Whedonesque : Comments on 7793 : Fan report from Dragon*Con.

Very nice. I wonder what it would take to get Jewel to reveal Inara's secret? I guess I wouldn't want to know as long as there's a possibility of sequels. I second the Booo. Hisss. over the lack of cast commentary. Why not have two: one Joss only and one with the kiddies?

jaynelovesvera | September 06, 14:23 CET

If Universal wanted to be really original and innovative, they could make cast commentaries available for download. A fan buys the DVD, puts it in his or her computer's DVD drive, a fancy piece of programming takes you a DVD exclusive website where fans can download commentaries from Nathan etc.

Simon | September 06, 14:31 CET

Aaahhh Morena Baccarin. I just love her and Jewel!

Apocalypse | September 06, 15:35 CET

Interesting idea Simon. Do you know of any other DVD's that this has been done for? Or is this idea your own?

brob1 | September 06, 16:04 CET

I was inspired by SciFi.com putting up Ron Moore's commentaries for certain episodes of Battlestar Galactica. I don't think its been done for any movie DVDs, well not that I can think of.

Simon | September 06, 16:07 CET

I suspect they'll record cast commentary soon. I also suspect the viral marketing clips may also emerge on the DVD (you could think that was the original purpose for them).

gossi | September 06, 16:20 CET

Boo, Joss had said he was trying to get them all together to do a commentary as well :(
ETA: I hope you're right Gossi.

[ edited by Paul_Rocks on 2005-09-06 14:25 ]

Paul_Rocks | September 06, 16:24 CET

Very nice. I wonder what it would take to get Jewel to reveal Inara's secret? I guess I wouldn't want to know as long as there's a possibility of sequels. I second the Booo. Hisss. over the lack of cast commentary. Why not have two: one Joss only and one with the kiddies?

Minear, in the comment of Out of Gas, says that the scene between Simon and Inara (when he begins to explain her what suffocation entails) contains an hint to Inara's secret...

To me, the hint is the sentence "I don't want to die at all" (Inara says it with a *very peculiar* movement of the eyes).

[ edited by Le Comité on 2005-09-06 14:41 ]

Le Comité | September 06, 16:41 CET

Speaking of Simon and Inara, I can't be the only person who forsaw a future relationship there can I?

Apocalypse | September 06, 17:02 CET

No you're not the only one, I saw it too.

Simon | September 06, 17:09 CET

You are definetly not the only person Apocalypse. They had a lot of scenes together and a relationship was forming there. Yes, Le Comite, I remember him saying that. There is a scene similiar to that in the pilot. When Inara is talking to her client about where she grew up, the man says: "I can't imagine ever leaving." On this, Inara looks off to the side and you can tell there's something she's not saying.

MySerenity | September 06, 17:37 CET

I saw that too. That would make things very interesting between the two couples involved.

electricspacegirl | September 06, 17:57 CET

Morena doesn’t care for the “I’ll be in my bunk” line being tossed at her all the time.

Haha! That's funny that people say that to her.

electricspacegirl | September 06, 18:09 CET

Inara has a secret or three about why she left (before arriving at Serenity). I know this, because joss says so in the Visual Companion interview :)

gossi | September 06, 18:09 CET

I don't blame her, ESG, that would freak me out!

MySerenity | September 06, 18:20 CET

Me too MySerenity. The visual connetations of that just....are wrong.

I wonder if Joss and Tim were planning to put them together at any time. It most certainly would be interesting what with Mal being the captain of the ship, yet not really with Inara, therefore has no real right in terms of Mal/Inara's relationship, to hate Simon. And Kaylee and Inara got on really well, their relationship would be very damaged. On a small ship like that, everyone would be affected by a big bust up like that; Jayne who I felt always had a secret thing for Kaylee (and possibly Simon ;) ) would have even more reason to hate/love Simon. Kaylee and River's friendship would be damaged as well, and I'm sure Book, Wash and Zoe would be caught up in the crossfire at several points.

It's fun to speculate :)

Apocalypse | September 06, 18:42 CET

Whatever might (or might not) be going on between Inara and Simon, Inara has a very strong phobia of emotional entanglements, which is (probably) strong enough to override anything that might actually start happening between her and Simon. (Not that Simon is aware enough to pick up on any of this.)

I strongly suspect that Inara's reason for leaving (wherever it was) was due to such an entanglement, and her attraction to Mal is very clearly at the root of her intent to leave Serenity. In Heart of Gold especially, a lot of that subtext rapidly becomes text.

Apocalypse is right; any such development would be a brutal piece of plot development. Not to say that Joss would shy away from it, but it would be a lot more explosive than any prevous Jossverse love triangles (Angel-Buffy-Xander, or Xander-Willow-Cordy, or Willow-Oz-Veruca, or Angel-Cordy-Groo, or Angel-Cordy-Connor, or Gunn-Fred-Wesley). In such a closed environment as Serenity, it's hard to see how a crew would hold together.

(edited because you can't keep track of the Jossverse love triangles without a scorecard)

[ edited by MissKittysMom on 2005-09-06 17:51 ]

MissKittysMom | September 06, 19:45 CET

Fun comments, but dangerously close to shipping, I fear. One of the things I enjoy about being a Browncoat, as opposed to when I'm wearing my Buffverse fan hat, is the relative lack of shipping. IMO, shipping is something that is done via boats!

Anyhow, re: commentaries. My hunch is that they'll eventually be two DVDs, the first will be standard with a commentary by Joss. Then they'll be a deluxe extended edition, LOTR style, with at least one or two new commentaries in addition to Joss's, plus an extended edition, plus more "making of", the viral clips, etc.

[ edited by bobster on 2005-09-06 19:23 ]

bobster | September 06, 21:20 CET

No extended edition of Serenity, I'm afraid - Joss doesn't want to do one. He believes the best version of the Serenity is the cut you see at the theatre (and I agree).

I do know they've shot a very long film about the fans for the DVD release.

With regards to shipping - quite honestly, Firefly wasn't on the air long enough to have that sort of thing. I love it when people say 'I like the fact XXX typical joss thing didn't happen in Firefly'... That's because it was canceled ;) Of course, Serenity is there to fill it back up over time. Although slow burn/slow pay off storylines likely sink faster than a dead toad in motion pictures.

gossi | September 06, 22:08 CET

Jewel regrets a compost video that is still used in schools in canada, that she did as a young girl. She sings a rap with an animated worm.

Oh come on now, that's no cause for regret! How many people ever do work that enjoys such longevity?

Jack Gladney | September 06, 22:16 CET

So shipping is a bad thing? I've always considered shipping to be when you root for a certain pairing, it's just some shippers that go a little overboard with the shipper wars and character hatred, etc. So I've been wrong all this time?

electricspacegirl | September 06, 22:23 CET

I don't think shipping is a bad thing, but I prefer to leave it to UPS. I think Jewel's compost video should be on the DVD, though.

jaynelovesvera | September 06, 23:08 CET

I wouldn't really consider myself a Simon/Inara shipper, it was pure speculation on my part as to what I interpreted on screen. I'm not really much of a shipper person...ok so maybe Simon/Jayne...but thats it ok!

I'll be in my bunk

(Im so shamefully sorry for saying that, but I could not resist. Morena I apoligise profousely and with much worshipping and grovelling!)

Apocalypse | September 06, 23:18 CET

You'll be in Morena's bunk?! ;)

I have to admit, when I was in HMV in Scotland at the cast signing, I was stood next to Morena's husband by the cast. A few people were visually flirting with Morena -- as in, going all fan boy (and girl) - gotta be a non-jealous type to deal with that.

gossi | September 06, 23:30 CET

Morena's bunk! What are you suggesting! I'm not Simon you know! (the character, not our mod!)

The "I'll be in my bunk" line was a little play on Morena saying she didnt like it when people kept on throwing the line at her. Of course I was wasn't actually throwing the line at her specifically, but I'm just a pun whore i'm afraid.

Thats the last time I call myself 'whore'. Yep, never again.

(Two 'Firefly' quotes in one thread! Im on a roll today :) )

Apocalypse | September 06, 23:45 CET

sink faster than a dead toad in motion pictures.

Actually, dead toads would float. (I am so very, very sorry.)

Anyway, back on off-topic. Shipping is about wanting a relationship to happen. By far, the best thing to do is to leave the shippers on the edge of their.... seat? bunk?

What works best for storytelling is romantic/sexual tension that doesn't get relieved. That's why Riley was so boring. B/A was all about crashing. B/S was all about "ooooh, don't go there." Fred and Gunn got boring because there wasn't any tension. Wash and Zoe.... I'm not sure yet, but maybe the point is to have something stable inside Serenity.

But triangles are inherently unstable and messy, which may be why Joss is so good at crreating them. A Mal-Inara-Simon triangle is so juicy it sort of splatters the walls. (And to be clear, I really wouldn't want to see that happen.)

MissKittysMom | September 06, 23:49 CET

Lets be clear...its emotional turmoil splattering the walls right? ;)!

Apocalypse | September 06, 23:55 CET

The tension in the Zoe/Wash relationship was Zoe's relationship with Mal to start with, then there was the tension that Saffron brought in about the concept of a "good" wife, and at the end there was disagreement about having a baby. So the tension for Zoe and Wash wasn't will they get together, but can they keep things working in the face of jealousy, cultural expectations, and the different desires of the participants...kinda like most normal relationships. I'm sure they would have explored most things married couples face and then some if the series had continued.

...So is shipping just liking certain combinations for couples, or concentrating on that particular coupling to the point where it becames more important than the show itself? I'm new to this stuff, and don't think I am a shipper of pretty much any kind, but am curious to know if there is an actual definition.

[ edited by newcj on 2005-09-06 22:20 ]

newcj | September 07, 00:15 CET

Lets be clear...its emotional turmoil splattering the walls right? ;)!

Well, when Inara uses Ah-ha!'s blood to write on the wall, "Was it good for you, too?" I'll let you know.

MissKittysMom | September 07, 00:17 CET

I knew the power of Ah-Ha's music was great, even titanic with epic proportions, but how did Inara manage to get hold of some of the bands blood 500 years in the future?

The Mystery deepens...

:)

Apocalypse | September 07, 00:26 CET

This is a serious question showcasing my naivete. Almost every guy I know will admit to a lecherous fascination at the notion of two women bunking together, yet none of the women I deal with offline has ever expressed a similar fascination with male/male bunkmates. Here on Whedonesque and other sites such fascination is frequently apparent, so here's the question:
ladies, what percentage of the general female population do you think is actually in to male/male bunking?

jaynelovesvera | September 07, 00:46 CET

Honestly JLV, I had never been aware of any women being into male/male eroticism until I ran across certain sites connected with Buffy/Angel and noticed a passing mention before that on Will and Grace. Admittedly, I am probably not a good judge since it seems that I have spent much more of my attention trying to understand men than I have trying to understand women. (An indication I guess of my own interests. ;-) )

I did spend much of my youth in the company of gay men. One in particular liked to give me complete discriptions of his amorous encounters. I found it all rather facinating, but never a turn-on. I don't think it ever occured to me that other women might find it...stimulating, so I never asked any of my friends. Thinking about it, my straight friends are not the type to volunteer that kind of information without being asked, and my gay women friends have never indicated anything about it.

That probably does not help, but now you have me wondering. I am going to a thing next month where there are discussions about all kinds of things including sexuality, I may bring up the question...carefully.

newcj | September 07, 01:40 CET

newcj, thanks for the response.

jaynelovesvera | September 07, 05:03 CET

Deleted double post. I'm an idiot.

[ edited by jaynelovesvera on 2005-09-07 03:06 ]

jaynelovesvera | September 07, 05:05 CET

jaynelovesvera, I'd also speculate that a lot simply don't know they are. Most women don't have porn targeted towards them, and also don't tend to have such casual exposure to it as men do. Which is probably why when they do it becomes more apparent.

yourlibrarian | September 07, 06:34 CET

Simon, I went to Dragon*Con. Nice to see recaps popping up. :)

Lunakitty | September 07, 09:09 CET

I was at Dragon*Con as well ... I have to admit that I didn't do any of the Serenity stuff ... what a zoo ... but I did sit in on some of the Angel/Buffy Trak and saw Mercedes McNab a couple of times ... I had a good time.

resa | September 08, 05:51 CET

September 06 2005