(For a quick recap of what the series is about, click here.)
For those who watched Firefly on TV, "The Train Job" was the first episode they saw. As I mentioned in my last article, the FOX executives didn't care for the original pilot, "Serenity," and asked for a second one. I can only imagine the confusion viewers must have felt when they watched "Serenity" after this episode.
In this episode, Mal accepts a job from a vicious crime boss named Niska, who promptly reveals to him what happens to those who don't follow through with the operation. The job: steal some cargo from a moving train, right under the nose of an entire carful of Alliance soldiers. The plan goes off without a hitch, until Mal finds out the intended recipients of the cargo.
"The Train Job" seems to set the theme for the typical Firefly episode. While medical dramas have a Patient of the Week and detective shows a Crime of the Week, Firefly has a Smuggle of the Week. Mal's crew picks up a job, encounters all manners of obstacles in its execution, and succeeds/fails in delivering the goods.
Overall, it was a decent episode, though it focused less on character building and more on the story. I don't think it was any more exciting than the first episode, which was one of the complaints the FOX execs had with the original pilot. However, I did notice that their second main issue was addressed, which was Mal's attitude. In "Serenity," Mal was sour, mean, and unlikable. In the "Train Job" he's a lot friendlier and not nearly as uptight.
There are some enjoyable moments present in the episode. One of my favorite scenes again involved Jayne. When he temporarily assumes command and gives an order to leave without Mal and Zoe, Simon the doctor secretly drugs him. The result is a drooling, babbling Jayne who can barely sit up. Kudos to Adam Baldwin's comedic talents. Who knew that Animal Mother was so funny?
I also like that the marriage of the Sci-Fi/Western genre was re-emphasized. The episode begins with Mal, Zoe, and Jayne having a drink in what looks to be a typical saloon. They end up in a fist fight, with Mal being hurled out the window. It looks like a good old-fashioned Western program, until you realize that the window is holographic, and you see Serenity hovering in front of the saloon.
While "The Train Job" still didn't quite sell me on the whole series, the next episode finally caused me to sit up and pay attention. It's the best episode I've seen so far. Stay tuned for that discussion...
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