GWC Re-Watch: The Train Job

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#1

It’s week two of the offical GWC Firefly re-watch, and we hope you’ll take some time to drag out your DVDs and check out The Train Job, the episode fed to initial TV viewers as the pilot. It’s a great episode – and includes one of my favorite moments in 'Fly – but still doesn’t do the job of introducing characters that the true pilot does.

But forget that this was the episode that many believe killed the show. It’s not the episode’s fault – it’s the network’s!

Feel free to jump in at any point with your comments on this week’s episode as the re-watch is by definition spoiler free. We’ll be in and out, but like Jayne, we’re definitely in.

#2

"Were there monkeys? Some Terrifying Space Monkeys maybe got loose?

#3

A pretty good episode overall. I had to try, in ways that would not be spoilerish, to get my wife to remember Niska’s name and the basics of the plot of this episode, so that later events in the series would be a bit more meaningful.

We get to see, a little more so than in the pilot, that Mal has a pretty well-defined sense of right and wrong; it simply doesn’t line up well with the Alliance’s sense of legal and illegal.

In the commentary on one of the episodes (I think it’s War Stories), Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk both comment on what a sweet, nice man the actor who plays Niska really is. Boy, he plays menacing really, really well though, doesn’t he?

#4

Huh. I wonder if the similar disconnect a lot of geeks feel (think MAFIAA) is part of the appeal of this series.

#5

I can see why this episode as the first wouldn’t work. I have to say though, it took me about twenty minutes into the Serenity episodes to get grounded in the world.

I liked to see other places in this world and get more into character development. I imagine we’ll see more of the nasty dude in later episodes and I’d like that.

I loved the whole idea of a simple train robbery, out there in space. It was a pretty lo-tech job, which is something else I’m enjoying about the show. Not unlike BSG, when you strip down all the fancy CGI, etc. you have human drama, and this show has it in spades. These people are interesting.

#6

I think this epsiode did a better job setting up some key ongoing relationships better than the Serenity pilot. Mal/Inara begin to show real caring for each other, although still mostly hidden behind their sparring.

This episode also set up the Jayne/Tam arc beautifully, as Simon dopes up Jayne and Jayne believing that Mal would eventually sell out Simon and River.

#7

An interesting point about this episode. With the pilot, Fox felt that the closed off Malcolm Reynolds would alienate some viewers, so as they directed to him, Joss made Mal more “jovial.” However, what Joss had intended was that even though Mal may start emotionally closed off, his character arc would end with him opening up. In a way, this did happen throughout the series, and replayed again in the Serenity movie.

I thought Niska and Crow may have been a little over the top, but I get the feeling Fox may have had a hand in that. Regardless, my two favorite moments with this episode were:

[spoiler]first the bar fight scene on U-day. It would’ve been cool to see a repeat of Mal getting into another fight on U-day in the second season; that is to say if Fox hadn’t canceled the show and replace it with “Tremors the series” or whatever the hell they replaced it with—stupid Fox!

The second part that must be mentioned is Crow getting kicked into the engine. It says a lot about Mal—not the guy you want to frack with. I also like what this moment says about the show. It is not like star trek—love the show as much as the next guy—were everything is pristine, and people are inherently noble, but a more realistic look that says: yeah people are basically bastards and they still are in the future. Even the heroes are bastards in their own way.[/spoiler]

Despite all that I would still rank this episode on the bottom for the series. Not to say it was terrible, but the others are better in my opinion.

EDIT: sorry, I had just recently watched the Dr. Cox rant where he goes off: “people are bastard coated bastards with bastard fillings.”

#8

My least favorite episode of the series, considering the constraints of the writing I figure it was as good as it could be.

If it were done by just about anyone else, most people would have failed, but they didn’t. Pushing massive amounts of back-story in a highly compress fashion. Still I liked it, its a little preachy and on the nose with them stealing the medicine from settlers and than returning it.

Turned the crew a little too black a white for me I would have loved it if the had stolen it figured; hell we just can’t let them all die, killed Nishka and sold his body and the medicine back for next to nothing back to settlers, kind of like just enough fuel to get to the next episode kind of thing. It would have extended the; I do the job I get paid theme, yet showed the line they weren’t willing to cross. We’ll fix this so both sides come out clean. Well cleanish?

But we had thugs sucked into the engine wash, knives in chests, and Jane tripping out, and hell a train heist even at its worse in an almost impossible creative conditions its better than almost anything on now.

Just saying folks at fox were just idiots.
Give Joss 20 million he’ll give a strait to DVD Movie that will make you money and even if it doesn’t maybe a little respect.

Sorry for rant not that they really listen

#9

I agree with others that playing a good old-fashioned train robbery with Sci-Fi is a good thing. Kind of provides a bridge to the new world. And the episode as a whole does a good job of showing Mal and his crew as basically good folk who just happen to not particularly care for local laws.

My only complaint is the general unnecessary-ness of Niska. He was just too cartoony bad and unnecessarily violent. The episode would have been more effective if Badger had given the job to them or perhaps if they would have just referenced Niska being a real bad guy rather than showing it.

Niska strikes me as the kind of bad guy who would act all nice-like to bring in new agents and only start to get violenty on them after they are trapped in his organization. No sense scaring off potential servants too early.

#10

Hey guys, This is my first post- ever

Anyhow, I thought this ep. really showed all of the ‘moving parts’ of the firefly universe. It showed how the characters interacted with one another as well as the jobs/people they face.

One thing that bothers me about this ep. is that the first time I saw saw the actor who plays the sheriff was in ‘payback’. He was a low level crook in that movie and I have a hard time seeing him in any other role. espicially one in which he is one of the good guys/victims.

#11

evenspeed,

best damn avatar ever! my favorite john chrighton moment!

#12

I think it’s a little underrated but it does have the dad from Home Alone.(I guess thats cool)

#13

I think you are confusing

John Heard

with

Gregg Henry

Yes, I have an encylopedic knowledge of Home Alone, it will get me far in life! :smiley:

Seriously, I thought it was an interesting cross-over, so I went to IMDB to check it out. When I brought up John Heard I can totally see how you would have thought he was the Sheriff…those guys could be brothers!

Little useless fact for the day. Enjoy.

#14

I know a lot of people have commented about how this may not be their favorite episode and for some, it’s their least favorite, with too much exposition, but I really enjoy watching this ep, it’s not my favorite, but I like it better than the one following this episode (Bushwacked). It is really best seen AFTER the Serenity pilot, it has a great opening scene that really enforces the idea that it’s a futuristic western, with Mal flying through the hologlass and the grandness of Serenity’s entrance is so great. Also this ep has one of the best lines in the series, when Jayne talks about the Chain of Command.

#15

This is actually my favorite Firefly episode. I don’t think it worked as a pilot but as the second episode of the series it works well.

And for better or for worse, this was the first episode I saw of the show - i watched it when it first premiered and I’ve been hooked ever since. Sure I was a little confused. It’s not like Joss to drop us into the middle of a story without introducing it first - but it was fast, funny and absolutely brilliant and just what I’d come to expect out of Joss.

the part that made me love it was when Mal kicked the guy into the engine. I just wasn’t expecting it. That moment is right up there with the moment in the pilot when Mal shoots Dobson without breaking stride.

#16

… Chuch was hatin’ on no MI in SST and also waxing lovingly on Firefly a few podcasts bac (ya’ I am a bit behind) but one little bit of trivia.

Check out the Alliance troopers armor on the train. Straight from SST’s prop bin.

#17

I was a bit unsure at first whether I could relate to the Western theme, but from what I’ve seen so far, it’s not overplayed and what there is is nicely balancing by the Chinese elements and that all combines to give the series a very distinctive look and feel that I like very much so far.

As far as writing is concerned, the Sheriff guy was a little bit too talkative at the end, I don’t think there was a need for him to say all that about “a man has a choice” etc. - all that was very clear without words.

Now, this is the second time that Jayne was trying to hoodwink Mal - I’m still waiting for his backstory and that of most everybody else - I saw that Zoe was a soldier under Mal, but I don’t think I’ve gotten any explanation whence Wash, Inara, Jayne and Kaylee came. But I’ll keep watching, I think I have time for a couple more episodes tonight.

Oh and of course the evil mafia boss dude just HAD TO HAVE a German accent. sigh

#18

“Out of Gas” is coming up - that will give you the backstories! Glad you’re enjoying it as much as the rest of us!

#19

I always thought of Niska’s accent as Russian.

#20

Yeah, after I heard the accents in Jaynestown, I’m not so sure myself anymore. More Slavic than Germanic after all.