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Date Posted: 09:16:09 11/02/02 Sat
Author: Cactus Watcher
Subject: CW's Writer's journal for "Shindig" (spoilers for the ep)

It is not the purpose of this series of notes to be a critical review of each Firefly episode. But, I find my overall feelings about this week’s episode difficult to separate from the individual moments I normally comment on. Those who frequent the ATPoBtVS board may already know I think Jane Espenson is a highly erratic writer. A few weeks ago I was congratulating her on what I thought was a particularly successful Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode. This week I have to say she lost my attention completely. Rather than make this space a scathing criticism of the episode, something the Firefly series doesn’t need, I will simply say that Espenson’s impression of several of the characters doesn’t seem to match any of the other writers. I have little tolerance for Romance as a genre, so I think it best for someone else to decide if the story was successful as a Romance.

Also please forgive me. Thanks to a broadcasting technical glitch, I didn’t get to see how Mal came out on top in the duel. If it was important to the story overall, I can’t comment on it.

Pink drink in the dainty glass - The first scene is a set up to show Inara out of place in a rough bar to contrast later with Mal (and Kaylee) being out of place at the ball.

Inara to Mal, “Good afternoon” - It is good to tell the audience at least once that the ship no doubt runs on some sort of arbitrary standard time, where as the places they visit on the surface of large planets are going to have their own local time which quite often isn’t going to match.

Choosing a client - The scene we saw this week doesn’t jibe with what we were told in Jaynesville. Inara quickly dismisses the clumsy fellow, and chooses Atherton, “Mister Slick” with all the money. True she has been with this guy before, but why in God’s universe would she agree to go with him again? His manners seem to be as thin as can be and Inara claims to have been with this guy for days on end. I think the problem is that Espenson looks at Inara as simply a prostitute. So consequently, she looks at Inara’s life as something she’d necessarily want to get out of eventually, even at the price of her dignity. I don’t think this is what the other writers have been pointing toward at all.
Also I was a bit unclear as to how this selection was proceeding. When the clumsy fellow was having his say, it seemed to be a recording, and therefore it would be no offense for Inara to shut him off. But when Atherton was speaking, it was interactive. So was Inara really that rude to the first guy?

Kaylee’s invitation to the ball - I can’t deny that she’d probably enjoy the chance to go.

The card game - This game isn’t anything I recognize. Looks like a cross between poker and pinochle. I’d like to see more of it. Can’t help it, games are one of my interests.

Ripping off labels - This is what River wants to do for herself. She knows the others especially, Jayne, think she’s hopelessly insane. But, she does have some direction in what she is thinking. It shows up later in her unexpected outburst of appropriate behavior with Badger. There is someone very smart buried in all her confusion. (Both of these scenes seem to have Joss’ fingerprints on them.)

“The sash indicates lordhood” - So the Alliance gives out titles of nobility? Or is having a noble present just a necessary bit of flavor for the atmosphere of the ball?

The belle of the ball - I can see Kaylee off in a corner somewhere talking shop with a half dozen men. But, having them hanging on her every word just doesn’t show any understanding about male conversations or how men act in groups. Don’t get me wrong. The gentlemen might be every bit as interested in her as was shown here, but in reality they would demonstrate it in much subtler ways.

Surprise! You just challenged me to a duel. - Didn’t we just go through ‘Surprise! You’re married?’ Could we have a little more communication between the writers, please?
The duel was largely a pre-Civil War institution in the US, although it survived into the 20th century in Russia. It was not usually considered appropriate to accept duels from someone below your social status anywhere, and clearly Mal doesn’t quite fit in with Atherton’s crowd. I’m not going to gripe about trying to make an interesting story though.

The contraband cargo - I can understand why livestock might be on a list of things that a world might not want to export. It might well cut into their future exports of meat products, etc. But, I’m not quite sure if livestock would be valuable enough to an individual to be worth the risk and expense of illicit shipping. I’m thinking it would be more profitable to buy cattle someplace where exporting them was legal and then ship them through legitimate channels. But, the previews seem to indicate we might get an explanation next week.

Sorry, for the brevity this week.

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