#1.05 Safe

[Gin]

From fireflywiki.org and imdb.com

#1.05 Safe

Original airdate: 11/08/02
Written by: Drew Z. Greenberg
Director: Michael Grossman
Episode Cast
Nathan Fillion ... Captain Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds
Gina Torres ... Zoë Washburne
Alan Tudyk ... Hoban 'Wash' Washburne
Morena Baccarin ... Inara Serra
Adam Baldwin ... Jayne Cobb
Jewel Staite ... Kaylee Frye
Sean Maher ... Dr. Simon Tam
Summer Glau ... River Tam
Ron Glass ... Shepherd Book
Isabella Hofmann ... Regan Tam
William Converse-Roberts ... Gabriel Tam
John Thaddeus ... Stark
Gary Werntz ... Patron
Andrew A. Rolfes ... Marcus Grange
Matthew Ferreira ... Nathaniel Grange (as Matthew C. Ferreira)
Joel Steingold ... Head Cop
Erica N. Tazel ... Doralee
Ron Ostrow ... Commander
Morina Pierce ... Ruby
Skylar Roberge ... Young River
Zac Efron ... Young Simon

Summary
The Serenity crew delivers the cargo they acquired in "Shindig".
Then all hell breaks loose.
Locals snatch Simon and River, and Book is wounded in a gunfight. In order to save Book, Mal has no choice but to take off and find medical facilities, since he can't be sure of finding Simon in time to save Book. On Inara’s suggestion, they go to an Alliance ship, whose commander only agrees to help after scanning Book’s identification, at which point the 'shepherd' gets fast, courteous, damned-suspicious service.
Meanwhile, the locals have grabbed Simon because they are in desperate need of a doctor. However, the locals discover River’s abilities. They believe she is a witch and they want to burn her at stake.

[Gin]

From wikapedia.org

Synopsis
The episode opens on the Tam estate, 11 years before the present day, where young Simon addresses his homework. River, however, is more engaged in an imaginary battle against the Independents. Simon tries to steer River back to her dance practice, but she's not only completed this work, but also points out a flaw in Simon's own textbook. Their father, Gabriel, enters, and the children assail him about obtaining a dedicated "sourcebox." Tam Senior expects his son to become a "brilliant doctor" in return for this. The scene then cuts to the present-day doctor as he tries to perform tests on his adult sister, who is loudly and violently refusing. Mal enters to complain about River's outbursts disturbing the cattle taken on board in the previous episode, making it clear that they are to stay out of the way of the impending deal.

On arrival at the backwater colony of Jiangyin, Shepherd Book aids Mal and Jayne in unloading and penning the cattle. When River communes with the animals, Mal decides to send her and Simon off to town to stay out of the way of their "clandestine dealings". They join Inara and Kaylee as the women are shopping. Although Kaylee contemplates buying something nice for Simon, the doctor manages to insult her and her beloved Serenity with his complaints about his predicament, and the Tams are left to their own devices. Simon quickly discovers River has wandered off.

Back at the impromptu cattle pen, Mal meets with his disreputable clients. Just as they come to an agreement on price, the local law enforcement arrives to arrest the clients, and in the ensuing gunfight, Book is grievously wounded. Meanwhile, River wanders into a country dance, and Simon watches his sister enjoy herself for a change. River's ecstatic dancing suddenly falters when Book is shot, but before Simon can react to his sister's distress, he is kidnapped by a group of men. While he is dragged off, a flashback shows an adult Simon arguing with his parents that River is in trouble at the institute. Her letters, he insists, talk about events that never occurred as a code to ask for help, but being more concerned for the effect Simon's paranoia may have on his rising career, his parents shrug his worries off as being overprotective of his little sister. Back in the present time, River follows Simon and his kidnappers, and is seized as well.

Mal and Zoe manage to get Book back to Serenity to perform some field surgery to stabilize him. When Wash is unable to find the doctor to help Book, Mal realizes that Simon and River have probably been taken by hill folk who kidnap unwary people, especially skilled workers. He makes the unpopular decision to abandon the Tams in order to get Book off-planet and to proper medical treatment. As Simon consoles River about their imminent rescue, they see Serenity take off without them.

The doctor-less mountain people welcome Simon and his sister, although he is less pleased with the situation. But when he sees the many ill villagers, he uneasily settles into his vocation. As he works, he tries to argue the inconsistency of this devoutly religious community kidnapping strangers to meet its needs, but Doralee, a village teacher, merely suggests that Simon may well be in the place he is fated to be.

On Serenity, Inara interrupts Mal and Wash's attempts to locate medical help to suggest an unpleasant alternative — asking an Alliance cruiser. Mal unhappily admits that they have no choice, and Serenity docks with the nearby Magellan. Mal explains their urgent need, but the Alliance officer callously dismisses Book's situation. When a weak Book manages to get the officer to check his identification card, however, the officer suddenly reverses himself and orders urgent care. Mal and the crew wonder what kind of connection with the Alliance Book must have, and when leaving on Serenity, a recovering Book dodges Mal's questions but acknowledges that "it's good to be home."

Back in the village on Jiangyin, Simon and River share a memory of their childhood, and River despairs of how her plight has taken everything Simon had away from him. When River tells Doralee about the cause of a young mute girl's silence, Doralee realizes that River has an unusual power, but for this superstitious woman there is only one explanation — that River is a witch.

Another flashback shows an embarrassed and furious Gabriel Tam retrieving his son from Alliance custody after an attempt to help River by meeting with someone in a "blackout zone." The elder Tam tells Simon that he will not protect his son from any further improprieties. Back in the present time, River's current impropriety has Doralee summoning the townspeople about the witch among them. The patron, or village elder, arrives to investigate. Unfortunately, River only seals her fate by reading him, revealing how he attained his position through the murder of his ailing predecessor. The patron quickly cuts her off with a slap, adding his own voice to the call for a witch-burning.

Simon appeals to the patron, fighting the torchbearers and chiding the villagers for their ignorance. When these efforts fail, he finally takes his place next to his sister, prepared to be burned with her. River announces that it's "time to go," and at that moment Serenity swoops over the village. As Jayne holds the villagers at gunpoint from Serenity's cargo bay, Mal and Zoe stride in and demand that the villagers release Simon and River; the village patron angrily declares that '[River] is a witch', leading Mal to pump a round into his shotgun and reply 'Yeah, but she's our witch.'

As Serenity leaves Jiangyin, Jayne hastily returns the valuables he had stolen from Simon during his brief absence. Simon asks Mal why he came back for them, and Mal explains off-handedly that it was because Simon was part of his crew. The Tams join the rest of the crew for a cheerful dinner, having found a home.

[Gin]

From imdb.com

Trivia
* In one episode, Inara asks whether a carved wooden statuette in a trading post is supposed to be a duck, and Kaylee replies that it's a swan. There is a Chinese proverb that says, "A badly painted tiger looks like a dog; a badly carved swan looks like a duck." (The meaning of the proverb is that it's better not to do certain things than to do them badly.)
* The garbled line Mal speaks to Simon in the episode "Safe" as they are about to burned at the stake is "Your talent for alienating folks is near miraculous," to which he responds "Yes, I'm very proud."

Goofs
* Audio/visual unsynchronized: At the end of the episode the good doctor's shirt buttons change from black to white.

[Gin]

From fireflywiki.org

Quotes
YOUNG RIVER: We're cut off... we need to resort to cannibalism.
YOUNG SIMON: That was fast.

MAL: So, she's added cussing and hurling about of things to her repertoire. She really is a prodigy.

RIVER: The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vacuuming systems.
MAL: See, morbid and creepifying, I got no problem with, long as she does it quiet-like.

JAYNE: 'Bout time you broke in them pretty shoes.

MAL: You know... they walk just as fast if you lead 'em.
JAYNE: I like smackin' 'em.

ZOE: Next time we smuggle stock, let's make it something smaller.
WASH: Yeah, we should start dealing in those black-market beagles.

RIVER: They weren't cows inside. They were waiting to be, but they forgot. Now they see the sky and they remember what they are.
MAL: Is it bad that what she said made perfect sense to me.

SIMON: I'm very sorry if she tipped off anyone about your cunningly concealed herd of cows.

BOOK: (after being shot) Afraid I might be needing a preacher.
MAL: That's good. You lie there and be ironical.

ZOE: Knew a man who had a hole clean through his whole shoulder, once. Used to keep a spare hankie in there.

JAYNE (faux-reading Simon's journal): "Dear Diary, today I was pompous and my sister was crazy. Today we were kidnapped by hill folk never to be seen again. It was the best day ever."

ZOE: You sanguine about the kind of reception we're apt to receive on an Alliance ship, Cap?
MAL: Absolutely. (pause) What's "sanguine" mean?

JAYNE: This place gives me an uncomfortableness.

RIVER: I get confused. I remember everything. I remember too much, and... some of it's made up, and... some of it can't be quantified, and... there's secrets.

RIVER: You gave up everything you had to find me. And you found me broken.

SIMON: It's been a big day, what with the abduction and all.

SIMON: She has done nothing to you! If she dies tonight, it won't be God's will that kills her. It'll be you! Your lunacy, your ignorance!

MAL: Appears we got here just in the nick of time. What does that make us?
ZOE: Big d**n heroes, sir.

MAL: Gotta say, doctor, your talent for alienatin' folks is near miraculous.
SIMON: Yes, I'm very proud.

MAL: Cut her down.
VILLAGE PATRON: The girl is a witch.
MAL: Yeah, but she's our witch. (Cocks gun) So cut her the hell down.

MAL: (To Simon) Chow's at 10. No need to dress.

MAL: So then the Shepherd says to the Companion, "Well, a good goat would do that."



Chinese Phrases
* Jien tah duh guay!
"Like hell!" (Young Simon, about play-Independents using dinosaurs in battle.)

* Nah may gwon-shee.
"That's all right then." (Gabriel Tam, amusedly accepting dinosaur excuse for Young Simon's strong language.)

* tyen shiao duh
"God knows what" (Gabriel Tam, invoked about some Cortex contents.)

* dah bien-hwa
"big change" (Young Simon, about getting a dedicated source box.)

* Liou koe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze duh bun ur-tze.
"Stupid son of a drooling harlot and a monkey." (River, ranted at Mal - a real mouthful.)

* niou-se {Simon sounds like niow-suh}
"cow poop" (Simon notes, after stepping in same.)

* shwai {Kaylee sounds like swai}
"cute" {handsome, dashing, Literally: commander} (Kaylee, referring to Simon.)

* luh-suh
"garbage" (*A.* Simon, referring to Serenity. *B.* Kaylee, surprised by Simon's claim. *C.* Kaylee, refuting Simon's claim.)

* pyen juh duh jiou cha wen
"stubborn disciplinarian" (Simon, referring to Mal.)

* Fay hwa.
"Nonsense." (Mal, refuting claim that cattle are in poor condition.)

* Ma-shong!
"Now!" {right away, at once. Literally: on horseback} (Mal, to Wash about hurrying to the infirmary.)

* Lao tyen, boo.
"Oh, god, no." (Wash, on seeing Book's gunshot wound.)

* jing-(chang) mei yong duh {Mal sounds like jing-tsing myung duh}
"consistently useless" (Mal, referring to Doctor Simon.)

* Mei-mei...
"little sister" (Simon, addressing River.)

* choo fay wuh suh leh
"over my dead body" (Gabriel Tam, to Simon before "slippery slope" comment.)

* nyen ching duh
"young one" (Patron, addressing River.)