Firefly: "The Train Job"
Episode 1: The Train Job
Written by: Joss Whedon and Tim Minear
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Original Airdate: 9.20.02
Serenity continues to travel through space, conducting illegal runs across the Star System, under
the control of The Alliance. A powerful and fearsome mobster named Adelei Niska demands that the
crew of the Serenity to pull a train robbery. The train is carrying medical supplies for a
community, and Reynolds and Zoe get held on suspicion. They get free with Inara’s help but
realize they were tricked and try to return Niska’s money. His henchman isn’t too happy but
Nelson “persuades” the next guy to take the money back. Meanwhile, two blue-handed black-suited
operatives close in on River.
Episode 2: Bushwacked
Written by: Tim Minear
Directed by: Tim Minear
Original Airdate: 9.27.02
On a salvage mission aboard a drifting colony ship, the Serentiy crew find signs that the crew
were killed by the cannabalistic Reavers. They find one survivor, but things take a turn for the
worse when an Alliance ship looking for an unspecified Firefly-class ship with brother-and-sister
stowaways shows up and takes them in. They hide Simon and River and deflect the Alliance commander’s
questions but the survivor has been rendered insane by his exposure to the Reavers and goes on a
bloody rampage. Mel saves the Alliance commander and he eventually lets them go.
Episode 3: Our Mrs. Reynolds
Written by: Joss Whedon
Directed by: Vondie Curtis-Hall
Original Airdate: 10.04.02
After completing a job on a planet, Mal inadvertently ends up married to Saffron, a naive young
woman who stows away to be with her “husband”. Awkwardness and hilarity ensues until Saffron knocks
out Mal and Wash and sets up the ship to be captured by pirates, locking it off-course and sealing
the controls. The Serenity is on course with a carrion house, a ship that converts ships to scrap
via an electronic net. They manage to shoot out the breakers on the net and catch up to Saffron.
Episode 4: Jaynestown
Written by: Ben Edlund
Directed by: Marita Grabiak
Original Airdate: 10.18.02
The Serenity sets down at the mudder colony of Canton where it turns out Jayne is a hero for
having dropped a bunch of money there years ago that he and his partner Stitch stole from the
local magistrate. The drop was unintentional but Jayne doesn’t turn down the attentions.
Meanwhile, Kaylee and Simon dance, River rewrites Book’s bible, and Inara beds the magistrate’s
son, a virgin.
The magistrate turns Stitch loose to get revenge and tell the townspeople what went on, but they don’t seem to care and one sacrifices his life to save Jayne, a sacrifice he has trouble understanding. With the son’s help, they manage to get away.
Episode 5: Out Of Gas
Written by: Tim Minear
Directed by: David Solomon
Original Airdate: 10.25.02
The episode begins with a wounded Mal wandering the ship, delirious. We find out that after an
engine explosion the Serenity lost its life support. The other eight crew take the two shuttles
as Mal remains to respond if anyone comes for their beacon. Back in the present, Mal wanders the
ship and flashbacks to how he purchased Serenity, hired Wash and Kaylee, acquired Inara as a
passenger, and was tracked down by Jayne and recruited him.
A salvage ship arrives and offers Mal the part they need, but its captain shoots him before he drives them off and keeps the part. The badly wounded Mal tries to attach the part, succeeds, and fails to sends the signal to recall the shuttles. But they come back for him anyway.
Episode 6: Shindig
Written by: Jane Espenson
Directed by: Vern Gillum
Original Airdate: 11.01.02
On the planet Persephone the crew contact their old “friend” Badger the ruthless crimelord to
transport some goods on behalf of a local lord. While at a ball to arrange a transport job with
the lord, Mal defends Inara’s honor when her current customer insults her. By local custom he
unintentionally challenges her date, Atherton Wing, to a duel. Inara must teach Mal how to use a
sword, while Badger takes the rest of the Serenity crew hostage so they don’t interfere and mess
up Badger’s reputation. Thanks to a distraction by Inara, Mal manages to win, spares Atherton, and
earns the job - hauling cows.
Episode 7: Safe
Written by: Drew Z. Greenberg
Directed by: Michael Grossman
Original Airdate: 11.08.02
The Serenity delivers their cattle (from “Shindig”). Kaylee and Inara are shopping on the planet,
and Kaylee’s crush on Simon is again brought up. Later, Book is shot as a bystander during the
crew’s cattle deal. Unfortunately Simon and River have been captured by hillfolk who need a doctor
for their community. Book eventually receives medical attention when Mal takes a chance and takes
him to an Alliance base. When they see Book’s ident card they immediately give him treatment.
Meanwhile, Simon and River receive an initially warm welcome from the community which has many afflicted people who are in need of serious help. When River is able to telepathically find out things about a little girl named Ruth who has not spoken since her mother went insane and tried to kill her, she is accused of being of witch. The townfolk try to burn her at the stake, but Simon is able to stall, just enough for Mal and the crew to come back and save them.
Meanwhile, we see flashbacks to how River was taken to The Academy and Simon’s early attempts to get her free.
Episode 8: Ariel
Written by: Jose Molina
Directed by: Allan Kroeker
Original Airdate: 11.15.02
The crew visit the planet Ariel because Inara needs to receive an annual Companion physical. The
crew is offered a surprising job by Simon: in return for stolen medicine he wants them to get him
into a hospital to use a high-end scanner to diagnosis River. Simon devises a plan - Kaylee and Wash
browse through the local dump and find parts to make an imitation emergency vehicle so the crew can
get into the hospital posing as EMTs. Simon and River pose as corpses with the aid of a drug Simon
has. While Mal and Zoe round up some medicine, Jayne stays with River and Simon, who are unaware he
has ratted them out to the Alliance in return for money.
Jayne rushes Simon through the examination and on the way out Jayne, Simon, and River are caught by the Alliance. Jayne is betrayed by the Alliance and becomes a prisoner himself. They manage to escape as the Men With Blue Hands arrive and ruthlessly execute anyone who had contact with the Tams. Mal and Zoe end up saving their friends and Simon makes a big deal about Jayne fighting, thinking he was trying to save River and himself. Mal realizes that Jayne leaked the information about Simon and River to the alliance and tosses Jayne in the airlock. Jayne admits to doing so and Mal decides to let Jayne off the hook. In the end, Inara returns, and Simon begins “healing” River.
Episode 9: War Stories
Written by: Cheryl Cain
Directed by: James A. Contner
Original Airdate: 12.06.02
Jealous of Zoe’s relationship with Mal, Wash insists (thanks to a bit of scheming) that he go
with Mal to try to sell some of the medical supplies the crew stole from the Alliance. In the
middle of the deal Mal and Wash are kidnapped by men working for Niska the crime lord, who wants
revenge against Mal for the botched train heist. He tortures Mal and Wash until Zoe shows up
offering money in exchange for the prisoners. Niska says that the money is only enough for one
person and Zoe chooses Wash. Wash realizes that Mal’s antagonizing him while they were being
tortured was to help keep him alive and kicking. This inspires him to do everything he can to
help Zoe rescue Mal from Niska. The rest of the crew jump on board to save the Captain.
Meanwhile Inara extends her services to a council member. To the crew of Serenity’s surprise, it’s a woman. And Simon continues to treat River with some of the medicine he stole but she suffers the occasional relapse as well as displays a penchant for blind-shooting.
Episode 10: Objects in Space
Written by: Joss Whedon
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Original Airdate: 12.13.02
When River gets hold of a loaded gun the crew begins to believe she may never recover. Their
discussions are interrupted by the arrival of a bounty hunter, Early, who sneaks on board the
ship and takes out or locks up the crew and forces Simon at gunpoint to take him to River. River
talks to him, apparently having possessed the ship. She stalls for time only to reveal she is on
Early’s ship. She claims that since the crew was willing to give her up, she’s best off going with
Early. But when he leaves Mal has been directed to him by River and kicks the bounty hunter off
into space.
Episode 11: Serenity, Pt. 1
Written by: Joss Whedon
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Original Airdate: 12.20.02
When River gets hold of a loaded gun the crew begins to believe she may never recover. Their
discussions are interrupted by the arrival of a bounty hunter, Early, who sneaks on board the
ship and takes out or locks up the crew and forces Simon at gunpoint to take him to River. River
talks to him, apparently having possessed the ship. She stalls for time only to reveal she is on
Early’s ship. She claims that since the crew was willing to give her up, she’s best off going with
Early. But when he leaves Mal has been directed to him by River and kicks the bounty hunter off
into space.
Episode 12: Serenity, Pt. 2
Written by: Joss Whedon
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Original Airdate: 12.20.02
The naked woman is Simon’s sister River, a government test subject he helped to escape. After
ducking a dreaded reaver ship, Mal tries and cuts a deal with Patience, an old “friend” but
suspects a trap. Patience tries an ambush but the team escapes just as the Reavers return and
the Federal agent breaks loose. Mal shoots the agent dead and Wash manages to duck the Reavers.
At the end Mal decides to take on all three of his remaining passengers full-time.
Episode 13: Heart of Gold
Unaired.
Episode 14: Trash
Unaired.
Episode 15: The Message
Unaired.