complete dork."
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Xander: "I don't know that taglarin stuff."
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Quote:
Originally posted by Zicsoft:
The frustrating thing here is the absence of official explanation. Perhaps the Mutant Enemies are too busy to write up all the technical details -- or maybe they just think all those Trekkie pseudo-technical handbooks are just plain lame. In any case, there's a lot of vague second hand information, that hasn't been officially confirmed.
Or maybe - they are waiting until the show's been on the air. Although I find it frustrating too - I'm happy that they're not giving too much away up front - spoils the fun of seeing it on the show.
Quote:
For example, all the news stories (mostly written by people with a limited interest in "hard" SF) seem to say that there will be no interstellar travel on this show. Everything will take place in a single solar system with several planets that were terraformed and colonized some unspecified time in the past.
This is weird. How many planets can you plausibly have in a single system that are capable of supporting life? Even accounting for terraforming - aren't you restricted to a fairly tight range - distance from the sun?
So let's say we're talking about 7 or 8 worlds - that's a pretty small Alliance. Which is fine but we've been told that Serenity keeps to the fringes of the Alliance - so I guess we're talking fringes in terms of countries not fringe worlds.
Which I guess could work - it's just not what I thought at first.
Also if there's no FTL does this mean they had it and lost it or was the initial colonization via 'slowboat' with cryo-sleep etc.
Quote:
But while I crave technical specifics, I do not crave spoilers!
Exactly! Please remember spoiler tags folks!
Shug
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Quote:
Originally posted by Shuggie:
This is weird. How many planets can you plausibly have in a single system that are capable of supporting life? Even accounting for terraforming - aren't you restricted to a fairly tight range - distance from the sun?
I'm confused by this too... but now I'm thinking, what if there are moons that are capable of being terraformed? There may be countless habitable moons in this star system. Then there's the possibility of a dual star system, which would have stronger gravitational pull and thus, more planets. And, since a blue/white star is hotter than a yellow star, habitable planets may be possible further away from the sun (that is, if the blue sun comment is a literal thing).
Maybe I'm just trying to rationalize comments? Probably
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Dawn: It was ironic when all those cute inner-city kids taught their coach a valuable lesson.
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Quote:It gets worse. Aside from needing just the right amount of energy from the sun (maybe you could get around this with orbital mirrors or artificial energy sources) you can't have a planet or moon that's too big, too small, or too gaseous. In our own solar system, that leaves Earth itself, Mars, maybe Earth's moon (is it big enough?), maybe Venus (that thick atmosphere would be a real bitch to terraform), maybe some of Jupiter's moons (Jupiter is almost a sun, and pumps out a fair amount of energy).
This is weird. How many planets can you plausibly have in a single system that are capable of supporting life? Even accounting for terraforming - aren't you restricted to a fairly tight range - distance from the sun?
Still, planets are big places. If you have a few hundred million people on three or four planets, you don't have three or four places to visit, you've got hundreds, even thousands. Every city, town, or village will have its own distinct character, and will be characterised by varying degrees of submission to the Alliance. Serenity will presumably spend a lot of visiting small isolated settlements, which might not be properly served even by surface transport. So they might do some business hauling (or smuggling) cargos between two points on a single planet.
Quote:Given JW's expressed desire to do "hard" SF, he'd stay away from FTL drives. Most writers in this sub-genre avoid FTL drives when they can -- it's too much like magic. Usually they can't, since there's only so many stories you can tell without assuming easy travel between solar systems.
Also if there's no FTL does this mean they had it and lost it or was the initial colonization via 'slowboat' with cryo-sleep etc.
We probably won't hear much about the colonization of these worlds. It'll parallel our own time. Nowadays people study the Mayflower in school and then basically forget about the colonization of North American, except when they go to see Last of the Mohicans or some such watered-down historical movie. The Blue Sunners would have exactly the same attitude. If made to think about, they might recite some half-remembered school lessons about massive colony ships with thousands of hibernating passengers. But mostly they won't think about it.
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