#serenity (2005)

[toonybrin]

"Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"

Making cliché fan art for a 20 year old canceled tv show? Don't mind if I do.

[twilightroses]

[could-they-be-a-pro-wrestler]

How successful would Malcolm Reynolds…

Would you like to submit a character? Click this link if you do!

[propstorecatalog]

Kaylee Frye's (Jewel Staite) Costume with Screen-Matched Shirt | SERENITY (2005) | x

This costume consists of a color screen-printed graphic long-sleeve shirt with various fabric patchwork detailing; an army green sleeveless jumpsuit with embroidered floral designs along the bottom hem labeled "Kaylee #5"; a brown leather work belt with metal studs and an adhered dragonfly patch; a pair of red and black leather Swear sneakers (Size 41) marked "Stunt Kaylee"

Sold for $6,930 on March 26, 2025

[twilight-skies]

THAT ALLIANCE VS REAVERS BATTLE IN 2005???

[whichgreathousewouldtheybepartof]

[cinema-tv-etc]

Serenity (2005)

[the-new-kiddo-on-the-block]

Welp.

Since Tiktok is getting banned, many users have been flocking over to the app Rednote, which is literally a full-on Chinese owned version of the Tiktok app, people willingly giving their data up to the Chinese government and learning Mandarin. In exchange, they will keep their happy distraction, and many have offered to help plenty of kids who want to learn English with their English Homework!! People are literally being horrified to find out the awful news about the American Government, aka the Retirement Home for elected officials™, and the stuff they're imposing.

The pettiness goes of further, with Duolingo even planning to leave Tiktok to Rednote if the ban goes through in the States and leaving COUNTLESS COMPANIES TO SCRAMBLE

From Eggo, Pop-Tarts, Pringles, CHEEZ-IT and Hot Pockets-- they were all begging the Duolingo mascot to reconsider 🤣

And now, because people are flooding to Duolingo to learn Mandarin, the Firefly/Serenity fandom has been given new Life, with the proposition that we are indeed in the Firefly Timeline™ now.

This was my response:

... And yes, as we are speaking, I'm trying to learn both Mandarin and Japanese 🤣

[onetrueartform]

Wrap-up time!!

[deadheaddaisy]

Just because it's so good reading the history of these two.

Serenity (2005) - The inspiration for Mass Effect?

Last Wednesday, by sheer coincidence, I stumbled across the movie "Serenity" while skimming through the TV program. Because the sci-fi topic piqued my interest, I looked up a quick summary to get an overview of what the movie is about - and I was even more intrigued when I learned that it's based on and essentially a continuation of the TV show "Firefly" from 2002. That title immediately rang a bell, since I distinctly remember Firefly being stated as one of the main inspirations for the Mass Effect trilogy - which, as it happens, I'm playing right now. So, because I was curious to see where the Mass Effect developers got their ideas from, I used the opportunity to watch Serenity that evening - and boy, there are certainly a lot of things that are strikingly similar to Mass Effect.

SPOILERS for Mass Effect and Serenity follow (also, please note that I'm judging this from the POV of someone who only saw the movie, and not the TV series)

---

First off, some general background stuff: The setting of Serenity is a galaxy 500 years in the future, after mankind had to abandon the contaminated Earth and colonize a new star system (that sounds like a not entirely unrealistic prediction, unfortunately). Many planets have been made habitable by terraforming, the central ones of which are controlled by an institution called the Alliance; however, there are quite a few border worlds where development isn't that advanced yet and outlaw conditions are dominant. Although Mass Effect isn't set quite that far in the future (the main plot starts in 2183), the lore framework is quite similar, with the colonization of new planets and terraforming also playing a big role. The similarities go to the point where even the unified human government is called Alliance, although the Alliance from Firefly/Serenity should not be confused with the Alliance from Mass Effect (as we will soon see). The lawless border worlds are generally comparable to the Terminus Systems from Mass Effect (which are treated in greater detail in ME2).

One thing I also had to chuckle about is that one of the opening shots from Serenity looks almost straight out of Mass Effect - for real, the tower looks almost exactly like those seen in the panorama of futuristic Earth from ME. xD

Anyway, back to the main plot: One of the central points that's established right at the beginning is that Alliance scientists have been conducting secret, potentially harmful experiments with a 17-year-old girl named River Tam who possesses telepathic abilities. By exposing her to psychic training, they were hoping to be able to utilize her skills as a weapon - and indeed, she is shown to be able to effortlessly knock out an entire pub after a coded command later in the movie. Although River doesn't lift or throw any objects with telekinesis, it's imaginable that this was one of the inspirations for the mind reading abilities of the Asari, and her hearing foreign voices in her head evokes associations with certain scenes from ME1 (e.g. the conversation with the Thorian on Feros and the Rachni Queen on Noveria which also involve mind control).

Fortunately, River is soon freed from this hellish lab by her brother Simon, which brings a man called "The Operative" into the scene. Just like the scientists who experimented on River, he works in secret for the Alliance, as a government agent receiving his orders directly from the parliament. Although he has no official rank, he seems to have full clearance for classified information, as well as the permission to kill anyone if necessary (which he promptly uses to murder the scientists of the facility where River was kept). To everyone thinking "well, that sounds a lot like a Spectre", I can confirm that he is actually convinced that "the end justifies the means", and that his ruthless actions "will make the world better for everyone" - well, if that doesn't sound like a certain rogue Spectre.

Meanwhile, River and Simon have found refuge on the ship Serenity led by Captain Malcolm Reynolds. Malcolm, simply called "Mal", is a bit of an ambivalent character, to say the least - he and his crew make their money with robberies, smuggling, and other illegal activities, but he still refuses to kill innocents and has a very intimate, familial relationship with his shipmates. In a way, he seems a bit like a Paragade version of Commander Shepard from Mass Effect (considering this, perhaps it's no surprise that the ME developers pitched Shepard as something like a "space James Bond"). Actually, quite a few of the members of the Serenity seem to carry some resemblance to the Normandy crew: There's Hoban, the talented pilot of the Serenity with a somewhat dry sense of humor (well, hello there, Joker); Zoë, a tough and steadfast fighter (and possible inspiration for Ashley); and Kaylee, the ship's sweet and lively mechanic (which sounds a lot like Tali).

What's more is that there's a hostile faction called the "Reavers" - which, hilariously, is just one letter away from Reapers (no kidding, I frequently kept mishearing "Reavers" as "Reapers" throughout the movie xD). In Serenity, however, the Reavers aren't a race of oversized, mechanical squids, but of deranged cannibalistic humans who like to eat their victims alive. Well, at least they share the tendency to kill everything in sight that seems remotely organic…

And if that wasn't enough, there's literally a character called Shepherd in the movie - though in Serenity, he is presented as more of a preacher than a soldier. In the context of the movie, he acts as Mal's "moral compass", telling him that he could use something like a higher goal in life (the Mass Effect translation of which would probably be "pick some Paragon options from time to time, bro" xD). Unfortunately, Shepherd dies during the course of the story, but his advice still ends up having a profound effect on Mal's character development.

One scene in particular that gave me very strong Mass Effect vibes was the "vision scene", where River sees the decaying corpses of former human colonists. Both the visual and sound design - with erratic shots of the dead who appear to "scream" at the camera - immediately reminded me of the vision that Shepard receives from the Prothean transmitter in Mass Effect 1. The two not only resemble each other in their eerie, disconcerting atmosphere, but also in their ultimate purpose, as they show the protagonist the way to a secret planet which plays a major role in the plot.

Following a hint from River, the crew of the Serenity makes their way to Miranda (no, not that Miranda), a planet which was the location of a former colonization project of the Alliance. As it turns out, the Alliance conducted secret experiments on the population, adding a substance called "Pax" to the air filters which was supposed to suppress aggressive tendencies. However, their plan backfired, and the colonists not only stopped fighting, but also working, eating, and all other daily activities. Meanwhile, the Pax had the opposite effect on 0.1% of the inhabitants and turned them into violent cannibals, with the Alliance effectively creating the Reavers in the process. Viewed from a Mass Effect perspective, all of this sounds suspiciously like something Cerberus would do - after all, they didn't shy away from any atrocities in their pursuit of the "enhancement of humanity". So, while the Alliance are essentially the big baddies in Serenity, their role has been split up in Mass Effect: the Alliance from Mass Effect is a union that acts as the representative of all nations on Earth in the galactic community, while Cerberus is more of an undercover terrorist organization.

As we can see, Mass Effect and the Firefly universe share quite a few similar elements. However, despite all these resemblances, it should be said that BioWare never copied anything one-on-one - rather, they took a few pieces, rearranged them, and made them into something new. If anything, Serenity and Mass Effect are proof that drawing inspiration from your favorite stories can beget original, unique universes. Who knows - perhaps one day, a new generation of writers will remember Mass Effect as the inspiration for their own stories.

[twilightroses]

it’s called duality

[could-they-be-a-pro-wrestler]

[propstorecatalog]

Zoe Washburne's (Gina Torres) Costume and Stunt "Mare's Leg" Rifle | SERENITY (2005) | x

Washburne's signature shortened rifle was inspired by Steve McQueen, who wielded his own "Mare's Leg" first in the classic Western series Trackdown and later as Josh Randall (Steve McQueen) in the series Wanted: Dead or Alive.

This lot consists of a black leather Marc Jacobs jacket (Size 8) marked "R"; a salmon pink gusset top featuring a high collar, a thin line design, and back zipper enclosure marked "Zoe"; light brown pants with metal bar accents; a brown leather belt with a patina buckle featuring faded markings on the interior; brown leather and suede knee-high boots; a brown leather ammo belt with a resin holster and plastic stunt knife; a leather cord necklace; a brown leather bracelet; and a hand-painted dense rubber stunt Winchester Model 92 "Mare's Leg" rifle

Sold for $8,190 on March 26, 2025

[jin-prince-of-sol]

she probably could

River Tam from Firefly / Serenity

1) she’s 17

2) she’s got the combat skills to survive

3) maybe the people of Panem watching the Games might be sympathetic to her? She’s a pretty likable character.

Tribute Name: River Tam

Age: 16 (according to Wikipedia)

Restrictions: No use of psychic abilities

If you would like to see a character aged 12-18 enter the Hunger Games, submit them through my asks. If you would like to see a character aged 19+ act as a mentor, submit them through this Google Form. The most popular of the 19+ characters will be posted every Saturday.

[schnoobums]

SERENITY | 2005

[kvetchinglyneurotic]

i don't usually rewatch serenity when i rewatch firefly because i don't like that they killed wash but i am this time and wow they improved the special effects budget a lot