If you had to eliminate a Firefly character...
POSTED BY: OPPYH
UPDATED: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 15:50
VIEWED: 6542
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Sorry man, wasn't trying to rile you up. Just a friendly discussion among folk.
wo men ren ran zai fei xing.
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I over-reacted. It was a reasonable question. Apologies.
"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."
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Well, Simon's my favorite character, not to mention the one that got me hooked on the show and kept me interested through the first few eps in the first place, so no Simon would have = no Firefly for me;)
Part of the trouble you run into though was a huge part of the reason Firefly was what it was was BECAUSE of a group of various, diverse characters that all fit each other so seamlessly. I hear what folks might mean by dropping say Book or Inara (or Wash) as they didn't have as much to do with creating a central arc or moving it forward...however I would argue that their mere presence made the show what it was, and added depth to all the other characters by their interactions, and showed us so much about the 'Verse itself. I just don't think Firefly would have worked the way it did, or would have had the same magic, if any of them were left out!
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Good points bunnyman, and since Firefly is essentially a Western set in space, literary wise, the gunslinger, the preacher, the Doc and the whore are quintessential characters of this genre, making Book, Simon and Inara important in meeting the genre’s themes and setting for the show.
And, in the Serenity Companion Joss says they were some of the earlier characters he knew he needed and envisioned.
So let’s not be so quick to vote them off the boat, because I love them as dearly as I do the others.
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As an addendum to this, I can't think of many Westerns were there ISN'T a doctor. Hell, Alan Tudyk played a doctor (and veterinarian. XD) in 3:10 to Yuma.
It's definitely a staple, and has been since Doc Holiday (though actually, he was a dentist. Go figure).
And of course, the very important role of the "broken doves." Brothel women with hearts of gold, says it all right there.
I can't think of many preachers, though admittedly that's probably because I don't pay attention.
Who would I vote out? >_> I know the show is named Firefly, but she was bound to crash someday... Much as the setting pulled the crew together, the CREW was the show I think.
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There’s a guy standing way in the back when Serenity lands on Persephone for the first time. He doesn’t have a name and he’s in the shot for about three seconds. That guy really annoys me! I would eliminate him. He’s the one character I think Firefly and the BDM could do without. Come to think of it I didn’t see him in the BDM so I assumes that his character was so unpopular that Joss scratched his name off the list….lol
Maybe the only other person I would have eliminated after his short 15 seconds of fame would be the fellow that approached Shepherd Book and called him “Grampa” at the beginning of the Serenity pilot episode. That, “I’m not a grandpa” so get lost answer that the preacher gave him seemed to have worked.
Really, just as ECGordon said in his first post. I think that eliminating any character early on would have changed the dynamic of the short run tv series and changed Firefly altogether. So imo I really don’t want to see anyone gone.
I can tell ya that I will not be able to see any new FF/Serenity creation and not be sad seeing Wash and Shepherd Book if they are in it. Joss changed the whole feel of the show with the loss of those characters in the BDM and if by the grace of the Almighty we would get more FF( pre BDM) that would be shiny, but I would still be sad for Alan and Ron and knowing what happens to them in Serenity.
Z
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@ zzetta13 - I hated that guy too! The way he blinked was annoying! 
Since you asked... I'd have to go with Simon also, even though his character brings out so much in Mal and Jayne.
I'd say he could have died at the end of Serenity. His death there would actually make a lot more sense to me than the other 2 in terms of motivation, the thing that made her finally snap.
Scifi movie music + Firefly dialogue clips, 24 hours a day - http://www.scifiradio.com
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Quote:
Originally posted by pizmobeach:
@ zzetta13 - I hated that guy too! The way he blinked was annoying!
Since you asked... I'd have to go with Simon also, even though his character brings out so much in Mal and Jayne.
I'd say he could have died at the end of Serenity. His death there would actually make a lot more sense to me than the other 2 in terms of motivation, the thing that made her finally snap.
Scifi movie music + Firefly dialogue clips, 24 hours a day - http://www.scifiradio.com]
@ Prizmobeach,
Yeah, the way he blinked and the way he picked his teeth with that Bowie Knife really got on my nerves……ha..ha
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With only 9 principals, everybody is pretty close to filling a unique niche.
The closest thing to a duplication is Zoe and Jayne as thug/ enforcer/agent of violence. And since they both bring other important aspects, at least Zoe as history and married woman, and Jayne as comic relief,you couldn't remove either of them without losing a lot...
The other choice would be Kaylee/River as teenage girl in distress. Same deal- you'd also have to lose the Mechanic, and the voice of Optimism, or the maguffin that makes the whole show work.
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Although I'd hate to lose one of the BDH, what seems the least impacting dimension would be the character of Zoe. The others pull the dynamics in opposing directions, Zoe is more centering. Mal's character would be less defined and would have less foundation, but that could be worked elsewhere. But Joss specifically wanted a working, functional marriage to be present. So maybe Mal's female comrade and now pilot is married to, like, Jayne?
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