[OT] Firefly 1x03 "Our Mrs. Reynolds" [SPOILERS]
Iain Clark
Massive spoilerage follows at a safe distance....
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I liked that one lots. In no way was it the most powerful drama Joss
Whedon has ever written. It won't win Emmy awards, and it won't
bring about world peace. But as smart, funny, character-based piece
of entertainment it was superb.
In many ways it highlights Joss Whedon's strengths and weaknesses as a
writer. The idea was unoriginal, mechanics of the plot were fairly
perfunctory,and the "villains" total non-entities. However the script
was razor sharp, the characters were perfectly defined, and the story
was carried by shifting emotion and relationships rather than events.
Plus there was a neat twist which I genuinely didn't see coming
(though it's the kind of thing you could easily guess), and luckily
hadn't been spoilered on.
It also highlights the oddity of setting a Western in space. the
opening was so quintessentially western that there's really no
rational way to justify it as a plausible future. It's a conceit, and
you either accept it or you don't. Once the twist was revealed the
SF element came into play, and from that point forward it stopped
being a western and became more or less a Sci-Fi caper. In a lot of
ways there was no attempt to marry (ahem) the two genres, but in
another way it played quite cleverly on our expectations. The reason I
was suckered so completely is that the episode played the first half
as a straight western, and I took it at face value.
Other thoughts:
Mal was the star of the show and I would defy anyone not to find him
an interesting character and a charismatic lead after this
performance. He has just the right blend of haplessness, decency and
cynicism.
Inara got a much better role this time. Her confrontation with
"Saffron" was perfectly played. Her sudden admiration for her
opponent's skills made me laugh out loud.
Book also got some great comedy, and stayed in character throughout.
There's clearly a good deal more to the preacher than simple morality
and nobility (as Jayne commented).
Jayne... was Jayne. Again his confrontation with Mal in the corridor
was a classic.
Wash is also deserving of a mention - probably his best episode to
date (barring That Scene near the start of the pilot <g>)
Other than that I can't think of much to say, except that my SVCD had
an annoying gap between the picture and the sound, but even that
didn't stop me from finding the whole thing highly enjoyable.
Iain
--
"Caught a bolt of lightning
Cursed the day he let it go"
Mattia Valente
Indeed. It is, outside of (perhaps) Doppelgangland one of the funniest
mostly-humorous episodes he's written, I'd say. And he does do it well,
and does do it whilst hanging onto principles and themes that are oh so
very Jossian.
> In many ways it highlights Joss Whedon's strengths and weaknesses as a
> writer. The idea was unoriginal, mechanics of the plot were fairly
> perfunctory,and the "villains" total non-entities.
Well, the plot actually worked, because I did not see that coming. At
all. Not the bit with Saffron, anyway. Ideas are all very well and good,
everything's more or less been done to death, but he does it nicely.
With a twist.
> However the script
> was razor sharp, the characters were perfectly defined, and the story
> was carried by shifting emotion and relationships rather than events.
Amen to that. This is good character based drama. Er, comedy. Whatever
the frell it was. Takes characters, takes a situation, and lets
characters' reactions tell you about them. And entertains all along the
way. Inara, though; bit of a sudden 'character dump' for her, coming
after two eps where she really barely features, so that was a tad
jarring. I'm wondering what's behind it all, though, so that's a good thing.
> Plus there was a neat twist which I genuinely didn't see coming
> (though it's the kind of thing you could easily guess), and luckily
> hadn't been spoilered on.
Indeed. Exactly so.
> It also highlights the oddity of setting a Western in space. the
> opening was so quintessentially western that there's really no
> rational way to justify it as a plausible future.
Indeed. Down to the horses. Although they do have slightly ridiculously
powered guns. They may LOOK like, oh, say, old winchesters or whatever,
but they're fully automatic.
> It's a conceit, and you either accept it or you don't.
It works OK. Not great, especially since we get the quintessential
Western outfits, trappings AND music at the dance, so...
> Once the twist was revealed the
> SF element came into play, and from that point forward it stopped
> being a western and became more or less a Sci-Fi caper. In a lot of
> ways there was no attempt to marry (ahem) the two genres, but in
> another way it played quite cleverly on our expectations. The reason I
> was suckered so completely is that the episode played the first half
> as a straight western, and I took it at face value.
Right. It started out looking like a moral tale on Women Sold into
Marriage, that sort of thing, which, well, would've been rather dull.
Could've been. I didn't really expect there to be a twist, even with the
'drive by scanning' scene, because it really didn't seem to be going
there. In that sense, the 'slowness' of getting to that point is justified.
> Mal was the star of the show and I would defy anyone not to find him
> an interesting character and a charismatic lead after this
> performance. He has just the right blend of haplessness, decency and
> cynicism.
Indeed. Sitcom experience probably helps with comedic timing. I like Mal.
> Inara got a much better role this time. Her confrontation with
> "Saffron" was perfectly played. Her sudden admiration for her
> opponent's skills made me laugh out loud.
That was lovely. Her reaction to Mal was, er, confusing at best, but her
reaction afterwards, not wanting to see the doc, was pretty much a hoot
and a half.
> Book also got some great comedy, and stayed in character throughout.
Yes. Although I'm still sort of trying to get used to him. Strange man.
Enigmatic. Interesting.
> There's clearly a good deal more to the preacher than simple morality
> and nobility (as Jayne commented).
Indeed.
> Jayne... was Jayne. Again his confrontation with Mal in the corridor
> was a classic.
That scene is just so....bizarre. I was just staring. Bizarre in a funny
way, but bizarre nonetheless.
> Wash is also deserving of a mention - probably his best episode to
> date (barring That Scene near the start of the pilot <g>)
Amen. Wash had a number of really great moments, of really great lines.
Although none quite so brilliant as 'She was all naked,
and........articulate!'. Best line, IMO.
> Other than that I can't think of much to say, except that my SVCD had
> an annoying gap between the picture and the sound, but even that
> didn't stop me from finding the whole thing highly enjoyable.
Eh? Like, out-of-synchness? Can't say I noticed.
Mattia
--
"Too many obsessions to list. My obsessions have obsessions." -
Steve DeKnight
de rode ridder
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