Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

TagShepherd (character in Firefly)

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Exploration of new worlds, space and universe, new galaxies. Planets in backlight. Exoplanets. Solar systems. 3d rendering
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
May 28, 2022
Categorized
Arts & Culture
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Serenity: My Defense of the Film’s Initial Choices (Part 1)

Some viewers have complained that director Joss Whedon changed the characters’s behavior in the film vs. the TV series. I believe they are mistaken
Gary Varner
May 28, 2022
Arts & Culture

I watched the movie Serenity (2005) long before I ever watched the series, and I fell in love it. Some people have complained that, because Joss Whedon couldn’t decide between writing the film for the fans of the preceding TV series Firefly or for a new audience, the movie was hard to follow. This was not my experience, although I didn’t know the backstory and thus didn’t understand the significance of some of the events of the film. But these events help explain why the movie Serenity never got its long-desired sequel. The movie opens with Simon rescuing his sister River from the lab where she was held captive. This event had actually been recorded by the security archives and…

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Cattle in pen
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
February 26, 2022
Categorized
Arts & Culture
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Firefly Episode 5: Brawls That Don’t Make Sense, Part 1

In this episode, after the cattle are unloaded, characters act in an uncharacteristic way in order to create a plot crisis
Gary Varner
February 26, 2022
Arts & Culture

The vast quantities of cow dung left on the ship after a shipment of cows was dropped off is a telling omen for how this episode unfolds. We do get some much-needed exposition in the form of hints and flashbacks regarding the Shepherd and River Tam’s past but, apart from that, Episode 5 is by far the worst. While the first four episodes had some weak moments, they’ve been funny and enjoyable. Episode 5 dives into the incoherent. We open with the cows from the previous episode being unloaded from the ship and herded into a corral. Mal (Captain Malcolm Reynolds) and his crew work the herd like real cowboys which is enjoyable, but as they’re working, Simon Tam begins…

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Laser Cannon Incapacitates Enemy Satellite In Space
Type
post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
February 12, 2022
Categorized
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Medicine and Health, Religion
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Firefly Episode 3: Should Some People Be Left To Die?

After the space crew rescues the survivor of a pirate attack, Captain Mal faces off against The Shepherd on whether God can save even that man.
Gary Varner
February 12, 2022
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Medicine and Health, Religion

Episode 3 begins with a friendly game of basketball… or something like it. Simon, a doctor who has joined the Firefly crew, notes that there appear to be no rules to the game as he watches from the balcony. The game is interrupted by a “proximity alert” and the crew discovers a wrecked ship floating in space. The captain decides to check it out and they quickly discover that the ship has been attacked by the infamous Reavers. We’d seen their ship once in episode one, and we’d heard some ominous descriptions of what they do to their prisoners: “If they take the ship, they’ll rape us to death, eat our flesh, and sew our skins into their clothing. And,…