Questions tagged [serenity]

For questions about "Serenity", a movie released in 2005, starring the crew of the Firefly TV series.

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What caused "The Operative" to support Mal's team at the end of the movie?

Until at the end of the Serenity (2005) movie, "The Operative" caused obstacles to Mal's team. What caused "The Operative" to support Mal's team at the end of the movie?
Roosevelt T's user avatar
-2 votes
1 answer
147 views

What does " pretty lights and a few miles after" mean?

In Serenity (2005), Mr Universe speaks to Hoban, who wants him to broadcast a video: Mr Universe: You're going to get caught in the ion cloud. It'll play merry hob with your radar, but pretty lights ...
Roosevelt T's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
746 views

What does "had an out" refer to?

In Serenity (2005), Malcolm speaks about River: Malcolm: I could have left her there. I had an out. Hell, I had every reason in the 'verse to leave her lay and haul anchor. What does "had an ...
Roosevelt T's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
102 views

What does "lawforce flags" mean?

In Serenity (2005), the crew contacts reclusive hacker Mr. Universe, who discovers the message designed to trigger River's mental conditioning: Malcolm: Well, what about this? Did this make the ...
Roosevelt T's user avatar
-5 votes
1 answer
98 views

What "wrong crowd" is he referring to?

In Serenity (2005), after locking River, Malcolm had a talk with his members: Jayne: She goes woolly again, we're gonna have to put a bullet to her. Malcolm: It's crossed my mind. Hoban: Can I make a ...
Roosevelt T's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
83 views

What's the meaning of "Earthnorm"?

In Serenity (2005), Mal, Zoe and Jayne emerge from the Serenity in full suits, armed. Zoe reads a handheld scanner to capture beacon's signal: Malcolm: Gravity's Earthnorm. Zoe: O2 levels check, ...
Roosevelt T's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
148 views

What "settlement" is Jayne referring to?

In Serenity (2005), Mal, Zoe and Jayne emerge from the Serenity in full suits, armed. Zoe reads a handheld scanner to capture beacon's signal: Malcolm: Gravity's Earthnorm. Zoe: O2 levels check, ...
Roosevelt T's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
424 views

What does "30 coin" mean?

In Serenity (2005), Mr Universe says to the Operative: Mr Universe: There. Toss me my 30 coin, but I got a news wave for you... Then Operative stabs him. He orders his crew: Operative: Call in ...
Roosevelt T's user avatar
13 votes
1 answer
2k views

What does "bunch of reubens" mean?

This is a scene from Serenity (2005): MINGO: Quite a crew you've got. Malcolm: Yeah, they're a fine bunch of reubens. What does "bunch of reubens" mean? Is he comparing people to ...
Roosevelt T's user avatar
-3 votes
1 answer
133 views

What does "it" in "with it" refer to?

In Serenity (2005), Malcolm crew make a last stand against the Reavers: Zoe: How much ammo do we have? Jayne: Three, four max, and my swinging cod. That's all. Inara: The lift isn't moving. Zoe: When ...
Roosevelt T's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
323 views

Do Reavers have a multi-generational society?

I read that in the core worlds, the Reavers from Firefly/Serenity are legendary (campfire tales or something), so it sounds like they have been around for a long time. They must get killed frequently ...
releseabe's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
675 views

What exactly is Jayne doing here?

In Serenity (2005), the Reavers and Alliance battle while Wash pilots the transport spaceship Serenity through the crossfire. In the ship, Malcolm commands his crew to strap themselves in: Wash: We'...
Roosevelt T's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
1k views

What does "Repeater" mean?

In Serenity (2005), A woman carrying a bucket and her son are looking at the trading station a few buildings away: Son: I'm telling you I heard it. Repeater. Woman: Did sound somewhat like gun blast. ...
Roosevelt T's user avatar
12 votes
0 answers
251 views

How did Mal afford the Serenity?

We see Mal smitten with the Serenity in "Out of Gas". Clearly he has an eye for her, even as the used spaceship salesman tries to get him to buy a newer and marginally less crappy-looking ...
Valorum's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
269 views

What does "innocked" mean?

In Serenity (2005), Malcolm scolds Kaylee for making difficulty in landing the spaceship safely: Malcolm: If she crashes, you crashed her. Malcolm then meets doctor: Malcolm: Doctor. Guess I need ...
Roosevelt T's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
312 views

Is there any canonical AI in the 'Verse?

In Joss Whedon's Firefly universe, is there any evidence of artificial intelligence, regardless of how advanced? In particular, I'm wondering if creating a basic autopilot AI for an asset in the ...
RichardJ's user avatar
  • 353
5 votes
1 answer
482 views

Serenity: "Which, she would be sleepy" -- why this line?

I have never understood this line. Why did Mr. Universe say this? Is it just some goofy thing or does he mean, perhaps, that after the huge fight, she would be tired? EDIT: Maybe it is just the ...
releseabe's user avatar
  • 14.7k
14 votes
2 answers
579 views

Do the Reavers have any sort of hierarchy?

All descriptions of Reavers seem to be these monsters that have no regard for anything but themselves. However, in some episodes (and the movie Serenity) they hunt together and almost seem tribal (e.g....
Tom's user avatar
  • 243
1 vote
1 answer
372 views

Burning skeletons during launch of the spaceship Serenity

I recently re-watched the film Serenity and noticed an odd scene two thirds of the way through the film. After deciding to disguise the spaceship Serenity with intact human bodies, the ship is shown ...
skyjack's user avatar
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15 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why did the details of River's rescue change for the movie Serenity?

In the Firefly tv show, we first meet River when she comes out of "cryo". Simon explains that he funded a "group of men" who had offered to sneak her out of captivity by putting her in that cryo state....
LevenTrek's user avatar
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28 votes
1 answer
5k views

How does Serenity's main engine work?

The side engines seem to be regular atmospheric jet engines (at least they have that sort of intake), but is there any statement in any of the side material (RPG, comics, etc.) what the main "firefly ...
cometaryorbit's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
264 views

Who opened the cargo bay hatch in the iconic River-Reaver fight scene?

At the end of the fight scene, the cargo bay hatch slowly opens to reveal River Tam standing over the bodies of the defeated Reavers while the Alliance troopers are blowing the entrance behind her. ...
Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_'s user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
82 views

What is the status of Earth in Firefly? [duplicate]

Serenity makes it clear that colonists left Earth due to overpopulation and resource deficiency. And it's referred to as Earth-that-was. But do we have any indication that Earth is actually ...
Stephen Collings's user avatar
29 votes
4 answers
6k views

Why does Mal change his mind?

In the episode Safe, Mal comes back to rescue Simon. SIMON Captain... why did you come back for us? MAL You're on my crew. SIMON Yeah, but you don't even like me. (beat) Why'd you come ...
Brendan Hughes's user avatar
19 votes
1 answer
4k views

Chinese in Serenity?

One of the things that makes the world of the Firefly TV series distinctive is the intermingling of English-speaking and Chinese cultures. All of Serenity's crew appear to be fluent in both English ...
Rand al'Thor's user avatar
  • 134k
8 votes
1 answer
460 views

How many crew members of the Serenity actually read Chinese?

In a previous question it was asked how many of the crew spoke Mandarin. But how many actually read Chinese as it was used in almost all broadcasts and navigational displays?
Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_'s user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
830 views

What was the body count in River's bar fight scene?

In one of River Tam's incredibly choreographed fight scenes, she takes on a bar full of bad-asses and leaves them all biting the dust. Has anyone ever done a body count (apart from Jayne)? Did she ...
Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_'s user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
274 views

How common is fresh produce in the world of Firefly?

In the pilot of Firefly, Book uses fresh strawberries as part of his transport payment. The "Mighty fine shindig" has unadorned fresh fruit, showing that it was considered fancy by itself, though ...
Rogue Jedi's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
1k views

What is "fluffy" in Serenity?

In the Firefly series Joss Whedon often used linguistic devices such as Mandarin Chinese signs, curses, and other assorted phrases to indicate a removal in time and space. To further this, he also ...
Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_'s user avatar
28 votes
2 answers
5k views

Are all of the Reavers and Alliance destroyed in the final battle in Serenity?

In the Firefly movie "Serenity", at the final battle, the Serenity flies through Reaver territory, drawing them into a battle with the Alliance. Were all of the Reavers in that battle destroyed? ...
albusseverus potter's user avatar
30 votes
4 answers
3k views

What happened to the Lassiter?

In Trash, the crew steals a very valuable, antique laser pistol known as the Lassiter. In The Message, Mal mentions that he's having difficulty selling it. MAL: It's like something out of a ...
Rogue Jedi's user avatar
  • 66.7k
4 votes
0 answers
800 views

Why is there so little merchandise with the Serenity logo? [closed]

This logo seems great for T-shirts and the like. But I've only seen it a few times, in places that rapidly go out of stock, which makes me think it's not an official thing. Why, when there are so many ...
Stephen Collings's user avatar
24 votes
1 answer
4k views

Do they really watch Firefly on the International Space Station

I saw this photo online: I was wondering if this photo is legit, or some Photoshop by Firefly fans. If it is legitimate, why do they have a copy of Firefly and Serenity on board the International ...
Nat Green's user avatar
  • 711
8 votes
1 answer
330 views

Why did Henry Evans continue to go by Derrial Book?

In Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale, we learn that However, he continues to go by Book even after It seems odd that he would continue to go by a stolen name after finding religion. Is there anything to ...
Rogue Jedi's user avatar
  • 66.7k
7 votes
3 answers
439 views

Why is Shepherd Book crushing a snake on the cover of Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale?

Have any of the writers or artists stated why Shepherd Book is stepping on a snake on the cover of Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale? There is no snake in the graphic novel. Is it a allusion to Book ...
Rogue Jedi's user avatar
  • 66.7k
9 votes
1 answer
17k views

What is the correct order to read/watch Firefly/Serenity?

I have discovered today that there are Serenity books and comics. I have already seen the series and the movie. Books Comics Series Movie What is the correct order to read the full material?
Oscar Foley's user avatar
  • 1,081
13 votes
3 answers
5k views

About the subliminal message in Serenity

I have a question about that. In "Serenity", River Tam is shown a subliminal message in an advertisement, a code that was floating around for weeks. Now, here's my question, broken into short ones. ...
Petersaber's user avatar
  • 10.2k
16 votes
2 answers
4k views

Why doesn't Jayne use Vera in Serenity's climax?

During the climax of Serenity, why doesn't Jayne use Vera? It seems to be the most powerful weapon on Serenity and Jayne claims that it's his favorite gun. The crew seems to have enough time to ...
Rogue Jedi's user avatar
  • 66.7k
21 votes
3 answers
5k views

Why didn't the Alliance destroy The Reavers?

In Serenity, we learn that So my question is, why didn't the Alliance destroy them? There were fewer than 30,000 Reavers and the Alliance had a much larger military. We also learn that So why did ...
Rogue Jedi's user avatar
  • 66.7k
20 votes
1 answer
4k views

Where is Inara during "Serenity"?

In Firefly, she says: Then the episode ends. It doesn't say where she is going to leave to, and (as far as I can remember) it doesn't say it in the episodes after that episode (Heart of Gold) either....
albusseverus potter's user avatar
18 votes
2 answers
7k views

Why does Serenity have a cannon in "Serenity"?

In Firefly (episode: train job), Mal gets in a bar fight because he was a Browncoat. He gets thrown out of the bar, and the gang he was fighting follows him. They were about to kill him when Wash ...
albusseverus potter's user avatar
19 votes
2 answers
3k views

Why was Mal able to shrug off apparently lethal blows from The Operative?

Towards the end of Serenity, just as Mal is ready to climb the chasm to the backup transmitter, the Operative surprises Mal and shoots him in the back. Mal shrugs it off and moments later is able to ...
Schwern's user avatar
  • 13.5k
2 votes
1 answer
584 views

Times River appears sane in Serenity or Firefly?

In the Firefly/Serenity universe, really the only time River appears to be sane is episode 10 "Objects in Space". After Mal lets the bounty hunter float away River comes back to the ship, ...
Towell's user avatar
  • 653
3 votes
1 answer
712 views

Why didn't Mal kill the Operative?

In Serenity, Mal first fights the Operative at Inara's home. Mal and Inara both get their butts kicked; the Operative finds a sword and starts making a big speech before he goes for the kill, when ...
Chris Cirefice's user avatar
40 votes
4 answers
13k views

Why didn't the Reavers murder and mutilate everyone on Miranda?

In the movie Serenity, Mal and his crew travel to Miranda where they discover Why didn't the Reavers murder and mutilate everyone on Miranda? Instead, everyone on Miranda A plausible explanation is ...
Null's user avatar
  • 69.5k
16 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is everyone in Firefly fluent in Chinese or do they only know Chinese slang?

Often the English-speaking characters in Firefly speak curses and slang in Chinese because of the mixing of American and Chinese cultures in the universe. Often audio recordings are also said in both ...
Keavon's user avatar
  • 1,046
13 votes
2 answers
1k views

Did any of the planets in Firefly's 'Verse have any life before terraforming?

Sure, no "proper" aliens, but were all the planets completely biologically dead? No native plants, or creatures in the water? No microorganisms even? All the terraforming was completely done from ...
Ebulliant Ennui's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
3k views

What is the Name of Mr. Universe's Moon?

In the movie "Serenity", Mr. Universe lives on a small Moon enveloped by an ion cloud. It's where the final battle takes place. Does this moon have a name? I can't seem to find any information on that....
Jesko Hüttenhain's user avatar
49 votes
2 answers
13k views

How accurate is the Chinese spoken in Firefly?

In the Firefly-verse, Western and Eastern cultures are mixed and many people inject Chinese into their speaking habits, usually to swear (a la frakking and frelling). Can anyone with knowledge of ...
joshbirk's user avatar
  • 12.7k
27 votes
6 answers
2k views

Is there any more media in the Firefly/Serenity universe?

I have recently watched the Firefly series and Serenity movie. And for me Firefly is the best TV show ever created. I have now become a self-styled Browncoat but I want to know more about the 'verse. ...
kmdhrm's user avatar
  • 1,856