SciFi TV Rewatch

Back on Serenity after a stint as hired muscle, the crew delights to find their captain married to one of the town's women. But of course all is not as it seems as guest star Christina Hendricks' character Saffron has ulterior motives that don't include becoming Mrs. Malcolm Reynolds for very long.

Max tries to work out some of her relationship frustrations through a dream that takes place on Halloween, and in a scenario reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz, we see the crew as we've never seen them before. Todd Stashwick (12 Monkeys and The Originals) and Sarah Carter (Falling Skies) guest star. Listen to Michael Ahr's interview with Todd Stashwick here.

The Tam's backstory is explored in this episode as the crew delivers a herd of cattle, but despite her best efforts River endangers not only herself but also her brother as she's set to be burned as a witch. Captain Reynolds' actions solidify what he's told Simon all along; that if you're a member of Serenity's crew, you will be protected.

While White steps up his transgenic genocide by hiring a talented geneticist, Max and Logan deal with their forced separation by going out with Rafer and Asha respectively, but does Asha take unfair advantage of the situation? Joshua and Max's relationship grows as he begins watching out for her as well.

Serenity's crew reunites with Badger who now needs Captain Malcolm Reynolds and the respect he affords so that he can work a deal to move cattle off planet. Crossing paths at a fancy Southern inspired ball, Malcolm and Inara continue to battle, though in the end, they both come to the other's aid. And finally, we get to see the feminine side of Kaylee as she accompanies Mal to the ball, which, not surprisingly, produces a duel to the death involving the captain and Inara's client.

As most of you know, Wayne and I are high school English teachers, and for the past few years, my students have recorded podcasts as part of the Imaginary Worlds unit. Three 15 year old young women, Ruby, Kiana, and Robyn discuss BBC America’s Sherlock in their first ever podcast using little more than their laptops and Skype. So sit back and enjoy; who knows, we may all be subscribing to their shows in a few short years.

Max and Logan continue to seek a cure for the virus that's keeping them apart, while Alec barters for his freedom by becoming a bounty hunter for the man that's trying to erase the fact that Manticore ever existed. How long can the writers carry on this contrived separation? Taltos provided this information concerning the Chinese language employed in Firefly.

Serenity's crew encounters an abandoned ship adrift in space and Captain Reynolds quickly recognizes Reaver handiwork. They piece together the series of events that led to this outcome, but before they have a chance enjoy their spoils, an Alliance ship rolls up and boards the ship. In the end, River and Simon escape the Alliance clutches, this time.

As the Manticore soldiers, kids and nomalies scatter after the fire, a military force begins rounding them up for termination. Logan takes a back seat in this episode as Alec returns to help Max and the five Manticore refugees escape death and eventually run to a new and hopefully better life in Canada.

Desperate for any paying job, Malcolm and the crew agree to steal two Alliance crates from a moving train. Meanwhile, Shepherd Book and Simon seek purpose as they clearly must now operate outside their comfort zones. But more importantly, why in the world did Fox air this as the pilot?