Firefly: The Official Companion

Volume One

Before the smash hit movie Serenity came Firefly, the cult TV series which started it all and became a DVD phenomenon, selling almost half a million copies.Set 500 years in the future, Firefly centres around Mal Reynolds, captain of the ship-for-hire Serenity and its eclectic crew of galactic misfits. When he takes on two passengers, a young doctor and his mysterious, telepathic sister, he gets much more than he bargained for…This official companion is just what the show’s fervent fans, the ‘Browncoats’, have been waiting for, with unseen photos, scripts, behind the scenes secrets, and exclusive input from the cast and crew, including of course creator Joss Whedon.Contains the second part of an extended interview with Joss Whedon, as well as exclusive new interviews with the cast, executive producer Tim Minear and many other writers and crewmembers; the full, uncut shooting scripts for ‘Jaynestown’, ‘Out of Gas’, ‘Ariel’, ‘War Stories’ ‘Trash’, ‘The Message’, ‘Heart of Gold’ and ‘Objects in Space’, annotated with memories from the cast and crew; extended behind-the-scenes interviews with the crew behind Firefly, including sections on the production design and visual effects, illustrated with unseen imagery; in addition a section on the Firefly fans and of course Vera...
Joss Whedon is a writer, film and TV director and producer, and composer. He is best known as the creator and guiding light behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse. He also wrote and directed the movie Serenity and The Avengers movie for Marvel. He lives in Los Angeles. View titles by Joss Whedon
The Legacy of Firefly: By Way of an Introduction... 6

What Holds Us Down by Jane Espenson 8

The Writing Process by Jane Espenson 16
Nathan Fillion 18
Battle Plans: Storyboarding the Battle of Serenity Valley 22
Gina Torres 26
Objects in Space: A selection of Firefly Props 30
Alan Tudyk 46
Behind the Scenes: Danny Nero’s Photo Album 50
The Story of Monkey Shines: The on-set practical joke that passed into legend... 56
Morena Baccarin 62
Costumes: Selections from the wardrobes of Inara and Jayne 66
Adam Baldwin 70

Fun with Dick and Jane by Ben Edlund 74

The Head They Call Jayne: Whatever happened to the Jaynestown statue? 76
Jewel Staite 78
Thrilling Heroics: An interview with Firefly Stunt Coordinator Nick Brandon 82
Sean Maher 88
On Location: An interview with Location manager Peter Robarts 92
Summer Glau 100

Crystal by Brett Matthews 104

Ships of the ’Verse: Designing the ships of Firefly 114
Ron Glass 132
The Browncoats: An overview of Firefly fandom 136
On Ariel by Jose Molina 148

Take the Sky by Jose Molina 150

Mutant Enemies?: Some closing words 158
Acknowledgements and Picture Credits 159

About

Before the smash hit movie Serenity came Firefly, the cult TV series which started it all and became a DVD phenomenon, selling almost half a million copies.Set 500 years in the future, Firefly centres around Mal Reynolds, captain of the ship-for-hire Serenity and its eclectic crew of galactic misfits. When he takes on two passengers, a young doctor and his mysterious, telepathic sister, he gets much more than he bargained for…This official companion is just what the show’s fervent fans, the ‘Browncoats’, have been waiting for, with unseen photos, scripts, behind the scenes secrets, and exclusive input from the cast and crew, including of course creator Joss Whedon.Contains the second part of an extended interview with Joss Whedon, as well as exclusive new interviews with the cast, executive producer Tim Minear and many other writers and crewmembers; the full, uncut shooting scripts for ‘Jaynestown’, ‘Out of Gas’, ‘Ariel’, ‘War Stories’ ‘Trash’, ‘The Message’, ‘Heart of Gold’ and ‘Objects in Space’, annotated with memories from the cast and crew; extended behind-the-scenes interviews with the crew behind Firefly, including sections on the production design and visual effects, illustrated with unseen imagery; in addition a section on the Firefly fans and of course Vera...

Author

Joss Whedon is a writer, film and TV director and producer, and composer. He is best known as the creator and guiding light behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse. He also wrote and directed the movie Serenity and The Avengers movie for Marvel. He lives in Los Angeles. View titles by Joss Whedon

Table of Contents

The Legacy of Firefly: By Way of an Introduction... 6

What Holds Us Down by Jane Espenson 8

The Writing Process by Jane Espenson 16
Nathan Fillion 18
Battle Plans: Storyboarding the Battle of Serenity Valley 22
Gina Torres 26
Objects in Space: A selection of Firefly Props 30
Alan Tudyk 46
Behind the Scenes: Danny Nero’s Photo Album 50
The Story of Monkey Shines: The on-set practical joke that passed into legend... 56
Morena Baccarin 62
Costumes: Selections from the wardrobes of Inara and Jayne 66
Adam Baldwin 70

Fun with Dick and Jane by Ben Edlund 74

The Head They Call Jayne: Whatever happened to the Jaynestown statue? 76
Jewel Staite 78
Thrilling Heroics: An interview with Firefly Stunt Coordinator Nick Brandon 82
Sean Maher 88
On Location: An interview with Location manager Peter Robarts 92
Summer Glau 100

Crystal by Brett Matthews 104

Ships of the ’Verse: Designing the ships of Firefly 114
Ron Glass 132
The Browncoats: An overview of Firefly fandom 136
On Ariel by Jose Molina 148

Take the Sky by Jose Molina 150

Mutant Enemies?: Some closing words 158
Acknowledgements and Picture Credits 159