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Betty or Serenity?

  • Thread starter Black Globe Generator
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So, with which Joss Whedon-created ship crew would you feel most at home?

The crew of Betty from Alien Resurrection, smugglers and pirates who sell a dozen passengers in low-berth to a secret laboratory to use as hosts to an alien parasite?

Or the crew of Serenity from Serenity, rogues and mercenaries who "fight when they ought to run, and run when they ought to fight," who engage in such pursuits as stealing corprorate payrolls and rescuing prisoners from the despotic Imperi...er, Alliance?

Me, I'm a Betty man myself...
 
I have to say, when I first saw Alien: Resurrection I had no idea who Joss Whedon was, but what struck me most about the movie was the crew of the Betty. I liked their cameraderie, and the way they were written. I also especially like the scene where Captain Elgyn (Michael Wincott) is massaging the feet of Sabra Hillard (Kim Flowers). It was a nice departure from the typical Hollywood sex scene (though I have nothing against those, either).

I got to Firefly quite late in the game (way after its initial run on Fox) and, of course, the first thing I notice is how much like Traveller it is. Again, I was struck by the cameraderie of the crew and most especially how each member was a fully fleshed out individual. Each with their own moments in the show, none overpowering the other (something even Star Trek in all its incarnations never managed to do).

OK, having said all that, I'd rather hand out with the crew of Serenity. I'd get my ass kicked on the Betty!
 
Serenity All The WAY.

Come on "The Ballad of Jane"!!!!!!!! What fun.

Besides, now that Wash is where he is, I would definitely be making my move.....
 
After watching the first two brilliant movies in the Alien pantheon flogged into dust in the third and fourth, I'm biased.

Serenity any day.
 
The Betty? Pirates, culpable of mass-murder.

Serenity? Thieves.

Yeah, I think I know who's on the high road here. I'll go with Mal Reynolds thank you very much (and frankly, Resurrection sucked while Firefly was killed before she even had a chance, damn FOX).
 
I thought the first quarter or so of Alien 4 was excellent, mainly because the Betty and her crew reminded me of Traveller more than anything since the original (Aliens was always a T2300 setting to me).

But I'd go with Serenity
 
I'm already waiting for Mal to come by and pick me up!

However, if we can take that cool 'Scotch-maker' drink machine from Alien-Resurrection, I'll be thrilled.

Anyone for a cube of Jack Daniels'?
 
Originally posted by mickazoid:
However, if we can take that cool 'Scotch-maker' drink machine from Alien-Resurrection, I'll be thrilled.
Click to expand...
"Drink, Elgyn?"

"Constantly."
 
I disliked Alien Resurrection as a story. As eye candy, however, it was fun.

Serenity, however, is a home for drama.

I prefer drama.
 
Unfair. I like both ships, ugly though they are. The Betty definitely fits well with the technology 'look' established by Alien.

As for crew, well, Firefly had more time to develop its characters. I can see the beginnings of a good TV character crew on the Betty, too. And, to be absoutely honest, their moral standards were a bit closer to most of my Traveller crews ...
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Yeah, can the next spaceship tv show please not be about a military hierarchy. New BSG is fantastic but that is a special case.

It's what made Firefly and Farscape, and if you go back far enough, Blakes 7, so dynamic. Antagonisms between the crew are more interesting than yet another alien with a cornish pastie for a forehead, and everyone going round saying sir, yes sir!

Andromeda wants to get the best of both worlds. Tis hokey fun (and IMHO more enjoyable than either Voyager or Enterprise), but not inthe same league as the others I've mentioned.
 
Klaus has hit the nail on the head, IMHO. In fact, the only thing which would improve BSG for me would be if there was more emphasis on the civilian fleet - after all, their survival is the whole point of the show, when you get down to it.
 
I'm not so sure the military has to be completly out of it - Babylon 5 was a pretty awesome show. But I think you really do have to keep the military in its place. Not every problem is best solved with a big gun (as much as Jayne might hope so).

Back on topic, I think the crew of Serenity has the advantage. As short as the season ran (yes stofsk, I damn Fox to eternal hell in my prayers), we only had about half an hour to get to know the crew of the Betty before they started getting killed off.
 
The Betty or the Serenity ? Hmmm. Gotta go with the Betty on my bad days; Serenity on my good ones .

I'm with Plank on "making the moves" with Wash at room temperature..
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I'm with Mickazoid on the Scotch-maker machine! Anything distilled or fermentable aboard is always a plus.
:D ;)
 
Originally posted by Klaus:
It's what made Firefly and Farscape, and if you go back far enough, Blakes 7, so dynamic. Antagonisms between the crew are more interesting than yet another alien with a cornish pastie for a forehead, and everyone going round saying sir, yes sir!

Andromeda wants to get the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...
So was Babylon 5 - sure, it had its military side of things, but it also had a big deal of politics, diplomacy and internal bickering , especially in the first season (in which Sinclair had to deal with things such a docker's strike, budget cuts, trying to keep the various aliens off each other's throat and so on) far more than with any military issue (though B5 space-battles are plain awsome
).
 
Originally posted by Frank Mikes:
...we only had about half an hour to get to know the crew of the Betty before they started getting killed off.
Click to expand...
While this is true, I think it's a testament to both the writing and strong characterizations that both crews are comparable despite the disparity in screen time.
 
Whilst, I am a big fan of Serenity & Firefly, it is sometimes too much like a Western. So, I would have to opt for the Betty as those are tropes on a much more vast scale even most parts of the sucked just because of the inclusion of Ripley. A more interesting story, would be if the Betty, found the lab ship without Ripley, sort of replaying Alien & Aliens capturing the best of both worlds.

But, then again, I am also partial to the William Gibson script, I guess that I just like my Dark Space Operas...
 
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