Overview[]
The year is 2517 and humanity has left the cradle of Earth-That-Was, scattered across the stars on hundreds of terraformed worlds. Some worlds are high-tech wonderlands ... while others are barren wastelands where the inhabitants struggle to scrape out a marginal living.
On the dilapidated Firefly-Class freighter transport Serenity, its motley crew labors to make a living on the fringes of galactic civilization on this new frontier. They'll do any job, both legal and not-so-legal to put food on the table and some fuel in the tank.
They weren't looking for trouble. But it seems that trouble has found them when they take on a passenger who is being hunted by the new totalitarian Alliance regime. Declared criminals by virtue of being in the wrong place in the wrong time, this motley crew has decided that if that's the case ... it's time to be outlaws and start looking for some trouble.
Firefly was a short-lived American produced sci-fi space western TV series starring Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, and Ron Glass.
It garnered a small but loyal fan base during its brief run and is considered the breakout series for Nathan Fillion and Summer Glau. Despite its poor ratings that led to its cancellation, critics did point out that the series suffered from poor network support from the Fox Network which often preempted the show and showed the episodes out of production order which led to much confusion in the overarching backstory of the series. Firefly did have a cult following which led to its expansion into the comic book and RPG media and a sequel movie, Serenity which continued the adventures of renegade Captain Mal Reynolds and his motley crew.
Notable Characters[]
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Owner and Captain of the ramshackle freighter Serenity. Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds is one of the few survivors of the 'Battle of Serenity Valley' which was the turning point of the Unification War against the Alliance and saw the bloody massacre of his entire platoon and soon afterwards, the complete surrender of the Independent Worlds. He has flexible ethics, a long standing grudge against the Alliance, as well as a fierce loyalty to his crew. He was portrayed by Nathan Fillion. |
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The tough uncompromising First Officer of the Serenity. She was a volunteer in the Unification War and served under Malcolm Reynolds at the 'Battle of Serenity Valley' and continues to maintain unwavering faith in her commanding officer. She later married Hoban Washburne, the pilot of Serenity. She was portrayed by Gina Torres. |
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The laid back pilot of the Serenity and the husband of its first mate, Zoe. He prefers to be referred to as "Wash" and sometimes finds himself jealous over the close platonic friendship between his wife and his captain. He was portrayed by Alan Tudyk. |
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A high-class and fully licensed Companion who function as elite courtesans in the Alliance. She leases one of the Serenity's shuttles and has more than a passing attraction to Malcolm Reynolds who shares it; but even though the rugged captain likes her as a person, he is also more than a little contemptuous of her "profession". She was portrayed by Morena Baccarin. |
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The unofficial security officer of the Serenity; he is also their muscle, wielding an impressive array of firepower. A former mercenary, he often portrays himself as a blunt brute who has little in the way of scruples, morals, or loyalties to his shipmates; but secretly holds a soft spot for Kaylee Frye. He was portrayed by Adam Baldwin. |
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Completely untrained, Kaylee Frye is also the unacknowledged mechanical genius aboard Serenity; somehow keeping the decrepit freighter flightworthy ... most of the time. Armed with a sweet and positive attitude, she adores the crew (almost as much as she does the Serenity) and is fiercely protected by them in return. She was portrayed by Jewel Staite. |
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Born to a wealthy, well-to-do family in the Alliance; Simon was educated as a doctor only to give up his career, wealth, and family to save his sister, River and found himself a fugitive hiding on the backwater outskirts of the fringe worlds where he finds some measure of shelter as the Serenity's doctor. He was portrayed by Sean Maher. |
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The younger sister of Simon Tam; she was a brilliant prodigy who was sent to the best school in the Alliance when she was just 14. Unknown to the family however, the school was actually a secret Alliance training facility that performed torturous experiments upon her and others in an attempt to create perfect assassins. Discovering her condition, Simon was able to liberate her and the pair fled the Core Worlds; branded as fugitives. Although sweet and kind most of the time, River often makes strange and cryptic comments and also suffers extreme mental outbreaks where she becomes insanely violent and incredibly dangerous. In addition, the Alliance's experiments performed on her appear to have "unlocked" some undefined psychic powers in her; gifting her with precognitive, empathic, and telepathic attributes. She is also an incredibly proficient and deadly fighter in hand to hand combat and weapons. She was portrayed by Summer Glau who garnered considerable praise for her performance in this role and would go on to earn several awards in the sequel film, Serenity. |
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A Christian Missionary Preacher or "Shepherd" with a mysterious and dark past. He books passage aboard the Serenity where he finds himself a hapless bystander and branded a criminal by the Alliance. He now offers spiritual advice and counsel to its various passengers while hiding from his own demons. He was portrayed by the late Ron Glass. |
For more Firefly characters click on the link below:
Plot Summary[]
Season 1[]
It is six years after the Unification War that rocked the entire 'Verse and left the tyrannical Alliance as the supreme government after crushing the Independent Worlds in a brutal civil war. Malcolm Reynolds is one of those Independents who fought for his home and for his freedoms ... and lost. Now, effectively exiled on the savage frontier, he struggles to eke out a living and keep his ship, the dilapidated Firefly-Class freighter Serenity fueled and flying.
On a routine stop, he and his crew take on a bunch of passengers for a quick run only to discover that they are being tracked by Alliance forces. Mal finds out that one of his passengers is Simon Tam, a fugitive whose "crime" is that he rescued his beloved sibling; River from inhumane experiments being conducted on her to transform River into a super-soldier assassin. In a struggle to bring Simon in however, another passenger who is actually an undercover Alliance agent wounds Kaylee Frye and Simon barters that he will save Frye's life if Reynolds protects them.
In sheltering the Tams however, the crew of the Serenity are subsequently declared wanted criminals as well ... including their passengers who now find themselves bound together whether they like it or not. Their new status as fugitives now force the crew to take on much more dangerous and sometimes unethical missions to get pay or vital supplies that they need to keep the ship running. It will take a lot of grit and ingenuity, good ol' fashioned guts, and a whole lotta firepower for the crew of the Serenity to get by... but they'll do the job to keep on flying... no matter who or what stands in their way.
Episode Guide[]
Season 1[]
# | ![]() |
Episode Title | Air Date |
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1.01 | ![]() |
Serenity |
20 Dec 2002 |
1.02 | ![]() |
The Train Job |
20 Sep 2002 |
1.03 | ![]() |
Bushwhacked |
27 Sep 2002 |
1.04 | ![]() |
Shindig |
01 Nov 2002 |
1.05 | ![]() |
Safe |
08 Nov 2002 |
1.06 | ![]() |
Our Mrs. Reynolds |
04 Oct 2002 |
1.07 | ![]() |
Jaynestown |
18 Oct 2002 |
1.08 | ![]() |
Out of Gas |
25 Oct 2002 |
1.09 | ![]() |
Ariel |
15 Nov 2002 |
1.10 | ![]() |
War Stories |
DD MMM YYYY |
1.11 | ![]() |
Trash |
DD MMM YYYY |
1.12 | ![]() |
The Message |
28 Jul 2003 |
1.13 | ![]() |
Heart of Gold |
03 Aug 2003 |
1.14 | ![]() |
Objects in Space |
13 Dec 2002 |