Friday night TV

[mari4212]

So I finally got to watch Firefly. Why didn't anybody tell me it was this good? Oh wait, they did, that's why I wanted to watch it in the first place. But still, it was really good.

Some of the characters just looked a lot younger than my mental images. Especially Simon. I'm not sure how much of that was just his sweater, but he only looked like he was a year older than I am. Canonically, he's what, 24? Rather young to be a doctor. And River is right, he is a boobe. But he's cute and sweet and means well, so we like him anyway. He almost reminds me of early-Quinn from Sliders.

aelora is right, Jayne is cute, especially with that hat. Characterwise, I'm not sure I like him that much, but the hat was cute. And I love Sheppard Book. I'm not sure how much of that is just his voice, because I'm a sucker for a guy with a good voice.

Kaylee was cute, as was Wash. I like the others, but I want to see more of them. I've read the transcripts, but that's not exactly the same thing. But Zoe had a great line, "There are people who have other philosophies, of course." Deadpan, right after Mal had come in screaming, negating her previous comments. That was fun.

Atlantis was fun. I really like Duet. And let me renew my worship of David Hewlett's acting abilities. I loved how at the end he didn't want to agree that he was worth more to Atlantis than she was. When it's not crunch time, he'll whine and complain about how valueble his time is, and how he can't waste it, but when it comes down to the wire he values others as much as himself. That really says everything about him, doesn't it.

And John reminded me of a little kid begging his mom to let him keep the stray puppy that followed him home from the park. "Can I keep him, Mommy? I'll look after him and feed him, and clean up his messes..."

And then we had a fire drill at nine thirty at night. But I ended up talking with a few people who are fanfic writers and living in my dorm. Fandom will end up taking over the world at this rate.

Comments

[aelora.livejournal.com]

Dude, Jayne was one of my least favorite characters when I first watched through the series! And then BAM! He totally grew on me. I think it's because of the soft underbelly he never exposes or something. Or maybe, because he's such a woobie and the rest of the crew picks on him so much!

Want me to send you the eps on CD??

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

If you'd be willing to, I'd appreciate it. Would they play on my computer with Media Player or Real Player?

Jayne looks like he's interesting, and you have to respect a guy who loves his mother so much that he immediately pulls the hat she made him on.

[aelora.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they play in either WMP or RP. Just email me your addy at aelora @ gmail.com I'll make the copies this weekend and get them to you next week!

[heylittleriver.livejournal.com]

Fandom will end up taking over the world at this rate.

*g* Oh, I hopes so.

And apart from the scenes that made me cringe a bit (I had to have a friend hold my hands still. *is terrible at watching embarrasing scenes for characters*) Duet was a terrific episode.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, there were still the scenes that made me want to bash my head against the arm of the couch out of sympathy with the characters. And since I was alone, I did. Poor McKay.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Firefly

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

Some of the characters just looked a lot younger than my mental images. Especially Simon. I'm not sure how much of that was just his sweater, but he only looked like he was a year older than I am. Canonically, he's what, 24? Rather young to be a doctor.

Well in "Serenity" he says, "I'm very smart. Went to the best Medacad on Osiris, top three percent of my class, finished my internship in eight months. Gifted. Is the term. So when I tell you that my little sister makes me look like an idiot child, I want you to understand my full meaning."

I'm awful at telling people's ages from their looks and actually once made a poll asking people what they thought the age difference between Simon and River was -- not so much official statements about the character's ages but rather what their impression of the age gap was as a viewer.

Jayne is cute, especially with that hat. Characterwise, I'm not sure I like him that much, but the hat was cute.

I think it was my 4th time through the series that I actually liked Jayne. Previously I was all "big dumb animal-instincty lug," which is so not my type. But when I finally came to see him as soft and vulnerable and history-having underneath the surface I fell in love.

Also, how many eps did you watch in one go? 'Cause "The Message" is almost at the end of the series.

Re: Firefly

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

I've only seen one episode actually. Sci-fi channel is showing them on Fridays before Stargate. I've read the transcripts for most of the episodes, so I know the basic canon.

And thanks for that quote. Okay, lets say that he finished his pre-college a bit early, say 16ish. Lets further say that he only took three years to do his undergrad, which is possible and even plausible. I'm going to assume that he would have taken four years to do his Med school, which is about what it is today. There's just so much information that has to be absorbed, and you can't compress the time it takes to learn it that much. That would make him around 23 when he starts his internship, probably 24 when he finishes it. Say that it wasn't that long after he finished his internship that he started getting really worried about River, and then he's off to rescue her. Putting him at around 24-25 when he's on Serenity. The age gap between him and his sister would therefore be about six years.

Of course, this assumes that the educational process in the Firefly 'verse is even remotely similar to what we've got here. Still, there is only a certain amount you can learn in a certain amount of time, so they can't rush it too much.

I'm not sure how much I'll like Jayne, really. I like the softer side of him, but he isn't someone I can really identify with. Some of the other characters are easy for me to understand because I've been exposed to their personality types before.

Re: Firefly

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about Sci-Fi airing them on Fridays this summer. I knew you'd read the transcripts, but the comment about the cuteness of Jayne in his hat I figured had to be triggered by actually watching "The Message" and I just assumed you had procured DVDs and were marathoning.

River is 17 years old in canon, so if Simon is 24-25 on Serenity, the age gap is more like 7 or 8 years. (And the impression I get of the timeline, if I'm remembering the statements accurately is that it takes him about 2 years from suspicion to finding her, making him more like 26. Okay, it occurs to me that I actually have bookmarked a timeline someone put together. They actually put the age differential as 11 years, which feels excessive to me. The "Safe" flashback is 11 years prior to present canon, so River must have been 6, and Simon looks about 12 to me, though I could buy 14.)

I'm not sure how much I actually identify with any of the characters in Firefly, but I still love them.

Re: Firefly

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks for the timeline. 11 years does seem a little excessive, but I can buy 7-8 years. I think they said they were conjecturing his age based off of his actor's age, which would I think make him a little too old for what we see.

It's not so much that I identify completely with the characters, so much as I can understand part of what makes them the way they are on a more than intellectual level.

Re: Firefly

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

I think they said they were conjecturing his age based off of his actor's age

Oh yeah, I forget that people tend to do that when doing Firefly timelines.

It's not so much that I identify completely with the characters, so much as I can understand part of what makes them the way they are on a more than intellectual level.

Okay, that makes sense.

Re: Firefly

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

I only noticed because they made a specific point of mentioning it when they created the timeline.

Re: Firefly

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

Makes sense. I was just skimming for the dates of River and Simon so I skipped over the intro explanation.