# Shepherd Book in Serenity (spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 10, 2009, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303 "2009-10-10T11:45:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/1 "2009-10-10T11:45:05Z")
My partner and are having a disagreement about something that happened in the movie. I don’t know how to do spoiler boxes, so I’ll make a new post. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/2 "2009-10-10T11:51:15Z")
My partner reckons that Bush gets killed on the secret colony somehow, when it gets trashed. I don’t remember that happening at all. I thought they didn’t turn up their till way after. So did he or not? ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/3 "2009-10-10T11:52:24Z")
Well, if your disagreement is that your partner says his name is “Book” and you say it’s “Bush,” your partner is correct. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/4 "2009-10-10T11:54:44Z")
It’s Book. Shepherd Book. Book was killed by the Operative’s trashing of his colony, as part of the “If your quarry runs to ground, burn the ground…” strategy of catching Firefly. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/5 "2009-10-10T11:58:33Z")
D’oh! Of course it’s Book, what was I thinking! Thanks, Bricker. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/6 "2009-10-10T12:19:03Z")
I’ve changed the title. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/7 "2009-10-10T13:02:29Z")
As for how to do spoilers: {spoiler}text you want to hide{/spoiler} only with [and] instead of { and } ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/8 "2009-10-10T13:23:41Z")
In addition to Book’s retreat, the operative attacked several other sanctuaries used by the Serenity crew. Were these other places mentioned in the television series or were they just places that had been invented for the movie? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/9 "2009-10-10T13:27:14Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > In addition to Book’s retreat, the operative attacked several other sanctuaries used by the Serenity crew. Were these other places mentioned in the television series or were they just places that had been invented for the movie? Invented for the movie, I believe. Book was actually aboard Serenity during the show, so his colony being destroyed had a particular effect on the viewers, as we had a connection to him personally. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/10 "2009-10-10T18:25:56Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Invented for the movie, I believe. > > Book was actually aboard Serenity during the show, so his colony being destroyed had a particular effect on the viewers, as we had a connection to him personally. I think Whitefall was one of the colonies the Operative destroyed. That was Patience’s world in the pilot. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/11 "2009-10-10T19:38:31Z")
> [@Tanbarkie](#): > > I think Whitefall was one of the colonies the Operative destroyed. That was Patience’s world in the pilot. Hard to mourn too much for Patience, though. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/12 "2009-10-10T19:52:15Z")
Book is a stupid name for a character. Hey, he carries a book. And reads from the “good book”, hyuk hyuk. Was he named by Sarah Palin? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/13 "2009-10-10T19:53:47Z")
I always thought if the series had continued, we might have visited at least some of those places. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/14 "2009-10-10T20:57:13Z")
Maybe this is what the OP had in mind initially? [Shepherd's Bush tube station - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherd%27s_Bush_tube_station) ---
**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 10, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/15 "2009-10-10T21:01:41Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > Book is a stupid name for a character. Hey, he carries a book. And reads from the “good book”, hyuk hyuk. Was he named by Sarah Palin? I liked it. Always wondered if it was a deliberate reference to Harrison Ford’s character in _Witness_. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/16 "2009-10-10T22:14:16Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > Book is a stupid name for a character. Hey, he carries a book. And reads from the “good book”, hyuk hyuk. Was he named by Sarah Palin? Firefly has some fun with character naming, like the captain, Mal (“Bad. From the Latin.”), Jayne (girly sounding name, not-so-girly guy), Simon Tam, perpetually the whitest guy in the room having an Asian surname, River’s name lining up nicely with how she flows from one state of mind to another at a drop of a hat. I just figured maybe Shepherd Book came from a family tradition of clergymen, or that it was an adopted name to reflect his profession. Where do you suppose we got names like Smith, Fletcher, Hunter, etc.? Somewhere in their family history are smiths, fletchers, and hunters. ---
**Author:** ![Jihi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jihi/32/17768_2.png) [@Jihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jihi)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/17 "2009-10-10T22:43:14Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > or that it was an adopted name to reflect his profession This is what I always figured. Book had so many secrets that him traveling under an assumed name isn’t too much of a stretch. I’d grant that his name is convenient, but even if it is his real name it could still conceivably be a shortened version of an actual name, “Booker” or the like. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/18 "2009-10-11T03:56:13Z")
I think Badger’s zone of operations was also trashed by the Operative, wasn’t it? And the actor who played Book has stated in an interview that that was, in fact, an assumed name. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2009, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/19 "2009-10-11T07:15:25Z")
I assumed it was a religious name taken when he took his vows. I assumed it was a standard thing for his order to take on fairly obvious names of the like. **Weedy** said: > [@](#): > > My partner reckons that B[ook] gets killed on the secret colony somehow, when it gets trashed. I don’t remember that happening at all. I thought they didn’t turn up their till way after. So did he or not? Serenity goes to Haven and chats with Book. Then Serenity cruises out to pick up Inara. After that, they receive a message from the Operative, and they return to Haven and find it sacked. That’s when Mal sets them out for Miranda dressed as reavers. \*\*Little Nemo \*\* said: > [@](#): > > In addition to Book’s retreat, the operative attacked several other sanctuaries used by the Serenity crew. Were these other places mentioned in the television series or were they just places that had been invented for the movie? I’m pretty sure they were places in the series, people that Mal had dealings with. Not necessarily all sanctuaries, some were just people who did business with him. I don’t recall the place names offhand, but I did recognize a couple at the time. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303/20 "2009-10-13T06:38:16Z")
Well they go to see Book twice, and he isn’t dying until the second time - that may be the source of your confusion. > [@The\_Controvert](#): > > Book is a stupid name for a character. Hey, he carries a book. And reads from the “good book”, hyuk hyuk. Was he named by Sarah Palin? Well there’s a whole bunch of evidence that Book isn’t his real name (and hey - Shepard is kind of euphemistic too for a preacher isn’t it?) - he clearly had ties to the government and maybe he was either high ranking military or an actual operative. A future graphic novel is supposedly going to reveal this… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shepherd-book-in-serenity-spoilers/513303.md?page=2)