We will watch the movie, Serenity, in class next week. You do not have to watch it in advance unless you want to. There is no homework for the movie. There is no vocabulary sheet for the movie. Continue working on Assignment #4 (due 5/23) and your presentation. We will end class early again this week so that you may consult with me or work independently on your project.
Class date: April 29th The Message Written by Joss Whedon Directed by Tim Minear Vocabulary Trivia(via wikipedia):
"The Message" was
the last Firefly episode filmed, by which time the cast and
crew knew the show had been canceled. The final scene, in which Serenity's
crew return Tracey's body to his family, marking an end to the former
soldier's journeys, therefore had an extra poignancy for them.
Greg Edmonson,
composer for the show, wrote the musical piece that is heard when Tracey is
returned to his family not only as a farewell to Tracey, but as a farewell to
the series itself.
Kaylee has expressed romantic
interest in two men thus far — Simon and Tracey — who have threatened her life.
Simon refused to treat her gunshot wound unless they protected River from the
Alliance in "Serenity" (although Kaylee believed he was bluffing),
and in this episode Tracey held her at gunpoint. Joss Whedon wryly
observes in the DVD commentaries that threatening
Kaylee became a formula for drama, one he admitted using in early Buffy episodes,
in which he would put Willow in
danger to win over the viewers.
In the DVD audio commentary for
the episode, a joke is made at how the postmaster is apparently the only Jew in
space; calling him a 'Space Jew', or 'Spajew' for short.
1. What's your favorite episode so far? why? explain. 2. Favorite character so far? why? Favorite scene with this character? why? 3. Which character has changed the most so far? what's your evidence? 4. Funniest episode so far? explain. 5. Funniest character? why?
For your Final Project, you will prepare and perform a 10-15-minute presentation on a topic of your choice related to the TV series or movie or both.
Example topics:
Moral Ambiguity in Firefly
The growth of a character through the series and movie
The concept of 'found family'
Individualism vs. Statism
Choose an actor/writer/director you like and tell us about other things they have done.
Choose a feature of TV, such as writing, music, dialog, cinematography, lighting, etc, and explain its importance in Firefly.
Anything that is interesting to you is an acceptable topic as long as you can talk about it for 10-15 minutes.
You don’t have to include all the episodes in your analysis, but you may want to go ahead and watch the remaining episodes and the movie if you want more material to work with. Remember that if you watch ahead of other people in class, be careful not to spoil them during class discussions. BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL IF YOU WATCH THE MOVIE!!!
Presentations should be memorized. You may have notes to look at, but any students who READ their presentation will receive a ZERO. You must email me the script of your presentation by 9am the day of your presentation. You may use Powerpoint if you want to, but text on the slides should be minimal. Here's a video with some good tips about giving presentations:
Topics due: Thursday, May 16th in my email by 5pm. I may have comments or suggestions for you which I will email back to you.
Presentation Outline due:
Thursday, May 30th. Script: You must email a copy of your presentation materials (script, ppt, whatever) by 5pm the day before your presentation.
NOTE: This is your FINAL. Students choosing not to do the presentation or who are absent on their presentation day will FAIL this class.
Grading for the presentation: You will be graded on Preparation, Materials, Delivery, and Overall Quality. You will also give a grade to other presentations. Average of audience scores - 50% My score - 50%
§The opening scene, where Simon
is prodding through River's brain scans and Book speaks of Simon's great heist,
refers to the entirety of the previous episode, "Ariel". Before Niska
intervenes, the crew is in the process of selling the stolen medicine from "Ariel".
§River's sharpshooting skill
becomes a point of contention in the episode "Objects in Space" as
well as the feature movie Serenity.
Trash Written by Ben Edlund and Jose Molina Directed by Vern Gillum Vocabulary
Trivia (wikipedia)
Saffron is a returning character who first appeared in "Our Mrs. Reynolds", an episode that apparently occurred "about a half a year back" from this one.
After Jayne stocks up Simon and River's cabin and leaves, River, in another paranormal instance, tells Simon that Jayne is afraid they'll know what he was attempting to do in "Ariel", two episodes past. Simon and River confront Jayne on the subject towards the end of the episode.
Homework:
1. Work on your next assignment.
2. Watch episode 10, The Message. Yes, that's right, only one episode!
Out of Gas The best hour of television ever written.
Written by Tim Minear, directed by David Solomon Vocabulary for 'Out of Gas'. Trivia (wikipedia): In this episode, the ship is crippled by the failure of the catalyzer on the port compression coil. Kaylee mentioned that this part needed fixing twice before: in "Serenity", when she asked Mal to buy a new compression coil for the engine, and in "The Train Job", when she complained that "somebody won't replace that crappy compression coil". In "Serenity", Kaylee alludes to the compression coil as a "nothing part, till you don't got one"; a sentiment repeated by Mal to the salvage crew when he is hailed. In the trash-yards of "Ariel", Wash can be seen finding a catalyzer and throwing it away. According to the DVD commentary,Alan Tudyktook the big red "recall" button from theFireflyset and presented it to Joss Whedon, telling him that if Whedon managed to get the series renewed, he could press it to call the cast back. Also according to the commentary,Gina Torres(Zoe) was written out of the bulk of the episode because the filming took place just after her marriage to Laurence Fishburneand they were away on their honeymoon.
One more thing: Executive producer of Firefly and writer of 'Out of Gas' has written some questions for your midterm! oooooo! assa!
Trivia (from Wikipedia): The medical shuttle that appears in the episode and is used to ferry the main characters back and forth from St. Lucy's is built from a 2/3 scale model of a Soviet Mil Mi-24 Hind D helicopter. A group of fans have bought the scrapped medical shuttle (from a scrapyard in Mojave, California), and are in the process of restoring it, hoping to show it on the Firefly convention circuit. Go learn about the Ariel Ambulance Rescue Group! :) When the crew returns to Serenity after their successful raid of the Alliance hospital, Malcolm grabs Kaylee from behind and pulls her into a friendly hug. This was improvised by Nathan Fillion, and was left in the shot because Joss Whedon felt it was such a natural movement for Malcolm to make. And, guess what?! The writer of this episode, Jose Molina, also wrote a question for your midterm! :) Fan art corner!
Our Mrs. Reynolds Directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall Written by Joss Whedon Trivia (imdb):
This is the only episode in which River does not speak. She had lines in the original shooting script, but they were cut before the episode made it to air.
The supposedly biblical quote Saffron uses in her seduction of Mal does not appear in the Bible. She may have fabricated it, assuming Mal would not known the difference.
After finishing the episode, Adam Baldwin took the head of Jayne's statue as a souvenir. It was later returned as additional shoots were needed where the Serenity crew first sees the statue. If one looks closely, they can see the visible crack where the head was broken off and then reattached.
I know the person who now owns the head. He bid on it at a charity auction. He tweets as @Jayne_Statue. He wrote some questions for your midterm. :)
Class date: March 25, 2013 Shindig Directed by: Vern Gillum Written by: Jane Espenson Vocabulary for 'Shindig'.
Inara attends a formal society dance, only to find Malcolm there as well, attempting to set up a smuggling job. Mall comes to blows with Inara's conceited date and finds himself facing a duel with a renowned swordsman, and only one night to learn how to fence.*
Trivia (Wikipedia)The ballgown that Inara wears at the ball was actually made out of costume designer Shawna Trpcic's wedding dress.
Here's a photo of Shawna in her wedding gown.
She wrote an extra credit question for you midterm. :) Click here for an interview with Shawna about her work. And here is Shawna's personal website. Follow her on Twitter.
Safe Directed by: Michael Grossman Written by: Drew Greenberg Vocabulary for 'Safe'
Mal must choose which crew members to save when one is gravely wounded and two others are kidnapped. Simon finds and uneasy haven in a remote village, but River's uncanny perceptions jeopardize the Tam's temporary safety.*
