One of the many cool things to come out of NYCC...

There's going to be a Serenity comic!

It's takes place after the film...

...be a six-part mini...

...and is scheduled to start January 29th.

Now I gotta make space in my budget and longbox gorrammit!

Awesomeness on a Panel...

Here's the Firefly reunion panel from SDCC...shot in glorious shaky hand-cam. It will appear on cable sometime in the near future, complete with the footage they played on monitors.

My biggest gripe...and I'm not alone...was the lack of a full cast. Not that certain people weren't there...but that we weren't told that certain people wouldn't be there.

Other than that...it is awesome goodness personified.

Enjoy...as I go cry in a corner...

Malcolm Reynolds Part 23: Serenity (September 30, 2005)

This is going to be a lengthy review, so bear with me…

I have the Single Disc, Widescreen version of the Serenity DVD.

Mal is on the bridge of Serenity with Wash and throws a small fit as a piece of his ship flies off while entering a planet’s atmosphere. After yelling at Wash to land Serenity without crashing her, he works his way through the ship telling a fully armed Jayne to lighten his load and informing Zoe her husband may not be as talented as he once was until he finally reaches the engine room, and gives Kaylee an earful about how if his ship crashes she’d be to blame.

Then he comes across an angry Simon, who’s upset because he doesn’t want Mal to take his sister with them on this job. Mal tells the good doctor that she’s a reader, and sees this as an opportunity for her to start earning her keep. He also tells Simon that since he and his sister have been with them, Mal’s been forced to turn down the occasional good work in order to avoid Alliance intervention. Simon insists she stays aboard, and Mal makes it very clear that he has final say in what does or does not happen on his boat. So River joins Mal, Zoe and Jayne on the mule as they make their way to relieve a town of its monthly Alliance security stipend.

The job starts out fine enough, and Mal starts a discussion with the guard about the type of injury he’d be getting (to justify the robbery) when Jayne starts shouting at him…Reavers are outside. Mal tells the guard to get everyone into the vault and lock it from the inside, and makes a run for the mule with the others. As they head out, one of the men from the bank begs Mal to take him with them, but the mule can’t carry the extra weight so Mal pushes him off. He’s taken by Reavers and Mal shoots him dead.

They get out of town and a Reaver ship chases after them. Jayne gets shot in the leg with a spear-line but Mal shoots it off before they can take him. After some fancy piloting by both Wash and Zoe everyone gets aboard Serenity safely, and after shooting a stowaway Reaver Mal gets a face full of Simon’s fist. The doctor is furious at Mal for putting his sister in harm’s way, and both agree to the siblings leaving the ship once they reach Beaumonde.

Later, Zoe calls Mal on refusing to take the man with them. He argues that the mule would not have handled the weight and she tells him they could have tossed the payload and Mal sets the record straight. Times have been hard lately. No one has been paid in a while, Serenity is falling apart and they’ve got to make good on Fanty and Mingo – who gave Mal the job in the first place – or else they’ve got nowhere else to go.

They touch down on Beaumonde and Mal heads to Fanty and Mingo’s bar to talk business and drop off the money when a fight breaks out. Mal looks over to find River attacking everyone in reach of her. The twins take off with the money and Mal scrambles to get his gun – which is in a locker on the other side of the bar. He grabs his gun and aims it at River to see she’s got a gun too…pointed at him. Simon runs in and shouts something in Chinese, and River collapses. Mal picks her up, takes her back to Serenity, and handcuffs her in her room. Then he confronts Simon, who tells Mal and the rest of the crew that he used a safe word intended to put River to sleep if she gets out of control.

In order to learn more about River, Mal sends a wave to Mr. Universe – a man connected to communication signals all over the ‘verse – who tells him that what set River off was a subliminal message hidden in an advertisement she saw. Plus, the message was sent throughout the verse over the past few weeks by someone high up in the Alliance military.

Needing to rest and refuel, Serenity heads to Haven where Mal and the others are greeted by everyone and Mal meets up with Shepherd Book, who tells him that whoever is after River is running a silent ops mission. They want her, and they want to keep her hid.

The next morning, Mal gets a wave from Inara asking for help with some local trouble. They share some awkward banter and then Mal heads to the bridge where he finds Wash, Zoe, Jayne and Kaylee. Mal thinks it’s a trap, but wants to go anyway, to see who’s behind things. And when he arrives at Inara’s training house…alone…he does. The Operative politely asks Mal to hand River over to him, calling her an albatross he was never meant to carry. Mal, surprisingly, gets the poetic reference and declines the offer. They fight, but Mal and Inara escape and return to Serenity.

They head back to Haven, but along the way River escapes her room and knocks Jayne unconscious. Zoe tells Mal that the girl’s made it to the bridge and sealed herself in. Mal crawls through the vent system and makes it in only to find River pointing yet another gun at him while accessing the main navigation computer. Instead of shooting him, she shows Mal what she was looking for – Miranda – a planet that doesn’t show on any chart. Mal mentions that terra-forming didn’t work there, so it’s uninhabitable, and Zoe shows everyone that it’s surrounded by Reavers.

Once they reach Haven, Mal sees that it was attacked by someone other than Reavers. He finds Book, near death, who tells Mal that he shot down the man that shot him as well as the attacking vessel. He also tells the captain that Mal needs to believe in whatever he believes…and dies. Mal tries to alert everyone who’s ever helped or offered them shelter, but is too late. The Operative got to them first.

Left with nowhere to go, Mal tells all his plan – to get to Miranda, even if it means desecrating Serenity to look like a Reaver ship. His crew starts to argue, and Mal lays down the law: He tells Zoe, Jayne and everyone else that if they’re not going to follow him, they’re free to stay on what’s left of Haven. If they choose to do neither, he will shoot them where they stand.

Everyone follows him, and together make Serenity look Reaver-like enough to make it through to Miranda, which has breathable air, livable cities…and millions of dead people. They find a homing beacon in one of the buildings and it leads them to a video signal explaining what happened here: Scientists created a compound intended to make people live better through less aggression, and after dispersing it throughout the atmosphere almost everyone felt so content they simply stopped doing everything – including eat and breathe. However, an extremely small percentage of the population had the opposite results and became so aggressive they went mad. These were the first Reavers, and that is the secret that the Alliance feared River had in her brain, and why they were after her all this time.

Mal tells everyone he intends to speak for the dead of Miranda, because eventually the Alliance would try something like this again. He’s going to Mr. Universe, so the message can be spread through the whole ‘verse, and asks each of his crew to join him and all of them do.

They send a signal to Mr. Universe to let him know they’re on their way to him, and Zoe mentions that the Alliance will know it too, so Mal comes up with a plan. Serenity leaves Miranda and passes one again through Reaver space. But just before they reach the other side, Mal shoots down a Reaver vessel to get their attention. Wash steps on it, and a Reaver armada follows them…right into an Alliance blockade positioned over Mr. Universe’s planet. Serenity makes it through the surrounding violence, but not alone. A Reaver ship knocks Serenity out of the sky, and Mal jumps into the co-pilot’s seat and helps Wash land in (mostly) one piece. Without warning, a Reaver spear shoots through the bridge and kills Wash – right in front of Mal…and Zoe.

Mal drags her off Serenity as the Reavers continue shooting the ship. They regroup with Jayne, Kaylee, Simon and River at Mr. Universe’s complex, and Zoe agrees to hold their position while Mal gets the message to Mr. Universe.

He makes it to the main computer center to find Mr. Universe dead and the network destroyed, but Mr. Universe left a message for him, saying there’s a back-up further underground. Mal makes it there, only to be stopped by The Operative. They fight, and Mal manages to immobilize The Operative but doesn’t kill him. The signal goes out, and Mal returns topside. He finds all of his crew wounded except for River who’s missing. A blast door opens to reveal the girl standing over many dead Reavers when the wall behind her crashes open and Alliance troops storm in. The Operative acknowledges defeat and orders them to stand down.

Serenity is cleaned and rebuilt, and as Mal prepares to leave, he gets a visit from The Operative who warns him that the Alliance Parliament may seek retribution for what he’s done, but The Operative’s part in all this is over.

Mal checks in with his crew, all of whom are staying – including Inara - and settles into the pilot seat himself. He looks over and sees River in the co-pilot’s chair, and together they take Serenity into the black…as another piece of the ship falls off.

Notes of Interest:

1) This is the first time Mal sees River in action.

2) It’s revealed here that Mal was born on September 20, 2468, was bound by law five times with no convictions, had the rank of Captain in the 57^th Brigade, signed up to fight voluntarily, and was awarded a Valor Commendation for the Battle of Serenity Valley.

3) Mal‘s advice to the security guard during the Reaver attack made the news, as it’s reported that everyone inside the vault survived.

4) According to Mal, it’s been eight months since Simon and River came aboard his ship – which means eight months passed between ‘Serenity’ and Serenity.

5) So - Mal doesn’t know the Mona Lisa, but read “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”?

6) Mal reveals that the recording they found on Miranda is twelve years old, meaning that’s how long Reavers have existed.

7) We learn Mal had a nerve cluster moved after it was damaged during his first tour.

8) Mal’s a faster draw than The Operative.

9) Mal attends the funeral for Mr. Universe, Derrial Book and Hoban Washburn.

WTF? Moment: Here’s a nit-pick. Remember in “Our Mrs. Reynolds”, when Saffron/Bridget/Yolanda sealed the bridge? The door she closed off was right where the bridge connects to the hallway/stairs. Here, when River seals herself in the bridge, the door is located back down the hallway before the stairs leading to the bridge. I think Mal made this change (along with other modifications throughout the ship) back when he had money during the “Better Days” storyline so he’d always have a way in.

WTF? Moment #2: It could be argued that one of the themes of this film is about Mal figuring out what he believes in. He’s been struggling with this ever since Serenity Valley, when his faith (in God, and fighting in the war) was lost. This is what Book’s been trying to rebuild in him – faith. Not necessarily in God, but in something. And when he finds Haven destroyed he realizes that what he believes in more than anything else is himself and his determination to do whatever it takes to continue. The details and circumstances change from day to day and job to job, but he believes in his need to continue – to live and fight another day.

As a side note, this is where his relationship with Inara gets interesting. He confesses to being confused around her, she fogs his compass. Why? His drive to continue disappears when she’s with him…because he no longer needs to continue. She (forgive the reference) completes Mal, and he knows it. 

Malcolm Reynolds Part 15: Downtime – Web Comic (November 11, 2010)

Mal does absolutely nothing in this story, but it still counts!

I don’t have this story, but you can read it online here, and it’s reprinted in the Serenity: Better Days and Other Stories Trade Paperback.

Mal’s anxious to get into the black now that they’ve loaded up Serenity with some “mighty precious cargo”, but they can’t on account of the weather. So everyone is stuck cooling their heels in the mess hall with little in the ways of food (since Mal has no intention of returning to the outpost to stock up on supplies) when Simon comes in and lets Mal and the others know that Jayne has a venereal disease. Mal processes the information as River comes in and tells her brother that she saw a blackbird outside. Taking the news as a sign that the weather’s clearing up, Mal tells Kaylee to fire up Serenity, and they take off.

Notes of Interest:

1) Not much character development here, but it’s clear that it takes place before Inara leaves the ship – which brings me to…

WTF? Moment: …figuring out exactly when this story takes place. Time is wibbly-wobbly at best, and there’s really no specific comment of frame of reference to help with Downtime so there’s bound to be some disagreement. Case in point: this website places Downtime before the events of “Trash”, and makes a valid point as to why, but I respectfully disagree. I believe that River’s comment to Book in this story shows that she’s already read his mind – which we know she did in “Objects in Space”. This is strictly my opinion, and have no other facts to back it up, but this is my blog so what I say goes. Discussions and comments are welcome.

WTF? Moment #2: Why exactly does Mal not want to return to the outpost for provisions? Better question: Why doesn’t he have Jayne or Zoe make the run? It’s possible that all three of them were involved in the acquiring of the goods, but there’s no proof that the level of danger was so high that Wash or Kaylee couldn’t have gone.

Malcolm Reynolds Part 4: “Shindig” – Firefly, Episode 1:4 (November 1, 2002)

Some definition between social classes is made while exploring Mal’s relationship with Inara.

I have this episode in the Firefly 4-Disc DVD set.


Mal starts out at a bar – and no it isn’t Unification Day again – as he plays pool with Jayne against a couple of slave traders. Inara is there, and after warning her to start back to Serenity, Mal reveals that he picked one of the traders’ pockets and a bar fight ensues. Mal leaves with the others having made his feelings towards slave trading practices known.

Serenity heads back to Persephone for supplies and work. Mal lets Inara know they’ll be landing shortly, and she tells him that her client, a man named Atherton Wing, will be taking her to a ball. They touch down, and Mal’s among those supply shopping when Kaylee notices some fancy dresses. She and Zoe start talking about the types of clothes Inara wears and the presents she gets from wealthy clients. Mal is obviously uncomfortable with this, and makes an off-hand remark that unintentionally hurts Kaylee’s feelings. Mal’s left in the street when he gets a gun at his back. A messenger tells him Badger wants to see him. Mal initially declines the invitation, but he’s made to go anyway.

At Badger’s, Mal learns that a high-society local named Warrick Harrow has some valuable property needed taken off-planet quickly. Warrick won’t deal with Badger directly (because of his lowly reputation) and is not allowed to sell off-planet, so he needs a smuggler, and Badger figures Malcolm has a chance to make the deal. Mal reminds him of their last dealing (in “Serenity”) when Mal was left high and dry with marked Alliance goods because Badger thought Mal saw himself as a better class of villain. Badger admits that Mal’s the “better class of villain” Harrow is looking for, and tells him that Warrick will be attending a local party that evening. Badger has access to a pair of invitations, and Mal agrees to attend.

Mal returns to the ship and heads to the engine room where he finds Kaylee still not speaking to him. Regardless, Mal tells her he needs her for a job and she reluctantly goes. It turns out that the “job” is the same high-society party Inara is attending. Kaylee enters wearing the dress she saw in the window earlier…with Mal as her escort. He meets Harrow and offers his services, but Harrow plays ignorant, calling Badger and everyone associated with him petty thieves. Mal attempts to convince him otherwise when they are interrupted by Inara and Atherton – whom Mal notices holds her a little too tightly. Mal asks her to dance and she accepts. They banter about the legality of their respective professions while on the dance floor and Mal is told that she has been offered permanent residence on Persephone as Atherton’s personal companion. Mal doesn’t like the news, but admits he has no call to stop her from taking the offer and that she has the right to a decent life.

Mal missteps during the dance and they both laugh about it, which is enough for Atherton to step in and grab her away. Mal stops him, saying there’s no need to be grabby, and Wing replies that Inara is his. Mal responds by saying Inara belongs to no one. Wing explains that since money changed hands, she does belong to him for the night. Mal reacts by hitting him, which is seen by Atherton as a challenge. Mal has no idea what he’s talking about but Warrick tells him that he’s now set to face Atherton in a duel to the death then next morning. Inara tells Mal he’ll need a second for the duel – to fight in Mal’s place if he refuses – and Warrick volunteers, admitting that Mal earned his respect by hitting Atherton. However, Warrick doesn’t believe Mal will live long enough to do business. Mal’s fine with the whole idea of the duel…until he learns it’s a sword fight.

During the night, Mal practices using a sword when Inara visits him with a plan of escape. He refuses to leave, believing he was defending her honor. Mal, thinking she would know something about dueling since she’s so educated, asks her for help, and she does.

The next morning, Mal meets Atherton for the duel and Warrick is there as his second. Mal draws first blood, but is quickly wounded and easily defeated. Before Atherton can kill him, Inara agrees to stay on Persephone as Atherton’s personal companion. Mal uses the distraction to get the upper hand and decides to leave Atherton alive but disgraced. Warrick is impressed by how hard Mal fights, and agrees to have his property loaded onto Serenity before midnight.

Mal returns to Serenity badly wounded with Inara helping him. Badger is there, along with some of his men, and asks him if he got the job. Mal tells Badger he does, and to get off his ship.

Mal ends up sitting over the cargo hold with Inara after Simon tended to his wounds. She thanks him for defending her honor, and he admits that looking back it might have been better if he stayed out of her world.

Notes of Interest:
1) Mal’s bantering with Inara throughout the entire episode reminds me of Tracy/Hepburn movies. The chemistry between them is that good.

2) This episode also shows Mal’s personal feelings towards slavery, reflected in the scene at the bar and Inara’s situation.

3) I like Mal’s comment about a high-society party being something to only attend when getting paid to. Kind of rings true, doesn’t it?

4) Mal and Inara talk about Kaylee and her dress. Inara says she looks adorable, and Mal agrees – but makes a point to say that she can’t tell Kaylee that. This seems to strengthen the idea that he sees himself as Kaylee’s older brother, but has to maintain the distance required as her captain.

5) At the ball, the first thing Mal mentions – after his tight pants – is why the chandelier would be hovering. Not how it’s done, but why, which shows that while he has a working knowledge of the technology in the ‘verse, he lacks an understanding behind possible applications of that tech.

6) Mal shows his true feelings towards Inara as she helps him prepare the night before the duel, explaining that while he may not respect what she does, Atherton doesn’t respect her, and that’s why Mal hit him. Then he tells her not to take the offer. What makes this all the more important is the way he does it, all shy and boyish-like, which is a very different Mal than we’ve seen up to this point.

WTF? Moment: This may be nit-picking, but I think it would have made more sense for the bar fight at the beginning of the episode to take place later, after they reached Persephone. All we’ve seen of the planet up to this point is from the first episode: the city skyline and one of the space docks. This episode focuses on Inara’s world and Mal’s interaction with that. The parts of Persephone she’s accustomed to seeing, beautiful countryside and fancy parties, clashes with Mal’s world of bar fights and lowlifes. Showing Persephone to have both lifestyles on one planet would have strengthened the subtle point that they could coexist (relatively) peacefully, something Mal and Inara are obviously trying to figure out.

Malcolm Reynolds Part 3: “Bushwhacked” – Firefly, Episode 1:3 (September 27, 2002)

Mal has a run-in with The Alliance and Reavers (well, sort of).

I have this episode in the Firefly 4-Disc DVD set.

Serenity comes upon a ship (and a dead body) adrift in space and Mal decides to investigate. The ship was a converted cargo vessel, and according to the logs was transporting 16 families of settlers to a new world, but when Mal and the others board it, there’s no one there.

The crew split up looking for various things they could salvage, and Mal takes Zoe to the cargo hold where they find settlers supplies, which are worth a fortune. As he prepares the goods for transport to Serenity, he finds River standing in the doorway…looking up. He follows her eyes and finds the people, suspended from the ceiling, dead. He calls for everyone to meet back on Serenity but Jayne (who was sent to the derelict’s mess hall for food) doesn’t answer, and all Mal hears is a gunshot. Mal rushes there to find a spooked Jayne as well as a scared survivor. Mal knocks the stranger out and drags him back to Serenity.

Mal’s in sickbay with Simon as he treats the survivor, who goes on about how the “others were weak”. Clearly spooked, Mal has Simon dope his patient, gets the crew together and tells them the ship was hit by Reavers. He’s convinced it would have been better to kill their guest than bring him aboard, but locks the sickbay door and tells everyone to stay out.

Mal left the cargo behind at first but plans to return to the ship to get it, and against his better judgement decides to let Simon and Book go there in order to take care of the dead and hold a service. Mal confesses he doesn’t personally believe it would do any good, but accepts that it might mean something to the settlers. Jayne, meanwhile, will go over to get the goods. As they get ready to head over, Mal admits to Zoe that this is to keep them distracted while he looks into something else – a booby trap hooked into Serenity that Mal felt was there, knowing Reavers sometimes leave them for rescue ships.

Mal shares this info with Wash, Kaylee and Zoe (of course).Kaylee surprises him with her knowledge of how it probably works and how it may be disabled. Mal asks her directly if she thinks she can do it, and to his (pleasant) surprise, she says yes. Mal helps prep Kaylee to do her thing, and decides to keep Jayne and the others in the dark even after Kaylee succeeds in disabling the trap. With the cargo aboard, Serenity leaves and the proximity alarm goes off again. Mal orders Jayne, Simon and Book to hide the goods while he heads to the bridge to see what’s up, and it turns out to be an Alliance ship sitting right in their path telling them to prepare to be boarded.

Because of the incoming Alliance troops, Mal orders for the goods to be taken out again because he doesn’t want to look like he’s keeping secrets. He then tells Simon to get River. Simon refuses, believing Mal will turn them over, and Book intervenes before it gets physical. Mal’s front and center when the Alliance troops arrive, with the goods they’ve just salvaged in plain sight. He’s told that the goods appear to be illegally gotten Alliance goods, and Mal shrugs it off. Then he’s asked about two known fugitives last seen leaving Persephone in a Firefly-class ship and Mal calmly replies he has no passengers aboard. Mal then lets him know about the survivor they have in the infirmary. Everyone is taken into custody for questioning while the Alliance checks every nook and cranny of Serenity for the fugitives. Mal knows the Alliance well enough to expect that, so he has Simon and River hide outside the ship.

During his interrogation, Mal warns the officer not to tow the wreckage but is ignored. The officer brings up the war, Mal’s war record, and mentions that for some the war will never be over. Mal tries to convince him that Reavers attacked the ship, and things are going to get worse before it’s over. The officer doesn’t believe him and is convinced that Mal attacked the ship in revenge for losing to the Alliance. He tells Mal that he’s under arrest and that Serenity will be auctioned off when news comes in that the survivor has escaped from the Alliance sickbay. Mal knows where he’s going and convinces the officer to take him back to Serenity.

Mal leads them into the kitchen area when the survivor attacks, killing one trooper and pinning the officer on the floor. Mal gets behind the newly born Reaver and manages to snap his neck, saving the officer’s life. As a thank you, the officer releases Mal, his crew and Serenity, but keeps the cargo.

Notes of Interest:
1) Apparently, Mal plays basketball.

2) The Alliance must really leave a bad taste in his mouth. When Book suggests Mal contact the Alliance when they first find the derelict, he chooses not to, thinking they’re too busy doing Alliance stuff to check on some lowly ship adrift in space.

3) While Mal’s main purpose for boarding the vessel is for salvage, he obviously has enough heart to also look for survivors.

4) Mal’s not the kind of captain to stay behind while others explore new places. He’s right there getting suited up as part of the “away team”.

5) While he doesn’t believe in God or Heaven, Mal does believe in ghosts enough not to cross them.

6) Kaylee impresses the hell out of him, disengaging the Reaver trap like that.

7) Mal has no issue pushing Alliance officer’s buttons, another example of having fun at Alliance expense we first saw in “The Train Job”. And again, Mal has an opportunity to turn Simon and River over to the feds, but doesn’t do it. Is it out of concern, or is it another childish plan to keep something they want?

8) The interrogation scene reveals quite a bit: the Battle of Serenity Valley where we first see Mal took place on the planet Hara; according to his military record, Mal has a “tendency to inspire loyalty”; and while he admits to being on the losing side of the war…Mal’s still not convinced it was the wrong side.

9) Mal describes the affects of surviving a Reaver attack as if he’s seen it before.

WTF? Moment: I would have loved to have seen the conversation where the officer lets Mal go. Can you imagine the look on Mal’s face when he learns they’re keeping the cargo?

Malcolm Reynolds Part 2: “The Train Job” – Firefly, Episode 1:2 (September 20, 2002)

We see how Mal feels about the Alliance and his fellow thieves in this episode, as well as how strong his conscience can be.

I have this episode in the Firefly 4-Disc DVD set.

It’s Unification Day, and Mal celebrates it the same way he has for the last six years…picking a fight at an Alliance-friendly bar. He also manages to make contact with someone who has a job for them. A man named Adelai Niska needs two crates taken off a train. Mal knows of Niska’s dangerous reputation, and witnesses it, but takes the job because prospects are scarce. Niska ensures that Mal understands: failure isn’t an option.

The job itself goes fine but Mal and Zoe are stuck on the train until the next stop, which is Paradiso, a mining town. Since the train was robbed, the sheriff questions everyone onboard. Mal tells Zoe they should pose as a newlywed couple looking for work, and as they’re questioned, Mal learns that the townsfolk suffer from Bowden’s Malady, a degenerative affliction of bone and muscle caused when the ore in the mines mixes with air. The condition is treatable with Pescaline, which was stolen from the train.

The sheriff finds Mal’s newlywed story odd, and plans to keep them for a while, when Inara arrives and slaps Mal across the face. She tells the sheriff that Mal is an indentured servant of hers with three years left on his debt and that he stole her money and ran off with Zoe – who’s married to another man. Since Inara’s status as a Companion is impeccable, the sheriff releases Mal and Zoe.

Mal returns to Serenity with the others to find Jayne passed out on the stairs and tells the crew they’re giving back the cargo, knowing that Niska’s gonna be mad. Before they can do anything else, Niska’s men show up since Mal never reached the rendezvous point. Mal calls off the deal and offers to give the money back, but Niska’s men disagree and Mal gets a blade in the shoulder. During the ensuing fight, Mal takes on Crow, Niska’s head mercenary. The fight goes poorly for Mal, and Jayne wakes up in time to shoot Crow…saving Mal’s life.

Mal takes the medicine back to the edge of town with Zoe and are about to leave it behind when the sheriff and his men come out of the shadows. Seems the sheriff had a hunch that whoever took the medicine had a hard choice to make. Mal says there isn’t one – the goods go the where they’re needed, nowhere else.

Back at the ship, Mal offers Crow the money Niska gave upfront to be returned, calling off the deal. They’re thieves, but they’re not robbing him of his money. Mal also promises to stay clear of Niska and all his dealings in the future. Crow tells him that he will hunt Mal down and kill him, and Mal kicks him into Serenity’s intake valve. Then he gets another of Niska’s men and starts making the same deal. This one agrees to take the money back.

Mal ends up on Simon’s table getting his shoulder sewn up. Mal tells him that doping up Jayne was the right thing to do, and feels confident that Simon can handle Jayne if need be.

Notes of Interest:
1) Mal knows how to play Chinese checkers – albeit badly.

2) Early in the episode, Mal enters sickbay to wash a wound he got in the bar fight. Simon offers to help, but Mal declines needing it. This makes the ending more interesting, as it shows that Mal sometimes needs help despite what he thinks he needs. Plus, Mal is gaining some respect for Simon – especially after his dealing with Jayne – and Mal shows some genuine concern for River.

3) Mal continues to treat Kaylee like a younger sister here. She rearranges things in the engine room not to Mal’s liking and he basically tells her to clean her room. Mal would never tell anyone how to keep their own personal space, but Mal sees the engine room as part of his ship and therefore puts him in the right to have her keep it the way he likes it.

4) Book asks Mal why he decided to keep Simon and River onboard. Mal says it’s for the money and is the right thing to do, but we’re not sure he’s speaking the truth. It could be just to piss off the Alliance, having something they want.

5) Niska has heard of Mal’s reputation for “getting the job done” which is why he wants Mal for the job.

6) Mal has strong feelings against religion, but not religious folk as he tells Book he’s not looking to be converted, and God isn’t welcome on his ship.

7) There’s more info about his relationship with Inara as he teases her about her profession, and confesses that he’s distracted by her presence, but warns her not to leave Serenity while docked at Niska’s skyplex.

8) Mal loves upsetting the Alliance, even if it includes robbing a train full of Alliance troops.

9) The scene where Inara hits him shows Mal’s willingness to go with the flow, even when it pisses him off.

WTF? Moment: Mal must have quite a rolodex if he can get contact for a job through a belly dancer at an Alliance-friendly bar.

Malcolm Reynolds Part 1: "Serenity" – Firefly, Episode 1:1 (December 20, 2002)

Malcolm Reynolds is one of many fantastic characters Joss Whedon's created over the years. Played extremely well by Nathan Fillion, Serenity’s captain leads his crew throughout the ‘verse looking for jobs that keep him flying.

I have this episode in the Firefly 4-Disc DVD set.

We meet Mal as a Sergeant fighting for independence against the Alliance. He and his second-in-command Zoe are in the middle of a battle in Serenity Valley, and Mal is clearly in charge. He’s giving orders on his feet while dodging bullets on his way to shoot down a skiff that’s picking off his men like flies. Mal reaches the gun and successfully brings the skiff down. But when he returns to camp anticipating air support, orders come over the radio to lay down arms. Mal looks out to see Alliance ships – lots of them – landing nearby. The battle is lost, and Mal is speechless.

We next see him six years later as Captain Reynolds of the ship Serenity, a Firefly-class vessel. He’s with Zoe and Jayne on a job – breaking into a derelict ship to steal its cargo. During the raid, an Alliance ship gets too close for comfort and Mal orders crew members Wash and Kaylee to shut down power. Mal and the others get the three crates of goods onboard Serenity and leave…but not without being noticed.

Mal checks the cargo and notices that it’s marked, but decides to continue on to Persephone where he can turn it over to Badger (who hired Mal to get the goods), take on some passengers and head to Boros for some much needed R & R. Once on Persephone, he brings Zoe and Jayne with him to Badger’s to finalize the deal and hits another snag; Badger mentions that an Alliance bulletin went out saying a Firefly-class vessel was seen pulling illegal salvage off a derelict transport. Mal explains that Serenity wasn’t mentioned by name, but Badger tells him that marked cargo is worthless and calls off the deal.

On the way back to the ship, Mal decides to take the goods to Patience, an old acquaintance currently living on Whitefall. Zoe reminds him that Patience once shot him, but Mal doesn’t hold any grudges and believes that Patience was in the right to shoot him at the time. Mal returns to Serenity and meets Dr. Simon Tam, one of his paying passengers. After take off, Mal lays down the ground rules while aboard his ship, and greets the other two new faces: Mr. Dobson and Book, a shepherd.

En route to Whitefall, Mal is told that a signal went out from his ship telling the Alliance their location. Convinced Simon is the mole, and catching him unescorted in the cargo hold, Mal hits him, and then draws his gun on the young doctor when Book tells Mal he’s got the wrong man. It turns out Mr. Dobson sent the signal and has the drop on Mal while he arrests Simon. Mal is relieved that this has nothing to do with the cargo he’s carrying, but Dobson tells him that since he was transporting a wanted man, the Alliance will be holding the whole crew for questioning. Mal tries to cooperate, but there’s confusion, and Kaylee is shot by accident as the Alliance cruiser approaches. Simon forces Mal to decide - run from the Alliance and let Simon operate, or dump him for the feds…and Kaylee die. They run, and Mal assists Simon with the operation.

Once Kaylee is stable, Mal opens the crate Simon was sneaking into the cargo area to check on and finds it contains a young woman, Simon’s sister River. After learning how the two of them wound up on Persephone, Mal explains that with the Alliance on their tail, a fed tied up and everyone onboard most likely I.D.’d, the best thing to do is finish the job – get to Whitefall, make the deal with Patience, and keep flying. As for Simon and River, he’s ready to leave them on Whitefall if Kaylee survives. If not, he’ll throw them out before then. He also leaves it to Jayne to interrogate Dobson to find out exactly what was sent in the message.

Mal’s problems get worse when a Reaver ship crosses their path. The good news is that the ship passes by, and things start looking better when Kaylee wakes up. Mal tells her that she’ll be fine and the ship can’t run without her. She tells him not to blame the doctor for what happened, and then passes out. Mal tells Simon that Kaylee’s dead, a consequence of his actions, but it turns out to be a lie, and Mal gets a good laugh out of it.

Patience calls to set up the deal, and Mal confesses that the goods are stamped with Alliance markings. She agrees anyway, and Mal thinks she plans to shoot him again. Left with little choice, he has the ship reach Whitefall ahead of schedule in order to bury the cargo and plan a strategy to walk away from the exchange. His plan is for Jayne to keep radio contact while he knocks out any of Patience’s snipers in order to cover Mal and Zoe as the drop is made.

Patience arrives as planned, with several armed guards, and Mal gives the location of the buried goods. As proof of the cargo’s existence, he hands over one of the pieces, which turns out to be food, and gets 200 platinum pieces for it. Things go wrong again when Patience asks for the money back. Considering the number of men Patience brought with her, Mal reluctantly agrees, and just before she can get the upper hand, has Jayne open fire. Mal’s hit during the firefight, but only slightly as the bullet grazes his left arm, and he manages to pin Patience under her own horse…by shooting it. He then takes the money he and his crew so richly deserve, but his happiness is short-lived. Wash calls over the comm that the Reaver ship they passed earlier has found them, and is coming…

Mal, Zoe and Jayne reach Serenity in time, but as Mal walks onto the deck, he sees Dobson holding a gun on River. Not wasting any time, Mal shoots Dobson, and together with Jayne throw him off the ship. They take off, and Mal tells Inara to take the civilians (Book, Simon, River and herself) into her shuttle and get away if they’re boarded. After some fancy flying to stay just out of Reaver range, Mal orders Wash to pull a Crazy Ivan. The plan works and they’re free.
Mal takes over flying the ship, and Jayne tells him that Dobson said the Alliance will keep coming after them for River. Mal asks if Dobson offered a deal, and when Jayne doesn’t answer, he asks why Jayne didn’t turn on him. Jayne replies that the money wasn’t good enough. Smiling, Mal then asks what would happen when Jayne finally is offered enough, and both men agree that that would be an interesting day.

As Jayne leaves, Simon enters, and first asks about tending to Mal’s injury, then about Mal’s plans for him and his sister. Mal tells him that it might be best for them to stay on board for the time being, especially since he’d need a medic from time to time. Simon doesn’t trust him, and wonders how he’d know Mal doesn’t kill him in his sleep. Mal replies that if he were to kill Simon, the doctor would be awake, facing Mal…and armed.

Simon leaves, and Mal calls this a good day, because as long as he’s still flying, it's a good day.

Notes of Interest:
1) I find it interesting that despite all the areas Mal won’t let his passengers near while aboard Serenity, the kitchen is open 24/7, and that the crew has proper sit-down meals regularly. Guess Serenity will run out of fuel before running out of food.

2) Mal has some resentment to the methods used for terra-forming planets.

3) During the scene in infirmary, Mal shows no problem being around medical equipment - having seen plenty of blood during the war no doubt - and knows how to sedate a patient.

4) Mal has a special spot for Kaylee, staying with her during the surgery, and protecting her honor at the dinner table.

5) There’s some obvious tension between Mal and Inara.

6) Mal suffers from a crisis of faith. At Serenity Valley, he says a silent prayer and kisses the gold cross around his neck before storming the gun. Six years later he goes out of his way to make Book uncomfortable once Mal learns he’s a shepherd.

7) Kaylee mentions that they could use a compression coil, but Mal dismisses it as not important enough.

8) Mal respects other peoples’ beliefs, shown here when he lets Book pray at the table.

9) Mal’s used to having the odds against him – another byproduct of the war – and seems quite comfortable when it happens.

10) Mal, like many others in this series, speaks Mandarin.

11) While he hired Wash as his ship’s pilot, Mal is capable of flying when necessary.

WTF? Moment: The one problem I have with this character in this episode is in the scene where he, Zoe and Jayne are on their way back to Serenity after being dissed by Badger. Jayne talks about not getting paid lately and Mal says the last few jobs they had were “weak tea”. Mal doesn’t strike me as someone who would say that. He would have said something in Chinese - like “sewer water” or “scrotum sweat”.