x-posted from Firefly - MSNBC article: Can a failed TV show spawn a successful film?

I'm posting this here because if you look at the "related articles" sidebar, one of the links is Memorial videos played right on the tombstone.

I'm almost positive the "related articles" links on MSNBC are chosen automatically, by looking for words in the main article that also show up in the "related articles." Why was this one included? The subheading of the article is, "Solar-powered 'Serenity Panels' offer ultimate in personalization." The name seems to be coincidental.

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This reading, however, makes Wash's death more annoying to me, since it takes a story that can be read as a valentine to the show's fans and adds a spike to it by killing off a character who plays a secondary enough role in the film that the only people who are going to be really upset by the death are the people who helped get the film made in the first place - i.e., the show fans.

Yes, and that's one of the meta-reasons why I was so upset by Wash's death. Beyond my attachment to the character, his death felt like--okay, and I know this is over-dramatic, but--it felt like a slap in the face. It felt needlessly cruel, because it seemed specifically intended to affect us-the-fans, who had been so victorious and happy about the movie being made at all.

(I am, actually, over it by now--was effectively over it a few days after seeing the screening in May--but I was surprised enough at my own extreme emotional response at the time that I still feel the need to bring it up.)

I think the film is this weird growing up moment for me. The joy of the series is there. And the fun and excitement of the film is still there. But there is a sad kind of realization that it will never be as whole and as perfect in my mind again.

This is exactly how I feel about it, too.

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I'd be interested to see if non-fans fall for Wash -- I think he was played pretty well in the movie. He was funny, human, and fucking good at his job. Not to mention in an obviously strong and loving relationship.

I think the assumption that only "us" will care is ... well, probably not one made at the time of writing, and it's not one I hold either.

Now, Book's death is a death that only hits the fans. So to speak. No reason a newbie would give a fuck about him. And he didn't need to die for the plot either. Yet as many people don't seem as pissed about that.

I liked the death of Wash, as much as it saddens me. It jolted me into a heightened state of tension that only started to trickle away when The Operative spoke to Mal. I enjoyed that sensation, even as I was tempted to turn around and call Joss a bastard to his face.

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Now, Book's death is a death that only hits the fans. So to speak. No reason a newbie would give a fuck about him. And he didn't need to die for the plot either. Yet as many people don't seem as pissed about that.

I am not pissed, but I am more upset about Book's death than I was about Wash's, because even though I knew rationally that we would probably never get to find out Book's back story, I really wanted to, and his death made it official that we never would.

Unless of course the next movie is about the back story...

(I like the color of the sky in my world)

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Now, Book's death is a death that only hits the fans. So to speak. No reason a newbie would give a fuck about him. And he didn't need to die for the plot either. Yet as many people don't seem as pissed about that.

I wonder if it is because people are resigned that *someone* would die and, after Book dies, the rest of the crew might be safe but for some narrow escapes.

I am actually more (maybe? I can't find the right word.) upset about Book's death. I don't know his story and now I never will except for flashbacks. But I saw his death coming at least a little in the movie. Wash let us breathe the sigh of relief and then impaled him.

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I agree precisely with Cass. I thought we were safe. We were not safe. Life isn't safe, and sometimes I like it when my fiction shakes me out of my expectations. Sure, it's a pattern, but it's not the pattern I was expecting.

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I don't feel like Wash's death was a slap in the face, since there is plenty of meta evidence that they couldn't get Alan back for more than one movie. His career's taking off and he was one of the last people to sign on for the movie. I don't think Joss would've killed him otherwise.

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Yes -- do not forget the meta. Not everything is something done to us. Sometimes it's just done, for reasons we can't see.

But it's easy for me to say. I didn't mind the death even before I had the chance to hear any meta.

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Not that I wanted to lose any of the characters (at least not now that Inara's been made quasi-interesting), but I'm less broken up by Wash's demise than I would have been by that of any of the survivors on the Serenity. If it'd been Zoe instead, my enjoyment of the showmovie might have died right along with her.

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Yeah, after my "Oh no! Wash!" my next thought was "This doesn't mean you can kill Zoe, you know..."

And sort of like thinking about the Scoobies mourning Buffy after The Gift, it's Zoe's loss that guts me most. But ... Wash isn't coming back, so that's sad in and of itself too.

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