Firefly

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Episode Guide

Series one

Episode 1/14 Serenity

Feature-length pilot episode. Serenity's crew are forced to make a quick getaway when they're spotted by an Alliance ship while pulling off a tricky robbery. When Badger, the dodgy businessman who put the ragtag team up to the job, discovers the booty carries the Alliance seal, he refuses delivery. As Serenity travels to meet another possible buyer, a group of passengers come aboard - including a doctor who proves suspiciously attached to his cargo… Mark A Sheppard, Battlestar Galactica's Romo Lampkin, guest-stars as Badger.
Episode 2/14 The Train Job

Mobster Niska, who has a reputation as a particularly dangerous and violent man, offers the crew work. In theory, it sounds like a simple case of theft - appropriating two boxes of Alliance goods during a train journey - but in practice proves rather trickier. And when Mal discovers what's inside the stolen boxes, he starts to have second thoughts about finishing the job.
Episode 3/14 Bushwacked

The crew come across a ship spinning in space. There is no response to Serenity's hails, so Mal leads a boarding party in search of salvage material. When they get there, they also find a mass of corpses strung up from the roof - and one severely traumatised survivor. Mal suspects Reavers are to blame. But when an Alliance ship arrives on the scene, Serenity's crew find themselves accused of the slaughter.
Episode 4/14 Shindig

One of Inara's regular clients, Atherton Wing, invites her to a society ball, where he presses her for an answer to his proposal that she become his personal companion on Persephone. Meanwhile, Badger arranges for Mal to attend the same party to meet Sir Warrick Harrow, a prospective business contact. Mal, of course, can't resist the opportunity to bait Wing. But when he takes exception to Wing's attitude to Inara, he finds himself facing Wing in a duel.
Episode 5/14 Safe

Eager for the sale of Harrow's cattle to go smoothly, Mal arranges for Simon and River to be safely out of the way when Serenity lands. As it transpires, the deal is anything but straightforward, and Shepherd Book winds up badly wounded. Meanwhile, Simon and River are abducted by settlers living in the hills. Mal faces a difficult choice - should he rescue the doctor and his sister, or find medical help for Book?
Episode 6/14 Our Mrs Reynolds

After ridding a town of a gang of troublesome criminals, the crew join the inhabitants in a celebration. But when they leave the planet the next morning, Mal is astonished to find he's unwittingly taken part in an unconventional wedding ceremony. Now he's saddled with Saffron, a wife who - much to his crew's disgust - is all too eager to please. Meanwhile, unscrupulous scrap merchants plan to trap Serenity and salvage it for parts.
Episode 7/14 Jaynestown

Jayne is full of trepidation when the crew arrive in Canton. He was there years before and fears the enemies he made may still be out for his blood. So he's puzzled to find a statue erected in his honour, and even more bewildered when the townsfolk offer him a hero's welcome. Elsewhere, Inara meets Mr Higgins (24 star Gregory Itzin), who's keen for her to take his bashful son in hand.
Episode 8/14 Out of Gas

In deep space, a fire rips through Serenity, the engine fails and life support goes down. Kaylee tries to repair the ship, but is lacking one vital component. With the situation looking desperate, Mal orders the crew to leave in Serenity's shuttles, giving them a slim chance of survival. But he refuses to abandon ship himself, and as he struggles to fix Serenity's engine, he reminisces about how he put her crew together.
Episode 9/14 Ariel

Simon needs the crew's help to access a medical facility on a Central planet. He's desperate to scan River's brain to learn the cause of her condition. So he strikes a deal: if they can smuggle him into the hospital, he'll provide them with access to valuable medical supplies. But as Mal, Zoe and Jayne struggle to master tongue-twisting medical jargon, one of the gang is making plans to pocket an even greater reward…
Episode 10/14 War Stories

Jealous of the bond between Mal and Zoe, Wash insists on taking his wife's place when the captain goes to sell the stolen medical supplies. Meanwhile, crime lord Niska has learned of Mal's whereabouts and is determined to exact revenge for the failed train robbery. Ambushed by Niska's men, Mal and Wash are taken aboard his space station, where Niska is keen to put dictator Shan Yu's theories of torture into practice.
Episode 11/14 Trash

Mal is less than ecstatic to be reunited with "wife" Saffron. This time, he's immune to her feminine wiles. However, the duplicitous minx deploys another weapon in her considerable armoury - the lure of financial gain - and persuades him to help her rob a former Alliance weapons expert of a very valuable gun. Mal doesn't trust her an inch, but even he is unprepared for what happens when they arrive at their victim's home.
Episode 12/14 The Message

Everyone's aghast when Mal and Zoe open a large package addressed to them and discover it contains the body of former comrade-in-arms Tracey. As they transport his body to his home planet for burial, they find themselves pursued by men who demand the package be handed over to them - and they'll stop at nothing to get it. Which sets Mal to wondering - what's so valuable about his friend's corpse?
Episode 13/14 Heart of Gold

Ranse Burgess is determined that the prostitute who's carrying his baby will hand the child over to him. Nandi, the brothel madam, has other ideas, and calls old friend Inara for advice. Serenity's crew agree to warn Burgess off, and are soon settled in for a big fight. But Inara could come to regret their offer of assistance when Nandi sets her sights on Mal… Meanwhile, Zoe tells Wash she'd like to have a child.
Episode 14/14 Objects in Space

After River experiences another strange episode which puts the crew at risk, Kaylee comes clean about River's attack on Niska's men (in earlier episode War Stories). As the gang argue over whether Simon and his sister should be allowed to stay, bounty hunter Jubal Early, intent on capturing the pair, boards Serenity covertly. But it seems River's determined to lead Early a merry dance…