# Firefly - "Ariel" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2002, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998 "2002-11-16T06:57:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kn\_ckers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/96bed5/32.png) [@Kn\_ckers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kn_ckers)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/41 "2002-11-18T20:30:19Z")
Maybe they’re evil ROBOT men? Or else there’s some kind of antidote that nobody knows about but them. OR the death rays from the rod only go in one direction, so they can’t get you if you hold it from the right side. Was anybody else reminded of the flashy thingy from Men in Black? I thought they were just erasing the Fed guy’s memory at first. I wised up when his fingernails started bleeding. Yuck. I just want to say that my favorite quote in this thread is from the OP: **"I thought it was great. Jayne is such an idiot."** I couldn’t agree more. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/42 "2002-11-18T20:39:51Z")
According to a thread on the [Firefly web board](http://forums.prospero.com/foxfirefly/start) (not necessarily the best confirmation), two more episodes have been approved for shooting (i.e. two of the three scripts). Good news … I guess. (I’m wondering … would increased traffic on the web site & msg board be taken into consideration by Fox?) This was the first episode that I saw almost all of, and I did like it a lot. My questions : Was the Preacher gone for the episode, or had he not joined the crew by this episode (seein’ as how they’re out of order)? Did anyone else get reminded by the agents with the brainsticks of the Gentlemen from Buffy (the taller one especially)? ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/43 "2002-11-18T20:40:52Z")
I’m of the belief that the weapons are focused sonic weapons. We have something of the technology now, which is like a sound laser. You could aim 200 db at someone’s head and unless you were directly in the path you’d never hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/44 "2002-11-18T20:42:36Z")
Book was with the crew from the start (came on board in the pilot). They mentioned he was on retreat. ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/45 "2002-11-18T20:44:52Z")
I was thinking it was sound related but I didn’t know about the nifty sound laser that could aim in one direction only. Here I thought that the BHG was just really, really tolerant to sound. I’m also thinking that the Alliance energy guns are focused sonic bursts. I think too much, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/46 "2002-11-18T20:59:19Z")
**Panamajack** , they totally reminded me of the Gentlemen! My new theory is that young Joss Whedon was traumatized by a tall skinny guy in a suit, and he’s still processing. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Kn\_ckers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/96bed5/32.png) [@Kn\_ckers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kn_ckers)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/47 "2002-11-18T21:01:14Z")
I was just about to suggest that BHGs were deaf, and that’s why the Sonicare Death Rod didn’t bother them. Except, they must have been a remarkable lip-readers, given all the chatting they did. So I’m a moron. I thought the energy guns were more like a shock-wave/force field thingy - so getting shot by one is like running into a wall, and it knocks the wind out of you. Just an idea. ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/48 "2002-11-18T21:11:00Z")
I don’t buy the sonic weapons theory. What would be the point? A gun or a knife would be so much easier and more efficient. I think they must have some sort of psychic effect. These guys are from the “Academy” that turned River into a telepath (or whatever she is) after all. The BHGs have some sort of psychic shield or mental discipline that makes them immune. (That’s my guess anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/49 "2002-11-18T21:37:32Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Kn_ckers \* > \*\*I was just about to suggest that BHGs were deaf, and that’s why the Sonicare Death Rod didn’t bother them. Except, they must have been a remarkable lip-readers, given all the chatting they did. So I’m a moron. \*\* Maybe they’re deaf and telepathic. –Cliffy P.S. I’m only half-kidding. ---
**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:** [November 18, 2002, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/50 "2002-11-18T21:45:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ferrous \* > \*\*I don’t buy the sonic weapons theory. What would be the point? \*\* It’s cool and scares the snot out of your opponents. Maybe it kills you with a vascular event of some sort. Hell, we sound like Trek fans. ^:)^ ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/51 "2002-11-18T22:19:38Z")
The “no reading their minds after they’re dead!” theory is the one I’m going by. Either that, or, “we REALLY want to scare the piss out of everyone!” theory. I dunno if they worked re: deleting all information from the corpse’s brains. But they sure as shootin scared the piss out of me. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/52 "2002-11-18T22:45:20Z")
On another topic… **Sam** mentioned the extreme violence of this ep in the OP, but we kind of forgot about it with all the other stuff to talk about… That fight in the hallway with Jayne and Simon vs. the guards was one of the most brutal things I’ve seen on a TV show. Very nasty and vicious, just like a real close-in fight like that would have to be. Jayne is truly a mean customer. And how about Simon standing on the guy’s neck until he died? Yikes! ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/53 "2002-11-18T22:57:35Z")
Simon didn’t kill him, just knocked him out. Remember that there was a guy left alive for the Hands of Blue to finish off. ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/54 "2002-11-18T23:00:58Z")
Yeah, but I thought it was the other guy. Unless the camera angle was different, or I missed something (both entirely possible), it looked like they said the guy Simon was standing on was dead. But I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/55 "2002-11-18T23:03:59Z")
Sorry for doing this in two posts…My reasoning… Simon’s guy was right by the door they came in. Jayne and the other guy ended up further in during their fight. Then when the BHGs came in, the first guy the came to was dead, the second one wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/56 "2002-11-18T23:52:09Z")
I am pretty sure that it was Simon’s guy who died, and I loved that detail–sure, Simon’s all Mr. Peace, but he’s the one who really has something at stake here, and so he goes vicious. That’s the sort of thing you expect from Joss Wheedon. One thing about Mal’s decision not to kill Jayne: you gotta remember that Jayne is **also** one of Mal’s crew. That dosen’t mean that Mal won’t kill him if he has to, but it does mean that he is going to be eager not to, and eager to jump on any excuse to save Jayne. It would have hurt him to kill Jayne. Again, dosen’t mean he couldn’t have done it–doing things that have to be done even when there is a high personal cost is what Mal’s all about, I suspect–but he really didn’t want to. If they cancel this show, my husband and I will be bitching about it for \*\*years/b]. Every time a great show is mentioned, or everytime Fox premieres a new show, it’s gonna be “Oh, you couldn’t keep Firefly, but you can keep this crap . . . .” For years. Just watch. Five years from now I’ll be linking to this post from a “great short lived TV shows” thread. And it’'ll break my heart. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2002, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/57 "2002-11-18T23:56:14Z")
Nah, Simon’s guy was alive. During the fight, there was a distinct “neck break” sound from Jayne’s guy, with the requisite turning of the head and collapse. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/58 "2002-11-19T00:21:56Z")
If I saw it correctly, Simon looked like he was putting pressure on his chest, not his neck. And not in a way to break anything in his body. so the guy would just pass out. I didn’t necessarily think that Jayne’s comment made Mal ‘change his mind’ so much. I think he was of the opinion that he would like to Jayne around, but needed it to get his point across. If he felt that hadn’t worked, he would have let him fly. One other detail I remembered : When they got into the storage room (I think it was) they used the doctor’s card. Yet the little button next to it (which they didn’t use the doctor’s hand on) looked like a thumbprint scanner. Was I mistaken, or was this a minor mistake open for nitpicking? ---
**Author:** ![Kn\_ckers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/96bed5/32.png) [@Kn\_ckers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kn_ckers)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2002, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/59 "2002-11-19T13:51:49Z")
Ooh - I’d forgotten about the fight with the Fed guards. Truly one of the most brutal fights I’ve seen on TV, and the man reason was because it was SILENT. Not all kinds of roaring and throwing chairs, and picking people up by the feet. The fact that it was very quiet, and very orderly (as fights go), made it that much scarier. Really good choreography, I thought, though I kept expecting River to come in and stomp on one of the guards’ faces, or something. And Simon’s guy, the one at the front of the room, closer to the door, was the one who lived. I doubt Simon would have been able to put enough pressure on his chest, just by leaning on him, to rupture any organs, but I guess it could suffice to knock him out. Not that I actually KNOW anything about the subject… re: \*\* panamajack\*\*'s nitpick - I didn’t see a thumbprint thingy, but I wasn’t really looking for one. So I dunno. I’ll so away, now. Kn(Save Firefly!)ckers ---
**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:** [November 19, 2002, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998/60 "2002-11-19T14:35:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by carnivorousplant \* > \*\*Dammit. > I thought we had a Shakespearean reference. > 🙂 \*\* Or _The Little Mermaid._ So, Jayne is the Buddy Hackett Seagull, and Kayle is Flounder… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefly-ariel/136998.md?page=4)