Joe Hellandback

Altared States (clever!) The Prodigal The Good; once again Xena treads that fine line around religion and does it successfully. The Bad; they all seem very sceptical of the existence of the tribe's god given how the supernatural is everyday in their world? Recurring Characters; no but here's Karl Urban, one of the Xena quadruples! Autolycus; 1 Charon; 1 Toxeus; 2 Ephiny; 1 Hades; 2 Ares; 1 Marcus; 2 Falafel; 2 Cyrene-1 Lila-2 Gabby's dad-1 Perdicas-1 Draco-1 Sisyphis-1 Maeleger; 1 Xena clichés; Gabby captured, disloyal son this time. Xena uses pressure points but not the pinch. Doubles; 1 “I have many skills’; 1 10 years ago; 1 Dead Gabby suitors; 2 Dr Xena-7 Xena in bondage-2 Loyal advisor who is actually the villain-4 Gabby captured-7 Village in peril-3 Duel to settle things-2 The Pinch; 5 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 4 Kills; Xena; 14 Best quote; -Xena (of Gabby rubbing against her as she climbs)"Loving every moment!" Greek myths; the story of Isaac a biblical classic, right up there with Job as a test of faith. Although how we had it concurrently with the Ark of the Covenant last week is anyone's guess? Elements also of course of Cain and Abel and Jacob and Esau. Subtext; oh, it's out in the open now, teasing us with Gabby and Xena bathing, love Xena's little half smile as Gabby dives underwater to practice her 'skills'. Plus Gabby declares Xena 'beautiful', to use another biblical allusion the 'scales falling away from her eyes'. Notches on the Chakram; no but you can just see Gabby's nipples in the moment she ducks under the water. Xena; 1 Other; Xena refers to her maternal instinct because of course she has a secret son of her own. A nice story with some good performances, especially from stoned Gabby and Karl Urban plays a (quite literal) zealot very well. Rating; 7/10

2 great things here, Snyder and reversing the evil doll cliché. Also like ASH as a theatre director. WHOA WHOA WHOA! I thought WTTH was the only ep in S1 with a commentary? The Puppet Show; The Good; The introduction of Snyder. Cordy's performance and the hair gag with Giles. The triple Keyser Soze, Buffy's relationship with Sid. The exciting finale, Snyders reaction to it and the Scoobies scene at the end. Don't you just love the fact that Buffy the superhero runs into her mum's arms when she get's scared in the night? Something only a female hero could do, what would we think of Clark Kent if he did that on Smallville? The Bad; Not much, a very strong episode, easily one of the best of the first season Best line; Buffy; "Euuuugghhhh, dummy! They freak me out, ever since I was little" Willow; "What happened?" Buffy; "I saw a dummy, it freaked me out, there really wasn't a backstory there" (anyone else reminded of Gremlins?) Observations and questions; The police put the butcher knife in a plastic bag? Don't they have some better form of container? Willow suffers from stage fright. Willow is clever enough to know that 841 has a square root of 29 but how does Xander know that to ask her? A shame Joyce doesn't come to the talent show. Will plays the piano? 8/10

I agree in both matters They say this was the ep that got the series renewed for a second season. Well, she has her 'needs', I always felt this made Adele so much more human (as it does Ramirez), she wasn't the ice queen we took her for. And after all, Victor gets well compensated for his favours, monetarily or otherwise. The good; Exciting ep, the first I ever went back and re-watched immediately after again, Very clever mislead in the first scene, we think it's Dewitt getting wiped. The humanisation of Dewitt continues and it's beautifully written and played by all concerned. Good scene too between Ballard and Mellie, your heart bleeds for him. The bad; Echo the spy-catcher wonders why Dr Saunders doesn't leave the Dollhouse? Possibly HER DISFIGURED FACE?! No commentary which is a real shame. The Sierra stuff is OK but we've seen it all before. Best line; Dominic "Sooner or later everyone get's there's" (Here's hoping!) also like Echo "I've got a good feeling about you and I've got the whip" and Dewitt (on the idea of Victor the imprinted Doll becoming a client of the Dollhouse and hiring another Doll for his pleasure) "I think the universe might just collapse!" Packing heat; Dewitt pretty handy with her foil, Dominic with his Glock Echo;5 Boyd; 6 Dominic; 7 Sierra; 3 Victor; 2 Echo kissage; By request this new topic will be included. Kinky dinky; Ramirez wishes to be kidnapped by a pirate (I have a friend with an almost identical fantasy, tied to the mast and ravished by Johnny Depp and his pirate crew). Surprisingly Dr Saunders says that the actives aren't submissives, I'd have thought that would have been a hugely popular choice for clients (what about Sierra who begs her client to hurt her?). The English language does not really have the words to adequately describe how sexy dominatrix Echo is. Suffice to say she's sexier than Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman and you can't say more than that. Reputedly this scene alone got Dollhouse a second season, a shame we couldn't have had more Echo in sexy outfits (hot cop, sexy stewardess, nympho nurse, cheerleader, French maid, naughty schoolgirl/Girl Scout) to earn it a third. Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Victor/Adele. Not sure if Dominatrx Echo actually had sex with her client or not, some Dominatrixes do, some don't. Echo; 3 definite, 1 possible November; 1 Ballard; 1 Victor; 1 Adele; 1 How'd they get away with that? Dominic getting wiped is hard to watch even after all the things he's done. This weeks fantasy; Echo is a dominatrix and a spy-catcher. Victor is Roger the romantic, Sierra a spy. Total number personalities; 2 for Echo, 1 each for Victor and Sierra Echo; 16 Sierra; 7 Victor; 4 November; 2 Addy is a bit British; Her ideal lover is called Roger, second name Moore perhaps? She also uses the term 'Crackerjack' which will mean a lot to a Briton of a certain age but little to the rest of the world (does she have the requisite pencil?). Dolls injured; Echo roughed up by Dominic, Victor cut by Dewitt. Poor Ramirez hurt for a second time by Echo, this time with the whip (which is probably far preferable to the fire extinguisher for her!) . Capt subtext; In the van dominatrix Echo talks of S&M being about trust and surrendering yourself completely to another. This actually is a good analogy of the handler active relationship and what Topher tells Boyd when he first meets Echo. Dr Saunders comments on the many same sex relationships the actives are called out to do. Victor comments that he wants to keep his collection of high powered businesswoman shoes. Ramirez says she'd prefer S&M Barbie Echo to suave lady-killer Victor. Happy hookers Boyd considers the Dollhouse 'pimps and killers', himself included. Guantanamo; So who is we? Who is sending the messages to Ballard? Dominic and the NSA? That makes no sense and seems unlikely, is there more than one person inside trying to bring it down? Dominic is intent on torturing Ivy for info. Almost reassuring that the government want to control the Dollhouse, the NSA may have little oversight but at least it has some. The idea of the attic is just so scary Fanfic; Dominatrix Echo the most popular whip-cracker since Calamity Jane. And the video clip lives forever on Youtube. Reminds me off; Mixed segments Quentin Tarantino style. Ballard is reminiscent of season 5 Wes in his obsession whilst sleeper assassin Mellie is like season 7 Spike. Sierra at the NSA is very Mission Impossible but even more Alias. Breaking the programming; Echo not only volunteers to help Topher but comprehends the purpose of the chair. Dewitt and Topher know but allow her to continue. Questions and observations; Echo waves to Mellie who seems to know her, as Echo or as Caroline from Ballards research? Victor refers Dewitt as 'Katherine', is that her real name? (gives credence to the 'She's Caroline's mother' theory). The Miss-Lonely-Heart storyline has actually been mentioned a few times in previous eps. Note Topher suspects it's Boyd who has betrayed the Dollhouse but still goes to give him a chance to run before informing Dominic, he really does consider him a friend (or has his own doubts and wants to bring the Dollhouse down) Fan bloody-tastic, second best ep of season 1 Marks out of 10; 9/10

I actually really liked Marley, she didn't actually cause enough consternation to be entertaining but you're right about the rest, they were pale (and very obvious) imitations except for Kitty who was a very entertaining mix of Santana and Quinn with her own unique spin. Having the old gang live together in NY would have been entertaining. As for shipping, well, wasn't it the point of the show?

Cookies aplenty, your English is fine Killing rod rather than silent pistol because these are armed police officers and you couldn't get them all before they started to shoot back. Also that would overtly be murder rather than some mysterious accident or natural phenomenon that leaves everyone baffled I never got that impression, they were just the guys who did the dirty work, think of The Conspiracy on CITW and may be their lineal descendants (and of The Initiative/Shield gone wrong). I NEVER picked up on that! The good; Lot's of it, if I were to have 2 favourite scenes it would be the admissions nurse just casually accepting the dead bodies into the hospital and Mal remembering what drugs to take by writing it on his hand. Mal's final interrogation of Jayne also excellent, you get the idea he saves him to spare the rest of the crew having to deal with his betrayal rather than for his own sake. The scene where River, Simon and Jayne flee the blue-gloves is a masterclass in building suspense, they haven't seen anything but the approaching screams of their victims coupled with River's terrified babbling produce a real sense of dread. The bad; Simon saving the patient is very blatantly designed to make us feel better about the crew stealing medicine from a hospital (but I love River's smile of pride when he does it). Best line; Inara; "What have you guys been up to?" Kaylee; "Oh, we killed Simon and River, stole a bunch of medicine" Kinky dinky; Wash wants to take Zoe to a naked beach Inarra;1-a paying customer who wishes to make her his kept woman, 1 possible, Atherton. Wash; 1-the missus Zoe; 1-the hubby Kaylee;1-Bester Capt subtext; Inara is going for a medical examination which she says is routine. But if we follow the theory that she's actually sick ....? Mal once again demonstrates his intimacy with Kaylee, hugging her in a very familiar fashion at the end. How'd they get away with that? The blue gloved men repeatedly cutting into River's head to perform brain surgery, ugh! Then to top it all they slaughter the cops with a device which causes uncontrollable bleeding from its' victims. Total Serenity crew; 8 for this ep, Book is 'away at an abbey'? Do we ever get any other explanation than that? Simon refers to Serenity as 'home'. Mal makes it clear that he continues Jayne's act of betrayal against any of the crew to be against them all Mal, Zoe, Jayne, Wash, Kaylee, Inarra, Simon, River Subverting the Hollywood cliché; Simon teaches Mal, Zoe and Jayne enough ER speak to get into the hospital but the admitting nurse just accepts their word as paramedics that the patients died. But Jayne's put so much effort into learning all these medical terms he insists on using them. Which I think is very human. When struggling with the guard it's Jayne who is the one to be bitten when it's normally the other way around, the hero is the one who traditionally does the biting to even the odds against a superior opponent. Knocked out; Simon and River drugged into near death. Jayne knocked out by Mal. Book; 2 Simon; 2 Kaylee; 1 Jayne;2 Mal; 1 Wash; 1 Inara; 1 Zoe; 1 River; 1 Kills; Jayne kills the Alliance marshall with his bare hands Mal; 11- Zoe; 6- Jayne; 7- Happy high-class hookers in Space; Inara is expected to undergo a standard medical as a companion once a year (or is she? see subtext). She states the Companion policy about non-commercial dating is 'complicated'. Alliance good or bad?; Zoe and Mal are so rabidly anti-Alliance they won't even set foot on a core world or even look out the window (afraid they might like what they see?). The rest of the crew doesn't share their prejudice and are keen to get off the ship, Kaylee never having been on a core planet before. Does Mal protect River and Simon from the goodness of his heart or to stick 2 fingers up to the Alliance? The Serenity crew steal medicine from a hospital, sure they can replace it but still? On the other hand the blue-gloved men have conducted horrific medical experiments on River and brutally slaughter a station full of cops just because they heard River talk? Reminds me off; Simon saving the patient is a scene right out of The Fugitive whilst the blue-gloves are very X-files. Forget to mention it in Out of Gas but of course Bester is the name for both a famous sci-fi author and Walter Koenig's character from Babylon 5. Questions and observations; Ironically the ambulance is a Soviet Hind-model helicopter gunship in disguise. What does 'copper for a kiss' mean? Is it like 'Penny for the guy'? Why do the blue-glove men seem to kill anyone who has heard River talk, even Alliance police? To cover up the secret of what they did to her or does she have some form psychic illness that they're scared she's passing on? Ironically the one time they actually make some decent money it's all the idea of Simon, who Book aside is probably the least criminally inclined of the entire crew, even Jayne impressed by his plan. Do they sell the drugs they steal for their medical or narcotic value? Marks out of 10; 8/10, very good stuff, hugely entertaining, we see the Firefly crew pull off a complicated heist and do it with much more aplomb than the Scoobygang or Angel investigations ever managed. We think the main character of the piece is going to be Simon but in a clever turnabout instead it actually turns out to be Jayne and his crisis of conscience is very well written and acted by all.

No you see it COULD have been that but the subplot of his personal growth and heroism makes it so much more.

The Prodigal The Good; a chance for Gabby to shine having been at the side of the action for a few eps now, some nice comedy with Maeleger and some lovely sister sister stuff, always a Lila fan. The Bad; so where are Gabby's mum and dad? And does no one ask after Perdicas? If you look closely you can see the rope at the back of the cart of stakes as it rolls towards them. Recurring Characters; Lila back and first appearance of Maeleger Autolycus; 1 Charon; 1 Toxeus; 2 Ephiny; 1 Hades; 2 Ares; 1 Marcus; 2 Falafel; 2 Cyrene-1 Lila-2 Gabby's dad-1 Perdicas-1 Draco-1 Sisyphis-1 Maeleger; 1 Xena clichés; Gabby captured again plus Potedia under threat. Doubles; 1 “I have many skills’; 1 10 years ago; 1 Dead Gabby suitors; 2 Dr Xena-7 Xena in bondage-2 Loyal advisor who is actually the villain-3 Gabby captured-6 Village in peril-3 Duel to settle things-2 The Pinch; 5 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 4 Kills; Xena; 14 Best quote; - Maeleger-"That's a lovely hat young woman, have her bathed and brought to my tent" Greek myths; Maeleger the Mighty a real guy, one of the Argonauts (and hence a contemporary of Herc and co). Subtext; the parting scene between Gabby and Xena is very heartfelt, Xena aghast at the idea of losing her companion. Notches on the Chakram; No but the robbers seem to threaten to rape our girls. Xena; 1 Other; first sign of Gabby's panpipes and she now seems an accomplished hitchhiker, both as a lot lizard and faking pregnancy. Boy has Potidea grown since we last saw it, maybe Perdicas has been sending money home? Lila refers to the 'Woman Wonder', a nice little ref to a different Amazon princess. Rating; 7/10

The good; Excellent scenes with the actives planning their escape in true The Prisoner style. Very gratifying to watch Victor beat the stuffing out of the guy abusing Sierra. The bad; Seems all very reckless of Adele, Victor throttles one handler and beats up Sierra's client. Echo beats the crap out of another handler before raiding the armoury and threatening everyone with a gun. Perhaps Topher put in blocks to prevent them killing anyone but given how the wipes haven't been working lately this still seems very risky. Best line; Dr Saunders; "Let the tide wash in" Packing heat; Echo with a glock. The Dollhouse has it's own armoury in the handlers room with Glocks, M16 carbines and H&K MP5s. Echo;5 Boyd; 6 Dominic; 6 Sierra; 3 Victor; 2 Echo kissage; By request this new topic will be included. Kinky dinky; Mike suggests that they've been kidnapped to have sex with aliens, an idea that Mellie is understandably not too keen on (presumably she's seen Alien vs Predator; Requiem or Taboo Comics/Monsters and Angels-internet GOT-fic?). But she's quite OK with the thought of showering naked with both boys and girls unlike Sierra who's more hesitant. Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; Echo; 3 November; 1 Ballard; 1 How'd they get away with that? Dead Echo is plenty frightening! Victor is also pretty hardcore throttling the handler but that suits his soldier mentality. Echo beating up Sophie is also pretty savage. This weeks fantasy; 1 each for everyone, their own personalities but without the memories. Echo is still the moral crusader we see in Echoes. Victor the level headed military man, November the maternal free spirit, Sierra kinda prickly and damaged. Total number personalitites; Echo; 15 Sierra; 6 Victor; 3 November; 2 Total dolls; 6, we meet 2 more, a blonde girl called Tango (who I think we've seen before as a background player?) and Mike who seems to be a conspiracy theorist and finds himself in the ultimate conspiracy. We also meet handler Sophie who like Topher's assistant Ivy will become a recurring minor character. We see another active in military garb (maybe filling in for Victor?) but we don't get a name. Echo, Sierra, November, Victor, Mike, Tango Topher is a bit geeky; Astonishingly he's afraid of the dark Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1 Knocked out; everyone passes out once they've achieved their closure Echo; 2 November; 1 Sierra; 1 Victor; 1 Kills; Sierra; 2 kills Echo; 1 November;1 Capt subtext; Ballard's dream suggests he has a sexual attraction towards Caroline at the expense of Mellie. Victor is appalled by the Village People-style leather chaps he appears to have in his wardrobe (Rid'em Cowboy?). Echo eyes Tango's legs in her stockings and suspenders. Tango closely resembles Liza Minelli's character in Cabaret. Is she off to a hetero client who wants to have sex with her or to a gay guy who wants to sing 'Money makes the world go round' with her as Buffy star Joel Gray (Doc from season 5) did in that movie. Boyd says he would have liked to have seen Echo leading everyone to freedom, he subconsciously wants to free everyone? Happy hookers; Echo refers to the Dollhouse 'Pimping them out' Know the face? 5 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock Guantanamo; Dominic suggests that the handlers think of the Actives as pets instead of children? Mike thinks they're government prisoners. Reminds me off; The Buffy ep Tabula Rusa (a phrase used in this show), the characters all have their personalities and are trapped somewhere but don't have their conscious memories Breaking the programming; They all do so Adele allows them all to partially achieve their secret desires under controlled circumstances. Questions and observations; Victor very much the military man and does it very convincingly. November has a daughter called Kate who died, did she kill her? Even unprogrammed Caroline is pretty tasty in her fight with Sophie, maybe she retains some of her fighting skills from her imprints? Sierra's loathsome returning client (who appears to have forced her into the Dollhouse in the first place?) calls her Maria but is that her real name or the name of the personality he hires? Is he the guy who gave her the cut on her face in Echo? Victor's love for Sierra seems to be able to overcome even his mindwipe. Presumably Mike didn't really have an awakening, he's the control entered by Topher to convince the others they have to make their escape quickly. Marks out of 10; 8/10

Well, demons do like to stay close to the Hellmouth, perhaps he needed to for his powers to work? Yeah, Jenny is the highlight here but also interesting to see Willow striking out on her own from the gang. 'I Robot, You Jane' The Good; Buffy's undercover look is hilarious. Here's Jenny, yay! The final scene with Buffy, Willow and Xander, sitting on the step bemoaning their lovelessness is WONDERFUL! The Bad; The robot Moloch simply looks stupid, not as bad as the mantis but close Best Line; Giles; "I'll be back in the middle ages" Jenny; "Did you ever leave?" Observations and questions; No Cordy or Angel. Some pretty strong stuff here, necks being broken, Fritz self-harming (a topic we'll see again in Blood Ties) and Dave hanging himself. Willow's first boyfriend although you might note that Will has a picture of herself and Giles in her locker. Of course it's twelve years ago so all the computer equipment seems just unbelievably clunky. Xander refers to his uncle working at the computer firm, is that the infamous Rory? Possibly the weakest ep of season 1; I'll give it 4/10

Yes but that would have ruined the surprise? I'd have liked to have learned a little more about the other mechanic. Also why does Kaylee seem to be so easy? Out of Gas The good; Really, really good, a classic 'submarine' story told with comedy and tension yet with wonderful character touches too. Lovely little details like even when they're all freezing to death Jayne stays in his shirtsleeves or Simon mourning the loss of his birthday. The bad; I'm almost a little disappointed that Mal just bought Serenity at a second hand spaceship sale, I always thought he won her in a card game or stole her from the Alliance (or even the Independents?) in the dying days of the war. Notches on the Serenity bedpost; Bester gives Kaylee a tour of his engine room Capt subtext; Interestingly Inara says that she loved Serenity the moment she saw her too, just as Mal did. She also says 'I don't want to die at all'. One theory I've heard throughout the series is that she's actually slowly dying (like Darla) and that the syringe we see her with in Serenity was for medicine rather than narcotics or a suicide kit. Here she says that she doesn't want any of the crew just bursting into her room unannounced, she's not bashful of her nudity, could she be hiding something else? Is this part of the 'little clues' they speak of in the commentary? Whedon clichés; Devoted siblings, haunted charismatic leading man. Teenage girls with superpowers. Hookers. Babbling insane girls with truth in their madness. Fake cockneys. Misguided religious zealots. Numbered t-shirts. Girls with botanical names (Willow, Saffron, Jasmine). Absent fathers. Clever use of extensive flashbacks (Fool for Love, Lies my Parents told me, Are you now or ever have been?) Knocked out; Zoe rendered unconscious by the explosion Book; 2 Simon; 1 Kaylee; 1 Jayne;1 Mal; 1 Wash; 1 Inara; 1 Zoe; 1 Alliance good or bad?; Mal talks of the Serenity representing freedom to him, that they can 'live like real people' which he doesn't feel able to do with the Alliance. They're sneaking about under the radar 'the way it should be' even when it takes them hugely out of the way, it hurts the crew. Now of course, flying under the radar and living as an outlaw from civilisation is all very well UNTIL something goes wrong (or to put it another way, even anarchists dial 999/911). Wash lacks Zoe/Mal's antipathy towards the Alliance and resents that Mal's hatred for it has landed them in this mess and may cost Zoe her life. Interestingly Inara was in favour of unification and supported the Alliance in the war, just as River and Simon did. Mal's no fool, he's suspicious of the 'rescue' crew, knowing there's no honour or trust in the wilderness. Missing scenes; Rumoured to be a scene where we see Mal and Zoe meet for the first time during the war, she catches him stealing supplies for his unit and then he realises she's doing the same. Shot; Mal shot by the other captain Mal; 2- Kaylee;1- Jayne;1- Book;1- Reminds me off; The opening with the camera panning around the empty ship is very Alien again. Mal's leadership under pressure is inspired and he reminds me of great Irish Unionist hero Ernest Shackleton (check out Kenneth Brannaghs excellent version of the story) and of Apollo 13. Wash with his moustache and Hawaiin shirt is very Magnum PI. Kaylee is actually very close to her daddy, just like Fred. The whole ep very similar to the Space; Above and Beyond episode 'Who monitors the birds?' which Joss cites as his inspiration for the Buffy ep 'Hush' plus the Babylon 5 ep Walkabout. Questions and observations; This almost strikes you as a third pilot, we're introduced to the crew one by one and everyone's role on the ship is explained. Bester kinda reminds me of the workman in porn who turns up to fix something at the lonely housewives home. Book seems a lot more scared than everyone else which seems atypical of the character we know. Has he had a similar experience to this in the past? Is the gun Mal finds something he planted earlier for just such an emergency or one that was left lying around by Jayne or something? 9/10; eps like this tell me why Firefly has such a devoted fanbase, hope the rest are like this

Really? Must try them.

You shouldn't, this is a moral lesson for him, if they'd showed the series in order it might have improved his character. Does it end on a sad note? The thing about River is she had faith in the Alliance, look what they did to her? JAYNESTOWN The good; The bit where the gang see Jayne's statue alone had me laughing out loud, then the song is even better. Inara's confusion over her client referring to Jayne but she thinks it's Mal is also hilarious. The River/Book scenes where she tries to correct the bible are terrific. Also love the bit where Zoe welcomes 'her boys' home and her faked adulation of Jayne once she hears the story. The bad; Handing Stitch the loaded gun is deeply stupid, no matter what the magistrate's motivation. What IS the cargo they pick up? Stitch fires a shot in the air when we first see him confront Jayne but doesn't work the action and eject the spent cartridge until he shoots the mudder, he actually threatens Mal with an empty gun. Best line; Kaylee (to Inara who's off to see a client) "Have good sex!" also like; Simon; (upon learning of Jayne's folk hero status) "This must be what going mad feels like" upon hearing the Jayne song; "No, THIS must be what going mad feels like" plus Wash; "Let's go to the crappy town where I'M a hero" and; River (to Book whilst correcting the Bible); "Just keep walking preacher man!" Packing heat; I'm informed that Zoe's cut down carbine is referred to as a 'mare's leg', possibly because of it's kick? Stitch has a sawn-off Remmington shotgun. Kinky dinky; Simon finally tells Kaylee that she's pretty and they get all snuggly over 'mudders milk' (nice pun). Notches on the Serenity bedpost; Jayne possibly sleeps with the barmaid but unconfirmed. Inara has another paying customer. Inarra;2- 2 paying customers, 1 possible, Atherton. Wash; 1-the missus Zoe; 1-the hubby Jayne; 1 possible, Jaynestown groupie. Capt subtext; I thought that the toppling of the Jayne statue was actually a comment about the similar destruction of Saddams statue during the liberation of Iraq but that actually happened afterwards (much as The Initiative on Buffy was very Guantanamo Bay but also occurred beforehand) Total Serenity crew; 9 Mal, Zoe, Jayne, Wash, Kaylee, Inarra, Book, Simon, River Subverting the Hollywood cliché; Big tough Jayne whimpers as he pulls the surgical tape off his skin Whedon clichés; Devoted siblings, haunted charismatic leading man. Teenage girls with superpowers. Hookers. Babbling insane girls with truth in their madness. Fake cockneys. Misguided religious zealots. Numbered t-shirts. Girls with botanical names (Willow, Saffron, Jasmine). Absent/overbearing fathers. Women good/men bad; Really like Inara's 'what makes a man' speech to her client. Not so fond of Jayne casually tossing his groupie aside the next morning with only a goodbye spank of her ass. Kills; Jayne kills Stitch Jayne; 7- Happy high-class hookers in Space; Inara kisses on the mouth. Her guild gives her enough leeway to reject her clients father if she'd wished to but she seems genuinely fond of the son. Ceremony plays an almost more important part for her in her work than the sex. Know the face? Kevin Gage who plays Stitch essentially recreates his role of the odious Waingrow in the wonderful Michael Mann film 'Heat', best cops and robbers story off all time. Whedon alumni- Joss likes to reuse the same actors in his series, let's count up their appearances (let me know if I miss any) Jack Jabaley; 2-the bartender here and Xander's friend Tito the Plumber from Buffy. Crew injured; Simon gets roughed up AGAIN! He's beginning to remind me of Joxer the Mighty. As Kaylee observes "You got to be steeley, can't let men be stomping on you so much" Reminds me off; Bare chested Jayne reminds me off the late Kevin Smith playing Ares in Xena. River sounds very like Fred when she starts talking physics when rewriting the bible. Book with his hair down reminds me of an Afro-American Albert Einstein. 'You fought the law' may refer to the song by The Clash. Mal's remark about the Mudder's Jayne fixation being about what they need as opposed to reality is reminiscent of the Dollhouse's philosophy. Questions and observations; So, beer was intended to keep the masses down? I wonder what went wrong? Surely Stitch can't have been wholly in the box for 4 years, his muscles would have atrophied until he couldn't walk and no one would be able to stand the stench to release him. A town so backward they don't even know what a menu is, Simon really is in hell. He comes off the ship and starts really participating in their crime for the first time. Interestingly Zoe is left behind and Mal takes Wash with him, maybe because there's not going to be any gunplay in Canton. Jayne starts to develop a conscience, he and Mal beginning to bond again in the final scene. Stitch is one tough hombre to keep fighting with a Bowie knife in his chest (take that Deadliest Warrior who said the stiletto was better). Magistrate Higgins got what he wanted, his son is now a real man, standing up to his overbearing father. 8 out of 10, fairly lightweight but truly very, very funny episode with a Jayne brought to the fore for the first time and some absolutely killer lines.

The good; So we find out how Echo came to the Dollhouse. Hilarious to watch Dominic bossed around by Victor and the other dolls and lovely scenes between Adele and Topher. The bad; Why do they use the NSA as cover? Surely they're involved in intercepting communications, not stuff like this? Best line; Toper (of Dominic) "He didn't take any, no way would Dominic have any fun" plus again "Nothing is what it appears to be" Packing heat; Dominic with his Glock (personally I always found them a bit light for my taste?) Sierra and Victor also get one whilst we also see Victor with an M16 in his flashback. Echo;4 Boyd; 6 Dominic; 6 Sierra; 3 Victor; 2 Kinky dinky; Echo's knee socks, high heels and micro-mini dress are spectacular, especially when she's on the bike (but is that ED?). Check out her stumble when she chases Sam from the lab. She engages in bondage sex with her returning client/trick. Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; none unless Echo goes back to finish her engagement. Why are Topher's trousers off? What did he and Adele get up to? He says she's his 'Superior in every way"? Echo; 3 November; 1 Ballard; 1 How'd they get away with that? The poor kid headbutting the glass, yeeesh! Tophers ode to drugs is also pretty near the knuckle. This weeks fantasy; Echo returns to her biker-party-girl persona which we see in Ghost, Victor is a federal agent and Sierra a government scientist Total number personalities; Echo; 14 Sierra; 5 Victor; 2 November; 1 Total dolls;4, but we hear of another Doll, Foxtrot? Sam becomes an active at the end but do we ever see him again? Echo, Sierra, November and Victor Addy is a bit British; "Sarcastic? Unfeeling? British?" She uses the British term crisp. Brown sauce is actually a mix of fruit and spices. Topher also refers to his machines that go 'Ping!' which is a reference to Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. Topher is a bit geeky; Topher is so excited to meet the Rostrum head guy he might throw up. He quotes Mighty Mouse 'Here I come to save the day'. Bondage; no but Echo ties up her client Sierra tied up; 1 Kills; Sierra; 2 kills Echo; 1 November;1 Capt subtext; Adele's interview of Caroline is reminiscent of seduction. Paul wants to take care of Mellie, just like he wants to save Caroline, always the white knight. Topher and Adele begin to share. Adele says she has a good story about Victor. Dominic hints that there's more to him than just a professional heavy, namely his suits, is he hinting that he's gay? Know the face? 5 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock Guantanamo; The press are fed a cover story of a student prank gone wrong Fanfic; One theory explored in fanfic is that Caroline is actually Adele's daughter? Reminds me off; Very reminiscent of the classic 3rd season Buffy ep Band Candy, Adele in particular similar to the wonderful teen Joyce. Breaking the programming; In this ep all the Dolls glitch but Echo starts before she even get's the drug. She actually says 'No' to her treatment. Questions and observations; Adele refers to her and Caroline playing this game for 2 years? First return client/trick, the same guy from Ghost. Caroline is an anti-war protester and animal rights activist. My personal theory was that Leo, her boyfriend who was shot was actually Alpha. Boyd plays the piano pretty well. We learn Caroline's full name, Caroline Farrell and Dominic's, Lawerance Dominic. We find hints of the Dolls previous lives, Victor was a soldier, November is mourning someone Marks out of 10; 7/10 again, enjoyed this more than I thought

I always thought he was supposed to be a vampire from the start? And whatever happened to Mr Garabaldi? Yeah, this took the show to a new level. I actually think Angel's 4th season was its' best but we'll talk about that in time. Angel; The Good; Awesome fight scenes with both The Three and at the Bronze. Lovely stuff with Buffy introducing Angel to Joyce, wonderful scene between Angel and Darla hinting at great things to come. I love Joyce's denial over the barbecue fork and Cordy's rage over the girl in the same dress. The big shock that Angel is a vampire which I must say I didn't see coming at all (he gives Buffy a cross in WTTH but it's in a box!). Love the diary misunderstanding too and the shock of Buffy coming home to see a bleeding Joyce in Angel's arms. The Bad; The Master's killing of The Three (lame name or what?) is stupid. Also they seem to give up awfully easily, that or Joyce just walks right past them? (maybe they know better than to mess with momma Summers?) Best line; Buffy "Stay the hell away from us!" Observations and questions; Anyone else disturbed by The Master's relationship with The Anointed? Joyce is the first cast member to be bitten by a vamp (although despite being a huge part of the series she's never actually a Scooby) whilst Angel is the first to be shot. Why don't vamps use guns more often? According to Joss it goes against their demonic nature. We have Xander dancing, always a treat. Angel kills his first vamp on screen although we later learn he's killed at least 2 prior to this. Here Buffy really kicks into high gear, the Buffy/Angel romance is set on it's course, we see the Darla/Angel relationship for the first time, it turns an OK show with an attractive cast into a brilliant show 10/10

Jonathon was what made Buffy great, how a minor character can grow and blossom. But I always thought Espenson's crush was on Principal Snyder?

True about Dr Gregory and Jesse but they hadn't been established as Flutie had. Riley does go evil whilst under the effects of drug withdrawl and Dawn get's possessed at the beginning of season 6.

Remember, we'd already seen her in the movie by that stage with Pike and Jeremy and she'd described Angel as 'cute in an annoying sort of way'.

The Royal Couple of Thieves The Good; Autolycus basically brightens up the screen every time he appears and I really think he works better as a Xena character than on Hercules where he largely serves to be relief from the big guy stoicism (or some would say dullness?). On Xena he sparks off (and flirts with) both Xena and Gabby and that makes him much more fun. The Bad; Again, given how infamous Xena was back in the day isn't it a bit of a stretch that no one from this den of villains recognises her? Recurring Characters; Autolycus who will become one of the series favourite recurring characters Autolycus; 1 Charon; 1 Toxeus; 2 Ephiny; 1 Hades; 2 Ares; 1 Marcus; 2 Falafel; 2 Cyrene-1 Lila-1 Gabby's dad-1 Perdicas-1 Draco-1 Sisyphis-1 Xena clichés; the Pinch and for once it's fatal. Gabby capturedx2 Doubles; 1 “I have many skills’; 1 10 years ago; 1 Dead Gabby suitors; 2 Dr Xena-7 Xena in bondage-2 Loyal advisor who is actually the villain-3 Gabby captured-5 Village in peril-2 Duel to settle things-2 The Pinch; 5 Xena animal skills; 2 Xena fire-breathing; 4 Kills; just 1 Xena; 14 Best quote; - Gabby; "My what a beautiful ring" Autolycus; "Yes, I got it from a beautiful princess" Gabby; "Was it a gift?" Autolycus; "You're so young!" Greek myths; the Ark of the Covenant although it's a little smaller here compared to what it's supposed to look like. Subtext; ? Notches on the Chakram; nope but we do get Xena doing a sexy striptease, I used to own the Harem girl Xena action figure but eventually gave it to my niece. Xena; 1 Other; the entrance of Autolycus and the show is all the better for it. Also the beginning of the series rather ambiguous relationship with Christianity which will continue through the years, becoming much more well defined later on, a common trope on 90s TV shows (Charmed and Buffy having a similar grey area on the subject, intrinsically Christian in ethos without ever waving a bible in your face). Rating; 8/10, best ep so far.

Surgery or maybe just the 60s fashions? Because they edited out the 'Marry Simon' scene, she actually has no lines as a result Yes, REALLY! It's hilarious but I can understand why they cut it, maybe not quite so taboo in this 'Game of Thrones' era. Simon and River were a very popular 'pairing' in fetish fanfic but then so were Buffy/Joyce/Dawn. Our Mrs Reynolds The good; The Mal/Jayne exchange on the wagon cracks me up every time. Some great acting by Christina Hendricks and the scene where everyone stands around judging Mal upon meeting his bride is hilarious. Some nice tension too as they ingeniously slip the net. The bad; ? Best line; Mal; "How drunk was I last night?" Jayne; "I don't know I passed out" plus Mal; "You've the same right as anyone to live and kill people" Kinky dinky; Mal cross dresses. The bandit leader demands 'one on one time' with Jayne's missus. Zoe refers to Saffron as Mal's 'nubile slave girl'. When Mal finds a naked Saffron in his bed she declares she's 'made herself ready for him', she started without him? She 'swells to think of you in me' as indeed does he. It's been a 'long while' for Mal. Wash likes forward women. Jayne never kisses his women on the mouth. Another thank you kiss from Mal to Kaylee. Capt subtext; Obvious jealousy from Inara, the only other member of the crew who's not laughing at all this. Also jealousy from Zoe, maybe over Mal but also over Wash seeming to like Saffron. Note her pride later when she learns that Wash resisted and stayed true to her. Kaylees's the only one who doesn't feel jealous, she feels for a crying Saffron describing Mal as a monster for upsetting her. Huge battle of seduction between Inara and Saffron but who's conning who? Like all straight men Mal loves the idea of two women together, thinking that Inara kissed Saffron rather than him. Women good/men bad; If Saffron is to be believed girls on the backward planet are kept in a 'maiden's home' and given away in arranged marriages. Mal decades Saffron 'No one's property'. Zoe takes exception to the idea that she might cook for Wash. Happy high-class hookers in Space; Saffron refuses to be a 'doxy' and expresses contempt for them. Mal never beats around the bush and refers to it as 'whoring'. Inara actually thinks the arranged marriage is degrading. Also she reveals her speciality is washing her client's feet. Fanfic; Plenty where Saffron seduces Mal, Inara and any and all of the entire crew. The adventures of Mr and Mrs Reynolds also popular. Questions and observations; The opening dirge is very Xena. We see the friendship between Mal and Jayne developing to a great degree, they seem more like buddies in this ep than before. Is Bau a real dish? We learn a little more about Mal, he's from the planet Shadow. The way the wreckers refer to the Firefly she sounds like the Volkswagon Beetle of spaceships. Note Saffron seduces Mal not with her body so much as flattering him for his morality. Inara pretty handy in a fight, maybe they teach more than footwashing at the academy. Why don't they all just pile into Inara's shuttle when they're being lured into the net? Or if they depressurise the cargo bay wouldn't it alter their course? Presumably the suit keeps pumping oxygen in when the visor is shattered allowing Vera to still function in a vaccum. Very little River in this ep, does she even have any lines? . Marks out of 10; 8 bordering on a 9, really good, up there with Serenity as the best ep so far, funny, thrilling and some great character moments, really like Saffron and I hope we might see her again, I hope the rest of the series is this good.

Yeah, due to the mix up in eps we never got the shock that Victor was a doll but he was able to pull it off here; The good; Wow! Mellie is a Doll! Did ANYONE see that coming? Excellent ep with loads of character development, first meeting of Ballard and Caroline (excepting 'Echo') and a heck of a dust up. The subplot with an abused Sierra is horrible but very well written and acted, you just knew that this would be a problem sometime as Herne says (CHEERED when Boyd punched him through the glass, great stunt from Mike Massa). And Echo has paid sex with her first realistic and sympathetic client/trick. The bad; Not much, very good ep. You do think that Adele takes a hell of chance with November by not activating her about 30 seconds earlier? Best line; "Perhaps I need to give it to you" Adele gives Boyd a bonus, not because he wants it but because she needs to give it to him to salve her conscience. Also like "PORN!" (all in the delivery) Packing heat; Echo takes Ballard's gun off him, Dominic pistol-whips Herne Echo;4 Boyd; 6 Dominic; 5 Sierra; 1 Kinky dinky; According to Joss when they asked casting for extras to play the Dolls they were inundated with pictures of porn stars. Must have been hell. Why do we all bother to pay for porn? Why don't we just phone up a casting agency and pretend we need attractive background players for our TV show? Echo's personality thinks her fiancée has suddenly become rich through internet porn. Notches on the Dollhouse bedpost; November beds Ballard (and she's a heck of a screamer) and presumably Echo returns to finish her romantic engagement with her client Echo; 3 November; 1 How'd they get away with that? The funny "What a rick!" and the indescribably horrible, Herne abusing Sierra. He's a son of a bitch but November killing Herne makes me wince every time. This weeks fantasy; Echo plays the dead fiancée of the Internet mogul and then a hit chick. November plays Mellie and death-in-Laura-Ashley Total number personalities; 2 for Echo Echo; 13 Sierra; 4 Victor; 1 November; 2 Total dolls; 4, here's November! Echo, Sierra, November and Victor Subverting the Hollywood cliché; The client is actually a sympathetic figure and is even concerned about the security guards Ballard knocked out. For once we have a fat client/trick rather than a male model although Mellie actually thinks him kinda cute. Bondage; Sierra tied up; 1 Kills; November kills Herne with her bare hands (never talk flower arranging with HER!) Sierra; 2 kills Echo; 1 November;1 Dolls injured; November badly roughed up by Herne Capt subtext; The redneck guy thinks the Dollhouse is a great idea because it allows a guy to be with another guy but means that there's 'Nothing queeny' going on (his wife/girlfriend's expression when he says this makes me laugh out loud every time, just like Echo's 'Porn' line). Dominic punches Herne when he hints that there was something between him and Adele. Jealousy? Happy hookers Takana describes Echo as a 'whore with a heart of gold'. Herne makes a good point about Adele hiring out the Dolls to be sweating under 'some Emir' (the difference being they'd signed up for that, they hadn't signed up to be sexually abused whilst in their non-programmed state, Sierra actually saying she doesn't want to). Joss refers to Miracle Laurie as 'Being a pro' but rapidly rethinks his phrasing. Just idly watching '2 and a Half Men' whilst I'm writing this and Charlie and Alan are being treated to a pair of hookers by their future stepfather in Vegas. It strike me how attitudes to prostitution in TV and movies have changed in recent years, Pretty Woman, Belle Du Jour, Patty the daytime hooker in My Name is Earl, Hung etc. In a recent ep of The Big Bang Theory to cheer Howard up Raj and Leonard hire him a working girl. Times have certainly changed, used to be the only time you ever saw prostitutes on screen was when they were murdered or were informants. Know the face? 5 Whedon alumni-Mark Shepherd, Amy Acker, walking action figure, Eliza Dushku, Jim Piddock. Whenever I see Herne I can never help but think 'Is that Dennis Quaid?" Guantanamo; The Afro-American woman likens the Dollhouse to slavery. Ballard is pretty damn rough with Takana. Reminds me off; The Vulcan grip from Star Trek is mentioned. The internet mogul is very reminiscent of David Nabbit from Angel who also frequents ladies of the night (but likes his a bit more demony). According to Joss' commentary Eliza didn't care much for her housewife look but I think she looks great, reminds me of when The Mayor gave Faith that dress in Graduation Day pt1 Questions and observations; Interestingly according to the reporter the rumours of the Dollhouse have been circulating since the late 80s? Ballard and Mellie actually make a lovely couple, very sweet. For a moment I wondered if Echo's message was some sort of double bluff but to judge by Joss' commentary the message was real. From whom? We learn there are 20 Dollhouses all over the world. What is the greater, X-files style, conspiracy? Echo demonstrates genuine affection for her client, even after she's meant to have been wiped. Adele knows this but still keeps her in the field. Absolutely love the scene where Echo thinks her fiancée made his money through internet porn, she may be a Doll but she's no brainwashed sex slave, she reacts in exactly the same way the real woman would have done. The interviews on the street are also interesting, not to stereotype but you look at the blonde girl and kinda wonder if she is a Doll? Again, this almost feels like the 3rd pilot for the show. Marks out of 10; 9/10 best ep so far

Yeah, the really remarkable thing about it was goodbye Flutie and that was a shock. In hindsight we should have been expecting it, just before he has his first truly friendly moment with Buffy and this will become a recurring trope. And Jennifer Sky who we also see in Xena so you can link the shows in 1 if you're playing 6 degrees of Bufferation. We know Sunnydale hospital has a big mental health wing (even before Glory) so probably a lot ended up there. Yeah, always fun to see our actors outside of their comfort zone You mean Private Practice, a series Marti Noxon produced and yes, scary to see someone we know as the nicest guy alive playing the nastiest. Never thought of that but then Xander never killed anyone whilst possessed, if he had that would be different. No, it was attempted rape, he saw her as sexual prey, for a feminist icon Buffy seems to get sexually assaulted an awful lot. True, they're matriarchal. We do have a couple of other Scully scenes in the series, notably in Earshot and I Fall To Pieces. THE PACK The Good; Love Buffy and Giles training, you get a genuine sense of menace when Willow is taken hostage for the first time. You' don't see the twist of the zookeeper, he seems so rational although I'm baffled as to what exact power he hoped to gain from the hyena spirits (then again I don't really understand why the Mayor wished to be this big snake?). Great acting from Nic Brendon showing the first of his range (in truth neither Nic nor David are that good actors in season 1 but they grow better) The Bad; The story is pretty stupid, reminds me of an obscure old series called 'Big Wolf on Campus' Best Line; Giles; "Xander is becoming a teenage boy, you'll have to kill him of course" Questions and observations; The first time someone is imprisoned in the library book cage but by no means the last. Xander trying to force himself on Buffy is unusually disturbing, for a feminist symbol she seems to get sexually assaulted a lot (but maybe that's the point?). It's interesting to compare this with Nic Brendon's unsettlingly convincing performance as a rapist on Private Practice, nicest guy alive to nastiest. Jennifer Sky plays one of the pack and she was very good as Amarice in Xena (so you can link Buffy to Xena in one if you're ever playing 'Six degrees of Bufferation'). No Cordy (there really isn't room for her) and no Angel. At this point of course he's not a fighter, he really is just cryptic warning guy but of course that really kicks in during the next ep. Byebye Flutie which shocked me, Buffy showing its' more serious side by starting its' long tradition of ruthlessly killing off regular/recurring characters. 6/10

Really? I could never tell he was drunk but then I could never tell with Larry Hagman on IDOG either. I never heard about Xander being 'done' either although you're right in terms of the male cast dropping away as the seasons progressed. But I don't think Oz was ever Mr Ordinary, he was more Mr Bohemian. Glad Nic didn't quit, the show needed a male presence and we wouldn't have had the wonderful scene at the end of 'Grave'.

Please avoid any leaping over fish/atomic propelled kitchen appliances metaphors. For me I think after season 3, the series had run its' course, they'd had their big win and the relationships had bounced back and forth so much they bordered on the farcical and there was a limit on even Sue's entertaining madness before it became banal. None of the replacement characters introduced afterwards ever worked with the exception of Kitty (and her arguably only because they needed an antagonist with sex appeal and with the Unholy Trinity gone the series needed that). I understand why they kept going, the pressure from fans was immense and it would have caused outrage but it was the right thing to do. The only way I can think of it working was to have split the shows, have the original cast get together in NY or LA or somewhere so we still got their interaction and give the new characters more of a chance to breathe and blossom back in Lima.

I'll have to rewatch the scene but I think she was hinting pretty strongly at all this, her mother and handler were teaching her all the other ways of espionage? I think if he believed it was a matter of national security he would, I think he believed this was corporate espionage and she let him. One other thing, Elizabeth breaks into their emergency stash which I always thought they would have. So why didn't Philip dip into that to save their business?

This is a western show and that is a common trope. I always thought that's what made her so good in TSCC, she could turn on a dime, sweet and innocent to badass and evil. The good; River dancing is just wonderful as is Simon's happiness at it. The scene where the rest of the crew rescue them is terrific as is Jayne looting their stuff. The bad; Can someone please explain to me exactly when the hillbillies work out that Simon is a doctor? Also what sort of supplies do they have for him to work with? Best line; Jayne; (pretending to read Simon's diary) "Dear diary, today I was pompous and my sister acted crazy" Packing heat; Everyone's guns sound very different in this ep, more zingy and less like conventional firearms. The villains/cops 6-shooters also seem to hold an inordinate number of rounds. The lead cop packs a 44. Magnum. Mal and Jayne use Mossberg shotguns and Zoe utilises a full size Winchester rifle rather than her normal cutdown version. Kinky dinky; Kaylee wants to bite Simon all over? Jayne seems to derive pleasure from having watched the cows being fed by beautiful women (presumably Kaylee and Zoe rather than Inara and River?) Capt subtext; Is Kaylee the duck and Inara the swan? How'd they get away with that? Skinning the hare is nasty but makes it's point. Burning witches at the stake. Total Serenity crew; 9 Simon and River's status onboard confirmed Mal, Zoe, Jayne, Wash, Kaylee, Inarra, Book, Simon, River(?). Subverting the Hollywood cliché; Clever mislead, we think the hillbillies are savages but actually they're just desperate people who need a doctor. Bondage; River tied to a stake Mal; 1 River; 1 Knocked out; Book goes unconscious after being shot Book; 2 Simon; 1 Kaylee; 1 Jayne;1 Know the face? High School Musical star Zac Efron as young Simon, he'll later star in '17 Again' with Whedon alumni Michelle Tractenberg. Alliance good or bad?; Mal runs to the Alliance in order to save Book, how that must choke him! They seem reluctant to provide but don't say no outright. Then our Shepherd slips them an ID card? Hmmmmm. Missing scenes; Reputedly scenes where the Alliance question the Tam's parents after Simon rescues River, River reading Ruby's mind and seeing her tragic story plus paying Badger his share, his hoodlums unable to believe that Mal doesn't try to rip them off, much to Badger's chagrin at Mal's moral superiority again. Western clichés; Hillbillies kidnapping folk. Zoe actually shoots the gun out of one of the bad guy's hand. Shot; .Book shot during a the gunfight with the cattle Mal; 1- Kayleigh;1- Jayne;1- Book;1- Crew injured; Simon knocked around yet again, he seems to be everyone's punching bag. Reminds me off; River on the pyre reminds of Buffy, Willow and Amy tied to the stake and almost burnt as witches by M.O.O Questions and observations; So, what is Book's past and why do the Alliance treat him like a VIP once he identifies himself? Is he a former Alliance General guilt-ridden by his role during the war? A former spy who sold out the Independents? A scientist who carried out experiments like those conducted on River? Mal finally makes a deal and actually earns some more or less honest money from it. Presumably this pays for the slap up meal the crew enjoy at the end of the ep. Mal asks why things never go smooth for them, once again we see that he's not really suited to a life of crime. As we suspected River and Simon were pro-Alliance before River's ordeal, casting the Browncoats as the enemy in their games. The locals describe the Serenity as a fancy vessel, would do Kaylee's heart good to hear that but it really underlines how remote and backward they are if they think that. This ep is set 3 weeks after the last so a planet 3 weeks travel from Persephone must be remote indeed. Jayne enjoys smacking the cows around? Once again father's get a hard time in the Whedonverse although the Tam's parents seem nice enough folks. Marks out of 10; 7/10, nothing very startling here, nice to have River and Simon confirmed as part of the crew and I like the dance scene