Nope, not alone. It sucked in many and sundry ways.

I think HoG was the first ever script by Joss' former asst., Brett. I sort of expect it to be a bit on the green side, which I suspect will help in my viewing of it. Does it help the perception at all by saying, "ah, new guy fresh from the stork's beak"?

Allyson, just emailed you...

HOG is easily my least favorite of all the episodes (including the aired ones.) I thought maybe it was because I read the script before I watched it, but I don't think that's the case.

Trash was "eh" (I've never been a Saffron fan), and The Message was the best of the three unaired, but it felt like it could have been so much better.

Does it help the perception at all by saying, "ah, new guy fresh from the stork's beak"?

I knew he was a new writer (at least to ME), and I'm sure that accounts for some of it. But not all, because I'm sure that Joss and Tim were overseeing. The poor (IMO) characterizations could be certainly be rookie mistakes. He seemed to be going out of his way to make Wash seem completely inept. About the only person he seemed to get right was Jayne. The basic plot is the same that been used in a bunch of westerns, which is fine because ME usually takes a cliche and twists it somehow, but it didn't happen this time. Plus, the dialogue wasn't a snappy as the other eps.

I think the Joss and Tim part of the problem is the whole concept of Companions, which still makes no sense to me, and the character of Inara. I cannot figure for the life of me why she is on that ship. It makes zero logical sense. She and Mal even talk about it in "Trash". For all the talk about Companions being so highly respected, they haven't exactly shown us that in the series. Even the folks who give lip service respect to the Companions still treat them like pieces of meat. The only time there appeared to be genuine respect for a Companion that I can remember was in "The Train Job". The concept also gives them lots of opportunities to stick hideously misogynistic bastards into their stories, which get tiring after awhile.

Does it help the perception at all by saying, "ah, new guy fresh from the stork's beak"?

Not really. Because the story is such -- I'm trying not to spoil, maybe we should revisit this when the Brits have had it aired -- that certain social and character implications are unavoidable, and those implications felt downright insulting to me. Also, an unfortunate (maybe accidental, I don't know) reference to another text that makes the primary text look laughable in comparison.

I don't know -- maybe those are the kinds of errors a new guy makes. Maybe it seemed less obnoxious in the script (which I didn't read) than on the screen. But ten minutes of discussing it with a skeptical mind (say, yours truly) would have enlightened the author as to certain problems with it.

I really need to see HOG again, or read it again. I saw it in slightly squished widescreen and there were digital artifacts.

I look forward to discussing the ep with the UKers.

Two weeks, right? The 28th.

I wonder if, of the last three there was a little less time to rework the script for HoG and indeed all three as they were rushed back into production, then demoralized by the whipsawing by the network.

I may be misremembering the time frame. Sigh.

Still, I did enjoy them, and I may not have been critiquing them, because after a few months of drought, I was seeing the characters again, and I was still happier with seeing them than watching other shows.

Still, I did enjoy them, and I may not have been critiquing them, because after a few months of drought, I was seeing the characters again, and I was still happier with seeing them than watching other shows.

Actually, I agree with that for the most part. I enjoyed two of the three. It's just that HoG really left me cold.

On the other hand, HoG had this priceless exchange:

Kaylee: "Wash. tell me I'm pretty."

Wash: "Were I not wed, I would take you in a manly fashion."

Kaylee: "Because I'm pretty?"

Wash: "Because you're pretty."

It made me happy.