0 Firefly

Today is the day in which I gush about my all-time favorite television show and (probably rant a little about the gorram network that canceled it. Damn You, Alliance FOX!).

That show is, of course, Firefly, Joss Whedon's epic and sadly short-lived space western which follows the adventures of a renegade crew as they travel the galaxy looking for work and the occasional bar fight (usually on U-Day).

This is the third year I've featured Firefly on F Day (and I will continue to feature Firefly on this day every year I participate in the A to Z Challenge) and each year I pick three episodes to highlight.

Here are this year's selections:

1. The Train Job

The very first episode aired by the Alliance FOX network (Damn you for cancelling this show!!) because the Alliance Fox execs didn't think the intended pilot, Serenity, had enough action in it. Fools. Anyway, this episode features the crew attempting to steal some cargo from a moving train . When it is revealed that the cargo is much needed medicine for a community, the crew has to decide what to do: complete the job for which they were paid, or return the medicine. We are also introduced to the recurring character Niska, a man with a taste for torture.

Favorite lines:

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.'

Jayne: Time for some thrilling heroics.

Mal: They tell you never to hit a man with a closed fist, but it is, on occasion, hilarious.

2. War Stories

The episode in which Niska returns, seeking payback for the events in The Train Job. Niska takes Mal and Wash hostage and tortures them while the rest of the crew develops a risky plan to get them back.

Favorite lines:

Jayne: I'll be in my bunk.

River and Kaylee: No power in the 'verse can stop me.

Zoe: Preacher, don't the Bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing?
Book: Quite specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps.

Jayne: I'm smelling a lot of 'if' coming off of this plan.

3. The Message

One of three episodes that were unaired by the Alliance Fox network. During a routine stop, Mal and Zoe receive a surprise parcel in the mail...the body of an army buddy—and a request to bring his body home. Oh, and Jayne gets a new hat.

Favorite lines:

Wash: A man walks down the street in that hat, people know he's not afraid of anything.

Zoe: First rule of battle, little one? Never let them know where you are.
Mal [comes running and shouting and shooting]: Woo-hoo! I'm right here! I'm right here! You want some of this?Yeah, you do! Come on! Come on!
Zoe: 'Course, there are other schools of thought.

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So that's going to do it for me today. Are you a Browncoat? If so, what are your favorite episodes/moments?

Have a shiny weekend, everyone!!