Firefly Marathon #5: Safe

Yep, it's the one with that famous line.

Following the events of the previous episode, Serenity has arrived on a backwater colony with Sir Warwick Harrow's cargo; a herd of cattle. Simon and River are sent to the nearby town, where they get abducted by settlers from a remote village. Meanwhile, Mal's business transaction is disrupted when a posse shows up to arrest their buyers. A gunfight breaks out, during which Shepherd Book is seriously wounded. With Simon missing, he's forced to seek medical aid elsewhere.

Again, this one is a tense one, with Mal forced to seek help from the Alliance to treat Book, and their bureaucratic refusal to do so. Until Book asks them to scan his identity card. Yeah, I'm spoiling it, but it leaves more questions than it answers regarding Book's mysterious past.

This episode also gives Simon and River a day in the limelight. As River wanders off, she finds herself at a maypole dance. She's brought up to the stage, stares at the dancers for a moment as if she's processing what's happening, and is then happily dancing along with them. It's nice to see her enjoy herself (and for Summer Glau to show off her dancing talent). It's also revealed that she's psychic (although this was hinted at in the previous episode when she meets Badger). However, this causes trouble in the village they get taken to when she identifies the cause of a young girl's muteness without speaking to her, prompting them to label her as a witch. This also gives Simon a chance to develop, when he tries to protect her when the villagers decide to have her burned at the stake. He tries to talk them down, actually lays three of the villagers out, and is even willing to be burned with his sister.

To further focus the story on the Tams, the episode is interspersed with flashbacks to Simon and River's childhood, along with the life and career Simon gave up when he broke River out. It also shows his parents were oblivious (or possibly even complicit) to River's experimentation.

It wraps things up nicely, and also establishes Simon as a fully-fledged member of the crew.

Also, that's Zac Efron as a young Simon. Apparently this was his first role.

Firefly Marathon #4: Shindig

Today's episode shifts the tone from horror to costume drama. However, I consider this to be one of my favourite episodes.

The crew returns to Persephone (which they'd previously visited in the pilot episode) to re-supply, when Mal and Jayne are approached by Badger with a special job; a local aristocrat named Sir Warwick Harrow is struggling to obtain permits to move cargo off-world, and refuses to deal with Badger. Mal and Kaylee gain access to a ball which Sir Warwick is attending, and have to try and convince him to hand his cargo over to them. Coincidentally, Inara is attending the same ball with Atherton Wing, another aristocrat and regular customer who wishes to keep her on retainer. He also becomes jealous of Mal, who punches him when he insults Inara. Unfortunately, such an act is regarded as a challenge to a duel. And Atherton is a master duellist. And Badger invades Serenity so the rest of the crew can't intervene. However, the duel also offers an opportunity for Mal to work with Sir Warwick, who wasn't overly fond of Atherton.

This episode provides an excellent "fish out of water" story, while also exploring the...complicated relationship between Mal and Inara. It's suggested that there's meant to be some romantic tension between them, but they want to keep their relationship a professional one. Which means they spend most of the time bickering while Inara gives Mal a fencing lesson.

While our favourite captain and companion are the focus of the episode, we can't forget the rest of the crew. For example, Kaylee attends the ball wearing a frilly pink dress she'd coveted in a shop window earlier. Her attempt to mingle with a group of debutantes fails when they insult her dress, until an older gentleman masterfully insults the debutantes. We then find her at the centre of a group of gentlemen discussing spaceship engines. It's kind of touching, seeing Kaylee being courted for her practical knowledge rather than her looks or social status. Unlike the debutantes whom the gentleman sees as "useless people".

On top of that, you have the crew contemplating their options when Badger holds them hostage. Jayne, who has always treated Simon with hostility, actually seems eager when the doctor suggests taking them by surprise. It also gets one of my favourite laughs of the episode (well, one I can talk about without spoiling all the surprises) when Jayne suggests a diversion.

It's a good episode with a mix of jeopardy and humour, and the payoff is equally fantastic.

Firefly Marathon #3: Bushwhacked

Firefly's going all Ridley Scott on us today.

During some downtime, the crew stumbles across a derelict transport ship and decide to check in search of survivors (and valuables). They rescue a survivor and soon discover that the ship had been attacked by Reavers, feral humans said to have been driven mad by isolation. Unfortunately, they're halted by an Alliance cruiser who board Serenity in search of Simon and River.

This episode really plays up the horror atmosphere as the crew board the deserted ship. People seem to have left quickly, but there are no signs of any struggle and the lifeboat is said to have launched. It gives you a hope spot, but that gets dashed as it's discussed that the lifeboat wouldn't be able to hold everybody. A confined location like a spaceship is a pretty good setting for these kind of stories (which is partly why Alien worked so well). And the fact that there is no clear threat on board the ship plays up the the paranoia.

One thing I like about Firefly is that it doesn't use aliens. As savage and brutal as the Reavers are, it's established that they were once human. It avoids the typical science-fiction cliches while also exploring some of the worst things humans can be capable of. But the Reavers never actually appear. They're mentioned in the pilot episode, and the crew encounters a Reaver ship later on, but they escape. That time they were playing up fears of what the Reavers could do. This time around, we're looking at the aftermath of a Reaver attack, and the psychological effect it has on a survivor.

There is even more tension as the Alliance arrive, as Simon fears that Mal will hand him and River over (but it does surprise you and show how truly loyal Mal is to his crew). However, this does bring about one of the episode's funniest moments as the Alliance officer is interrogating Mal's crew but isn't getting anything useful from them: Inara answers her questions politely, Zoe is curt and belligerent, Wash enthusiastically raves about his marriage to Zoe, Kaylee rants about how Serenity's engines are superior to those of the Alliance ships, Jayne stares menacingly, and Book is vague.

If horror isn't your thing, this probably won't be your favourite episode. But it's still a good one.

Firefly Marathon #2: The Train Job

As I said yesterday, Fox weren't too happy about Firefly's original pilot episode, so we have a more action-packed one today.

Mal's crew is hired by a ruthless crime boss named Adelei Niska to steal a consignment of Alliance goods off a moving train. Eager to steal from the Alliance, Mal takes the job. Travelling as a passenger with Zoe, they break in to the baggage car and open the roof, allowing the goods to be airlifted out on Serenity. Unfortunately, they're surprised by an Alliance soldier who triggers a smoke trap. Jayne is wounded in the scuffle, while Mal and Zoe are left behind. While being detained at the station, they learn that the cargo they had stolen is actually a supply of medicine used to treat a degenerative disease which afflicts most of the townspeople.

Because this was written as another pilot episode, we're introduced to most of the main cast again. Instead of a battle scene, we open with Mal, Zoe, and Jayne sitting in a bar when another patron calls a toast to celebrate the anniversary of the end of the civil war between the Alliance and the Independants. Mal, who had fought for the Independants, goes to get another drink when the patron confronts him for his brown coat (a symbol of the Independants) and not joining in the toast. Mal cheerfully baits him, allowing his old war buddy Zoe to get the drop on the belligerent drunk. When the other patrons begin to stand, Jayne, who hadn't fought in the war, puts his feet up and wishes them look. And is later seen joining the fight for the fun of it.

One major difference is that they make Mal slightly more moral in this episode. Mal was quite ruthless in the previous one, threatening to kill Simon if he didn't treat Kaylee, and even planning on leaving him and River on Whitefall. Although he did eventually let them stay on board Serenity, realising that the crew could use a medic. That said, he gets his ruthless moments in this episode too; after learning about the cargo, Mal decides to return it to the local sheriff, but they're met by Niska's henchman, Crow. A shootout ensues in the cargo hold, and Crow is subdued. Mal gives him back the advance payment, and tells him to return it to Niska. When Crow threatens his life, Mal simply says "Darn" and kicks him into the engine intake. He then repeats his speech to one of Crow's goons, who cuts him off by agreeing. As sick as that sounds, it's probably one of the funniest moments in the episode. Either that or the part when Simon dopes Jayne after treating him so he can't take over the ship.

The episode also maintains some of the continuity of the previous one:

• Kaylee reminds Malcolm about trying to replace a compression coil, warning that it will cause them trouble if it blows.
• Shepherd Book, who previously demonstrated an unusual proficiency in hand-to-hand combat for a Christian preacher, also seems to know about ruthless crime lords like Adelei Niska

Furthermore, River has a moment where she raves about "Hands of Blue". The episode ends with two mysterious men in suits with blue gloves quizzing an Alliance officer about River's whereabouts.

All in all, it's pretty good.

Firefly Marathon #1: Serenity

"Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"

To start the marathon, I'll look at the pilot episode, Serenity (not to be confused with the film of the same name). Presumably, this was a two-part episode, but most releases present it as a single feature-length one.

Like Star Wars, the show opens during a period of civil war. Sergeant Malcolm Reynolds and Corporal Zoe Alleyne are Independants fighting the Union of Allied Planets (The Alliance) until their defeat at the Battle of Serenity Valley. Six years later, Mal is the captain and owner of a tramp freighter named Serenity, with Zoe serving as his second-in-command. The rest of the crew include: Zoe's husband Wash, the ship's goofy pilot; Kaylee Frye, the overly optimistic mechanic; and Jayne Cobb, a crude and power-hungry mercenary. Also travelling with the crew is Inara Serra, a high-class escort known as a Companion who rents one of the shuttles on board Serenity.

Anyway, first part follows the crew as they loot cargo from a derelict, avoiding an Alliance cruiser in the process. On the planet Persephone, they attempt to deliver the cargo to their contact, a local crime boss named Badger. Unfortunately, Badger reneges on the deal because he doesn't like how Mal looks down on him and has seen an Alliance bulletin about a Firefly-class transport carrying stolen goods. Mal opts to take the goods to another associate named Patience on the frontier planet Whitefall. to supplement their income, they take on several passengers: an aloof doctor named Simon Tam, who has brought aboard a mysterious box; a wandering preacher (Shepherd) named Book; and a clumsy man called Dobson. However, they soon discover that these passengers aren't what they seem, and when Wash blocks a call to the alliance, they discover a mole on board.

This portion of the episode tries to build up that Simon is the mole. Since the opening credits give things away, I might as well spoil it. Dobson is revealed to be an Alliance agent, and he's after Simon rather than Mal. When Kaylee is shot during the confrontation, Book subdues Dobson and they're forced to flee the Alliance when Simon refuses to treat Kaylee if he hands them over. The crew then discover that Simon has been transporting his younger sister River, a teenage prodigy whom he had broken out of an Alliance research facility.

Anyway, the second part mostly deals with the aftermath of this while the crew still travel to Whitefall to meet with Patience. En route, they encounter a passing ship crewed by Reavers. It creates a tense scene as they're unsure whether or not the Reavers will attack, and you can feel the terror the crew are feeling as they discuss it. There's also a good source of tension as Simon tries to keep Kaylee alive to avoid being killed himself (which comes brings with it a comedic payoff).

Upon arriving at Whitefall, the episode piles on the jeopardy as Patience tries to backstab Mal and Zoe, Dobson escapes from his restraints and captures River, and the Reaver ship turns around to follow Serenity.

Overall, it's a pretty good pilot episode. It establishes the main characters really well, and you can sympathise with their plights even if they're not the most heroic people around. My favourite moment (other than the payoff to Simon's struggle) is probably Wash's introduction shown by the image. Sure, he's goofy when he's playing with plastic dinosaurs, but when the Reaver ship chases Serenity he becomes calmer and more collected than anyone else on the crew.

Unfortunately, Fox weren't too happy with the pilot episode (except for the payoff to Simon's struggle) and asked for something more action-packed. I'll look at that one tomorrow.

Firefly Marathon

Well, I've handed in all my January assignments now. Since I have a bit of breathing space, I figured that I'd do another review marathon. I've already looked at a long running film series and a longer-running comic series, so this time I'd like to look at a shorter-running TV series.

I've previously stated on this blog that Firefly is one of my favourite shows of all time. I love the imagination behind the world they created, along with the great dynamic between the characters. And with the current politcal climate, the show's theme of independance is one that appeals to me both in real life and in my writing. I'd love to jump into a Firefly and drift the space lanes to live away from the government, even though I'm really not prepared for the hardships which come with it.

Over the next few days, I figured that I'd watch through each episode and give my views on them. I'll try and keep my spoilers to a minimum, but I may not always be able to help that.

Anyway, I'll post my first review later today.

New Year, New Plans

It's 2020. Happy New Year. No, I don't have resolutions. You can't break promises if you didn't make them to begin with.

That said, something I would like to do is try and get more people interested in the Savage Worlds roleplaying system. This isn't necessarily a resolution, as it's more of an ongoing thing.

Back in Freshers' Week, I was manning the stands for the university's Game Society. During this time, I was approched by the owner of a board gaming cafe which caters to the tabletop roleplaying game community, who asked if I wanted to run a weekly game there. Seeing an opportunity to expand my player-base to "public" games as well as Society-exclusive ones, I accepted. Unfortunately, I didn't get any players, so I discontinued my sessions.

I put this down to a need to promote things a little more, combined with existing brand loyalties. The bulk of games running at the venue were predominantly using 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons (5e), which seems to be the most ubiquitous system at the moment. Those games were also mainly sword-and-sorcery fantasy. I was told another person who was running a science fiction game had trouble getting players.

Another major issue was character creation. I lost four potential players at my first session because they were put off by the character creation mechanics of Savage Worlds. I think the main issue is that Dungeons & Dragons uses set classes, whereas Savage Worlds doesn't. While this allows more freedom and versatility, I can see why it would scare some people away.

With this in mind, I've been looking at running tutorials for new players, especially those who are accustomed to 5e. While this would mean running a simple D&D-style fantasy setting, it's as simple as saying "Tell me your race and class, and I'll talk you through it from there".

Fingers crossed I get some takers.

Happy writing.

The Duel at Blood Creek

Credit to IMDB

One of my modules this year is looking at scriptwriting, and we're often shown a variety of short films. With this in mind, I thought I'd take a look at one of my favourite short films, The Duel at Blood Creek, a comedic period piece directed in 2010 by Leo Burton.

Taking place some time in the early 19th Century, we follow Lord Allesbury as he travels to Blood Creek with his servant, Benton. His intention is to fight a duel with Sir Oliver Hawthorne over an affair of honour. Unfortunately, he's not the only one coming to Blood Creek to fight a duel:

• Judge Edgar Proust is seeking to fight a duel with a man named Townsend, when he and Allesbury take an instant dislike to one another
• Lt Simon Beckett has been challenged to a duel by Captain Howard Gower
• Mr Mason and Mr Tunstall have come to settle their business dispute in a pistol duel overseen by their mutual friend Mr Elliot.

You'd think a short film couldn't work with so many characters, but somehow it creates some great humour from the bickering between the various duellists, especially as the reasons for duelling come to light. They're not exactly honourable, and some are outright childish.

For a film about duelling, there isn't much focus on any duelling until the end, but that's the joke; they're too busy arguing about who gets to duel first. Even when the duelling is underway, it gets hampered by the tensions between the different duellists.

If there's anything I do have to criticise, it's that nothing truly gets resolved. It ends with an anti-climactic deus ex machima. However, that itself is also pretty funny, so it's not a major issue for me.

The Duel at Blood Creek can be found online here. I highly recommend it for the laughs.

Happy writing, and if I don't post anything else in the next few days; Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and any other holidays from around this time I may have missed.

Peter Pan Goes Wrong

It's December. Another time of year when we stretch one day of celebration into a whole month. Except the retail sector who stretch it for much longer. A time when we've started to see how long we can go without hearing "Last Christmas" by Wham!

(Five days for me, if you're asking)

Anyway, in honour of the holiday (and to procrastinate an assignment), I decided to take a look Mischief Theatre's Peter Pan Goes Wrong. Mischief Theatre's "Goes Wrong" productions are a series of stage shows which centre around the fictional Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, whose productions are exactly as the title suggests. The series started with The Play That Goes Wrong in 2012, but I haven't seen that one.

I'm specifically looking at the Peter Pan Goes Wrong TV special which Mischief Theatre did with the BBC during Christmas in 2016. The hour-long special follows the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society as they perform the traditional Christmas vignette (not pantomime), Peter Pan. Unfortunately, their production is seriously hampered by faulty props, cast members forgetting their lines, substandard sets, and even some personal dramas. What results from this is some of the funniest slapstick comedy I've ever seen.

The characters are all great. To illustrate things easier, I'll talk you through the cast members:

• Chris, the director, plays Captain Hook and Mr Darling, and gets angry when the audience regards the production of a pantomime
• Robert, who refers to himself as the "lead actor", plays none of the lead roles (Nana the dog, an unintelligible pirate called Starkey, and Peter's Shadow)
• The showboating Jonathan plays Peter Pan
• Sandra plays Wendy, and is in a relationship with Jonathan off-stage
• Max plays Michael and the Crocodile, has a crush on Sandra, and is said to have only got the parts because his aunt runs the BBC
• Dennis plays John and Mr Smee, and has to have his lines delivered to him through a headset
• Annie plays Mrs Darling, Liza the Maid, Tinkerbell (who is traditionaly played by a beam of light), Tiger Lily and a pirate (both in the same scene)
• Robert's niece Lucy plays Tootles the Lost Boy, but suffers from stage fright and multiple injuries
• Trevor serves as the stage manager, and sometimes ends up working on-stage as well as off
• David Suchet makes a guest appearance as the narrator

There are plenty of other jokes I haven't shared here. I'd say my favourite scene is when Mrs Darling is singing a lullaby, while Robert (as Nana) is stuck in the dog flap and the stage hands are trying to extricate him. Annie has to belt out the lullaby as her words are being drowned out by the stage crew's power tools. This is immediately followed by this gem:

Overall, it's a great show with some great laughs, but I have the feeling that something as slapstick-heavy as this would be even funnier on stage.

The TV special was so popular that they returned for A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong the following year. In this one, the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society have been blacklisted by the BBC, and hijack their made-for-TV special of A Christmas Carol. To expand on the comedy utilised in the previous special, this one also has Chris dealing with attempts on his life from Robert (who wanted to play Scrooge), and Sir Derek Jacobi (who was playing Scrooge).

If you ever get a chance to see these specials, I highly recommend that you do. I don't see a lot of stuff on stage, but I'd love to check this out at some point.

Happy writing.

Meet the Author - Andrew Marsh

Today I'm delighted to be joined by fellow Swanwicker Andrew Marsh, who is launching his latest book, Jack Janson and the Storm Caller. He has come to the Writer's Block to answer some questions.

1) First of all, tell us a little about yourself and your writing.
I'm a 55-year-old former geologist who worked in the construction industry, and now spend my time writing and speaking.

I self-published my first two novels but I have had a change of emphasis in my writing and now write fantasy for young adults and teenagers, although adults will enjoy them too.


When I was 51, I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and this has bought great clarity to my life and made sense of a lot of things that happened as a child and adult. I now speak on my Asperger’s Syndrome and want to share my experiences and what benefits and skills that people on the spectrum can bring to the community.

2) Tell us about your new book.

Jack Janson and the Storm Caller is the first in a series of books. It tells the tale of Jack, who is unloved at home and bullied at school. Things improve when he goes to his grandmother's home for the summer holiday, where she treats him like an adult. They bond over her garden and baking until one day when she takes him to a cave at the bottom of her garden. There, a booming voice causes the rock walls to reverberate and looming over him is Winfred Storm Caller, a large friendly giant.

This begins Jack’s adventures with the giant which leads to great discoveries and secrets. The book explores the relationship between Jack, his grandmother, Winfred, and Jack’s neighbour Sarah-Jane at this critical time in his life.

3) Do you prefer to plot stories or work it out as you go along?

I generally have an idea of plot, characters and setting before I start writing, although when in the zone, it is as much free writing within a framework.

4) What are your ideal conditions for writing in?

I use the spare bedroom as my study and have most of the things I need around me, especially writing aids, reference books, files, printer/scanner and so on. I usually write in the quiet, although I sometimes listen to rock music. I am usually left to my writing and this allows me to make good progress daily.

I am very focussed and organised when writing and these are some of my Asperger’s traits which I find very helpful in the creative process. 

For the editing and reviewing phases of writing a book, which I find the most difficult part, I need peace and quiet and to be left to my own devises. 

5) Was there anything in particular which got you into writing?

I first became interested in writing in my thirties when I was part of or was told funny stories about things that happened on construction sites or in the design office where I worked. I started to keep notebooks on me and wrote all of these things down. I soon got the idea for a significant event that would be a good start for a book and started that in 1996. I soon became hooked and have developed my writing over the years since.

I also attend the Writer’s Summer School, Swanwick, where I have made great writing friends and learnt a great deal about the craft of writing. 

6) Are there any authors you’d like to meet, and why?

I would love to have been able to meet J.R.R Tolkien and chat with him about world building and how he was able to create such an epic story. I would have to get him to show me his maps and how he created them, they are works or art as well as useful information to help the reader understand the story.

Also, David Eddings. He wrote the Belgariad and Mallerion series of books and I started reading those when I started to develop my own writing. Like with Tolkien, the ability to write long tales and books that told a bigger story is a great art.

7) Finally, what’s the best piece of advice anyone gave you?

Be true to yourself.

Thank you for joining me today. I wish you every success with Jack Janson.

You can find Andrew Marsh's website here.

Jack Janson and the Storm Caller is available from Amazon here.

Happy writing.

Savage Worlds

Tools of the Trade

I've said before that tabletop roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons are partially responsible for getting me into writing in the first place. I've even joked that I originally went to university so I could play it again. While Dungeons & Dragons is probably the most well-known of these types of games, I like to run my games with Pinnacle Entertainment's Savage Worlds roleplaying system.

Savage Worlds is a generic universal system which is readily adaptable. Unlike Dungeons & Dragons, in which you roll a 20-sided dice (d20) for every skill and the other dice for damage, in Savage Worlds you have a die type for everything. For example, a player with a d8 in the Fighting skill will roll an eight-sided die whenever called to roll Fighting. They also roll a six-sided die alongside the d8, and take the better result. Additionally, if the maximum result is rolled on a die, it's rolled again and the results stack. This often means that a lot of Savage Worlds games tend to be more action-packed than other roleplaying games.

I especially love the array of settings which have been released. Pinnacle's biggest franchise is a setting called Deadlands, a dark fantasy and steampunk roleplaying game which takes place in the American West. In fact, one of the first things I wrote was a Deadlands fan fiction. This spawned several sequels, such as Deadlands Noir, which shifts the setting to 1930s New Orleans but still retains the dark fantasy and science fiction elements. I'm actually running a Deadland Noir campaign, and was surprised how there seemed to be a greater focus on the mystery than action, yet it still flowed.

Other settings which use the Savage Worlds system include: Lankhmar: The City of Thieves, a swashbuckling fantasy based on the works of Fritz Leiber; Rippers, a Victorian gothic horror reminiscent of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; and The Savage World of Flash Gordon, based on the characters created by Alex Raymond (and that guilty pleasure 80s cheese).

Last year, I backed a new version of Savage Worlds on Kickstarter; Savage Worlds Adventure Edition, commonly known as "SWADE". There's a cafe in my area which caters to the roleplaying game crowd, so I volunteered to run campaigns there one day of the week. Unfortunately, this had a rough start, as most players are more accustomed to Dungeons & Dragons and seemed intimidated by the character creation process. Fortunately, I'm getting all kinds of ready-made adventures from Pinnacle as part of my pledge, so I plan to run one of those using characters I've made myself.

I look forward to running all kinds of campaigns, and introduce more players to the system.