Brilliant, Epic!

I don't think I could possibly love this episode any more. One of the best hours of teevee ever made. It still blows my mind that Joss and Tim wrote this over a weekend, I hear people saying this is one of the weaker episodes, but I don't see it. I use this one as a hook for newbies. It starts with a bar fight! It ends with the guy getting shoved into the engine! There's a caper! What's not to love?

Plus, so many of my favourite lines are in this episode. "Hey, I didn't fight in no war. Best of luck, though." "tragic space dementia" "terrifying space monkeys" "What did I say about barging into my shuttle?" "That is was manly and impulsive?" "Sir, I think you have a problem with your brain being missing." "It's the chain I go get and beat you with until you understands who's in ruttin' command here!" "You can't change that by gettin' all...bendy." "His story had kind of an odor to it." "Yes. It's not the only thing about him that does."

Yessssssss. Yesss.

Daniel and I may have to watch two episodes tomorrow, because we have not yet found time to watch The Train Job.

I knew it was my kinda crazy when Mal got thrown through the bar window and the window was a hologram. Space Western! Then Serenity rose up behind the guys from the edge of the cliff to save the day, and I was in love.

And then, "Damn yokels, can't even tell a transport ship ain't got no guns on it" and somehow that was the line that hooked me.

"Every man here go back inside the bar, or I will blow a hole in this little moon."

Zoe got me. Toe to toe with the men, unflinching and effective. Also, the grill from a charcoal grill as a window grill, cut-down water bottles as glasses. I saw the makeshift, salvage, and make-do that would happen on a frontier planet, and those details, though never remarked on, made the setting real for me.

I loved a lot of the details on the show, though the re-painted Starship Troopers armor for the Purple Bellies always took me out of the moment.

Zoe got me. Toe to toe with the men, unflinching and effective. Also, the grill from a charcoal grill as a window grill, cut-down water bottles as glasses. I saw the makeshift, salvage, and make-do that would happen on a frontier planet, and those details, though never remarked on, made the setting real for me.

That. Both of that. Zoe was wonderful.

I never saw Starship Troopers. Probably wouldn't have noticed the repurposed armour, myself, anyway.

I finally got around to watching Train Job. It feels like such a perfect encapsulation of the series, but none of the halting notes of a pilot, just dropping the viewer into the Verse. Simply smashing.

Totally agree about dropping the viewer into the verse. They talk in the commentary about trying to get in as much exposition as possible, but I do prefer the in medias res approach.

Ack! Forgot to do this yesterday. By the looks of it, I wasn't the only one.

Bushwacked

The game! What are the rules??

"We are all running from something, I suppose" (should be show motto)

"Ghosts" - Yeah. Premonition. Zombie time.

"Some one could be hurt" So genuine. Jayne, he is so caring.

How did they get the other ship to stop spinning so they could join airlocks??

The balloon is haunting. Dunno why. Creepy!

"You have this on wrong"

"He's a real beast!"

"Charity would be putting a bullet in his brainpan"

"Jayne, you are scaring the women"

"How we treat our dead makes us different than those who did the slaughter"

"If I mess up, it's not like you could yell at me"

The stack of supplies that Jayne wheels off. Those are SKB equipment racks. use them in sound all the time!

"No children on board" - Oo! Smart!

PURPLE BELLIE!!!

"Captain was looking for a pilot, I found me a husband. It all seems to have worked out"

"Have you ever been with a warrior woman?"

Hiding in the vacuum of space!! They are technically "on" the ship, just not IN the ship. Love how River is thrilled with being out there, and Simon is scared sh**less.

I love how the med display is reading "abnormal" until he slices folks.

"Let's go again!"

Why does the dude keep grabbing blades. Shouldn't he just keep ahold of one?!?

I think the Alliance dude believes in Reavers now!

I love this one. The first and second halves were like two different episodes. It feels longer than 42 minutes - not draggy, just so much happening. River outside was wonderful, and Simon's face when he realized she wasn't scared.

REAVERS