Whedonesque : Comments on 7517 : Tonight's Firefly episode on SciFi

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August 13 2005

Tonight's Firefly episode on SciFi - 'Bushwhacked'. This one's a Tim Minear written and directed episode. Joss said "[it] scared the shit out of me".

I love this episode, it's in my top three favourite Firefly ones.

Anyhow more commentary from Whedon and Minear on this episode (from Cinefantastique).

Joss

First of all, the episode scared the shit out of me. Minear, of course, who creates such a beautiful frame, particularly that shot of River as she wanders into the ship like she’s in a fairy story. Love all that.The thing I remember about that is that I have always been extremely strict with my actors about dialogue. To the very comma. I will go nuts on them. But when we got to the basketball scene in this episode, we had a bunch of scripted stuff. I was saying to Tim, “You are going to turn the cameras on them and let them play for a while, right?” Tim is, like, “Yeah, totally.” And we ended up throwing out all of the scripted stuff and only using the improv stuff while they were playing. All of that was just them having a great time, which they really were. We let Alan go on and on in the interrogation scene, and we used some of that stuff. That kind of looseness and trust and freedom is a new thing for me. I’m a very controlling filmmaker.

.....

There’s not a story in that show that I didn’t break significantly, but if there’s any single person in the universe that I trust, it’s Tim Minear. He really is as talented a writer and director as I’ve known, and was with me from pretty much the start.

Tim

That was the first one that I wrote by myself and directed. The Reavers, who made their non-appearance in the pilot, were fascinating to me. Again, in the first couple of episodes we felt as though we had to constantly reintroduce everything, because we didn’t have the luxury of the two-hour pilot to explain things to people. This was a way for me to do several things things: to introduce the crew again and what their relationships were to one another; to introduce the barbarians on our show, which were the Reavers, and the closest thing to an alien life form on Firefly, though, of course, they’re really human; and to introduce the Alliance. So, really, the story is about how our crew on Serenity makes their own civilization out there in space. The question is, what is civilization? They’re stuck between these two extremes; this behemoth bureaucracy, which is the Alliance, and this completely savage, lawless group known as the Reavers. The two extremes of civilization and barbarity. And our people have found kind of a medium place where they don’t go too far in either extreme, because either extreme is mass murder. That’s really what that story was about. I just had a great a time making that episode.

Simon | Firefly&Serenity | 01:17 CET | 34 comments total | tags: firefly, scifi

Joss was not the only one who got his kaboodles scared out of him! That one made me turn the lights on!

Apocalypse | August 13, 01:22 CET

I did a Firefly marathon these past two days and I skipped most of Bushwhacked. The combination space and horror is one I can't handle. When I saw the film Event Horizon I wanted to walk out, but couldn't, so I looked at my feet for most of the film and had nightmares about it later.

Caroline | August 13, 01:31 CET

This episode is beautifully written and paced...the interrogation sequence is particularly wonderful.

On another note, I really wonder why the Sci-Fi channel has to give a rather comprehensive summary of the episode, effectively giving away the entire story.

A great, great episode.

Chris inVirginia | August 13, 01:37 CET

I took my then girlfriend to see Event Horizon when it came out in the cinema thinking it was purely a scifi movie. Boy talk about a huge mistake. She started crying about 25 minutes in, wanted to leave, then decided to stay and still cried. We split up not so long after. It's a terrifying movie. It still scares me when it's repeated on the telly.

There's huge Event Horizon vibes off Bushwhacked. Why isn't Tim Minear making great horror movies? He'd be ace.

Simon | August 13, 01:37 CET

It was definitely scary, and has one of the funniest scenes of "Firefly" ("Her legs!") but I still think that overall, it's one of the weaker episodes. Which of course is relative, considering it's "Firefly"...

Ilana | August 13, 01:38 CET

And word on what, if any, special tidbit related to the movie SciFi might be aiiring with this tonight?

The One True b!X | August 13, 01:46 CET

We were introducing Firefly to the Sci-Fi club at Virginia, and Bushwhacked would end a four hour stretch for us. When it started to be creepy, I had to literally beg them to stay and watch the episode. It paid off: they are now hooked.

But yeah, Bushwhacked creeps me out, but I'm a big chicken.

Anusien | August 13, 01:56 CET

- edit for some scary typos -

Bushwhacked was the second of Firefly I ever watched. Didn't really like the first time around, not sure if it was because of the horror elements (even though I'm huge fan of Horror) - but have to agree that horror in space, is not that healthy at all - or if it was because of the pacing.

I remember that the first time I watched, the interrogation scenes did bother me a bit. I was still taking time to know the characters, and maybe because I was watching it on my old computer screen, so things were sort of messy.

This was another example of an episode that I only learned to love and cherish, the second time I watched it. Now I consider a really enjoyable episode, with great pacing, great scenes. Especially the Tams siblings in space, I think that's my favorite scene in this episode.

[ edited by Numfar PTB on 2005-08-13 00:31 ]

Numfar PTB | August 13, 02:25 CET

Numfar, right, forgot about Tams in Space!...great visual expressions from both of them!

Chris inVirginia | August 13, 02:27 CET

I've got it on right now, but Bushwhacked is easily my least favorite episode of the series. It's just dull, and I didn't feel a hint of tension in any of the episode's 42 minutes.

The Dark Shape | August 13, 03:12 CET

Just finished watching the episode for the Nth time. Nice to get a Firefly fix even if it is in full screen. Gotta say that I still love the episode even when I know what is coming...

The Dark Shape: It's just dull

Dull? Seriously? I'm having trouble grokking that assessment.

dcubed | August 13, 04:14 CET

Ok, so people watched, therefore someone must have an answer to my earlier question: Was there any special movie stuff aired?

The One True b!X | August 13, 04:33 CET

I'm with you, dcubed. I never thought any FF ep was 'dull'...even Heart of Gold, which I didn't think was great tv, still held my attention and had some great moments: Jayne's crude remarks, Inara's breakdown (which made me want to reach into the tv and give her a hug), and the victorious resolution despite the loss of Nandi.

To me, that was the weakest ep. Bushwacked was eerie, scary, and I totally bought into the tension. I'm looking forward to seeing it tonight.

Still think it's funny that I get such a little thrill seeing it on broadcast, when I've got the far superior uncut episodes on dvd.

Willowy | August 13, 04:37 CET

theonetruebix, there was like a 30-60 second clip of the movie. I missed the ep last week, but last week they apparently also showed a clip. soon, there won't be any part of the movie not fully exposed to the world!

willowy, I know how you feel! I was talking to my brother and I said "Oh my God! It's seven o'clock, firefly is on!" He was like, "why do you care, you have the whole season on dvd." I still think it's fun :)

[ edited by MySerenity on 2005-08-13 02:45 ]

MySerenity | August 13, 04:43 CET

Someone will soon torrent the special feature. I downloaded a couple days ago, last week's special "preview" feature.
It just made want to watch the movie ASAP.

Numfar PTB | August 13, 04:46 CET

It took me four tries to finally sit through Bushwhacked the first time through. The first two acts simply aren't paced very well, and the ending is rushed beyond belief. Recently I let a friend watch every episode, one a night. We made it half way through Bushwhacked and he asked if we could just skip to the next one.

The Dark Shape | August 13, 04:53 CET

Halfway through the episode, there was an ad stating something like: tune in every week to see behind-the-scenes features, interviews, and exclusive clips from the film.

This week it was another "exclusive clip". Hopefully, we'll get one of the other two possibilities next time.

WindTheFrog | August 13, 05:08 CET

I must admit Bushwacked is the only ep of FF I've seen just the once. I hated Event Horizon, I again almost walked out of the movie, and ended up closing my eyes in the last final sequence; and I'm a horror movie freak. Tho in saying this I think I may take a wander into the lounge room and put it on. Bushwacked that is.

nixygirl | August 13, 05:10 CET

"She started crying about 25 minutes in, wanted to leave, then decided to stay and still cried. We split up not so long after."

Am I an ass that I laughed out loud when I read that? Man that's funny as hell.

brother_grady | August 13, 06:07 CET

"They want us to be alive when they eat us."

That was so cool. Keep the clips coming sci-fi.

SpikeBad | August 13, 06:10 CET

I really want to love all of "Bushwhacked" but I'm just unable to - and I do feel bad about it, I do. I actually love the first two acts, I find them very spooky, engaging and (I hesitate to repeat an oft-overused adjective, but...) atmospheric; very much like "Alien". I really enjoy how the story and the mystery unfold, especially on first viewing since it's so early in the series and you're still trying to get a handle on where the writers are going to take things, just how far they'll go.

...the ending is rushed beyond belief.

Right on, The Dark Shape, you've definitely hit it as far as my feelings about this episode are concerned. I find the drastic switch from dark to light (not necessarily metaphoric, I mean the lighting composition of the interior scenes and setting) just too jarring, plus I think that they got off way too easy by the Alliance. I wish that the Alliance didn't directly feature in this episode at all, I find the story to be less scary due to their inclusion. However, I do hate to nitpick, second-guess and harp about plot holes (real or perceived) in any quality program, especially in the Jossverse.
On a happier note, you gotta love Alan Tudyk's hilarious interrogation scene improving available on the gag reel - sadly not the gag reel on the DVD but the one hopefully still available for download here.

gorramit | August 13, 06:29 CET

Oh I do so love that gag reel!

nixygirl | August 13, 06:55 CET

I get a connection failure.

Nebula1400 | August 13, 07:18 CET

I loved "Bushwhacked". I remember when it first aired, I had to force several of my friends to give Firefly another chance after the dissapointment I felt with "The Train Job" (an episode that ironicly all of my friends now like after having marathoned the entire season, there were only 2 eps I didn't love in the season, "Safe" and "Hearts of Gold".) We all sat down, and we were just quiet for most of the episode, no talking, and laughed at all the right notes.

I think that the comic and horror elements didn't quite blend perfectly for my tastes, but it was a superb show nonetheless, really grabbed me.

Oh, and does anyone here know where I can find all of the Joss/Tim Minear Cinefantastique articles, I can't seem to find them on the official Cinefantastique site.

rabid | August 13, 07:49 CET

I always really loved this episode. I thought this was such a well written episode that had a little bit of everything that makes Firefly so great. I loved the scares and jumped a mile the first time that body hit the windshield (do you call it a windshield in outerspace?) and I knew there were going to be bodies when River showed up on that ship and started walking around. I loved the scene with River and Simon outside of Serenity and the look of pure joy on River's face and the look of astonishment and wonder on Simon's face when River expressed wanting to go out again. And the interrogation scenes were a riot, especially Zoe refusing to say anything about her relationship with Wash because they're private people and then the quick cut to him going into great detail about just what attracted him to her and with the miming and everything too!

Firefly Flanatic | August 13, 10:14 CET

Simon:

There's huge Event Horizon vibes off Bushwhacked.

nixygirl:

I hated Event Horizon, I again almost walked out of the movie, and ended up closing my eyes in the last final sequence; and I'm a horror movie freak. Tho in saying this I think I may take a wander into the lounge room and put it on. Bushwacked that is.

Event Horizon is a very good horror movie. Probably the only Paul W.S. Anderson good movie.

However, I find the comparison between EH and Bushwacked a bit exagerated. Bushwacked never scared me; I enjoyed the episode (the tension it brings, as well as the character developments), but it didn't scared me at all.

This doesn't mean that a TV show can't scare me. I was really hooked by Hush, and I jumped many times the first time I watched it. But I can't consider Bushwacked is scaring; maybe because the tension is mainly "out of screen" (scaring things about the reavers are said, but not really shown - which is great!); besides, there's only one dangerous man in this episode (and he is only a *man*), on the contrary to Hush (many *demons*).

This does not mean that Bushwacked does not succeed; to me, this episode is not supposed to be scaring the way "I jump every five minutes"; it is supposed to be menacing (presentation of the reaver mythology).

Le Comité | August 13, 14:18 CET

I'm sorta surprised by the negative reactions to this episode. It's not my favorite, and I do agree that the ending is terribly rushed, but I've never wanted to get up in the middle of it, or to apologize for it. I liked the way Jayne's discussion of "space trash" attaching itself to the ship, and his application of that to Simon and River, becomes literal with their hiding outside the ship, properly suited up this time. And I, too, like the Zoe-to-Wash cut in the interrogation scene. There was also a subtle ironic parallel drawn between the Firefly crew's scavenging (Mal's statement about being on the deserted ship to pick the bones) and what we find out is true about the Reavers later (Mal's statement about them gnawing on your insides). Of course the parallel is made to make the contrast between the crew and the Reavers more significant. In the end, there is much more that I like about this episode than I dislike.

Regarding the clip -- I, too, would like to see behind-the-scenes bits and not clips of the movie. Viewers are going to be so spoiled for the movie that there are not going to be any surprises left.

palehorse | August 13, 14:22 CET

I loved this episode as well. That gag Jayne pulled on Simon about the space suit was sweet. When he walks onto that ship looking every second like he's going to explode....only to run into Mal and Zoe with their "WTF" expressions while Jayne snickles in the background. Classic. And yes, BL, I adore the scene with River and Simon outside the ship. It just occurred to me that whenever these two are facing the unknown, River seems to be in her element while Simon is mostly terrified. That's a neat spin on things.

Madhatter | August 13, 14:42 CET

I love this episode so much. It reminds me of the first Alien movie. My 3 favorite things in this episode are Simon and River outside of the ship, the blowing up of the ship at the end(don't you just love zoic's CG sequences? BEAUTIFUL) and the Wash interrogation scene.

I also don't think these clips are spoiling anything. Not in the larger context of the movie's plot.

[ edited by eddy on 2005-08-13 17:15 ]

eddy | August 13, 18:50 CET

The end scene, where the ship blows up and the music is so sad and the action sort of slows down. The ship explodes and you can't hear it; that's one of my favorite sequences in the whole series.

Anusien | August 14, 00:22 CET

I'm feeling a lot less wimpy reading these comments. Bushwacked scares the bejesus out of me. In my recent "introduce Firefly" night, I had to skip it, for fear of nightmares or embarrassing peering-through-hands behaviour... It's a shame, because the interrogation scenes are freaking hilarious...

sojourner | August 14, 12:45 CET

I have to ask, and I am being serious: Event Horizon was supposed to be scary?

gossi | August 15, 06:54 CET

gossi, I'm sure you saw the same very edited-for-tv version I did. I remember watching it -- probably on SciFi -- and have "cool" memories but nothing at all stands out about anything shocking. Makes me want the DVD.

April | August 15, 19:23 CET

I saw EH at the movies and believe it was scary at times but never a good movie. I remember thinking it was just a gory "gross 'em out" kind of movie.

Dazzle | August 15, 21:08 CET

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