Analysis of TV Series - Movie Review Example

Name Course Professor Date Introduction The show starts with River hearing the conversations of each member of the crew in turn. This reveals the extent of her instinct for the first time in the TV series. This also uncovers some inner feelings and thoughtsof the crew. The unique grace of Summer Glau is used fully in this series. Glau’s physicality stresses on the relationship that exists between the ship and herself. As per Whedon’s comments, this link between the character and her environment is very important in showing identity. This is indeed an interesting portion to watch at the proceedings’ end as two of the most enigmatic and compelling characters of Firefly, Serenity, and River, literally joining. As Early gets into the ship and starts his search, he handles each member of the crew in turn. His techniques with each member show a little information about the recipient. Consequently, Early takes Book and Mal out first, Jayne and Wash locked in their cabins, Kaylee intimidated, as he reasoned with Simon. The villain of the episode is an establishment of a genius. The monologues of Early supplement the largely quiet intuitiveness of River on the vessel. This provides a ship with great ideas that the audience would like to get. This paper will highlight the central roles of Early and River of being the Villain and hero respectively. Through these roles, they bring out the message that men need women more than women need men. Plot Outline A shot of Serenity that flies by a planet opens the show. After it flies by a planet, it zooms into the ship. It passes through the ship and end on River. River lies on bed as she listens to voices that are not quite audible. At this point, she arises. She then takes a walk through the corridors and rooms in the ship. She encounters her shipmates and has various conversations with each of them. Simon on the other hand is relaxing in the common room with Kaylee. He is telling her a humorous story about medical school. Suddenly, River spots them gazing at her. Simon is telling her that he had the possibility of being there “right now.” This implies that it was her responsibility to take Simon away from his thriving medical career. From here, she finds Shepherd Book and Jayne in the Kitchen. Here, she hears Jayne repeating his confession to Mal. The confession is about disposing of the Tams on Ariel. This paper analyses this narrative with the argument that Early and River does their roles well enough, as the main characters, bringing on board the roles of the other characters as well as the theme of the series. River goes on to wander around the ship. The sound of strong ocean waves moves River as he sees Wash and Zoe, perched on a nearby bridge, passionately kissing each other. Mal and Inara are discussing above the cargo bay. They are discussing her looming departure. River spots their unspoken disturbance over their relationship, which is not yet realized. Amazingly, none of the shipmates she sees is aware that she is present. They are only aware when they speak directly to her. This makes it clear that that it the mind of River that we are witnessing as she walks telepathically through the vessel. Running away from the intense emotions, she runs down and gets into the cargo bay that was unoccupied. There, she sees a tree branch. She spots herself on the ground strewn with leaves. She picks up the very branch and tells herself, that the branch is “just an object.” She went to tell herself that the object does not mean what one thinks. The real world suddenly returns. Here she realizes that she has one of the pistols belonging to Jayne in her hands. The crew on the other hand surrounds her, yet in panic. The crowd tries to get her to hand over the weapon. Mal manages to take the gun from her. After taking, Mal realizes that the gun is loaded. It is ready to fire. Mal then admonishes her for carrying loaded weapons. Here, she runs off, crying. As Mal is commenting the way they are a lone, the camera cuts and shifts to a small vessel. This closes the Serenity. Meanwhile, the crew deliberates on the dangers of the presence of River on the ship. Zoe ponders whether River has ever had an experience with a gun. In response, Kaylee grudgingly tells everyone in the crew about River’s experience. Kaylee says that they had an assault on AdeleiNiska’sSkyPlex during which she had no ability to return fire while River easily murdered three assaulters with single shots made with eyes closed. The crew starts to guess that there is a possibility of River being a reader with psychic powers. Despite the fact that Simon objects this speculation, they start questioning whether River is a danger to the crew. As the crew talks, River is listening to them outside the hull of Serenity. River, the bounty being hunted, is below the room, having left his ship, and tapping into the hull. She listens through the plating of the floor. River boards Serenity when she realizes that the crew has gone to sleep. On boarding the Serenity, his first encounter is Mal. Quickly, he knocks him hard. Mal becomes unconscious. River drops him into the cabin. For the rest of the crew, who were sleeping, he locks them in their cabins. In the engine room, River surprises Kaylee. He ties her up. Then he threatens that if she does not cooperate, he would rape her. His next target was Book. He disables her with a surprise attack. When he hears a noise, Simon rushes to check on her sister. On his way, a stranger, who calls him by name, attacks him. On the other hand, Jubal Early, the bounty hunter waxes philosophically on the way things were unfolding. He wants to know the whereabouts of River. Despite the fact that Simon does not help Early at the beginning, he threatens to not only kill him but also rape Kaylee. The doctor has no otherwise. He reluctantly agrees. With Simon’s company, Early combs the shuttles and cargo bay. He does so while commenting on the state of “objects in space.” when Inara makes an effort to plead to emotional side of Early, he slaps her across her face. He then locks Inara in her shuttle. Finally, the two men arrive on the bridge. On the bridge, Early arrives at a direct threat. He announces loudly to the ship that if River does not show up, he was going to kill Simon. Over the intercom of the ship, River responds. She tells Early about the way she was not wanted by the crew. She had no possibility of bringing herself to leave. In this case, she “melted away” and becomes part of Serenity. The voice of River comes over the intercom in the engine room. She reassures Kaylee and asks her for help. At the same time, Early, on the bridge, is openly skeptical regarding River’s claim. This reveals the weird knowledge of the weakness of the bounty hunter. At this point, Early slowly starts to believe in the possibility that River is part of the crew in the vessel. While this is taking place, River sends Kaylee to unlock the cabins. Kaylee had freed herself. Zoe starts to set up an assault. However, River insists on the use of no guns. She instead tells Mal of another plan. On the bridge the conversation of River with Early continues. River is needling him about his past and his aggressive tendencies. Early finally discovers that River is not party to Serenity. She only managed to sneak and gets onto his ship. This puts him on the defensive side. River, however, reassures him that she will accompany him as his bounty. This is because her shipmates were a burden to her. If Riverleaves the ship, she will give the shipmates the chance of getting on with their lives. Simon makes an effort of stopping Early as he starts to leave. He is however, shot in the leg in the process. Meanwhile, Jayne wakes up. He pulls the curtain off, exposing his weapons compartment. He uses the curtain as a blanket only to return to sleep. The bounty hunter leaves Simon in the cockpit and makes his way back to the ship. Outside the ship, he finds Mal. Mal is waiting in ambush. He shoves Early off. He then welcomes River back to Serenity. Later, in the sickbay, Simon directs Zoe as she takes out the bullet from his injured leg. Inara on the other hand, who is outside, walks away from Mal. He tries to scrutinize her cut lip. Meanwhile, Jayne, in the cargo bay, mocks the failure of Book to defeat Early. At this point, Book replies that he had a fight with Early but only gave up after a lengthy fight. River and Kaylee play jacks as Kaylee relates a spicy anecdote from the past. River holds and scrutinizes the bouncing ball, looking at its swirling surface, which is multicolored. This ball flashes back to the multicolored planet that Serenity flies by as seen in the opening shot. Here, the camera comes down through and moves out of the ship. It shows Serenity flying off into space. As the show ends, Jubal Early is tumbling powerlessly through space. The show starts with River hearing the conversations of each member of the crew in turn. This reveals the extent of her instinct for the first time in the TV series. This also uncovers some inner feelings and thoughtsof the crew. The unique grace of Summer Glau is used fully in this series. Glau’s physicality stresses on the relationship that exists between the ship and herself. As per Whedon’s comments, this link between the character and her environment is very important in showing identity. This is indeed an interesting portion to watch at the proceedings’ end as two of the most enigmatic and compelling characters of Firefly, Serenity and River, literally joining together. As Early gets into the ship and starts his search, he handles each member of the crew in turn. His techniques with each member show a little information about the recipient. Consequently, Early takes Book and Mal out first, Jayne and Wash locked in their cabins, Kaylee intimidated, as he reasoned with Simon. The villain of the episode is an establishment of a genius. The monologues of Early supplement the largely quiet intuitiveness of River on the vessel. This provides a ship with great ideas that the audience would like to get. Both River and Early are outsiders of the crew. This comes out clearly when they both listen to conversations below or above the meeting place of the ship. Despite the fact that this show places River in a clear contrast to Operative in Serenity or Mal, she is compared here to the enemy. Both River and the enemy are destroyed by some past traumatic experience. This trauma has increased their sense of matter, space and truth of those found around them. The dialogue of the series is not so precise, beautiful and considered. This is because of the unique writing style of Whedon as well as his understanding of the themes of the episode. The reason why fans loved Firefly deeply was because the show felt real to them. This means that the planet was lived in, the characters war-torn, and the sets slightly tatty. It is therefore, clear that the role played by Early and River is the pillar of the episode. Proppian Analysis According to Proppian analysis characters have a narrative role or function. This function is that of providing a structure for a narrative. Propp gives a description of different types of characters as well as their respective functions. This description makes Proppian analysis suitable for the analysis of the Firefly TV series episode IV. This is because the types of characters described by Propp can be traced in the episode. Consequently, there is the hero in the episode. Propp defines a hero as a character that looks for something. In this case, the hero is Jubal Early. He is looking for River. Early then boards Serenity. He does this when he realizes that the crew has gone to sleep. On boarding the Serenity, his first encounter is Mal. Quickly, he knocks him hard. Mal becomes unconscious. Early drops him into the cabin. For the rest of the crew, who were sleeping, he locks them in their cabins. In the engine room, Early surprises Kaylee. He ties her up. Then he threatens that if she does not cooperate, he would rape her. His next target was Book. He disables her with a surprise attack. When he hears a noise, Simon rushes to check on her sister. On his way, a stranger, who calls him by name, attacks him. On the other hand, Jubal Early, the bounty hunter waxes philosophically on the way things were unfolding. He wants to know the whereabouts of River (Barnes, 1970, p 30). Despite the fact that Simon does not help Early at the beginning, he threatens to not only kill him but also rape Kaylee. The doctor has no otherwise. He reluctantly agrees. With Simon’s company, Early combs the shuttles and cargo bay. He does so while commenting on the state of “objects in space.” when Inara makes an effort to plead to emotional side of Early, he slaps her across her face. He then locks Inara in her shuttle. Finally, the two men arrive on the bridge. On the bridge, Early arrives at a direct threat. He announces loudly to the ship that if River does not show up, he was going to kill Simon. There is also the Villain in the episode. According to Propp, Villain is a character who actively blocks or opposes the quest of the hero. In this case, it is River. The episode clearly shows the different tactics and antics that River employed to make sure that she stops Early. Over the intercom of the ship, River responds. She tells Early about the way she was not wanted by the crew. She had no possibility of bringing herself to leave. In this case, she “melted away” and becomes part of Serenity. The voice of River comes over the intercom in the engine room. She reassures Kaylee and asks her for help. At the same time, Early, on the bridge, is openly skeptical regarding River’s claim. This reveals the weird knowledge of the weakness of the bounty hunter. At this point, Early slowly starts to believe in the possibility that River is part of the crew in the vessel. While this is taking place, River sends Kaylee to unlock the cabins. Kaylee had freed herself. Zoe starts to set up an assault. However, River insists on the use of no guns. She instead tells Mal of another plan (Hale, 2006, p 16). On the bridge the conversation of River with Early continues. River is needling him about his past and his aggressive tendencies. Early finally discovers that River is not party to Serenity. She only managed to sneak and gets onto his ship. This puts him on the defensive side. River, however, reassures him that she will accompany him as his bounty. This is because her shipmates were a burden to her. If River leaves the ship, she will give the shipmates the chance of getting on with their lives. Simon makes an effort of stopping Early as he starts to leave. He is however, shot in the leg in the process. Meanwhile, Jayne wakes up. He pulls the curtain off, exposing his weapons compartment. He uses the curtain as a blanket only to return to sleep. The bounty hunter leaves Simon in the cockpit and makes his way back to the ship. Outside the ship, he finds Mal. Mal is waiting in ambush. He shoves Early off. He then welcomes River back to Serenity (Barnes, 1970, p 32). The dispatcher, according to Propp is the person who sends the hero on his/her mission through a message. This can be seen in the opening of the episode where A shot of Serenity that flies by a planet opens the show. After it flies by a planet, it zooms into the ship. It passes through the ship and end on River. This is the dispatcher delivering the message to River. River lies on bed as she listens to voices that are not quite audible. At this point, she arises. She then takes a walk through the corridors and rooms in the ship. She encounters her shipmates and has various conversations with each of them. Simon on the other hand is relaxing in the common room with Kaylee. He is telling her a humorous story about medical school. Suddenly, River spots them gazing at her. Simon is telling her that he had the possibility of being there “right now.” This implies that it was her responsibility to take Simon away from his thriving medical career. From here, she finds Shepherd Book and Jayne in the Kitchen. Here, she hears Jayne repeating his confession to Mal. The confession is about disposing of the Tams on Ariel. This paper analyses this narrative with the argument that Early and River does their roles well enough, as the main characters, bringing on board the roles of the other characters as well as the theme of the series (Hale, 2006, p 16). River goes on to wander around the ship. The sound of strong ocean waves moves River as he sees Wash and Zoe, perched on a nearby bridge, passionately kissing each other. Mal and Inara are discussing above the cargo bay. They are discussing her looming departure. River spots their unspoken disturbance over their relationship, which is not yet realized. Amazingly, none of the shipmates she sees is aware that she is present. They are only aware when they speak directly to her. This makes it clear that that it the mind of River that we are witnessing as she walks telepathically through the vessel (Sheppard, 1986, p 24). Kaylee is the false hero in this case. Propp defines a false hero as someone who disrupts the success of the hero by making false claims. It is observed that meanwhile; the crew deliberates on the dangers of the presence of River on the ship. Zoe ponders whether River has ever had an experience with a gun. In response, Kaylee grudgingly tells everyone in the crew about River’s experience. Kaylee says that they had an assault on AdeleiNiska’sSkyPlex during which she had no ability to return fire while River easily murdered three assaulters with single shots made with eyes closed. The crew starts to guess that there is a possibility of River being a reader with psychic powers. Despite the fact that Simon objects this speculation, they start questioning whether River is a danger to the crew. As the crew talks, River is listening to them outside the hull of Serenity. River, the bounty being hunted, is below the room, having left his ship, and tapping into the hull. She listens through the plating of the floor (Barnes, 1970, p 36). Conclusion Both River and Early are outsiders of the crew. This comes out clearly, when they both listen to conversations below or above the meeting place of the ship. Despite the fact that this show places River in a clear contrast to Operative in Serenity or Mal, she is compared here to the enemy. Some past traumatic experience destroy both River and the enemy. This trauma has increased their sense of matter, space, and truth of those found around them. The dialogue of the series is not so precise, beautiful, and considered. This is because of the unique writing style of Whedon as well as his understanding of the themes of the episode. The reason why fans loved Firefly deeply was that the show felt real to them. This means that the planet was lived in, the characters war-torn, and the sets slightly tatty. It is therefore, clear that the role played by Early and River is the pillar of the message of the episode in which men do anything to get women. References: Barnes, D. W.1970, Folktale Morphology and the Structure of Beowulf. Speculum. Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 416-434 Hale, D. J. (2006). The novel: an anthology of criticism and theory 1900-2000. Oxford, Blackwell. Sheppard, R. W. 1986, Unholy Families: The Oedipal Psychopathology off Four Expressionist Ich-Dramen. Orbis Litterarum, 41: 355–383. Read More

Running away from the intense emotions, she runs down and gets into the cargo bay that was unoccupied. There, she sees a tree branch. She spots herself on the ground strewn with leaves. She picks up the very branch and tells herself, that the branch is “just an object.” She went to tell herself that the object does not mean what one thinks. The real world suddenly returns. Here she realizes that she has one of the pistols belonging to Jayne in her hands. The crew on the other hand surrounds her, yet in panic.

The crowd tries to get her to hand over the weapon. Mal manages to take the gun from her. After taking, Mal realizes that the gun is loaded. It is ready to fire. Mal then admonishes her for carrying loaded weapons. Here, she runs off, crying. As Mal is commenting the way they are a lone, the camera cuts and shifts to a small vessel. This closes the Serenity. Meanwhile, the crew deliberates on the dangers of the presence of River on the ship. Zoe ponders whether River has ever had an experience with a gun.

In response, Kaylee grudgingly tells everyone in the crew about River’s experience. Kaylee says that they had an assault on AdeleiNiska’sSkyPlex during which she had no ability to return fire while River easily murdered three assaulters with single shots made with eyes closed. The crew starts to guess that there is a possibility of River being a reader with psychic powers. Despite the fact that Simon objects this speculation, they start questioning whether River is a danger to the crew. As the crew talks, River is listening to them outside the hull of Serenity.

River, the bounty being hunted, is below the room, having left his ship, and tapping into the hull. She listens through the plating of the floor. River boards Serenity when she realizes that the crew has gone to sleep. On boarding the Serenity, his first encounter is Mal. Quickly, he knocks him hard. Mal becomes unconscious. River drops him into the cabin. For the rest of the crew, who were sleeping, he locks them in their cabins. In the engine room, River surprises Kaylee. He ties her up. Then he threatens that if she does not cooperate, he would rape her.

His next target was Book. He disables her with a surprise attack. When he hears a noise, Simon rushes to check on her sister. On his way, a stranger, who calls him by name, attacks him. On the other hand, Jubal Early, the bounty hunter waxes philosophically on the way things were unfolding. He wants to know the whereabouts of River. Despite the fact that Simon does not help Early at the beginning, he threatens to not only kill him but also rape Kaylee. The doctor has no otherwise. He reluctantly agrees.

With Simon’s company, Early combs the shuttles and cargo bay. He does so while commenting on the state of “objects in space.” when Inara makes an effort to plead to emotional side of Early, he slaps her across her face. He then locks Inara in her shuttle. Finally, the two men arrive on the bridge. On the bridge, Early arrives at a direct threat. He announces loudly to the ship that if River does not show up, he was going to kill Simon. Over the intercom of the ship, River responds. She tells Early about the way she was not wanted by the crew.

She had no possibility of bringing herself to leave. In this case, she “melted away” and becomes part of Serenity. The voice of River comes over the intercom in the engine room. She reassures Kaylee and asks her for help. At the same time, Early, on the bridge, is openly skeptical regarding River’s claim. This reveals the weird knowledge of the weakness of the bounty hunter. At this point, Early slowly starts to believe in the possibility that River is part of the crew in the vessel. While this is taking place, River sends Kaylee to unlock the cabins.

Kaylee had freed herself. Zoe starts to set up an assault. However, River insists on the use of no guns. She instead tells Mal of another plan. On the bridge the conversation of River with Early continues.

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