# Explain Firefly **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 16, 2004, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421 "2004-07-16T14:58:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/261 "2004-08-11T01:29:55Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > The one planetary system theory does explain some of the terminology - the ‘core’ or ‘inner’ worlds, and the ‘outer planets’, where everyone seems to live on moons. That describes our solar system (not saying it is ours, but it’s likely other solar systems are the same - inner rocky worlds with all the heavy metals and resources and wealth, and colonized moons around outer gas giants. “Core” can describe either situation equally well, and describes my model better, I think. The center of the Milky Way is often referred to as the “Galactic Core,” at least in science fiction. I can’t think of any instance where I’ve heard the inner planets of a solar system referred to as the “core” of the system, though. It doesn’t really make sense, because you don’t necessarily colonize the innermost planets first. You colonize the most Earth-like planets first, which, depending on the size of the star, might be the outer-most planets. In your “super-system” model, they’d most likely be the middle planets, as the ones closer to the sun would be too hot and the ones on the outside too cold to colonize without significant (too significant, IMO, given the apparent tech-level of Firefly) terraforming. Calling those planets “the core” doesn’t make sense to me, as depending on where they are in their orbits, you’d occasionally have to pass through several “frontier” worlds to get from one “core” world to another. More likely, the core worlds are the ones closest to whatever planet was first colonized when humans from Earth showed up in that corner of the galaxy. As humanity expanded in all directions from that first planet, they’d form a sphere of human space, with the older, fully industrialized “core” planets at the middle, and the marginal, sparsely inhabited “frontier” worlds at the furthest edges of an average starship’s range. Once these frontier worlds have enough industry to support the effort, they’re used to leapfrog colonists to even more distant worlds, pushing back the frontier even further. However, so far as I know, there’s nothing in any of the episodes we’ve seen to definitively answer the question, one way or the other. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/262 "2004-08-11T01:42:17Z")
[Future Shop](http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&dept=16&WLBS=fsweb5&sku_id=0665000FSM2059299&catid=&newdeptid=13) has the DVD’s on ultra cheap! Wooooooo! _Bushwhacked_ tonight! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/263 "2004-08-12T00:47:19Z")
I was just watching the commentary reel of _Out of Gas_, and it brought me back to what I was saying about Inara earlier - about her never being ‘off duty’ as a Companion. This is where it really does go over the top: there they are, knowing that the main and auxilary life support systems are both blown, the ship only has a couple of hours’ air left in it, and she’s still dressed for seduction, wearing a satin gown that looks about halfway between a dress and an invitation. When the spacecraft starts getting cold, she just throws a wrap on over the satin gown. Much as I enjoy looking at Inara look beautiful, I was definitely thinking, “This is ridiculous. Don’t you have a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt tucked away somewhere?” ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2004, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/264 "2004-08-16T10:23:04Z")
I was watching the pilot again today (no, I haven’t finished watching all the episodes) and I came across more subtle (possible) evidence that it’s one solar system: the Alliance agent accuses Mal of helping to move a fugitive across _interplanetary_ lines. Also, in _War Stories_ there is a very explicit bit of spfx near the beginning that zooms from _Serenity_ passing near a ringed planet to a close-up of the rocks in the ring, then pans to Niska’s space station orbiting the same planet. Yes, obviously the point of that episode was that the crew came dangerously close to within Niska’s grasp, but I find it odd that Mal would take any jobs so close to Niska’s territory if he had any other alternatives. Neither of them really comes right out and says that it’s one solar system, but it seems to me that the clues continue to mount up, and the only thing on the multi-star front is that we doubt from our limited experience there would be enough habitable rocks orbiting a single star. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/265 "2004-08-17T02:32:37Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > the Alliance agent accuses Mal of helping to move a fugitive across _interplanetary_ lines. Arkansas to Tennesse is across state lines. So is New Jersey to Hawaii. 🙂 > [@Fish](#): > > pans to Niska’s space station orbiting Do it have a sign, “Niska’s”? > [@Fish](#): > > we doubt from our limited experience there would be enough habitable rocks orbiting a single star. We are also assuming that the writers are obeying the laws of physics. Rifles that need air to fire is a case in point. If it isn’t our Solar System, it is a moot point because they would need FTL to get there from here and could travel between other stars as well. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/266 "2004-08-17T03:05:03Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Do it have a sign, “Niska’s”? The rest of the episode makes it clear it was Niska’s station. Did I just get whooshed? > [@](#): > > If it isn’t our Solar System, it is a moot point because they would need FTL to get there from here and could travel between other stars as well. Not necessarily. Their ancestors may have left the Solar System in slower-than-light colony ships (or maybe just one), taking decades or centuries to reach the new star system. However they do have artificial gravity. That probably implies they found flaws in Einstein’s theories and learned to exploit them. So there’s no reason to think they are still limited by light speed. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/267 "2004-08-17T03:18:25Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > The rest of the episode makes it clear it was Niska’s station. > > Did I just get whooshed? No. If the episode involves Niska, then it is poetic license, as Kirk found Harry Mudd on the robotic planet, or for that matter Robinson Curusoe being castaway on the same damn island a second time. > [@scr4](#): > > Not necessarily. Their ancestors may have left the Solar System in slower-than-light colony ships (or maybe just one), taking decades or centuries to reach the new star system. Ancestors, hell. 🙂 I recall that it is set 500 years in the future. I also doubt that cultural differences Chinese and English, cowboys, blackpowder and MP3’s for the Feds would survive a generational trip. > [@scr4](#): > > However they do have artificial gravity. That probably implies they found flaws in Einstein’s theories and learned to exploit them. So there’s no reason to think they are still limited by light speed. Again, it is poetic license. When they do choose to obey the laws of physics, they do it well. Serenity finds an abandoned ship. Not only are they not in the same plane, it is rotating in relation to Serenity and they have to match the roll to dock. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/268 "2004-08-17T08:29:44Z")
Those cultural differences would have survived the trip if they had the nice cryo-stasis boxes that River was smuggled out in. If that were a realistic way to transport people, it could be done with (arguably) simpler and slower ships. There’d be no need to have on-board renewable food supplies, hydroponics, on-ship ranch space for cattle (!), air recycling and so on. They _could_ take a hundred years for the trip and their culture would be much the same at the destination as it was in the beginning. Of course, yes, I know that _interplanetary_ borders must be crossed if one is going to leave the solar system. But if he’d left the solar system, why didn’t he get accused of _interstellar_ transport of a fugitive? ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/269 "2004-08-17T13:16:15Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > Of course, yes, I know that _interplanetary_ borders must be crossed if one is going to leave the solar system. But if he’d left the solar system, why didn’t he get accused of _interstellar_ transport of a fugitive? I’ll field this one. Because the mindset of the people of the Firefly-verse is planet-centric. Not star-centric. They define things in terms of where they can live. Moving a fugitive from one star to another doesn’t accomplish anything - just dead space out there - your ultimate destination is always a planet or moon. I’m definitely on the side of “a large number of closely-arranged star systems.” The other possibility of a single megasystem just seems… well, detrimental to my suspension of disbelief. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/270 "2004-08-17T13:42:13Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > We are also assuming that the writers are obeying the laws of physics. Rifles that need air to fire is a case in point. About the rifle needing air to fire… On the DVD commentary track Whedon admits that they were wrong there. According to him, they asked someone and were told that a gun would need air to fire and it was only after the episode was finished that they discovered they were wrong. So, he _did_ try to get it right and just got bad information. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/271 "2004-08-17T16:23:30Z")
[:eek:](http://www.hitechgadgets.net/firefly/serenity-teaserMPG.zip) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/272 "2004-08-17T16:34:45Z")
Perhaps the person he asked thought Vera was a matchlock, rather than one of the finest weapons ever made by man, in which case, it would need air to fire? I think he just wanted to use this line: Jayne: [to his gun] See Vera? Dress yourself up, you get taken out somewhere fun. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/273 "2004-08-17T17:51:41Z")
> [@tanstaafl](#): > > So, he _did_ try to get it right and just got bad information. I didn’t mean to imply that they were trying to get it wrong. 🙂 Thanks for the cite. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/274 "2004-08-17T18:33:10Z")
I got on the _X-Files_ bandwagon a little late, so I’ve been renting the earlier seasons from Netflix. I’m currently watching the [Season 3](http://www.tvtome.com/XFiles/season3.html) discs, and was pleasantly surprised last night when I watched the episode _Oubliette_…which features a 13-year-old Jewel Staite as an abducted high school student. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/275 "2004-08-18T00:49:55Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > I’ll field this one. Because the mindset of the people of the Firefly-verse is planet-centric. Not star-centric. They define things in terms of where they can live. Moving a fugitive from one star to another doesn’t accomplish anything - just dead space out there - your ultimate destination is always a planet or moon. In other words, the same reason someone caught smuggling drugs from Afghanistan to the US is accused of “international smuggling” and not “intercontinental smuggling.” ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/276 "2004-08-18T01:11:21Z")
This may have already been mentioned here, and I’m not sure if there are rules about linking to other message boards, but over at DVDTalk in the movies forum there is a thread where someone has compiled some or all of the blogs written by cast members on the set of the **Serenity** movie. You can also find them on the official movie site (join up to be a Browncoat!), but I found it convenient to read them all on one page. I got my **Firefly** DVD’s in the mail the other day and now I cannot wait until April! ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/277 "2004-08-18T07:57:03Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > This may have already been mentioned here, and I’m not sure if there are rules about linking to other message boards, but over at DVDTalk in the movies forum there is a thread where someone has compiled some or all of the blogs written by cast members on the set of the **Serenity** movie. You can also find them on the official movie site (join up to be a Browncoat!), but I found it convenient to read them all on one page. > > I got my **Firefly** DVD’s in the mail the other day and now I cannot wait until April! Thanks for posting this, **Tangent**. Very entertaining site. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/278 "2004-08-18T12:45:37Z")
There’s an Easter Egg above in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/279 "2004-08-18T13:12:38Z")
:smack: 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421/280 "2004-08-19T18:50:14Z")
I am kind of worried about the _ **Firefly** _ franchise overall, and the upcoming movie in general. On the one hand, I worry that J. Average Moviegoer won’t get _ **Serenity** _ without first having been a _ **Firefly** _ fan. They might be able to appreciate the movie by itself on its own technical merits, but not really get it overall. On the other hand, I am afraid that the movie will try to re-tell much of what we the fans already know, and fans will come out feeling cheated for having to pay for 60 minutes of exposition on topics they are already familiar with. _True_ fans won’t mind, but the casual fan (I only assume such creatures exist) might. On the third hand (hey, baby, I’m Zaphod Beeblebrox, ya know? 😛 ) industry buzz (the show that refused to die because of a fan-base to make Gene Roddenberry sick with envy, if he wasn’t already dead) and critics might make the inevitable comparison to Star Trek, and automatically kill the uninitiated, but otherwise maybe interested, undecided viewer. Don’t get me wrong; I want _ **Serenity** _ to be the darkhorse runaway blockbuster of the season, and legions of new fans to come on board, and FOX TV to have absolute conniption fits over their shabby treatment of the TV show. I have enough faith in the writing to believe it will be a good, perhaps great movie for us fans. But will it be a good/great enough movie for a wide enough audience base? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-firefly/255421.md?page=15)