He basically ended up in the same emotional space at the end of the film that he was in the beginning of the series, but that didn't bother me.

Yeah, it did bother me a little--I felt like I'd already seen this story, or something. Like the characters had all been smacked backwards, without me getting to see how. And I was able to get around that by separating off the series and the movie in my head--the different Simon-and-River backstories helped there--but it was a little disorienting.

I think that in some ways, that arc might've worked better for me if I hadn't watched the show. (Though I think I still would've bounced off of everyone else going along on Mal's suicide mission a little bit. Didn't believe that for a moment.)

I bet River knows Book's secret. Whether she knows she knows it is another matter.

Serenity III: The Search for Book, anyone?

I'm afraid I don't understand why people are announcing that they'll never watch the sequel, will "never trust Joss again", and that sort of thing.

I can't believe they trusted him in the first place.

The box office looks miserable to me, overall, for everything. I've heard box office receipts have been in decline, but is this a miserable time of year on top of it?

I KNOW, Allyson. The Cronenberg film got rave reviews, has lots of stars in it and was made by an established director with a devoted following and barely did any business.

Serenity II: The Wrath of Tim.

I didn't think of that.

Tim would make a great criminal mastermind -- only with a beagle instead of a fluffy white cat.

It'll be interesting to see if Serenity builds its audience (they are platforming it on release, no?) or if it just has an early burst and tails off.

Robin, I was very curious to see your response to the movie. Because for all the gripes I've heard about the plot or character changes - I was just very conscious about how incredibly difficult this movie was as a screenwriting exercise.

I thought it was very well plotted, with a lot of things in the first half serving double duty as setups for payoffs in the second half.

I'm hoping Serenity will do well in foreign markets, DVD sales and merchandising of cunning hats.

Allyson,

the Fall is one of the worst times of the year for box office. September and October are slim months.

Cronenberg's movie did really well according to per screen average - which is what most movie studios look at (as I understand it).