S01.E08: Out of Gas

[Lisin]

In a delirious state after Serenity's engine explodes, draining the ship of its oxygen supply, Mal has a series of flashbacks about how he came to own Serenity and form his crew.

I really love this episode. I don't have a ton to say about it because it makes me weepy. I love watching how everyone came together and then how they managed to save Mal and Serenity by being exactly who they are. I love the end shot of Mal finding Serenity. I just love the whole thing.  

[decembar13]

Like I said in one of the previous posts, this ep. very well may be my favourite. It's still a toss between this one and Jaynetown.

Or... I believe that Out of Gas finishes "holy trifecta" of, for me, 3 perfect episodes in a row that starts with Our Mrs Reynolds and extendes to Jaynetown. There are better shows than Firefly (debatable), better episodes in those other shows (again, debatable), better seasons then we had with F (and again, debatable), but hardly you can find a show with three episodes following each other that, put together, are better than these 3... Of course, this is my personal opinion.

I'll be back later with more thoughts on the subject of this particular episode.

[jhlipton]

My only problem with an otherwise brilliant episode is that Zoe had to push the PLOT! button to make it work.  When, how and why did she get her shuttle turned around, and when and how did she convince the others to do likewise -- at the Most Dramatic Moment!!!!

The three timelines (or two-and-a-half I guess) were interesting to follow.  

"No one is allowed to enter without my express permission.  And that's the last time you'll call me 'whore'"  Oh, Inara, you're SO funny!

[Wilowy]

Aside from just being full of awesomeness, I love the creative choices like the blue vs. gold lighting to show the difference between 'real time' and 'flashback'. 

I also love how almost the entire fandom is in agreement that this is the finest hour of the series. 

[jhlipton]

Willowy: I also love how almost the entire fandom is in agreement that this is the finest hour of the series.

I'm glad you said "almost"!  I do like this episode, and ranks high on my list, but there are several that are higher: Our Mrs Reynolds and Jaynestown so far.  I'll rank others as we get to them.

I've watched half of Shindig and feel little need to watch the rest. Kind of shows where I rank that episode!

 

[Wilowy]

Ha! Of course, it's never wise to speak in absolutes in fandom. ;)

You and I couldn't be more opposite in this show's instance - I LOVE Shindig, with all it's quirks, it is the one I rewatch the most. 

[halgia]

Great episode. The one thing working against it is that it's a little hard to suspend my disbelief that Mal and/or the whole crew is going to die – but that's kind of unavoidable unless you put it as a season finale, which of course this show never got to do. :\

I agree about Zoe pushing the PLOT button – and also about Mal conveniently learning from Kaylee what to do with the part, which doesn't quite not make sense but is still clearly a plot convenience.

Wash shouting "MAYBE I SHOULD GO DO THAT THEN" is perfect.

Also love Mal saying "got ourselves a genius mechanic," followed by someone we've never seen before stepping into frame.

Jayne's origin story is also great; totally fitting that he joined the crew mainly for the promise of a private bunk.

[decembar13]

Jayne's origin story is also great; totally fitting that he joined the crew mainly for the promise of a private bunk.

I love how Mal knew what buttons to push and, even more so, how well he works with Zoe. She knew, without looking at him for clues, to follow his lead that got them, not only out from predicament but also, a one fine "public relation officer".  :)

Also THIS:

Marco: "Do we look reasonable to you?"

Mal: "Well, looks can be deceiving."

Jayne:"Not as deceiving as a low-down... dirty... deceiver."

Mal: "Well said. Wasn't that well said, Zoe?"

Zoe: "Had a kind of poetry to it, sir."

 

Should I mention how much I laughed at that?

 

Btw, the whole "how Jayne got the job" better explains the scenes of his 

betrayal in Ariel, but it also show us at the end of that episode how far he came.

Edited April 23, 2014 by decembar13

[jah1986]

My all time favorite episode for all that has already been mentioned. I think it says a lot about the fans of this show that we remember the title of each episode and what it was about even without the title in thread. Really miss this show.

[henripootel]

With some stiff competition, this is my favorite episode of Firefly, and pretty much anything, ever.  I re-watched this recently and it's about a near to perfect as it gets - the writing, the directing, the acting, all extraordinary. 

I love the end shot of Mal finding Serenity.

I can scarcely think of it without getting tears in my eyes.  Quite possibly the best bit Joss Whedon ever did.

Edited June 5, 2014 by henripootel

[Raja]

I love how Mal knew what buttons to push and, even more so, how well he works with Zoe. She knew, without looking at him for clues, to follow his lead that got them, not only out from predicament but also, a one fine "public relation officer".  :)

 

Notice how Captain Reynolds had to use those skills to get Kaylee and Wash as the technical crew moving and functioning again after the accident.

Then the most shocking character moment was when we met Kaylee

Edited September 21, 2015 by Raja

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎20‎/‎04‎/‎2014 at 3:25 AM, jhlipton said:

My only problem with an otherwise brilliant episode is that Zoe had to push the PLOT! button to make it work.  When, how and why did she get her shuttle turned around, and when and how did she convince the others to do likewise -- at the Most Dramatic Moment!!!!

The three timelines (or two-and-a-half I guess) were interesting to follow.  

"No one is allowed to enter without my express permission.  And that's the last time you'll call me 'whore'"  Oh, Inara, you're SO funny!

Yes but that would have ruined the surprise?

 

On ‎23‎/‎04‎/‎2014 at 4:31 AM, Dougal said:

Great episode. The one thing working against it is that it's a little hard to suspend my disbelief that Mal and/or the whole crew is going to die – but that's kind of unavoidable unless you put it as a season finale, which of course this show never got to do. :\

I agree about Zoe pushing the PLOT button – and also about Mal conveniently learning from Kaylee what to do with the part, which doesn't quite not make sense but is still clearly a plot convenience.

Wash shouting "MAYBE I SHOULD GO DO THAT THEN" is perfect.

Also love Mal saying "got ourselves a genius mechanic," followed by someone we've never seen before stepping into frame.

Jayne's origin story is also great; totally fitting that he joined the crew mainly for the promise of a private bunk.

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

[SVNBob]

On 6/4/2018 at 11:07 AM, Joe Hellandback said:

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?

The latter, I think.  There's a minor flashback that shows why that gun is there then.  But it's easy to get lost in all the other flashbacks.

On 6/4/2018 at 11:07 AM, Joe Hellandback said:

eps like this tell me why Firefly has such a devoted fanbase

In fact, this episode has two passages of dialogue that are incredibly important to the fanbase.  One line became a rallying cry, and the other...well, I'll get to that.

The first line comes from the Mal/Wash fight on the bridge about the distress call.  During that fight, Mal gives the order, "Make the signal go further."  The Browncoats took that as a call to action.  The word about Firefly became "the signal" and everyone did their part to make it go further.  Before streaming came along, often you'd hear about Browncoats buying multiple copies of the DVD set; one for their own viewing, and others as gifts or to loan out to other potential Browncoats.  (I was a variation on this theme.  I borrowed the first DVD in the set from a friend.  After watching it, I returned it and bought my own (first) set.)  There was also a podcast created named "The Signal", dedicated to keeping the love alive and figuring out ideas to help boost the signal.  15 years later, and we're still doing so.  This very conversation is part of making the signal go further.  All because of one line.  (One that gets a callback of sorts in the movie.)

The other passage is linked to one of my favorite BTS stories; not just for Firefly, but for all TV and movies.  Two things you need to know/remember for this story.  First, when a show has finished its run, the cast and crew will often take home props and/or wardrobe as a memento of their time on the show.  For example, Gina kept her gun, Adam kept most of his shirts, etc.  Second, Joss had managed to get Buffy un-cancelled a few years prior by striking a new deal with a different network, so he was trying to do the same thing with Firefly. 

But by the time they'd finished shooting everything, there still wasn't any word.  Joss was still working on it, but by this point it'd take a miracle.  One day, Joss headed back to his office, and there was a package in the mail on his desk.  In it was the prop Alan Tudyk had taken; the big red button from this episode.  Along with it was a note: "When your miracle gets here, you just pound this button once."   A couple years later, the miracle happened and Serenity hit the big screens.

[tessaray]

On 6/4/2018 at 11:07 AM, Joe Hellandback said:

I'd have liked to have learned a little more about the other mechanic. Also why does Kaylee seem to be so easy?

 

I thought we learned all that we needed to about Bester, that he was incompetent. 

And the bolded part...  pretty sure easy is an outmoded term even today.  Our intro to Kaylee shows she is cheerful, enthusiastically, unapologetically sexual and an intuitive, (truly) genius mechanic. I like that Mal isn't fazed, just hires her on the spot. 

This is my favorite episode of Firefly and one of my top 10 favorite tv episodes ever.  (Only Blake (Blakes 7) and Z'hadum (B5) might rank higher, depending on my mood.) 

[Joe Hellandback]

3 hours ago, tessaray said:

I thought we learned all that we needed to about Bester, that he was incompetent. 

And the bolded part...  pretty sure easy is an outmoded term even today.  Our intro to Kaylee shows she is cheerful, enthusiastically, unapologetically sexual and an intuitive, (truly) genius mechanic. I like that Mal isn't fazed, just hires her on the spot. 

This is my favorite episode of Firefly and one of my top 10 favorite tv episodes ever.  (Only Blake (Blakes 7) and Z'hadum (B5) might rank higher, depending on my mood.) 

The Blake episode of Blake's 7 had my 8 year old self in tears for about a week but I recently read a fanfic called Blake's 7 Endgame which makes me feel better about it. Z'hadum is a truly great ep but I don't think the greatest of Bab 5, I think that's Day of the Dead, Hour of the Wolf or Endgame.   

As for Kaylee you wonder about her and Mal, he seems to treat her as his virgin daughter to be protected. 

Edited June 10, 2018 by Joe Hellandback

[tessaray]

Mal treats Kaylee like a little sister. The whole crew does. Without her I doubt there would be quite as strong a bond among the crew.

I wish Tim Minear would do something sci-fi/space opera-ish again.