Nitpicker's Guide to Firefly #101: The Train Job

POSTED BY: Prototype
UPDATED: Saturday, October 26, 2002 11:32
VIEWED: 7583
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DELSIE

Thursday, October 24, 2002 2:56 AM

When watching the episode under debate here, I noticed that after we see the man flying into the engine, the cut to Mal is fairly quick. We can't say with any certainity that there was or wasn't a splatter if said splatter was delayed for a few seconds. I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to the science behind the engines, but isn't it possible that, with that amount of suction and that size of engine, there just might've been a slight delay?

Just my uneducated observation.

~Delsie.

"A friend of mine once sent me a postcard with a picture of the entire planet Earth taken from space. On the back it said 'Wish you were here.'" - Steven Wright

PROTOTYPE

Thursday, October 24, 2002 3:02 AM

Yeah, I'll agree with you there: I have no overriding faith in humanity either. Believe me, you want to see realism and the collapse of civilization, watch Jeremiah. Not Firefly. Not for realism, definitely not for realism!

JAYNESGIRLFRIEND

Friday, October 25, 2002 12:58 AM

I heart Prototype. I mean I disagree with you on a lot of things but I gotta have some love for anybody who can get our favorite Alaskan riled up.

Quote:
7. Did anyone else find it rather strange that we didn't get a scene with the train heist being planned? I mean honestly, this is meant to be a western. Sort of. They should spread a set of plans over the mess hall table, talk about the details, go through a checklist, stack their hands up before yelling 'go team' (or something like that)... but instead it's just... wanna rob a train? Sure. Sounds good to me.

Now that's just snarky! Cause really, if you've seen it once you've seen it a billion times. That's what's so great about Joss, that he can take familiar situations (like a train heist) and do it in a way that you haven't quite seen before. So I for one am quite glad there was no "planning scene". Unless you were just being facetious, and then shame on you!

"I was gonna get me an ear, too." - Jayne

THEGN

Friday, October 25, 2002 1:21 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Prototype:
No, it wasn't really. Have you seen the amount of mess a body would make? I don't care the power of the engines, there'd be some sign of it.

Hmm. Have you ever seen that kind of mess? And if you assume that the engine was a jet engine which is a poor assumption because it couldn't be a jet engine, but assume that anyway, then a human being might not have been sucked in from that distance under those conditions, but if it had been, it would most certainly have been pulverized and burned into nothing. It might have busted the engine up too (or at least the turbofan) but still, the most realistic thing about that event is the way nothing was left of the person in question. Maybe you need to think a little more about these nitpicks. Many of them are not very good.

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In the Dark Ages, Romano-Celtic Britannia was over-run by Viking-like cultures collectively called the Anglo-Saxons. They were led by warlords called Drytinns, and the greatest warriors among them were the Thegns.

DELSIE

Friday, October 25, 2002 1:58 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by JaynesGirlfriend:

Quote:
7. Did anyone else find it rather strange that we didn't get a scene with the train heist being planned? I mean honestly, this is meant to be a western. Sort of. They should spread a set of plans over the mess hall table, talk about the details, go through a checklist, stack their hands up before yelling 'go team' (or something like that)... but instead it's just... wanna rob a train? Sure. Sounds good to me.

Now that's just snarky! Cause really, if you've seen it once you've seen it a billion times. That's what's so great about Joss, that he can take familiar situations (like a train heist) and do it in a way that you haven't quite seen before. So I for one am quite glad there was no "planning scene". Unless you were just being facetious, and then shame on you!

"I was gonna get me an ear, too." - Jayne

I was wondering about that nitpick too.

After all, Niska (or however you spell his name) laid out what he had planned and basicly left the details up to the crew of Serenity. Then, when Simon is talking to Kaylee in the cargo bay (is that the correct terminology?), Kaylee explains their side of the plan to him. This means that there must've been a planning session somewhere.

With all this, why did we really need a scene of the crew planning the heist? It wasn't needed and probably would get a little tedious. Besides, then we'd miss out on most of the scene in the cargo bay!

~Delsie.

"A friend of mine once sent me a postcard with a picture of the entire planet Earth taken from space. On the back it said 'Wish you were here.'" - Steven Wright

SOULE

Friday, October 25, 2002 2:19 AM

Quote:
To get maximum use out of a gun, you need to have it tight around your waist, so that you can still reach it with the opposite hand, should the need arise.

Most law enforcement personnel do wear their holsters high, but there are strict uniform standards in place and there is little personal choice in how to wear the gun. Off-hand access is one reason for holsters high on the hip, but so is keeping it out of the way while going about daily activities like sitting behind a desk, getting in and out of a car all day, etc. In fact, members of the special branches of the military and some SWAT teams, (in other words, those who are nearly certain to USE their sidearms) often wear low-slung holsters because it allows a faster draw and is more comfortable.

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I really have to raise an eyebrow at the way that this ship, the Serenity, is run. It just doesn't seem to make sense - sure, it's not military, but orders still need to be followed.

You're right, it's not military. So why do orders need to be followed like it is? The crew follow Mal because he (presumably) owns the ship and is obviously the most capable to lead it. I wouldn't expect to find the spit-and-polish and blind obedience on Serenity anymore than I would on a modern oil tanker or 747. Besides, they're all outlaws and criminals. A bit of rugged individualism and unconvential behavior is good characterization.

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Now in an age with spaceships that travel from planet to planet, assumably at reasonably fast speeds, why the hell do they still have trains?

In an age with air vehicles that can travel between continents in hours, why the hell do we still have trains? The answer for both questions is the same - cost, complexity, and related infrastructure. Why don't you fly a plane the 30 miles to work even though it would be much faster? Because planes cost more than cars, it's more difficult to keep a plane in proper running order than your car, and I doubt there's a runway in front of your office building. How many people fly thousands of miles across the Earth, only to disembark and ride for hours more in a car, bus, or TRAIN?

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Did anyone else find it rather strange that we didn't get a scene with the train heist being planned?

I didn't. Since it wouldn't have added to the story, what would have been the purpose?

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...next time Malcom pushes a guy into the ship's engine, I expect to see much more debris flying around as a result. This guy goes out without so much as a splatter.

We couldn't see the back of the engines. Why would you expect to see splatter? Those turbines sucked a very large man completely off his feet and shredded him without so much as coughing - like spilled beer up a shop vac. The little bits and pieces of said big man would splatter all over behind the ship (or wherever the turbine exhaust exits).

PROTOTYPE

Saturday, October 26, 2002 11:32 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by delsie:
Quote:
Originally posted by JaynesGirlfriend:

With all this, why did we really need a scene of the crew planning the heist? It wasn't needed and probably would get a little tedious. Besides, then we'd miss out on most of the scene in the cargo bay!

~Delsie.

Sure we still need it. It could have been really good. Go and have a look at the Great Muppet Caper. It had a really funny scene in it with a crime being planned. They lost the chance.

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