Pilot episodes always have the curse of introducing the main characters, establishing the status quo, and still managing to be interesting in the process. In the case of “Serenity”, Joss Whedon set out to fulfill these requirements by effectively creating a veritable feature film instead of an exposition dump. The result is a work that stands well enough on its own, but also defines a universe that is so complex and richly imagined that future adventures are a necessity.
Despite the best efforts of the FOX network to keep the audience from seeing it, “Serenity” comes to life as the true beginning of the story in the DVD set. In the near future, of course, the story will be minimally completed with another film by the name of “Serenity”, this time in the theaters as a resurrection of the “Firefly” series. It’s more than a nice bit of symmetry; it underscores the fact that Serenity, both battle and vessel, stand as the center of the “Firefly” universe.
The series begins at the end of the Battle of Serenity Valley, and immediately, the basic elements of Malcolm Reynolds are established. The Malcolm Reynolds fighting for the Browncoats is a man of faith, assured in the rightness of his cause and the dreams of remaining free of the corporate political machine of the Alliance. This is the man that dies in Serenity Valley, survivor or not.
This is also the introduction for Zoe, Malcolm’s right hand woman. As would be the case for the entire series run, Zoe is devoted to her commander. She trusts him probably more than anyone else, with the possible exception of her future husband. And that, of course, becomes a matter of personal conflict. But the Battle of Serenity Valley is where Mal and Zoe found a common bond and pain; both were betrayed and left to die.
It’s fitting, then, that Wash is the very next character to get any real screen time, when the next scene jumps six years to the “present day”. It doesn’t matter that the audience is unaware of the relationship between Zoe and Wash; it’s all about communicating the massive difference between the battle-scarred Mal and his pilot. In terms of the core characters, the two couldn’t be less alike, and yet these are the men in Zoe’s life.
At a furious pace, characters and the “Firefly” universe are placed in context. It’s quite obvious that the Alliance is in power, and that Mal’s operation runs strictly on the wrong side of Alliance salvage law. So the easy assumption is that Mal is now a criminal, something that is technically true but only begins to clarify his true sense of morality and inner conflict. Jayne’s self-absorbed personality is immediately apparent, and Kaylee is introduced as the ship’s young and gorgeous engineer.
The teaser ends with a beautiful CGI shot of the Firefly-class Serenity in action, with that characteristic engine that sounds so silly on paper but works damn well on screen. For a lot of other shows out there, that would have been the time to cut to the opening credits. But this is not the same old show. Joss hits the first break with a quick but telling shot of Mal reacting to another close shave, and there is no hint of victory in his eyes.
The episode rarely takes a break from weaving exposition and plot points together. For instance, Mal notices the Alliance mark on the contraband, but doesn’t say anything about it. And of course, the nature of the contraband is cleverly left unspoken, so that the nature of Mal’s operation appears to be more sinister than it really is. As the contraband is concealed, revealing the location and existence of hidden spaces on Serenity, Jayne and Kaylee receive a bit more characterization. Jayne seems like a pain in the ass, and Kaylee is too cute and wonder-struck for words.
Leaving nothing to chance, the apparent conflict between Zoe’s professional past and personal present gets serious screen time. Wash, it seems, wants nothing more than to run away with Zoe at the first opportunity. The problem, of course, is Mal. Zoe is still devoted to her former commander, and there’s more than a little hint that Zoe does her best to take care of Mal, something he doesn’t seem to do very well for himself. Wash, of course, is jealous of that bond, something that would have some serious consequences in the near future.
With the other characters already on Serenity present and accounted for, the focus shifts to Inara. The decision to include a professional courtesan on the series definitely raised some eyebrows, especially among the more conservatively minded. Apparently those types have forgotten the last few thousand years of history. Whatever the case, Inara’s world is fleshed out rather quickly. Inara is a Companion, a trained and studied courtesan, and that makes her something special. Zoe calls her an “ambassador”, and in fact, that is somewhat true; her position opens doors that would otherwise be closed. Even so, it’s also clear that many still regard her profession with distaste and contempt.
Serenity arrives at Persephone, and the difference between the city where Inara has been working and the docks where Serenity takes berth is striking. The Alliance, then, is a society with rather extreme social class divisions, as one would expect from a corporate-driven political system. In keeping with what has already been shown, Mal operates at the lower end of the ladder. His reasons for working with Inara are obvious from that point of view; her motivations, of course, are far more mysterious.
Mal demonstrates his business sense during his meeting with Badger, as well as his desperation. Badger comes across as a somewhat stylized semi-villain, something that normally wouldn’t work very well, except that in the universe of “Firefly”, the Western motif is engrained in everything non-Alliance. This is an interesting choice, clearly influenced by Whedon’s interest in the years following the American Civil War. And yet, when the one source of technology makes it available only when it serves their own interests, the rest of the universe is forced to resort to the next best thing. In the case of American history, the technology that immediately preceded the technological boom was, in fact, the “Western” frontier technology.
Enter Book, a Shepherd, recalling the Western icon of the wandering pastor. Even from the beginning, there’s the feeling that Book is a man with a past, someone searching for something within himself and within others. One gets the impression that he marks the lack of sophistication inherent to Serenity; as Kaylee says, it’s the kind of ship and journey he’s looking for, not a specific destination.
Thanks to Badger, Mal gets to rundown his storied past with the criminal element and the dire straits of his operation. At the core of Mal’s desperation is the desire to keep Serenity flying. Just as typical, Jayne is more worried about the potential for payoff; never mind that his exploits to date have clearly been less than profitable! This is also the first mention of the Reavers.
The rest of the passengers practically scream their intentions. Dobson does everything possible to look unassuming, and even if his true nature wasn’t already known at this point, his demeanor spells trouble. Simon is equally obvious, but to the other extreme. Simon comes from money, and he does a damn poor job looking like he’s picking Serenity for no good reason. Both men have something to hide; Dobson is just more experienced, and has fallen into patterns.
Mal certainly has some issues with the religious folk; he immediately makes certain that Inara and Book meet under the most awkward of circumstances. This also provides a great moment between Inara and Mal, when the particular tension between the two of them becomes very clear. Mal has certain issues with her profession, but Inara lets Mal get away with far more than anyone else would.
After Kaylee has a rather delicious moment with a strawberry, making many men jealous of succulent fruit, dinner is served. Mal’s hostility towards Book remains, and the crew dances around the cover story for the contraband drop: an Alliance medical supply shipment to Whitefall. Also, the basis for the low technology is explained; the words are terraformed like the Earth-That-Was, but the Alliance only sends settlers with the bare essentials.
Kaylee’s attraction to Simon is obvious, just as Jayne’s complete lack of civility is deeply explored. It’s also very clear that Mal protects Kaylee from Jayne as much as possible. The crew relationships are a tangled mess of emotional co-dependence. Wash looks after Zoe, Zoe looks after Mal, and Mal looks after Kaylee. Jayne, well, he looks after himself.
The conversation between Book and Inara is particularly revealing, and not only because of the sponge bath. Book acts the monkish part, but his forthright manner suggests that he’s been in a Companion’s chambers before. It’s interesting that both of them recognized how the other regards Mal. Inara reveals her attraction to Mal, and at least part of the reason why that attraction exists. For Book’s part, it speaks to what he might be looking for: a soul to redeem, so that in turn, he can find his own redemption.
With the basic premise more or less covered, it comes down to providing something more in terms of a plot, since the first hour is dominated with character introduction and universe building. It doesn’t take much to get the ball rolling. One of the passengers sends out a covert signal to the Alliance, and Mal assumes it must be Simon. Again, this points to Mal’s struggle to keep on top of things; Dobson is by far the more worrisome of the bunch.
Joss, however, tosses the audience a bit of a curveball, by immediately making it seem like Book could be the real threat. Adding that element of distraction makes the chaos of the showdown all the more unnerving, because everyone involved has a different agenda. Book wants to prevent any killing, and Mal wants to preserve his own operation. Tension hits the ground running, and it just gets worse when the shouting stops and Kaylee is on the floor with lead in her gut.
The reactions are powerful and revealing. Book, in particular, betrays something of military training in his swift and efficient handling of Dobson, and Simon demonstrates his mixture of desperation and compassion by threatening Kaylee’s life while communicating a clear desire to save it. Kaylee’s place as “little sister” to Mal and Inara is reinforced, and it’s damned impressive to see Book stare down a mercenary like Jayne, even if Jayne is a coward at heart. And the Mal’s fury at being told what to do on his own ship is just plain frightening. It’s the kind of performance that comes from a veteran cast well into a series run, not something one expects from a pilot episode.
After making the decision to run, instead of cutting away from the revealing moments, Joss lingers on them. Simon demonstrates his practiced efficiency at saving lives, something that’s not lost on Mal or Inara. For their part, they watch over Kaylee like heartsick parents, helping where they can. Jayne, in a completely unexpected shot, watches from the outside, hugging himself in worry. The tough man reveals that even he thinks of himself as her older brother, if somewhat more crude than Mal would ever be.
To keep the tension running high, Kaylee’s barely patched up before Mal confronts Simon about his precious cargo. The shock value was ruined by FOX and their moronic decision to run the pilot film long after the series began airing (numbers apparently confuse those executives, unless the numbers reflect ratings). Still, once River wakes up, the scene becomes incredibly powerful. Simon turns from the pompous Alliance doctor to a nearly broken man. Mal clearly recognizes something in Simon, because his expression is almost one of terror.
Simon’s monologue gives the audience time to decompress. As exposition goes, this is as hard as it gets, detailing tons of character background in a relatively static situation. Joss makes damn sure, though, that Simon’s character shines through, and everything is important to understanding River and her mental condition. There’s really no other way to communicate this information, other than to do flashback after flashback, and that means money, locations, and all the other things that become a logistical nightmare.
One interesting piece of information is buried in all the exposition, and it’s very easy to miss. Simon explains that after two years, an underground movement contacted him about rescuing River. That underground movement is never defined, but it doesn’t take much to speculate that it would have become important had the series continued. After all, Mal is rapidly losing what little absolute freedom he has, with the Reavers and Alliance taking over more and more territory. Would Mal and the crew have eventually joined a new resistance movement against the Alliance, thanks to Simon’s decision to board Serenity?
If there’s any question about Mal’s dark side, it certainly comes out in his decision to effectively sacrifice Simon and River, just to make sure he can keep flying. Jayne seems to be game for whatever business Mal has in mind, but everyone else is notably against murdering in cold blood. Zoe, caught again between Mal and Wash, declines to take sides. To Simon’s credit, he doesn’t take the death sentence lying down, at least until Mal puts him down.
Predictably, when Jayne is tasked with interrogating Dobson, his mercenary side comes to the fore. It’s unclear whether Jayne actually helps Dobson or not; it’s certainly suggested, and even though Jayne denies it at the end of the episode, there’s no reason to think that Jayne wouldn’t have taken an opportunity. Everything ugly about Jayne comes out in this scene, and it becomes very clear that even though he’s a dim-witted psychopath, he’s still a psychopath.
The encounter with the Reavers is another example of how the tension never really stops, once Kaylee is shot. The situation becomes one matter of life and death after another. It’s not necessary to see the Reavers to understand how savage they are; the shark-like shape of their vessel and the fear in everyone’s eyes is more than enough information. Inara’s reaction, however, provides one more piece of important background: Inara has something waiting for desperate moments, something involving a syringe and an unknown liquid. The suggestion is a suicide kit; that being the easy answer, it’s probably something very different.
If there’s one scene that doesn’t quite work, it’s Mal and his practical joke on Simon. It’s damn funny, and demonstrates a kind of military humor that the crew is probably used to by now. And one can see what Joss was shooting for. Given the tone of the rest of the episode, though, it’s the one thing that sticks out a bit too much.
There’s still the little matter of the episode’s plot to attend to, so things come to a head when Mal sets up the meet with Patience on Whitefall. From the start, things look very bad for Mal, but at least he knows an ambush when he sees one. Jayne gets the chance to finally show what he’s good for, since there’s dirty work to be done. And for good measure, Dobson gets loose at that very moment, and exacts some payback on Book’s head.
The nature of Mal’s cargo, protein food bars, is something of a revelation. For one thing, it says something that Mal is dealing in something so practical and necessary, and that he’s smuggling food past the Alliance. Mal is clearly making a profit off of the misery of others, but at the same time, his operation gets the stuff to people faster and cheaper than the Alliance would ever provide. It’s an interesting mixture of self-interest and morality.
The gunfight is a nice piece of work, even if the mixture of future technology and classical Western elements is still a bit jarring. The whole sequence looks better and better with every viewing. Especially disturbing is the shot of Zoe getting nailed in the chest, followed immediately by a very calm Wash discussing how worried he is when Zoe’s out on a deal. Talk about ignorance being bliss!
Just as everything comes to a head with Patience, the Reavers arrive, and things go from very bad to much, much worse. Simon shows his true grit (to coin a phrase) by standing up to Dobson. It’s clear that where River is concerned, he’ll do anything to protect her; that had been hinted, but this scene communicates the concept clearly. His hesitance also speaks to his reverence for life.
Could the shot of Mal, Zoe, and Jayne on horseback be more perfect for this series? And Mal’s quick, decisive resolution to Dobson’s threat is equally perfect. It’s all about the brutal nature of the world these characters live in. The true threat comes with the Reavers, of course, and this is another chance for characterization to shine through. Wash, usually flippant and insecure, becomes completely focused when it comes time to guide Serenity through the gauntlet.
When it looks like Serenity may not get away, Mal makes the tough call and orders Inara to take the passengers to safety. That scene underscores the passion that stands between them, waiting to be addressed or dismissed. It’s telling that Book remains on the ship, eager to help in engineering. This scene, and the earlier scene on Persephone, suggests that Book has some engineering knowledge, on top of his physical training.
The escape from the Reavers is a lesson in establishing the basic technology of one’s ship when writing a science fiction series. Viewers ought to be able to clearly understand where people are, how the ship basically works, and the movements should follow the laws of physics. Not only is there no ambient sound in the scenes taking place in space, which works far better than one would anticipate, but Wash’s little maneuver makes complete technical sense.
Like most Joss Whedon products, the episode leaves plenty of time for the characters to react to the action. Book’s scene with Inara is damned powerful, especially considering how they met at the beginning. If there’s any question that this was written and filmed like a feature film, consider how the characters actually complete minor character arcs just in the space of the pilot episode. If this is what the pilot is like, the follow-up film is going to make FOX executives jump out of windows, lamenting their stupidity.
Simon gets to comfort his sister, Wash and Zoe get to celebrate as man and wife should, and Book and Inara reach a certain understanding. Mal and Jayne, however, need to discuss how Dobson managed to get loose, and damned if this little plot point doesn’t become a major source of conflict in future episodes. This is strength of the series, like most of Whedon’s work: the fact that suggested plot threads in the pilot actually mean something. Compare this to most shows, where conflicts set up in the pilot are often ignored.
The final scene between Simon and Mal completes the transition from a crew and passengers to a combined core group of fellow survivors. And Mal’s main nobility shines through. He may be a terribly tortured soul, still waiting in Serenity Valley for the angels to come, but he hasn’t lost his sense of loyalty. His faith has been broken, but his honor, however tarnished, remains. And despite it all, his dream is intact: he’s still flying.
As pilots go, this is a masterwork. Few series begin with so much promise and vision. Perhaps “Farscape” managed to hit the ground running with similar ease, but there were weaknesses left to be addressed. Part of the strength of this episode is the format; few television pilot could ever serve as a stand-alone feature film. Joss approached the pilot in that fashion, despite the network’s reservations, and the final product is damned fine material.
This is only possible because of the dedication of every single person involved in the production, and from start to finish, this series was a labor of love. The entire cast believed in what they were doing and telling this story, and the writers gave it their all. Most of the writing staff for this series had been involved with Mutant Enemy prior to “Firefly”, and all of them have continued to be a major presence in television since the series’ demise.
Though the entire cast is top notch, one cannot say enough about Nathan Fillion. Before “Firefly”, Fillion was mostly known for comedy work. There’s no question that he owns this character, understanding every little nuance of what it means to be Malcolm Reynolds. Mutant Enemy has become noteworthy for the amazing number of complex characters brought to life by relatively unknown cast members, but the combination of Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillion produces the crown jewel of the bunch.
One minor issue with the series, of course, is that individual scripts would often fall somewhat short of the pilot. With different writers and directors working on the series, this is an inevitable consequence. What’s astounding, when looking at the series as a whole, is the consistency of above average product. Out of 15 hours, perhaps 2 are ultimately average fare. That’s one hell of an accomplishment.
Memorable Quotes
MAL: “Hey, listen to me, Bendis, look at me! Listen, we’re holding this valley no matter what.”
BENDIS: “We’re gonna die!”
MAL: “We’re not gonna die. We can’t die, Bendis. You know why? Because we are so very pretty!”
WASH: “Ah, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal! Ha, ha, ha…mine is an evil laugh! Now die!”
MAL: “I don’t believe there is a power in the ‘verse that can stop Kaylee from being cheerful. Sometimes you just wanna duct tape her mouth and dump her in the hold for a month.”
KAYLEE: “I love my captain!”
KAYLEE: “So, uh, how come you don’t care where you’re going?”
BOOK: “’Cause how you get there is the worthier part.”
MAL: “Jayne, your mouth is talking. You might wanna look to that.”
MAL: “If anyone gets nosy, just, you know…shoot ‘em.”
ZOE: “Shoot ‘em?”
MAL: “Politely…”
SIMON: “What do you pay him for?”
MAL: “What?”
SIMON: “I was just wondering what his job is. On the ship.”
MAL: “Public relations.”
BOOK: “I brought you some supper, but if you’d prefer a lecture, I’ve a few very catchy ones prepped. Sin and hellfire…one has lepers!”
INARA: “Why are you so fascinated by him?”
BOOK: “Because he’s something of a mystery. Why are you?”
INARA: “Because so few men are.”
MAL: “This is over, you and me are gonna have a personal chat.”
SIMON: “Won’t that be fun…”
MAL: “Now you only gotta scare him…”
JAYNE: “Pain is scary!”
SIMON: “What happens if they board us?”
ZOE: “If they take the ship, they’ll rape us to death, eat our flesh, and sew our skins into their clothing and if we’re very, very lucky…they’ll do it in that order.”
JAYNE: “Testing, testing…Captain, can you hear me?”
MAL: “I’m standing right here.”
JAYNE: “You’re coming through good and loud.”
MAL: “’Cause I’m standing right here!”
ZOE: “Sir? I’d like you to take the helm, please. I need this man to tear all my clothes off.”
WASH: “Work, work, work…”
SIMON: “I’m confused. No wait…I think maybe you’re confused…”
SIMON: “I’m trying to put this as delicately as I can. How do I know you won’t kill me in my sleep?”
MAL: “You don’t know me, son. So let me explain this to you once. If I ever kill you, you’ll be awake, you’ll be facing me, and you’ll be armed.”
SIMON: “Are you always this sentimental?”
SIMON: “You had the Alliance on you, criminals and savages…half the people on the ship have been shot or wounded including yourself, and you’re harboring known fugitives.”
MAL: “We’re still flying.”
SIMON: “That’s not much.”
MAL: “It’s enough.”
Final Analysis
Overall, this is easily one of the best pilot episodes ever produced, and should have been the beginning of the series when it was aired. Uncut and in widescreen. The writing, direction, and acting is about as good as one could ask for, with only the most minor flaws that are inherent to any production. Nathan Fillion is the highlight of a superior cast. This was obviously a labor of love from beginning to end.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 4/4
Final Rating: 10/10
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