The Train Job

"The Train Job" is the second episode of US science-fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon, although it was the first to be shown. (The pilot, "Serenity", was not shown until nine other episodes had been aired.) According to the DVD commentary, Whedon and Tim Minear had only two days to write the script. The crew of Serenity take on a train heist commissioned by a sinister crime lord. The cargo they are after, however, is worth ... more

"The Train Job" is the second episode of US science-fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon, although it was the first to be shown. (The pilot, "Serenity", was not shown until nine other episodes had been aired.) According to the DVD commentary, Whedon and Tim Minear had only two days to write the script. The crew of Serenity take on a train heist commissioned by a sinister crime lord. The cargo they are after, however, is worth more than they know. Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds, his first mate, Zoe, and fellow crewman Jayne Cobb are in a bar. An inebriated bar patron celebrates the anniversary of Unification Day, which motivates former rebel Mal to pick a fight. As the entire bar joins in, Mal radios his pilot, Wash, and shortly Serenity dramatically backs up the hapless crew. Through the ship's exterior speakers, Wash threatens to 'blow a new crater in this little moon'. Back aboard Serenity, a young man, Dr. Simon Tam, tends to his mentally-disturbed sister River,... less