Firefly: The Train Job
April 2, 2015 4:58 AM - Season 1, Episode 2 - Subscribe

The crew of Serenity take on a hovertrain heist commissioned by a sinister crime lord. The cargo they are after, however, is worth more than they know. (wiki)

REVIEW
"Certainly it’d be hard to argue that “The Train Job” lacks action, on balance anyway. The episode’s big setpiece is a grand cargo heist, which sees Serenity racing alongside a speeding locomotive. Frankly, the scene is so thrilling that it throws the rest of the episode out of whack. Once you’ve seen Jayne dangling from a grappling hook in a funny hat—“Time for some thrilling heroics,” he boasts—it’s hard to adjust expectations once “The Train Job” then settles into a much calmer story about Mal and Zoe being detained in the sad little mining town of Paradiso."

"That said, it helps a bunch that Paradiso’s Sheriff Bourne is played by one of my favorite character actors, Gregg Henry. (Anyone who’s in Brian De Palma’s stock company is okay by me.) And it helps too that the episode pivots on Mal’s crisis of conscience, as he realizes that the cargo Serenity stole from the hovertrain is actually medicine, needed by the people of the unnaturally terraformed Pardadiso to fight the resultant bone-and-muscle-destroying disease known as Bowden’s Malady. So while the captain and his second are pretending to be innocent newlyweds looking for work, they’re also trying to find a way to get back to Serenity before it takes off without them, so that they can offload the medicine to the people who need it. Mal may be a thief, but he’s not a villain." (Noel Murray at avclub)

SAMPLE QUOTE
[Inara is brushing Kaylee's hair and explaining how Companions choose their clients]
Inara: Physical appearance doesn't matter so terribly. You look for compatibility of spirit. There's an energy about a person that's difficult to hide.You try to feel that —
Mal: [Entering Inara's shuttle] And then you try to feel the energy of their credit account, it has a sort of...aura...
Inara: What did I say to you about barging into my shuttle?
Mal: That it was manly and impulsive?
Inara: Yes, precisely. Only the exact phrase I used was, "Don't."
Mal: Well, you're holding my mechanic in thrall. And Kaylee! What the hell is goin' on in the engine room? Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?
(wikiquote)

TRIVIA
The two-hour Firefly: Serenity (2002) was originally intended as the pilot for the show. The network (FOX) however, decided not to air it, citing that they wanted a pilot with a more action-packed feel to it. With exactly one weekend to write a new pilot, executive producers Joss Whedon and Tim Minear wrote Firefly: The Train Job (2002), which appeared first on the show. A slightly retooled version of "Serenity" was later showed as an 'origins' story after Firefly (2002) had been canceled. (imdb)

BONUS LINK
The Flash’s Jesse L. Martin did a lovely gospel cover of the Firefly theme. (avclub)
posted by valkane (15 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
So glad you're posting these. Thanks for the care you're putting in as well.

The Firefly wiki has a list of translations from the Chinese phrases used in the episode:

"Qing zailai yi bei Ng Ka Pei? [May I have one more glass of Ng Ka Pei (a medicinal herb wine), please?]" - Mal at the bar.

"Oh, zhe zhen shi ge kuaile de jinzhan [this is a happy development]..." - Mal is confronted by a bar full of Alliance sympathizers.

"Kewu de lao baojun... [Horrible old tyrant...]" - Kaylee, when Mal sends her to the engine room.

"The Captain's zhen de shi tiancai [an absolute genius] when it comes to plans." - Kaylee.

"Just 'cause the captain says you're medic don't make you part of the crew. You just play at figurin' what's wrong with that moon-brained sister of yours till we call for you, dong ma? [understand?]" - Jayne to Simon.

"Why are you parked here? This ain't the gou cao de [dog-humping] rendezvous spot." - Jayne yells at Wash.
posted by zarq at 6:11 AM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


I initially tried watching the pilot first, but couldn't get into it, so this was my first full episode of Firefly. I was hooked. Mal's dealing with the revelation of what he was hired to steal and his reaction to the threatening monologue at the end sold him as a worthy Han Solo/Robin Hood leader and the kind of guy who could gather the crew he has.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 9:51 AM on April 2, 2015


This scene at the end (click only after you've gotten through the episode) where Mal tries to give back the money to keep things square is just hilarious. On first watch, I gasped and grabbed the couch, and then laughed and laughed as the second and more sensible fellow quickly agreed to Mal's terms. The scene does a great job of turning everything upside down and establishing the stakes for the rest of the series: Anything can happen.

That bit about "the last thing you will see will be my blade" is like a lost line out of Conan the Barbarian, which makes it all the more wonderful.
posted by mochapickle at 10:22 AM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


This scene at the end (click only after you've gotten through the episode) where Mal tries to give back the money to keep things square is just hilarious. On first watch, I gasped and grabbed the couch, and then laughed and laughed as the second and more sensible fellow quickly agreed to Mal's terms. The scene does a great job of turning everything upside down and establishing the stakes for the rest of the series: Anything can happen.

I'm finding with the shows I watch there there seems to be a moment when I mentally go "sold!" with a series that I will follow to the end. If I never have that moment, I will sooner or later wander away in disinterest. For Firefly, that moment was the one where Mal tries to give back the money.

It just took the conventions that this episode had built up - Mal as the scruffy hero with the heart of gold underneath - and brought them to the logical conclusion. Yes, he has a heart of gold; no, he's not an idiot. So many shows would not have done that.
posted by nubs at 12:23 PM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


In the DVD commentary for this episode, Joss Whedon talks about the ending scene with the giant, hulking, unforgiving muscle man as being a metaphor for his relationship with Fox, and how the crew - and by extension Whedon - responded to larger than life comical villains/network bullying he felt with this series.

Although I do love the exact same speech being given to the second fellow, who quickly accepts. Always makes me giggle.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 4:53 PM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


Thanks, zarq, I'll include the translation link next week, thanks for suggesting it!

I hate myself for not using the quote at the end, with Mal, and trying to return the money. But at the same time, I didn't want to use the best bit as a sample quote. You guys understand. Cya next Thursday!
posted by valkane at 4:55 PM on April 2, 2015


For an episode that was thrown together in a weekend, Whedon and Minear did a terrific job of pulling together a solid introduction to the crew. Some of my favorite moments:

- Zoe throwing the first punch in the bar fight. Warrior women FTW!
- The first dramatic appearance of Serenity to the rescue.
- Mal describing River as "A bit whimsical in the brainpan" - what a gorgeous turn of phrase!
- Kaylee's gleeful reply to Simon's inquiry as to what they were doing. "Crime!"
- Jayne's definition of the chain of command.
- "The light from the console... they shine like... little angels..." [Thump.]
- Inara sweeping into the sheriff's station in all her stunning glory and slapping Mal.
- Mal's "I've had plenty worse-- OW!!" when Simon is sewing him up. A nice change from the silent stoic types you typically see that seem impervious to pain. I like my heroes a little more human.
- Our first mention of two by two, hands of blue. I had forgotten they made an appearance so early in the series.

There's a conversation early on in the episode where Book is trying to get Mal to share the reasons why Simon and River are still on board, being known fugitives and all. Mal replies a bit snidely "Because it's the right thing to do." He is clearly being sarcastic in the moment, but there's a hard kernel of truth there and that's what we focused on when writing the song for this episode. As much as Mal is loathe to admit it, he does have a certain moral code and both his actions with Simon and River and with the medical supplies reflect that.
posted by platinum at 5:28 PM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


... Mal, kicking the guy into the engine was his "Han shot first" moment. Lovable rogues have to rogue. Danger boys, in the end, have to be dangerous. Otherwise, there's no sharp point.
posted by valkane at 7:25 PM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


When I first saw this episode, I was just not really feeling the show (albeit feeling sympathetic towards the natives, and liking Inara), until the kick into the engine.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:54 PM on April 2, 2015


For an episode that was thrown together in a weekend, Whedon and Minear did a terrific job of pulling together a solid introduction to the crew.

Personally, I like to think that Whedon just pulled out the notes for his old Traveller campaign.
posted by happyroach at 12:01 AM on April 3, 2015


I always liked that Zoe wasn't romantically involved with Mal and that she was married. Well-rounded. There's also the little moment she has with her husband once they're back on the ship. It's simple, in the background, establishes so much.

FOX made a terrible decision.
posted by Ik ben afgesneden at 5:15 AM on April 3, 2015


I always liked that Zoe wasn't romantically involved with Mal and that she was was married.

Me too. It was startling, in a way, that went against all your basic TV tropes. Which. Is. AWESOME!

"He was even willing to walk away from the show rather than alter one of those relationships, the marriage between Zoe and Wash. "Wash is an absolute contrast to Zoe, yet a perfect mate for her," he explained. "Rather than playing out every little romance in its infancy the way shows usually do, I thought it would be nice to show a happily married couple, who would have their fights and their troubles, but would stay married." But when Fox executives were deciding whether to pick up the series, they saw a stable marriage as dramatically limiting, and they pushed him to break up the couple. "The last thing that Fox said was, 'We will pick up the show, but they can't be married.' And I said, 'Then don't pick up the show, because in my show, these people are married. And it's important to the show.'" (Charlie Jane Anders writing for io9)
posted by valkane at 4:58 PM on April 4, 2015 [1 favorite]


I get why Mal kicking the bad guy into the engine grabbed so many people. But for me, it was, "Sir, I think you have a problem with your brain being missing." It just told me that Whedon's particular brand of wit was going to suit me very well.
posted by dry white toast at 9:24 PM on April 6, 2015


"Damn yokels, can't even tell a transport ship ain't got no guns on it! 'Blow a new crater in this moon.' Ha!"
posted by zarq at 10:44 AM on April 7, 2015 [2 favorites]


"You know, your coat is kinda a brownish color..."
"It was on sale." [Calmly sips his drink]
posted by valkane at 9:46 PM on April 7, 2015 [1 favorite]


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