This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary . It should be expanded to provide more balanced coverage that includes real-world context.(March 2011) |
"Bushwhacked" | |
---|---|
Firefly episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 3 |
Directed by | Tim Minear |
Written by | Tim Minear |
Production code | 1AGE02 |
Original air date | September 27, 2002 |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Bushwhacked" is the third episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon.
The crew of Serenity comes across a transport ship drifting in space. After recovering a terrified survivor and a valuable cargo, they are pulled in by an Alliance cruiser. While the Alliance commander grills each member of the crew, it appears that Reaver-spawned violence has not yet run its course.
Serenity encounters a drifting spacecraft which turns out to be an obsolete short-range transport scow converted into a one-way settler vessel for passage to the "Outer Planets". Captain Mal decides to investigate the ship, eager to loot it for any valuable supplies or cargo. He sends his crew off in teams to explore the ship, while he and Zoe head to a section that he suspects holds the most valuable supplies.
River discreetly leaves the ship and finds Mal and Zoe before pointing out mutilated bodies hanging from the ceiling. Mal knows what did this and orders everyone to regroup in the engine room, but Jayne is ambushed by a mysterious attacker and fires his gun wildly. Mal finds the wounded man hiding behind an air grate and has him brought back to the ship.
As Simon treats the wounded man, Mal reveals to the rest of the crew that he must be the lone survivor of a Reaver attack. He explains how the Reavers, once settlers themselves, were driven insane after seeing the nothing at the "edge of the galaxy" and now commit unspeakable acts of evil against anyone they encounter. He allows Shepherd Book and Simon to give the dead a proper funeral, while Kaylee discreetly removes a Reaver booby trap that attached itself to Serenity when they docked earlier.
Once the derelict ship's cargo is aboard, Serenity starts to leave, only to be stopped by an Alliance cruiser. Armed troops board the ship and find Mal and everyone but River and Simon waiting for them, the salvaged cargo plainly in sight to avoid accusations of theft. Alliance Commander Harken accuses them of harboring two fugitives and detains them for questioning.
Commander Harken interviews each member of the crew while his crew tend to the survivor and ransack Serenity. The space-suited Tams are undetected; Mal had shown them where to cling to on the outside of the hull knowing that the Alliance wouldn't think to check there.
Harken, aware of Mal's past as a Browncoat, accuses him of attacking the settler ship, revealing that the survivor's tongue has been split and implying that Mal did it to keep him from speaking. Mal, however, realizes that the survivor is becoming a Reaver, having been traumatized by what he witnessed. Harken dismisses Mal's idea as nonsense designed to avoid blame and orders that Serenity be impounded so that it can be sold at auction.
As Harken prepares to confine Mal, his lieutenant informs him that the survivor has killed the medical personnel attending to him and escaped. Mal convinces Harken that he knows where the madman will go. Harken allows Mal to lead him and his soldiers back onto Serenity. The survivor attacks the soldiers, but Mal is able to break the Reaver's neck, saving Harken's life. As a result, Harken allows the crew of Serenity to go, though he still confiscates their cargo. After Serenity undocks, the cruiser is seen firing on the derelict ship, destroying it.
Firefly is an American space Western drama television series, created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as an executive producer, along with Tim Minear. The series is set in the year 2517, after the arrival of humans in a new star system, and follows the adventures of the renegade crew of Serenity, a "Firefly-class" spaceship. The ensemble cast portrays the nine characters who live on Serenity. Whedon pitched the show as "nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things."
Serenity is a 2005 American space Western film written and directed by Joss Whedon in his feature directorial debut. The film is a continuation of Whedon's short-lived 2002 Fox television series Firefly and stars the same cast, taking place after the events of the final episode. Set in 2517, Serenity is the story of the crew of Serenity, a "Firefly-class" spaceship. The captain and first mate are veterans of the Unification War, having fought on the losing Independent side against the Alliance. Their lives of smuggling and cargo-running are interrupted by a psychic passenger who harbors a dangerous secret.
"Serenity" is the two-part series finale and the original intended pilot for the American science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon. It was the first episode produced for the series and premiered on Friday, December 20, 2002 on Fox. With studio executives unsatisfied with the episode for the series premiere, the show's second episode, "The Train Job", was re-written and produced as a second pilot to be aired first. The episode shares its name with the 2005 feature film Serenity, which serves as a continuation to Firefly.
Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Firefly franchise. Mal is played by actor Nathan Fillion in the 2002 TV series Firefly and the 2005 film Serenity. In the series, Mal is a former Browncoat sergeant and the captain of the "Firefly-class" spaceship Serenity. The character was named #18 in TV Guide's Greatest Sci-Fi Legends list in 2004.
"The Train Job" is the original series premiere and second episode of the American science-fiction western television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon. It was the second episode produced and aired on Friday, September 20, 2002, on Fox. The episode was written by Whedon and Tim Minear as the second pilot to the series following Fox after executives were unsatisfied with original pilot "Serenity", which later aired as the series finale. According to the 2003 DVD commentary, Whedon and Minear had only two days to write the script.
"Safe" is the fifth episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon.
"Shindig" is the fourth episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon.
"Our Mrs. Reynolds" is the sixth episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon.
"Jaynestown" is the seventh episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon.
"Ariel" is the ninth episode of the science fiction television series Firefly, created by Joss Whedon.
"Out of Gas" is the eighth episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon. It differs stylistically from the rest of the series, in that it tells its story alternately in three timeframes: events in the present, events in the near-past that led to the present, and events in the past that led to the formation of Serenity's core crew.
"War Stories" is the tenth episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon.
"Trash" is the eleventh episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon. It is the first of three episodes that were not broadcast in the original 2002 Fox run.
"The Message" is the twelfth episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon. It was the fourteenth and final episode produced during the show's production, but was placed before "Heart of Gold" and "Objects in Space" on the home video releases. "The Message" was the second of three episodes along with "Trash" and "Heart of Gold", that were not broadcast in the original 2002 Fox run and later aired on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 15, 2003.
"Heart of Gold" is the 13th episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon. It is the last of three episodes that were not broadcast in the original 2002 Fox run.
"Objects in Space" is the 14th episode and series finale of the science fiction television series Firefly. Serenity encounters Jubal Early, a ruthless professional bounty hunter who will stop at nothing to retrieve River. But River, feeling unwelcome on the ship, takes a novel approach to escaping from the long arm of the Alliance.
Reavers are a fictional group of humans in the television series Firefly and subsequent film Serenity who live on the fringes of civilized space and have become animalistic. Within most of the timeline of the series and movie, the existence of Reavers is officially denied by the Alliance, the ruling government of humanity in the Firefly franchise, but they are a harsh reality around the outer planets.
Serenity is a fictional spacecraft that appears in Joss Whedon's Firefly television series and related works. Set in the 26th century, the series follows the nine-person crew of the Firefly-class vessel, a small transport ship, as they earn a living through various legal and illegal means. The ship is the main setting; it appears in all fourteen episodes, the film, and several comics.
Derrial Book is a fictional character played by Ron Glass in the science-fiction/Western television series Firefly and its sequel movie, Serenity. He is a Shepherd, and provides frequent spiritual advice and perspectives for the crew of Serenity.