I vote for “objects in space” as being the best.
See the series first, then the movie - you’re going to want to see both, and that order will maximize your enjoyment.
Incidentally while “Safe” is a (relatively) poor episode, I’m always moved by
the acting of Simon when he realizes that they’re going to kill her regardless of what he does, so he goes to stand by her side. I really bought it
I always thought Bushwacked was the weakest episode.
I *said *that there were some excellently quotable lines in that episode.
Yes. With “Objects in Space” also way up there.
And, who can forget: “Dear Diary: Today, I was pompous, and my sister was crazy. Then, we got kidnapped by hill people. It was the best day EVER!” 
I’d put “Objects in Space,” “Out of Gas,” and “War Stories” as the top three, more or less in the order, and “Heart of Gold,” “The Message,” and “Safe” as the bottom three. And it’s not really that I dislike “Safe,” it’s just that I keep forgetting it exists. It’s not bad, it’s just not memorable.
I do love the scene of River dancing at the beginning, though.
“I supposed we should go to bed, too. It’s been a long day, what with the abduction and all…” I use that last line a lot.
I’d put “Our Mrs Reynolds” up there, if only because it’s one of the very, very few episodes of any TV series that managed to completely blindside me. Other shows have tried that twist, only to completely phone it in in the first few minutes, be it with a stinger, or a look in the eyes (complete with zoom, just in case you’d missed it), etc… Whedon pulled that one off masterfully.
I think the problem with “Safe” is that, since the series was so short, every episode ended up needing to stand on its own, but “Safe” was never really meant to be an episode that stands alone. If the show had gone on for five or six full seasons, then we’d be looking back on “Safe” as one of the early critical milestones in River’s story, since that’s the first time we see her actually manifesting anything beyond just “crazy”.
Total Agreement. *Safe *was the first episode I saw, and because of it I suspect I saw the remainder of the series with a much different view of River than I would have had I seen the series in order.
The bad things were bad, and I didn’t think they were necessary. :mad:
Yeah, but that’s Joss for you.
Mal asked Jayne if "I did anything unusual last night.
Or something to that effect.
Jayne responds, “I dunno. I was drunk.”
“How drunk was I last night?”
“I dunno, I passed out.”
I thought they were very necessary. The movie was meant to be not only as stand alone project, but more importantly to the fans of the series, a finale. We all wanted to see the crew keep flying, but that was one hell of a way to end the story. All the questions were answered (what are reavers, exactly? Why does the alliance want River so badly?) and Whedon wrote a great script so that it ended there.
Joss knows that all stories need a beginning, a middle, and most importantly, an end. Because Fox canceled Firefly, he had to convince Universal to let him make a movie to end the story. And the ending to the story was freaking brilliant.
And since we’re quoting:
Agent: “You know what your sin is, Mal?”
Mal: “Hell, I’m a fan of all seven.”
I liked Our Mrs. Reynolds. It really made me laugh, a lot.
Save Shepherd’s background.
I’ll have to watch Our Mrs. Reynolds again.
You’re all missing the mark on the worst episode. It’s “Ariel.”
No, I can’t agree. It has two Crowning Moments of Awesome, one for Simon and one for Mal, not just a few quotable lines.
I never believed that whole “River’s a psychic” nonsense. It’s all crazy, sometimes she’s lucky, that’s all