Ha. I'm sorry, but it cracks me up every time. It's like, "Yep, they're not under here!" I mean, I can fanwank it as their being very thorough (leave no placemat unturned!).

I wanked it as "I was looking for clues!"

That works too, Daniel.

I just saw it again in Boston; the theater was full. Packed. I had to ask people to move over so I could sit with other two folks I was with.

People cheered and clapped at the end.

I just came back from my 4th viewing in a packed theater where I got the last aisle seat that didn't have someone in the seat next to it. Not seeing major signs of the momentum slowing down here in the flyover states.

Unfortunately, they may have blown their wad too early--especially with the core of fans they were relying on for the big returns.

It will probably be the casual fans and new people who make or break the movie, but I'd be very surprised if most of the rabidly devoted fans that were scrambling to get into advance screenings didn't end up going back again for repeat viewings. (See first paragraph above...)

Tim, if you're still here, the scene of River and Simon on the outside of the ship in Bushwhacked is my favorite single scene ever. What a beautiful shot. I'm glad I kept all the episodes I had taped even after I bought the DVDs, just because of this.

Sad now cause I just finished running through my Firefly DVDs (for the first time). Loves!

Here's the part that bugged me about the movie RE: Bushwhacked.

If the Reavers were created by a toxin, how does that jibe with them making more reavers just by being seen, as happened in Bushwhacked?

I realize I can fanwank this to make it work, but I really don't see it logically. The rest of the move I actually did not have much of a problem with continuity wise. It still sucks that the movie killed everyone's favorite character.

If the Reavers were created by a toxin, how does that jibe with them making more reavers just by being seen, as happened in Bushwhacked?

I'd probably have to fanwank this myself, but I think I can. In the Firefly pre-movie 'verse, Reavers are nearly mythical creatures. Boogie men that are often thought not to be anything more than ghost stories. Anything Mal tells us is pure theory. He says, if I recall, "one way to deal with that kind of will is to become it, I suspect." I made sure I had words like "one way" and "I suspect" to make clear these were theories. It is not a given for Mal that survivor boy is going to go all reaver (or he never would have brought him on board.) He makes that leap when he is told there is evidence of mutilation -- he knows it has to be self mutilation, since he knows they didn't do it and that self mutilation is a thing reavers do.

"Bushwhacked" was designed to do the thing all the early eps were burdened with doing: introducing the characters and the 'verse in the absence of the network showing the gorram pilot. It's structured to clearly illustrate the two extremes of the world: too much civilization and too much liberty. It was a way to place our people somewhere in the middle. And give an excuse to revisit Simon and River's fugitive status, and have everyone interrogated so we could meet them in a clear way. Bascially just hitting every important expositional point with narrative.

One last fanwank that isn't mine. I may have read it here, but I like it -- when Mal and Zoe search the ship, food is still on plates, mid-meal. It looks like everyone just stopped and vanished. This could prefigure Miranda. Someone suggested that the reavers Pax-ed the ship and that survivor boy was the small per cent that didn't lie down. Could work.

And thanks, Zenkitty!

Ha. I'm sorry, but it cracks me up every time. It's like, "Yep, they're not under here!" I mean, I can fanwank it as their being very thorough (leave no placemat unturned!).

Well, I'd be claiming it as an homage to the search scene in Life of Brian: "Found this wooden spoon, Sarge".

I was wondering, where exactly does the term "fanwank" come from? 'Cos, you all know what wank means in Britain, yes?

When it comes (no pun intended) to differences between the movie and the Firefly backstory, I just view it as something that had to be done for the sake of the story and pacing of the movie, and leave it at that.

However, now you've made me think about it, is there a reason why the original "psychosis breeds psychosis" theory can't fit with the Pax reality? Pax makes the Gen 1 Reavers, all subsequent Reavers are created as a result of Gen 1 Reaver attacks.