Firefly: The Official Companion, Volume Two

The second (and final) collection of shooting scripts for the excellent but short-lived TV series Firefly. These two volumes contain the entire set of shooting scripts, including some dialog and (rarely) entire scenes that were edited out of the episodes. In the show the characters often used pigeon Chinese swears or expressions, and these scripts contain the phonetic Chinese as well as rough translations of all those colorful phrases (e.g., "That's {FAY-FAY duh PEE-yen} {A baboon's ass-crack} You saw it wrong.").

These are interspersed with plentiful cast and crew interviews about their roles, behind the scenes incidents and the overall experience of working on this show. Every episode begins with an interview with the writer about what show more how the episode came about, what they were trying to convey, pushback from the network (Fox), etc.

Some of the more subtle aspects of the show are brought to light, too. For instance, one episode ends with Kaylee and River playing jacks on the floor. River holds up the ball, a swirly red thing, for a moment just before the credits roll. This bookends the opening shot of that episode that consisted of Serenity flying past a swirling red moon.

More than just scripts of episodes I've seen over and over, these two volumes actually do what they promise: they enhance the experience and make me want to watch the episodes again. show less

The second companion volume to Joss Whedon's fabulous sci fi/western show.

If you've read volume one or the Serenity companion, you'll already know what to expect here: a quality tribute to a television show that was canceled far, far too soon. Volume two picks up where volume one left off. It contains the rest of the interview with Joss, the remaining scripts, (with more annotations!), more discussions with the actors and shorter segments on such varied topics as Jayne's weaponry, the cinematography and the score. The packaging remains excellent; it shows the material off to best advantage.

As with the first volume, I enjoyed the scripts most. The annotations and addendums really make the book. As interesting as it is to read the scripts show more themselves, they're even better with the cast and crew's comments alongside them. Their love for the show really comes across and adds an extra oomph to the material.

If you're a Firefly fan, don't miss this. It's very good stuff. show less

Highly recommended for fans of Firefly/Serenity. Includes full shooting scripts plus interviews with cast and crew members and lots of pictures. If you love the show you will love the companion books.