Critical Info Or Red Herring?

POSTED BY: zoid
UPDATED: Tuesday, June 8, 2004 21:31
VIEWED: 6932
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DELIA

Thursday, June 3, 2004 4:17 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BrownCoat1:
I wonder though..... What if General Wilkins changed his appearance? If Book is actually General Wilkins, as Zoid theorizes, is it possible he changed his appearance to escape his past? If a soldier left the service and became a priest to try to leave his past behind, his profession may not be the only thing he changed.

Ah-ha! I've got it -- Book's hair is obviously his clever disguise! No one would ever look past all that hair to the actual face. It's brilliant.

Kidding.

I like Zoid's theory, always have. Not 100% convinced I agree with it, but I like it.

As for the name. Could be an in-joke (how many can you find if you watch all Joss' shows?). Could just be coincidence. Could have no meaning at all.

And, Zoid, the Mayor wasn't immortal. He was a human who cuts some deals with the right Demons, live 100+ years (eventually taking on the persona of his own grandchild), became (briefly) invincible, and then "ascended" to become a true demon (a giat snake) during the graduation ceremony, only to be destroyed when Buffy lured him into the library and then blew up the school.

Delia

___________________________________________
Spike: Why don't you rip her lungs out? It might make an impression.
Angelus: Lacks... poetry.
Spike: It doesn't have to. What rhymes with lungs?

FORRESTWOLF

Thursday, June 3, 2004 4:57 PM

I LIKE the hair :) All those snakes...maybe he's a medusa...

Seriously, I like Zoid's theory, too. I know, the name is the same as a big bad in Buffy, but I guess Joss is just reusing names for some wierd writer's reason. I think the idea of Book as Wilkins isn't stopped by the name.

As for the recognition, it's a big 'Verse, and people don't seem to read papers or watch TV (except on space stations and core planets, perhaps) very much. I'd guess that common folk (Serenity's crew included) don't recognize the FACES of people much. Think of modern-day leaders, for that matter, when we all see them on TV. How many US generals can YOU recognize by sight on the street, wearing a priest's collar? I doubt I'd recognize former General Zinni, for instance, of recent note, or even Stormin' Norman. I know such peoples' place in history/current events, but recognize them at a party? I doubt it.

So yes, I think he's somebody big, somebody well-known - thus the ident card scene. General Wilkins? Quite possible. Not certain, but a nifty idea.

ZOID

Thursday, June 3, 2004 6:00 PM

Forrestwolf, et al:

I was actually researching Desert Storm websites because of Schwartzkopf's "Hail Mary" which parallels(?) Wilkins' "deep-flank maneuver". Fortunately, our American BDH's are pretty well properly commemorated; but what might have been the case if Bush and Powell hadn't stopped the carnage and if Schwartzkopf had resigned in an outrage of honor and entered the priesthood for six years? Would the General have become the household name and icon we know him as today? Would an intentional two-week delay in the peace process to maximize enemy casualties have been enough to cause a military leader to resign? Would such a resignation have been publicized, or would the leader have been 'swept under the carpet' of obscurity? And it's not as though the Shepherd calls himself 'Shepherd Wilkins'; in his initial introduction he says "Book. They call me Book", (emphasis mine). Just thankin' about thangs...

BTW, to hear General Richard Wilkins full name, listen very carefully to the Serenity deleted scene -- the only point of which seems to be listing that name -- found on Disk 4 (thanks, Mistress of Tomes and Advanced Mathematical Concepts) of the DVD set. The intriguing bit is that Joss intentionally included that data on the Final Installment of the Firefly story, as the DVD set had to have been considered at the time. Why? (See above, "Joss Whedon, evil genius")

Respectfully,

zoid

P.S.
Much has been made about Book's knowledge of spacecraft, weaponry, hand-to-hand fighting, jurisprudence and criminology. A general officer would certainly know all these things, through application of UCMJ and sitting on courts martial boards...
_________________________________________________

"I knew a man once. History will never recall him, or what he gave to make us free. That's the way he wanted it. But as long as I live I'll remember, and he'll never truly die."

- River, from A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence Wilkins, Richard

DELIA

Thursday, June 3, 2004 7:28 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
Forrestwolf, et al:
BTW, to hear General Richard Wilkins full name, listen very carefully to the Serenity deleted scene -- the only point of which seems to be listing that name -- found on Disk 5 of the DVD set.

Please tell me that you meant disc 4 and that I'm not missing a disc. Please.

___________________________________________
Spike: Why don't you rip her lungs out? It might make an impression.
Angelus: Lacks... poetry.
Spike: It doesn't have to. What rhymes with lungs?

ZOID

Thursday, June 3, 2004 7:39 PM

Delia wrote:

Quote:
Please tell me that you meant disc 4 and that I'm not missing a disc. Please.

What, you didn't get five? Perhaps I spoke out of turn, and alienated those who only got four...

(zoid goes over to stylish AV rack atop 60" widescreen plasma and counts DVDs: one, two, four, five. yep, five. must be some sort of a conspiracy here.)

Non-Euclideanly,

zoid

P.S.
Please note that I've edited that post in order to avoid detection of the truth (that zoid is a dumbass).

DELIA

Thursday, June 3, 2004 7:55 PM

Zoid,

The clever edit would work better without my quote from the original right below it.

The question now is, what's on the disc 3 you seem to be missing.

Delia

___________________________________________
Spike: Why don't you rip her lungs out? It might make an impression.
Angelus: Lacks... poetry.
Spike: It doesn't have to. What rhymes with lungs?

ZOID

Thursday, June 3, 2004 8:04 PM

Delia, Mistress of Tomes and Advanced Mathematical Concepts (like counting):

First it's advanced maths, now proper editorial techniques and comedic art? Please remember I'm only a pitiful ape with opposable thumbs. As Ted Arroway would say, "Small moves, (D)Ellie(a), small moves"...

Delia-eriously,

zoid

FORRESTWOLF

Thursday, June 3, 2004 8:08 PM

I definitely agree that I find Book as a military officer a very, very likely answer. Maybe not Wilkins (though I LIKE that idea!), and maybe not even a general, but I always assumed watching the show that he was ex-military, and a fairly important officer. I would posit that we can rule out a purely political position, and I doubt he was a spy in his former life - he's just got that purely military bent to his knowledge, if you ask me (as an aside, I wonder who Niska was during the war, if Book knows about him - I mean, if Book was a military officer, why would he know Niska?).

Ramblingly yours,
Forrestwolf

ZOID

Thursday, June 3, 2004 8:20 PM

Forrestwolf wrote:

Quote:
I mean, if Book was a military officer, why would he know Niska?).

Answering the question with a question, why would a modern general know about Bin Laden and his only quasi-military Al Qaeda?

Respectfully,

zoid

CHANNAIN

Thursday, June 3, 2004 8:54 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
Only God and JW know for sure; but why change it four times? Why put half of the name in (original script), take the name out of the scene (unrevised pilot), remove the scene entirely (aired pilot) and then put the name back in, in a more complete form than the original script called for (cut-scene on DVD)?

Two Words: Creative Process.

Who knows how many versions there were of the original script before the one we saw (presumably, the one pitched to gorram fox), let alone the versions written before the one they used for actual shooting.

One more word: Exposition. For Firefly, less is definitely more.

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

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