Yeah, was still writing my post when you posted that. We're thinking along the same lines.

I felt very much like you do after my first viewing. It took me a long time to accept Wash's death in particular, and what that would mean for my concept of the Firefly 'verse. In the end, I did come to accept both Book's and Wash's deaths, and I was able to watch it again this weekend without being totally emotionally undone like I was the first time. I think part of it is that I almost see the movie and the TV show as two separate universes, now. There's a clear divide between the two in my mind, that is helped along by the changes in Mal's and Simon's characterizations in the movie. So I appreciate them each on their own merits, but not as two parts of one continuous story, if that makes sense.

Thank you, Kate. I'm trying to get to that point. DH wants to see it again, and if I'm gonna, I'd like to do it while I can help box office figures, so probably this Friday. Friday does count toward weekend box office, right?

I do hope the next one (if there is one) is sort of light on the River ish. I'm pretty done with River, to tell the truth. I still want Book backstory; almost anybody's backstory, actually, rather than waifweapongurl.

Well, the Operative thought that the reason they were after River (other than that she is the Alliance's weapon) is that the doctor allowed her in the same room as a bunch of very powerful and ambitious people.

I don't think he knew about Pax until he was there.

Objects in Space really made me love River's story, so I was glad to see it addressed in the movie.

I'm probably most curious about Inara's syringe and what that plotline was going to be since I do feel fairly confident that Book was probably an operative, or some similar government cop with a dark history.

Friday does count toward weekend box office, right?

Ayup.

A friend of mine posited a theory last night about Simon and Mal's antagonism in the movie. When River asks "Permission to come aboard" in Objects in Space she ceases to be a passanger and becomes a member of the crew. All of the crew has their jobs, River doesn't have one. It would make sense for Mal in 6 months after OiS to make use of her psychic abilities from time to time on various jobs, with Simon protesting each time.

We all know Mal hates to have his authority questioned and that Simon's number one priority is to keep River safe, so they'd be butting heads on this a lot. Couple that with Mal losing Book and Inara's counsel and a couple jobs going south, putting River in danger, and you've got Mal and Simon stuck in permanent "hackles up" mode. The Mule crash-landing into Serenity with River aboard to escape Reavers is the final straw for Simon.

I don't think he knew about Pax until he was there.

I'm pretty sure he didn't. Otherwise the video wouldn't have broken his faith like it did.

I do hope the next one (if there is one) is sort of light on the River ish. I'm pretty done with River, to tell the truth.

I'd be happy to have another movie deal with other crew members' backstories, to be sure. But I really love River, far more than I thought I would when I first encountered her. I'm not the hugest fan of Joss's crazy waifish girls (Drusilla, Fred, etc.), but River is by far the most compelling to me, thanks in large part to Summer Glau's grace and incandescence, and probably River's relationship with Simon too.

I think the two lines that turned me into a permanent River fan were from the series --

"I tore these out of your symbol, and they turned into paper."

then later...

"Just keep walking, preacherman."

In watching Bushwhacked after seeing the movie, I got to thinking about how all the food was in place and all the consoles were on and the like. It made me wonder if the reavers didn't maybe pump some Pax-air into the other ship as a method of breeding, except only one guy out of the whole ship didn't lay down to die and then here come the heroes to bollox up that plan.

Though that theory makes me wonder what the half-life of airborne Pax is.