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Post by TechnoSlut on Jun 14, 2004 12:38:33 GMT -5
Written by: Jane Espenson Directed by: Vern Gillum Air date: 11/1/02
There’s trouble ahead for Mal after he gets into a dust-up with one of Inara’s less-than-noble clients. Making things worse, there’s a warlord with an eye on the Serenity.
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Post by Lola m on Jul 19, 2004 19:22:46 GMT -5
The key seems to be giving Jayne a heavy stick and standing back. Uh huh. Sounds good to me. ;D Another great bar brawl to add to the collection. Love to see how . . . happy. . . Mal is in a fight. Mal is happy and fightin' all fancy - pulling a coat over someone's head and so on. Jayne, on the other hand, doesn't seem happy or not happy, just . . . efficient. Atherton appears such the charmer in his first, long-distance appearance on Inara's screen. But we start to get a taste of his true icky-ness even before Mal gets in the fight with him. As he and Inara are working the room, she is just so much . . . better at it than him. So gracious and, well, professional. And he starts with the cracks. Like saying "Oh, she blushes. Not many in your line of work do that". Something tells me the real nobility, the "truly classy" as it were, would never be so crass as to mention that she is there in a professional capacity. Love the little details, like Mal knowing Atherton is a regular. So Mal keeps up to date on Inara's clients, huh? Love the Badger scenes too. First back at his "lair" with the tea cups full of wood-alcohol. And there's Jayne in the background of the whole scene, daintily picking up sugar cubes to drop in his liquor and grabbing handfuls of little sandwiches with the crusts cut off. Too precious for words! But River taking him out with her lovely little speech is the best. Like "Spent some time in lock down. But less than you claim." Oooo, zing. Little flinch there. And then - Badger: "Nice to see someone from the old homestead." River: (oh so deadpan delivery) "Not really." Ouch! Best. Insult. Evah! River's summary line about Badger, "Sad little king of a sad little hill" - I've always thought it was meant to be a summary of Atherton, too. That parting scene with him trying to threaten Inara and she just shoves some real perspective right down his throat. He's a sad little minor noble on a sad little outer rim world. And she's a highly respected companion from rich central planets like Sihnon or Osiris, and with all the power of her guild behind her. Lola
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Post by Nickim on Jul 19, 2004 19:27:17 GMT -5
Appearances Can Be Deceiving
Nothing is as it appears on the surface. We hear the word pretentious from Jayne and Inara. Pretentious can mean making an unjustified claim. What claims are unjustified in Shindig?
The pool game isn't even real. What is the possible reason for a holographic pool game? It's not like pool balls are an endangered species. When Mal takes the money, Inara looks shocked, but she puts it away. Inara seems like a sheltered lady, but she's a practical woman.
Zoe says Persephone 'feels like home'. Mal says it's 'not home.' Zoe seems to want a home, but Mal knows he won't find it there and since he keeps making enemies, he won't find a home anywhere else, either.
Inara's interchange with Atheron Wing is full of the sort of untruths we hear every day. 'It's wonderful to see you' my 'heart is in my throat.' Inara is very carefully choosing her next client and her words.
Kaylee wants the "pretties." More about her later, she's the only one who doesn't make some sort of pretense.
Mal wants to leave when the women are talking about Inara's clothes. His excuse is that the bag he's carrying isn't 'feathers.' The women mention Inara needing clothes 'like that', but the clothes are another unjustified claim. Inara would still be a beautiful, intelligent woman even if she wore a burlap bag. Mal knows he hurt Kaylee's feelings when he unjustifiably said that her wearing a pretty dress would 'be like a sheep on two legs'--definitely an unjustified claim. Zoe wants to say more to the captain, but she just easily lifts the bag--disproving that it's heavy--and walks away. Zoe calls Mal captain, but it's obvious she doesn't really feel he deserves that designation right now.
The girls at the party certainly make an unjustified claim to be ladies. They're the worst kind of rude.
Atherton tells Inara that he 'admires her more and more', but it's obvious he only admires the reflected glow she give him. Inara tells Mal that Atherton 'likes me whether you see it, or not.' Oh, Inara, you know better. Atherton doesn't really like anyone but himself and he never will.
I loved the exchange with Kaylee and the guys at the party, but even here we see some pretensions. About the 8010 engine, Kaylee says 'they changed the plate and hoped no one noticed.'
Poor River even seems to think the canned food is making unjustified claims on the labels. She tells Badger that he's made greater claims to 'lockdown' time than is real.
Inara tries to tell Mal that a lot of fencing is feinting--fooling the other person into believing you're going to make one move, but actually making another. She even tries to warn him 'don't fall for that', but Mal charges ahead and can't or won't listen.
Back to Kaylee. She is the only one who takes things at face value. She sees the prettiness of the pink ruffles, not the lack of stylishness. She hears the compliment, not the cattiness behind it. Kaylee is innocent, her motives are pure. Her delight in the gown, the party, the food and the people is real. Even after the other girls were rude, she still says it was a 'real nice party.' Most of us would have seen the pretentiousness of the people at the people, but Kaylee sees the good and ignores the bad. That's why she'll never see Serenity as junk. She loves Serenity and she only sees the good.
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Post by Lola m on Jul 19, 2004 19:44:07 GMT -5
Appearances Can Be Deceiving Nothing is as it appears on the surface. We hear the word pretentious from Jayne and Inara. Pretentious can mean making an unjustified claim. What claims are unjustified in Shindig? The pool game isn't even real. What is the possible reason for a holographic pool game? It's not like pool balls are an endangered species. When Mal takes the money, Inara looks shocked, but she puts it away. Inara seems like a sheltered lady, but she's a practical woman. Zoe says Persephone 'feels like home'. Mal says it's 'not home.' Zoe seems to want a home, but Mal knows they won't find in there. Inara's interchange with Atheron Wing is full of the sort of untruths we hear every day. 'It's wonderful to see you' my 'heart is in my throat.' Inara is very carefully choosing her next client and her words. Kaylee wants the "pretties." More about her later, she's the only one who doesn't make some sort of pretense. Mal wants to leave when the women are talking about Inara's clothes. His excuse is that the bag he's carrying isn't 'feathers.' The women mention Inara needing clothes 'like that', but the clothes are another unjustified claim. Inara would still be a beautiful, intelligent woman even if she wore a burlap bag. Mal knows he hurt Kaylee's feelings when he unjustifiably said that her wearing a pretty dress would 'be like a sheep on two legs'--definitely an unjustified claim. Zoe wants to say more to the captain, but she just easily lifts the bag--disproving that it's heavy--and walks away. Zoe calls Mal captain, but it's obvious she doesn't really feel he deserves that designation right now. The girls at the party certainly make an unjustified claim to be ladies. They're the worst kind of rude. Atherton tells Inara that he 'admires her more and more', but it's obvious he only admires the reflected glow she give him. Inara tells Mal that Atherton 'likes me whether you see it, or not.' Oh, Inara, you know better. Atherton doesn't really like anyone but himself and he never will. I loved the exchange with Kaylee and the guys at the party, but even here we see some pretensions. About the 8010 engine, Kaylee says 'they changed the plate and hoped no one noticed.' Poor River even seems to think the canned food is making unjustified claims on the labels. She tells Badger that he's made greater claims to 'lockdown' time than is real. Inara tries to tell Mal that a lot of fencing is feinting--fooling the other person into believing you're going to make one move, but actually making another. She even tries to warn him 'don't fall for that', but Mal charges ahead and can't or won't listen. Back to Kaylee. She is the only one who takes things at face value. She sees the prettiness of the pink ruffles, not the lack of stylishness. She hears the compliment, not the cattiness behind it. Kaylee is innocent, her motives are pure. Her delight in the gown, the party, the food and the people is real. Even after the other girls were rude, she still says it was a 'real nice party.' Most of us would have seen the pretentiousness of the people at the people, but Kaylee sees the good and ignores the bad. That's why she'll never see Serenity as junk. She loves Serenity and she only sees the good. Oooooh! Nice catch on a theme, there Nicki! Brava! Kaylee is also the only one of the crew who just assumed that Mal was going to win the duel and come back to the ship. When Zoe says "It doesn't hurt to have a contingency plan", the look on her face just shows you she never eve thought things might not happen just as he said. "He said not to do anything. He'll join us after he wins the duel." And let's not forget the card game that Book and Jayne and Simon are playing. Card games are a great way to learn about each other and also to hide from each other. Book seems very good at gambling for a shepherd; Simon is surprisingly good at presenting a blank facade during play and Jayne is actually the most straightforward - in that I was expecting that he'd cheat and I was right. Lola
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Post by Nickim on Jul 19, 2004 19:51:15 GMT -5
Oooooh! Nice catch on a theme, there Nicki! Brava! Kaylee is also the only one of the crew who just assumed that Mal was going to win the duel and come back to the ship. When Zoe says "It doesn't hurt to have a contingency plan", the look on her face just shows you she never eve thought things might not happen just as he said. "He said not to do anything. He'll join us after he wins the duel." And let's not forget the card game that Book and Jayne and Simon are playing. Card games are a great way to learn about each other and also to hide from each other. Book seems very good at gambling for a shepherd; Simon is surprisingly good at presenting a blank facade during play and Jayne is actually the most straightforward - in that I was expecting that he'd cheat and I was right. Lola Thanks. I like the point you made about "sad little king on a sad little hill" applying to Atherton. I never caught that, but I think you're right. Atherton did seem to kiss up to Lord Whatshisname--sash guy--so apparently he's not as important as he wants to be.-
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Post by Queen E on Jul 19, 2004 20:30:30 GMT -5
Appearances Can Be Deceiving Nothing is as it appears on the surface. We hear the word pretentious from Jayne and Inara. Pretentious can mean making an unjustified claim. What claims are unjustified in Shindig? The pool game isn't even real. What is the possible reason for a holographic pool game? It's not like pool balls are an endangered species. When Mal takes the money, Inara looks shocked, but she puts it away. Inara seems like a sheltered lady, but she's a practical woman. Zoe says Persephone 'feels like home'. Mal says it's 'not home.' Zoe seems to want a home, but Mal knows he won't find it there and since he keeps making enemies, he won't find a home anywhere else, either. Inara's interchange with Atheron Wing is full of the sort of untruths we hear every day. 'It's wonderful to see you' my 'heart is in my throat.' Inara is very carefully choosing her next client and her words. Kaylee wants the "pretties." More about her later, she's the only one who doesn't make some sort of pretense. Mal wants to leave when the women are talking about Inara's clothes. His excuse is that the bag he's carrying isn't 'feathers.' The women mention Inara needing clothes 'like that', but the clothes are another unjustified claim. Inara would still be a beautiful, intelligent woman even if she wore a burlap bag. Mal knows he hurt Kaylee's feelings when he unjustifiably said that her wearing a pretty dress would 'be like a sheep on two legs'--definitely an unjustified claim. Zoe wants to say more to the captain, but she just easily lifts the bag--disproving that it's heavy--and walks away. Zoe calls Mal captain, but it's obvious she doesn't really feel he deserves that designation right now. The girls at the party certainly make an unjustified claim to be ladies. They're the worst kind of rude. Atherton tells Inara that he 'admires her more and more', but it's obvious he only admires the reflected glow she give him. Inara tells Mal that Atherton 'likes me whether you see it, or not.' Oh, Inara, you know better. Atherton doesn't really like anyone but himself and he never will. I loved the exchange with Kaylee and the guys at the party, but even here we see some pretensions. About the 8010 engine, Kaylee says 'they changed the plate and hoped no one noticed.' Poor River even seems to think the canned food is making unjustified claims on the labels. She tells Badger that he's made greater claims to 'lockdown' time than is real. Inara tries to tell Mal that a lot of fencing is feinting--fooling the other person into believing you're going to make one move, but actually making another. She even tries to warn him 'don't fall for that', but Mal charges ahead and can't or won't listen. Back to Kaylee. She is the only one who takes things at face value. She sees the prettiness of the pink ruffles, not the lack of stylishness. She hears the compliment, not the cattiness behind it. Kaylee is innocent, her motives are pure. Her delight in the gown, the party, the food and the people is real. Even after the other girls were rude, she still says it was a 'real nice party.' Most of us would have seen the pretentiousness of the people at the people, but Kaylee sees the good and ignores the bad. That's why she'll never see Serenity as junk. She loves Serenity and she only sees the good. Great insights, Nicki. One observation: If you look really closely at the labels on the canned food, you'll see they all come from "Blue Sun Company." That's very significant, as they are a huge corporation who apparently sponsored the academy that River attended. So the "hands of blue" men are from Blue Sun; hence River's tirade as she rips off the labels of their products.
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Post by Patti - S'cubie Cutie on Jul 19, 2004 20:40:19 GMT -5
Great insights, Nicki. One observation: If you look really closely at the labels on the canned food, you'll see they all come from "Blue Sun Company." That's very significant, as they are a huge corporation who apparently sponsored the academy that River attended. So the "hands of blue" men are from Blue Sun; hence River's tirade as she rips off the labels of their products. ooh! I actually noticed that when I saw the episode! meant to rewatch tonight but the whole computer attack by giant worm shifted my plans a bit... but I loved this episode - Kaylee was so wonderful and her dress was so horrible...not many could shine over that.
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Post by Queen E on Jul 19, 2004 20:45:06 GMT -5
ooh! I actually noticed that when I saw the episode! meant to rewatch tonight but the whole computer attack by giant worm shifted my plans a bit... but I loved this episode - Kaylee was so wonderful and her dress was so horrible...not many could shine over that. But the dress was so Kaylee...I couldn't imagine her in something slinky; she never gets to wear fancy clothes, so it completely suited her to want the frilliest thing possible.
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Post by Queen E on Jul 19, 2004 20:46:01 GMT -5
ooh! I actually noticed that when I saw the episode! meant to rewatch tonight but the whole computer attack by giant worm shifted my plans a bit... Keep a close eye, too, on the opening scene in "Ariel."
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Post by Rachael on Jul 19, 2004 20:46:43 GMT -5
Great insights, Nicki. One observation: If you look really closely at the labels on the canned food, you'll see they all come from "Blue Sun Company." That's very significant, as they are a huge corporation who apparently sponsored the academy that River attended. So the "hands of blue" men are from Blue Sun; hence River's tirade as she rips off the labels of their products. Ah; that answers my question of why the hell she was stripping the food. Hmm. The whole episode is a study in contrasts, between Inara's world, and Mal's world - starting out with his sort of party, and finishing with hers. Thoughts - Atherton is a regular, but Inara had no idea he was a controlling misogynistic creep? What, has he been hiding it all this time? I guess he would, in order to gain her trust so as to get control over him. I thought he was a little overdone, though - way too obvious, as it were. Especially the "I should have uglied you up so no one else would want you" remark. Mal and Inara stuff: Mal knows what color Inara is wearing. Don't know about you guys, but that just screams hyperaware of her, to me. I mean, men don't often notice color, in clothes, at all. "Our girl" - is interesting word choice, designed to let Atherton know that Mal's seen his (literal) grasping of a woman he (Mal) values. Mal tells Inara, "You stand out." I had an "aww" moment - this was an honest compliment, one of very few he ever delivers. And she turns it around on him, and into more banter. Oh, and - dancing? Heavy symbolism, Mal and Inara dancing. Other stuff: Simon is fully integrated now, if the card game is any indication. Wash and Zoe are the Cutest. Couple. Ever. "You could lock the door, and keep the power-hungry maniac at bay." ". . .somewhat less attractive now that she's all corpsified and gross. . . ." ;D WHY does Mal fall for the hands-behind-the-back routine? This, IMO, is the biggest flaw in the episode. Please. He's not nearly so dumb. Fun lines: "Notice how I'm not punching him? I think I've grown as a person." "You didn't have to wound that man." "Yeah, I know - it was just funny." "I got stabbed, you know. Right here." Soooo cute. ;D
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Post by William the Bloody on Jul 19, 2004 20:47:16 GMT -5
When Shindig aired (not originally 3rd I believe...it was like 4th or 5th) it was the episode that made me go "Okay, this show is getting better! I admit that, for the most part, I like humerous episodes of shows that are at least nominally dramas. Some of my favorite eps of Buffy and Angel are the "funny" ones. And this I found to be lighter fare. Sure, Mal was in a life or death situation, the crew is held hostage by Badger and his gang, but really, you jsut know in the end that Mal will somehow win or dodge a bullet somehow or something. There was no real sense of danger so it allowed one to jsut sit back and laugh at the funny, admire the dialogue, suck in the atmosphere of a new universe thats starting to get familiar by now and enjoy the characters.
Mal manages to be the absolute Han Solo/Indy Jones rogue in this one. Why am I such the sucker for the roguish, reluctant hero?
Kaylee...I fell in love with Kaylee in this episode. The epitomy of the girl next door. She's the cute gal that never noticed she is cute and also, as a bonus, knew how to work on your car. Straightforward, charming and sweet.
Then there is Inara. She shows some real spark this episode. I love the fact that she urges Mal to run... and the fact that even tho' she doesnt really admit it, she is very taken with the fact that he won't. I don;t know how these two met, but she fell in love with the kinda man that holds to foolish noble principles. Perhaps it's because she is a "whore." as Mal would say...the ultimate in practicality. Opposites do attract.
The rest of the crew are not featured as strongly here but each of them have a moment to shine, especially River. Her whole mimicry of Badger was jsut...neat! I have watched that several times now and I am really thinking that not only is she mimicing his talk and manner, she is actually reading his mind. I think it's suppposed to be a major hint of things to come.
OKay, I need to think on this some more before I post. I am jsut rambling here.... but let me say: I don't know exactly how I would rank them, but Shindig is one of my absolute favorites of the Firefly series. It's one that I choose to show newcomers also... I haven't met a casual viewer yet that hasnt been sucked in by Shindig and Our Mrs. Reynolds.
Vlad
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Post by Lola m on Jul 20, 2004 5:39:59 GMT -5
Ah; that answers my question of why the hell she was stripping the food. Hmm. The whole episode is a study in contrasts, between Inara's world, and Mal's world - starting out with his sort of party, and finishing with hers. Thoughts - Atherton is a regular, but Inara had no idea he was a controlling misogynistic creep? What, has he been hiding it all this time? I guess he would, in order to gain her trust so as to get control over him. I thought he was a little overdone, though - way too obvious, as it were. Especially the "I should have uglied you up so no one else would want you" remark. Mal and Inara stuff: Mal knows what color Inara is wearing. Don't know about you guys, but that just screams hyperaware of her, to me. I mean, men don't often notice color, in clothes, at all. "Our girl" - is interesting word choice, designed to let Atherton know that Mal's seen his (literal) grasping of a woman he (Mal) values. Mal tells Inara, "You stand out." I had an "aww" moment - this was an honest compliment, one of very few he ever delivers. And she turns it around on him, and into more banter. Oh, and - dancing? Heavy symbolism, Mal and Inara dancing. Other stuff: Simon is fully integrated now, if the card game is any indication. Wash and Zoe are the Cutest. Couple. Ever. "You could lock the door, and keep the power-hungry maniac at bay." ". . .somewhat less attractive now that she's all corpsified and gross. . . ." ;D WHY does Mal fall for the hands-behind-the-back routine? This, IMO, is the biggest flaw in the episode. Please. He's not nearly so dumb. Fun lines: "Notice how I'm not punching him? I think I've grown as a person." "You didn't have to wound that man." "Yeah, I know - it was just funny." "I got stabbed, you know. Right here." Soooo cute. ;D Yep - love the contrasts between the two worlds. And yet they show Inara, Mal and Kaylee actually doing fairly well in each. And I love how much the ball tells us about this world just by showing it to us. * We have folks in outfits that mix "east" and "west" - a mandarin jacketed major domo next to guys in string ties and women in hoop skirts. All the clothes are such a wonderful swirl of different times and styles and colors and textures - often mixed on one person. Just lovely. * Guns being checked at the door, showing us this is still a wild outer planet. * But they scan for guns and have a floating chadelier, so we see the mix of high and low tech. * It's a small, closed almost "small town" society, the petty girls, the folks that all know each other. Inara is like imported "big city" elegance. We watch her glide through the room, smoothly greeting a person here or there, one woman actually gushing over meeting her. I swear it was almost like a fan meeting a star at a party. * The dances almost seemed like old European ones; country dances or minuets. Just another glimpse at the world Joss was building. I think Inara knew Atherton was not the best of guys but he had been putting his charming face on for her and she was willing to go along with the charade. I don't think she was ever even considering staying with him for real, and not just because of not wanting to leave Serenity and Mal and the gang. But I also think he revealed a lot more to her in this ep than he had before. Easy to seem gracious and nice when things are always going your way, much harder to maintain your fake face when you are down - the truth tends to slip out then. Wash and Zoe? Oh, yeah! Soooooo great and funny in that scene. I also love the earlier one where they are just sitting on the bridge together before they land, talking about stuff. Zoe has such a glow of happiness to her and Wash is so easy and comfy. They really make you feel their relationship. Lola
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Post by Nickim on Jul 20, 2004 6:24:59 GMT -5
I'm sure Inara knew Atherton was a creep, but he was willing to pay for several days and she is a practical woman. He had apparently asked her to stay there before, since he says something about 'still waiting for an answer.' I have a feeling Inara would have just continued to smile and skirt the issue if she could have. She wouldn't want to lose a valuable customer unless it was really necessary. But, at the same time, she has principles and will do the right thing when she HAS to. We see Mal exhibiting the same high principles when he has to. He doesn't want people to know that he's really such a good guy. I get the feeling Mal and Inara are much more alike than they want to admit. Their backgrounds may be different, but they both have the same values and that's more important than background, at least to me.
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Post by Rachael on Jul 20, 2004 8:12:06 GMT -5
I'm sure Inara knew Atherton was a creep, but he was willing to pay for several days and she is a practical woman. He had apparently asked her to stay there before, since he says something about 'still waiting for an answer.' I have a feeling Inara would have just continued to smile and skirt the issue if she could have. She wouldn't want to lose a valuable customer unless it was really necessary. But, at the same time, she has principles and will do the right thing when she HAS to. We see Mal exhibiting the same high principles when he has to. He doesn't want people to know that he's really such a good guy. I get the feeling Mal and Inara are much more alike than they want to admit. Their backgrounds may be different, but they both have the same values and that's more important than background, at least to me. The trouble is that Inara's always shown herself to have high standards for who she'll take as a customer, and has more than once specified that she tries, at least, to only have customers she actually likes. I could see Atherton pulling off the charade once or twice, but as a regular - if he's this much of a creep, I would have hoped she'd tire of him and not want to spend any more time around him than necessary.
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Post by Patti - S'cubie Cutie on Jul 20, 2004 13:01:46 GMT -5
The trouble is that Inara's always shown herself to have high standards for who she'll take as a customer, and has more than once specified that she tries, at least, to only have customers she actually likes. I could see Atherton pulling off the charade once or twice, but as a regular - if he's this much of a creep, I would have hoped she'd tire of him and not want to spend any more time around him than necessary. First time I heard that line I believed it, but after she said it to everyone she was with, I got the strong impression she is just saying those things to make her customers feel special. She's a pro, after all. I think its just a classier version of hooker-speak.
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