I’m thinking he learned how to fight as he was being brought up by his family, what Ponder refers to as the Medicis. Since they have powerful enemies, they make sure all family members are trained in various forms of combat. The constant threat of violence is probably what led Book to leave his family for monastic life.
I don’t know about that. He didn’t strike me as someone who was just trained, he struck me as somebody who was experienced. Plus, “My family was wealthy so they paid for all my military training, but I didn’t like it so I joined a monastary,” isn’t much of a deep dark secret, and Joss luurves his deep, dark secrets. Knowing him, Book’s history is as bad as it could possibly be before it becomes completely impossible to respect the character at all.
There’s also his apparent in-depth knowledge of police procedure and organized crime, neither of which (especially the last one) can be explained by that theory.
I didn’t think Book said he had never had sex, just that he never could again because of his vows. IIRC, without going back and watching the DVDs to check (since I don’t recall the specific episode), the scene picks up on the conversation in progress, with Jayne saying, “What, never?” It was my impression that Book had told him his vows don’t allow sex, not that he’d never had sex in his life.
That was because people kept calling him “grampa”.
Book and Simon have one of my favourite bits from Firefly (so far…I missed most of the series in first run, and in the reruns on Space, due to work. I need to start taping it when I get a new job :p) in that episode. This is from memory, so it mightn’t be completely correct:
Mal (To Simon): Are you alright?
Simon: I don’t know…I’ve never shot anyone before.
Book: Son, I was there. I’m fair sure you haven’t shot anyone yet.
The other favourite:
Mal and Zoe are on an Alliance-friendly planet on Unification Day. Mal is picking a fight with one of the locals. After said local goes into an anti-Independant rant Mal stands up.
Mal: Why don’t you say that to my face?
Alliance Guy stands up and repeats his screed, to Mal’s face.
AG: What are you going to do about it?
Mal: Nothing, I just wanted you to say it to my face so she could get behind you.
AG turns around to see Zoe who clocks him, but good.
More movie news:
Shiny!
Brian
I agree. He knew who Niska was as soon as he knew his name and knew how dangerous he was. Also, knowing how to shoot a gun is a heck of a lot different than being comfortable shooting it at people. Book wasn’t just a crack shot in that episode; he was experienced.
I’m rewatching the series (after watching it for the first time just a few weeks ago), and I’m so loving it. Heart of Gold is one of my favorite episodes, but it may be because I think Mindy Clarke is a terrific actor.
I can no longer pick a favorite character, and even my initial dislike of Jayne turned into absolute adoration. My husband used to dislike Inara, but by the end of the show, she was fast becoming one of his favorite characters. I loved the fact that Inara and Mal were so attracted to each other, but neither could admit it. He (my husband, not Mal) still found River to be too annoying for words, but I liked her. Wash and Zoe’s relationship: WOW. The episode where Wash and Mal are being tortured by Niska and Zoe goes to buy their freedom, I expected at least a moment of hesitation or regret from Zoe at having to make a choice. None. That’s what makes Firefly so great.
They also have such strong female roles in the show. Zoe is the tough, powerful fighter that we women want to be and that’s so popular in fiction today (my main character in my series novel is like that). Kaylee is sweet, not a fighter, but strong in a different way. The first time she has to pick up a gun, she’s okay with it until she has to shoot someone. And she can’t do it. And that’s okay. You don’t want Kaylee killing people. Inara doesn’t even try (though she holds a gun on Saffron in Trash.) She knows what she’s good at, and while she definitely won’t hesitate to shoot someone, she doesn’t turn into Lara Croft when it’s time for the shooting to start. River is still an enigma we never got a chance to fully understand, but you get the feeling (and the characters hint that) the government was training her to be an elite assassin.
And does anyone else think part of Jayne’s antagonism toward Simon is because he has a bit of a crush on Kaylee?
Actually, not before you wrote that. I mean, no, I don’t think it was ever hinted at in the episodes, but it seems like such a great direction for Jayne’s character. I could see it happening, though.
Yeah—yeah—that could be it! Since we hear the conversation in the middle, that could be. I’ll have to review the DVD and see how exactly that all goes.
No, actually, I don’t think that was all there was to it. I think the more predictable or logical response would be “I don’t have any kids.” Because you can’t be a grandpa without having kids first. And you don’t need to be married to have kids. So really, being married doesn’t have much to do with it. Unless you’re the kind of guy that could not fathom the notion of having kids (which would mean having sex) without being married. So, to him, having kids = married.
That’s why I thought Book’s response about how he never married was a little unusual.
Shiny indeed, the news about the movie!
Though if they don’t have Book or Wash I will be seriously vexed. I just hope the reporter’s hands were tired. Damn—that better be it.
Tengu: I love those quotes you gave! Very clever stuff.
YES!!! YES! Definitely. I noticed that in the pilot.
Jayne was teasing Kaylee at the dinner table because she was shining up to the new passenger (Simon) and asking him all sorts of questions about being a doctor. Jayne keeps on making crude comments and has to be told to leave the table. Jayne is bugged that Kaylee is giving Simon attention, and like a big dumb kid, he has to insult her to get her attention.
When she was shot and Simon was doing surgery, Jayne was furtively hovering outside the infirmary (medical room—whatever you call it) and crouched down, trying to hear what they were saying and watching over the whole thing (because it was touch-and-go with Kaylee). It was obvious that he was very concerned for her welfare but didn’t want anyone to know how worried he really was.
They seemed to drop the Jayne-having-a-crush on Kaylee thing in later episodes (or perhaps it was too subtle and I wasn’t picking up on it) but there definitely was some element of that there.
Well, Miller and DeadlyAccurate, I don’t disagree with you. The idea of Book as an ex-badass of some sort certainly has appeal. I personally like the “Medici” angle better because it gets us deeper into Alliance politics. What if this family also happens to own the Blue Sun company, mmm? But since all members of the family have now been assassinated or run to ground (like Book), they no longer control it – a rival family has now taken over. Which isn’t to say Book’s family were good guys. Far from it – they were the nastiest of the nasties which is precisely why they were largely assassinated.
Of course, the two ideas aren’t mutually exclusive. Perhaps Book (because he was a member of a minor branch of the family) was a “hit man” for his family, and not particularly priviledged. Or perhaps he was a high-ranking officer (again, because of family connections) during the war who was involved in some sort of atrocities … but again, since wasn’t a “big man” within the family, we wasn’t responsible, just a participant.
I’m liking the Officer idea better and better … unlike most of his relatives, he had an actual conscience, which is why immediately after the war – or even before it was over – he left the military and joined the monastery, where he has been ever since. The only problem I have with this angle is his age would seem to be wrong. He should be closer to Mal and Zoe’s age, but he is obviously older than that. And I get the idea he has been in the monastery a long time, so that whatever bad-ass stuff he once did was perhaps when he was in his twenties.
Oh well, that’s enough unfocused rambling for now! 
My company’s nannyware blocks Ain’t It Cool. What does that link say about the movie?
Very short little blurb.
The movie will be called “Serenity” and Joss Whedon will be writing it and making his directorial debut.
It’s set about 6 months after the TV show left off and is about two passengers who bring trouble to the crew.
The story mentions all actors being it it, except for Ron Glass and Alan Tudyk specifically, but let’s hope that’s just an oversight.
Variety article here
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/variety/20040303/va_ne_al/_serenity__greenlit_1
Brian
[frantic Ned Flanders]
Diddly! Firefly movie iddly!
[/fnf]
Thanks for that!
I wonder if the “two passengers who attract trouble” refers to River and Simon, or two new characters?
Woo! And, may I add, Hoo.
Time to hit the button and call back the shuttles!
I hope Simon and River. Keep it to the core cast.
Because people are always predictable and logical in their responses, right? 
Well, you could certainly be right.
It just seemed to me to be more of a throw-away line when the first captain approached him. (Paraphrasing heavily here) “Hey, grampa, why don’t you come with us? We’ve got the best ship, blah blah blah.” Book knew at a glance that he didn’t want to go with that guy; didn’t like the look of the ship, or the man, or both. So he just tossed off “I never married” in a distracted tone, and kept walking, as a reasonably polite way to blow the guy off. Then a minute later, when Kaylee, who he did like immediately, said the same thing, he said it again because it was still in his mind from before. Only this time with a smile.
But then again, it’s possible to overanalyze these things. Now that we’re deprived of our weekly (more or less) Firefly fix, we’re reduced to rehashing minutiae from old shows. Despite Joss’ love of intricate plots and foreshadowing, not every line is a set-up for future shows.
Still, I’m delighted to hear we may get to find out. Yea, Firefly movie!
According to TV Tome, the original crew will be back in its entirety.
The crew may be back in its entirety, Jeff Olsen, but that wouldn’t necessarily mean Simon and River are the “two passengers who attract trouble.”
It could be two new passengers.