Canadian actress Jewel Staite has been an actress since age nine. She videotaped her audition from Vancouver. she was asked to come to Los Angeles to meet Whedon, where she was cast for the role of Kaylee Frye, the ship's engineer.
Sean Maher remembers reading for the part and liking the character of Simon Tam. He said it was Whedon's personality and vision that "sealed the deal" for him. For the role of Simon's sister, Whedon called in Summer Glau for an audition and test the same day. Glau had first worked for Whedon on an episode of "Angel". Two weeks later Whedon called her to tell her she had the part. This was Glau's first speaking role.
The veteran television actor Ron Glass ("Barney Miller", "All in the Family"), has said that until "Firefly", he had not thought about a science-fiction western role but he fell in love with the pilot script and the character of Shepherd Book.
The series takes place in the year 2517, on several planets and moons. The television series does not say if these are in one star system. The movie "Serenity" makes clear that all the planets and moons are in one large system. The characters refer to "Earth-that-was" and in the movie, it is said that long before the events in the series a large population had left from Earth to a new star system: "Earth that was could no longer sustain our numbers, we were so many." The people settled in this new star system, with "dozens of planets and hundreds of moons." Many of these were terraformed, a process in which a planet or moon is altered to resemble the Earth. The terraforming process was only the first step in making a planet livable. Only the most central planets got more treatment. This caused many of the border planets and moons to have environments that fit the Western setting.
The show takes its name from the "Firefly"-class spaceship "Serenity" that the main characters call home. Its tail section lights up during acceleration, looking like the glowing part of a firefly.
The Alliance is shown to control the star system through an organization of "core" planets. DVD commentary suggests that two main "core" planets make up the Alliance. One is mostly Occidental in culture, the other is Asian. This explains the series' mixed linguistic and visual themes. The central planets are under Alliance control, but the outer planets and moons resemble the 19th century American West, with little government control. Settlers people on the outer worlds have relative freedom from the central government. The outer areas also have Reavers, a cannibalistic race.
The captain of the crew of "Serenity" is Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion). The episode "Serenity" shows that the captain and his first mate Zoe Washburne (Gina Torres) are veteran "Browncoats" of the civil war. A later episode, titled "Out of Gas", shows that Mal bought the spaceship "Serenity" to continue living beyond Alliance control. Much of the crew's work is made up of cargo runs or smuggling. One of the main story arcs is that of River Tam (Summer Glau) and her brother Simon (Sean Maher). River was a child prodigy. Her brain was experimented on. She seems to have schizophrenia and often hears voices. It is later found out that she is a "reader", someone with psychic abilities. Simon gave up a very good career as a surgeon to save her from the Alliance. They join the crew in the original "Serenity". Because of this rescue, they are both wanted criminals.
"Firefly" takes place in a multi-cultural future. Because of this, Mandarin Chinese is a common second language. It is used in advertisements, and characters in the show often use Chinese words and curses.
The show also has slang not used in today's culture. There are changes to modern words, or new words ("shiny" is a synonym of "cool"). The Japanese katakana and an Old West dialect are also used.
One of the problems that Whedon had with FOX was the tone of the show, especially with the main character Malcolm Reynolds. FOX wanted Whedon to make his character more "jolly". They felt he was too dark in the original pilot.
"Firefly" had an ensemble cast that played the nine crew members of the ship, "Serenity". These characters fight criminals, Alliance security forces, the insane Reavers, and the mysterious men with "hands of blue" - who seem to work for a secret agency which is part of the huge corporation, The Blue Sun Corporation. The crew needs to get enough income to keep their ship working. While doing this, they must stay hidden from people looking for them.
All nine major characters are in every episode, with one exception: Book is absent from "Ariel".
Canute
Canute (or Cnut the Great) (ca. 995–12 November 1035) was a Viking King of England, Denmark, Norway, part of Sweden and governor or overlord of Schleswig and Pomerania. Danish influence in the North Sea region was never greater than in his time. He had treaties with the Holy Roman Emperors, Henry II and Conrad II and good relations with the popes of his time.
Canute was the only man to be King of England, Denmark and Norway. He also ruled part of Sweden.
In the summer of 1015, Canute's fleet set sail for England with a Danish army of perhaps 10,000 in 200 longships. Cnut was at the head of an array of Vikings from all over Scandinavia. The invasion force was to be in often close and grisly warfare with the English for the next fourteen months. Practically all of the battles were fought against Aethelred's son, Edmund Ironside.
After ascending the throne in 1016, Canute executed many of Edmund's followers, to make his crown safe.
Canute, a Christian, had two wives. His first wife, or perhaps concubine, was called Ælfgifu. She was a handfast wife, meaning the marriage was made by joining hands, not by a church ceremony. This was legal at that time. She became his northern queen.
His second wife was Emma of Normandy, who was also called Ælfgifu in Old English. Their wedding was a Christian wedding. She was kept in the south, with an estate in Exeter.
Both wives bore sons who became kings of England. Canute kept the Church sweet with many gifts.
There is a story that Canute sat on his throne ordering the sea to turn back. We do not know whether this really happened. It seems to come from Henry of Huntington (c. 1088 – c. 1154). He relates it as follows:
"When King Cnute had reigned for twenty years, he departed this life at Shaftesbury and was buried at Winchester in the Old Minster. A few words must be devoted to the power of this king. Before him there had never been in England a king of such great authority. He was lord of all Denmark, of all England, of all Norway, and also of Scotland. In addition to the many wars in which he was most particularly illustrious, he performed three fine and magnificent deeds...The third, that when he was at the height of his ascendancy, he ordered his chair to be placed on the sea-shore as the tide was coming in. Then he said to the rising tide, 'You are subject to me, as the land on which I am sitting is mine, and no one has resisted my overlordship with impunity. I command you, therefore, not to rise on to my land, nor to presume to wet the clothing or limbs of your master.' But the sea came up as usual, and disrespectfully drenched the king's feet and shins. So jumping back, the king cried, 'Let all the world know that the power of kings is empty and worthless, and there is no king worthy of the name save Him by whose will heaven, earth, and sea obey eternal laws.' Thereafter King Cnut never wore the golden crown on his neck, but placed it on the image of the crucified Lord, in eternal praise of God the great king. By whose mercy may the soul of King Cnut enjoy rest."
Henry of Huntingdon, "Historia Anglorum (VI.17)"
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Saint Henry II (972 – 13 July 1024), called the Holy or the Saint, was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty.
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