Theres a small moment in the first episode. Captain Malcolm Reynolds, in the heat of battle during the ill-fated war between the independents and the Alliance planets, kisses the cross he wears on a chain around his neck. In a later scene, set years afterwards, Shepard Book asks if the Captain would mind him saying Grace. Only if you say it out loud, replies the Captain. Wait, what? Did I miss something? The Captain lost his religion somewhere between the two scenes, presumably when he lost the war and his youthful idealism along with it. Now, how would that be handled on most shows? A character would have filled in the gap. Zoe might have said to Shepard Book: The Captain dont care much for religion, not since the war, for example. But showrunner Joss Whedon trusts that a subtle implication is enough for the viewer. Less truly is more, in this case. After years of being talked down to by writers, this was so refreshing. Its a fine line, of course, between trusting your audience to keep track of whats going on and expecting them to obsessively follow every detail of the shows universe. If a character from an earlier episode reappears, yes, you should include details of what happened when you first met them. But do so organically and without making it seem forced. Give your audience a little credit. Most of them are watching the show because they like it and they care about the characters and the universe; they dont need every single detail filled in for them and they dont need to be led hand-in-hand through the episodes. The audience should not be the writers enemy; it should be a resource. Let them do a little of the work, instead of treating them as subnormal kids who need to see female flesh or an explosion every 5 minutes or theyll change the channel. Having said that, and I hate to admit it, but Fireflys failure to pander in this way might actually have had something to do with why it got cancelled.
Laurence Gardner was born in Canterbury, England. After moving around various cities during his childhood, and spending some time travelling in Europe and America, he studied English Literature at Oxford University. Since then, he’s been living abroad, teaching English, learning a range of languages, and writing in his free time. He can currently be found in Heidelberg, working as an English Tutor and Translator and studying at the University. If you liked this article, follow him on Twitter to get automatic updates on his work.
Theres a small moment in the first episode. Captain Malcolm Reynolds, in the heat of battle during the ill-fated war between the independents and the Alliance planets, kisses the cross he wears on a chain around his neck. In a later scene, set years afterwards, Shepard Book asks if the Captain would mind him saying Grace. Only if you say it out loud, replies the Captain. Wait, what? Did I miss something? The Captain lost his religion somewhere between the two scenes, presumably when he lost the war and his youthful idealism along with it. Now, how would that be handled on most shows? A character would have filled in the gap. Zoe might have said to Shepard Book: The Captain dont care much for religion, not since the war, for example. But showrunner Joss Whedon trusts that a subtle implication is enough for the viewer. Less truly is more, in this case. 