At 0:11 on the DVD, some of the "aluminum foil" reflecting
surface of the bordello can be seen peeling away from the
wall. But it stays that way consistently through the scene,
so I guess the director decided it added some authenticity
to the idea of a struggling small business on a backwater
moon.
At 0:31 on the DVD, a tear in the
"aluminum foil" reflecting surface of the bordello is
visible below what appears to be a covered-over air
conditioning unit.
At 2:37 on the DVD, Han Solo in carbonite makes another
appearance (see "The Message"
for the first). Han is also seen in the same location at
34:25.

It seems that since Inara saw that calling Mal a "petty
crook" bothered him in
"The Message", she has decided
to continue using it, much the same way he insists on
referring to her job as "whoring".
Faster-than-light communication in the 'Verse is referred to
as a wave.
At 4:56 on the DVD, notice that Nandi's wallpaper appears to
be old newspapers. This is true in many of the rooms
and hallways of the bordello.
At 7:40 on the DVD, notice that
there is an old pick-up truck behind
the bordello. Later, at 15:29, it
appears the cab has been covered up
with a gray tarp to hide it! |
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|
 |
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In the bordello, Jayne remarks that his John Thomas is about
to "pop off and fly around the room". The term "John Thomas"
is a British slang term for "penis".
At 10:56 on the DVD, notice that the image on the
shadow-theater screen is that of a globe with the continents
of Earth-That-Was. However, the continents appear to be
somewhat deformed from the way we know them today, perhaps
an indication of rising sea levels due to climate change
over the centuries. As the scene in the theater progresses,
the shadow theater screen has a red hue cast onto it, with
fluttering pieces of thin silk that give the impression of a
burning Earth.
At 13:05 on the DVD, notice that Jayne is brushing the hair
of his favorite whore during Mal's announcement that they
should all run if they want to survive Rance Burgess' likely
assault.
On the shelf of the bar behind Jayne at 13:05 on the DVD,
there is what appears to be a bottle of Seagram's 7, an
American blended whisky.
At 15:25 on the DVD, there appears to be a van or motor home
parked in the background.

At 16:17 on the DVD, Jayne is explaining to his favorite
whore how to hand him the next gun in his cache when he runs
out of ammo in the upcoming battle. His cache of guns is
laid out on the bed and the gun third from the bottom of the
screen appears to be the same model as used by Inara in
"Trash", but without the
suppressor/brake at the end of the muzzle and the
laser-target attached to the top; perhaps the accessories
are removable and the gun was Jayne's all along and he
loaned it to Inara for the heist, or he may just own one of
the same (or similar) model. I like to think though that the weapon
used by Inara was, in fact, her own.
Apparently the word "sly" is a slang term for homosexuality
in the Verse. When Mal doesn't make use of credit at the
bordello, Nandi asks if he's sly, the implication being that
she's asking if he's gay. He soon disabuses of her of that
notion.
After kissing Nandi, Mal pauses and tells her, "I'm just
waiting to see if I pass out. Long story." This is a
reference to his last kiss, with Saffron, who was wearing
lipstick that drugged him and made him pass out in
"Our Mrs. Reynolds".
The bordello is called the Heart of Gold. This is a play on
the stock character in many works of fiction of the hooker
with a heart of gold, a supposedly immoral woman is kind and
generous to someone who needs help.
I think the use of Rance's weapon during the shootout at the
Heart of Gold is the only time we see a laser gun used in
the course of the TV series. (The Lassiter doesn't count since
it doesn't work.)
At 33:26 on the DVD, a large
canister outside the bordello looks
like it may say "FIREFLY SET
DRESSING" or something similar! In
this same shot, it looks like Zoe
and Book might be standing in front
of the grill of the old white
pick-up truck spotted earlier. |
 |
At 33:52 on the DVD, we see a couple of tractor-trailers for
a semi-truck in the background. Seconds later, we see
another tractor-trailer with a sign for Anderson's Terra
Firma Supplies. The signage looks shiny--so to speak--so was
probably made for the production.
Anderson's Terra Firma Supplies appears to be a fictional
company.
How do Petaline and the girls know that Chari tipped off
Rance about the protection being offered by Mal's crew?
After the battle, Petaline orders Chari to go on with the
defeated men back to town. I suppose one of the captured men
might have ratted her out.
Chinese translations
(Thanks to the
Firefly-Serenity Chinese Pinyinary for the translations) |
Time on
DVD |
Chinese |
English |
5:11 |
Inara says, "gen houzi bi diushi" |
"engage in a feces hurling contest with a monkey" |
5:31 |
Nandi says, "Zhufu ni, mei-mei." |
"Blessing on you, dear sister." |
7:57 |
Nandi says, "mei-mei" |
little sister |
9:26 |
Some Chinese characters flow across a computer screensaver behind
the bar. |
Unknown. |
10:56 |
The puppet theater narrator says, "Wei zuozhe manzai er qu." |
"Swollen of her, they left." |
17:26 |
Jayne says, "Dong ma?" |
"Understand?" |
22:57 |
Nandi says, "Zhen mei naixing de Fozu." |
"Extraordinarily impatient Buddha." |
27:37 |
Chinese characters on Jayne's t-shirt: Wanmei Mao |
Perfect Cat |
32:46 |
Nandi says, "Wang ba dan--" |
"Dirty bastard sons-of--"" |
34:57 |
Wash says, "Niao shi de dugui." |
"Piss-soaked pikers." |
Notes from Firefly Role-Playing
Game Core Book
The planet Deadwood is in the Blue Sun system.
Memorable Dialog
strikes fear.wav
handling his weapon.wav
distress call.wav
they've got guns.wav
that's what I'm sayin'.wav
I'm in.wav
hope the whores are prettier than the house.wav
can I start gettin' sexed.wav
boy
whores.wav
so much tasty in here.wav
your most poetical.wav
tell me I'm pretty.wav
will you wash it first?.wav
you're my kind of stupid.wav
so your legend tells.wav
more or less a miracle.wav
one of the virtues of not being puritanical about sex.wav
I'm a little appalled at her taste.wav
a
little funny.wav
I'm
leaving.wav
Back to Firefly/Serenity
Episode Studies