# Johnny Angel's Review of Firefly **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2002, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181 "2002-09-22T22:46:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/101 "2002-10-04T17:42:09Z")
**elfkin477** wrote: > [@](#): > > I think I might watch the third episode, if only to see what terrible B-movie it resembles this week On the one hand, sure. On the other hand, on what Martian sattelite feed are you getting shows that don’t resemble terrible B-movies? > [@](#): > > the fact that the subplot about River is only thing that carried over from the pilot into the second episode does not bode well for the show’s ablity to keep continuity In fact, most shows aren’t serials at all. They consist of episodes, with continuity, but those episodes are fairly independent and could for the most part be shown in any order. Even in serials, it is common for individual episodes not to advance the overarching plot. Buffy may have left you high expectations, but two episodes is a hell of a sampling to start complaining about continuity. > [@](#): > > I’ve never thought much of Nathan Fillion’s acting, so I’m rather surpised they cast him as the Captain. How about his heavy-browed staring? I mean, that’s the captain’s job, right? To be strong and sensitive? He’s doing a swell job. > [@](#): > > One more episode before I give up on it entirely then You and I both know that’s not how this works. If you stop watching the show, you can’t complain about it. Instead, what you want to do is watch every episode, and then log in to say how it’s the worst one yet. ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2002, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/102 "2002-10-04T18:29:58Z")
So far it’s holding my interest. I worry about Fox though- Friday night in the death slot on fox (since they moved X-Files). Amusingly enough, I like the following Joe Doe show a little better. Don’t ask me why. Oh well, Fox will just cancel them both right after the season 1 cliffhangers, because, well, they are Fox. :mad: ---
**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:** [October 5, 2002, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/103 "2002-10-05T03:25:19Z")
Shindig: (Sigh) Star Trek never defenestrated anyone like that… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/104 "2002-10-06T17:28:11Z")
In my opinion, episode 3 was the best yet. More with the funny, more with the character development. The dialogue sparkles a lot, and now I’m aching to see what they do with Jaynestown. ---
**Author:** ![Rillian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rillian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rillian)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/105 "2002-10-06T17:55:42Z")
According the voice over at the start of each show, after the Earth was used up, they a found new solar system (note the singular) and then terraformed hundreds of new Earths. The central planets formed the Alliance, and so on. We’ve also had several references to “the system” in the dialog. A solar system with hundred of planets? Yes, in a large universe, anything could be possible, but this seems taking the number of planets in a single system a little far. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2002, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/106 "2002-10-06T18:08:59Z")
Yeah, I noticed that too; but they don’t have sound in a vacumn, they have ships rolling in relation to each other, they have space suits. They do stuff pretty well. As Fr. Debosier told us in English class regarding _Lost Horizon_, “Mr. Hilton didn’t write the crap on the back of the book. Some idiot at the Publisher’s wrote the crap on the back of the book.” ---
**Author:** ![Rillian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rillian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rillian)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/107 "2002-10-06T18:20:22Z")
And their spaceships’ artificial gravity systems must never fail - because entire ship appears to be designed to function only if gravity is on, e.g. storage, the medical room, cargo. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/108 "2002-10-06T18:39:10Z")
So far, I’m really enjoying this show. That last episode was outstanding. I laughed like crazy, there was a good mystery, and a satisfying conclusion. And it’s really refreshing to see solutions to problems that don’t involve trekkian techno-babble. When that ship loomed over them with the big ‘web’, they didn’t solve the problem by inverting the phase of the molecular field coils, thus creating a substace rift that caused an energy fluctuation that overwrode the enemy controls - they went outside the ship with guns and shot the hell out of the thing. MUCH more satisfying. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2002, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/109 "2002-10-06T18:48:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > \*\*they went outside the ship with guns and shot the hell out of the thing. MUCH more satisfying. \*\* That was excellent; but if I were in the business of killing folks and swiping their stuff, I’d be expecting something like that. If I couldn’t come up with something, I’d go into a different line of work. or armour my windows. Maybe most folks they prey on don’t have guns? Don’t know about them? Oops, ought to be past tense. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/110 "2002-10-06T20:09:37Z")
Early in the show, didn’t they show the crew of that ‘web’ ship talking specifically about how they were out picking up ‘junkers’? I think the analogy is like modern-day pirates who prey on small private sailboats and the like. THey are rarely met with resistance, and certainly don’t expect to run into a trained crew who knows how to use weapons really, really well. They all looked pretty shocked when the shooting started. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/111 "2002-10-06T23:41:01Z")
Well, they have made a point before of mentioning the fact that the Serenity is unarmed. Maybe they make a point of attacking unarmed ships and didn’t expect the _crew_ to be armed? ---
**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:** [October 6, 2002, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/112 "2002-10-06T23:46:59Z")
Did anyone catch why Jayne was firing his gun through the faceplate of a space suit? I missed something in the episode. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2002, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/113 "2002-10-06T23:47:39Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Rillian \* > \*\* entire ship appears to be designed to function only if gravity is on_\* Good point. What would be required on the sets? Hand holds? Rails? Straps on the exam table in sick bay? ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/114 "2002-10-06T23:53:03Z")
Miller, Jayne fired through the faceplate because his gun needed to have oxygen around it or it wouldn’t fire. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2002, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/115 "2002-10-06T23:56:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by medstar \* > \*\* his gun needed to have oxygen around it or it wouldn’t fire. \*\* Say what? Cartridges are sealed. I thought they were hiding the weapon. After it fired once it would be in a vacumn. Did they say that? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2002, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/116 "2002-10-06T23:59:11Z")
**Miller** wrote: > [@](#): > > Did anyone catch why Jayne was firing his gun through the faceplate of a space suit? I missed something in the episode. I loved that detail, though it went by pretty fast. They had to open up the airlock to fire at the thing, but Jayne points out that the weapon needed oxygen to fire. It uses gunpowder, after all. The captain has already thought of this – they put the gun in a spacesuit. Beautiful. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2002, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/117 "2002-10-07T00:05:43Z")
Gunpowder sealed in a watertight and therefore airtight cartridge. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/118 "2002-10-07T00:06:41Z")
Beautiful detail, but wrong. Guns don’t need air to fire. The oxidizer is in the powder. It has to be - there’s no way that just ambient air could sustain a fast enough explosion. Without an oxidizer in gunpowder, you’d just get a flammable powder, not an explosive. If anything, a typical gun would work better in a vacuum than it does in an atmosphere. Oh well. You can’t expect them to get everything right. The important thing is that they are trying. What I hated about the later Star Trek series is that they were just so LAZY. The writer’s didn’t even try to make the techno-babble consistent. Often, the scripts wouldn’t even say what it was. There’s just be a placeholder that said, “Geordi explains \”. Bah. ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/119 "2002-10-07T00:06:58Z")
But gunpowder doesn’t need oxygen to explode. Most normal guns will fire in a vacuum just fine. Maybe it has a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell for power for the trigger mechanism, or something like that… ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181/120 "2002-10-07T02:18:19Z")
I just want to register my great satisfaction at how they TURNED OFF THE SOUND when they were shooting in the vacuum of space. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-angels-review-of-firefly/129181.md?page=7)