“Shindig” is the fourth episode of Firefly. We look at these themes from the show: Situational Respectability, Pageantry, The Game, The Dance, Rules Spoken and Unspoken, Collision of worlds, and Why did this get so complicated?
SHOW TIMES
2:28 Upcoming Shows
2:31 Marc's Upcoming Shows
3:30 Mikey's Upcoming Shows
4:35 Review of 2018 Blue Sun Holiday Spectacular Tour
10:07 About Last Week's Songs
10:39 Thoughts about “Reaver's Drinking Song” by Marc Gunn
13:08 Thoughts about “Ghosts” by Mikey Mason
17:15 Short summary of Episode 4 “Shindig”
21:13 Discussion of themes in “Shindig”
44:56 Marc's thanks and song “Favor of a Dance”
49:26 Mikey's thanks and song “Sad Little King”
54:07 Mikey's songs “Captain Tightpants”
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Welcome to In the ‘Verse: Song Crafting for the Firefly Universe.
MARC: My name is Marc Gunn, the creator of the Firefly Drinking Songs show.
MIKEY: And I’m Mikey Mason, creator of the Beer Powered Time Machine Podcast.
MARC: This is part four of a six part series. We are rewatching episodes of Firefly. Our goal is to find themes and stories that we can write songs about.
Mikey: These first six episodes were funded by Marc’s fans in his Gunn Runners Club. He hit a milestone which made this show happen.
MARC: There are still eight more episodes of Firefly. If you want us to finish out the series, like we do, make a monthly pledge to Mikey Mason on Patreon. Once he hits his goal, we will record eight more episodes! Go to http://patreon.com/mikeymason/
Of course, if you enjoy Marc Gunn's music, you can still make a pledge to support him at http://patreon.com/celtfather
Upcoming Shows for Marc Gunn
- Coffee with The Celtfather every Wednesday at noon on YouTube
- Celfather Live on Thursday, January 24 at 8 PM CST on YouTube
- Interstellar Ginger Beer & Exploration Co. at 7:30 PM on Friday, Feb 8
- Brennan’s Irish Pub at 7:30 PM on Sat, Feb 23
- The Hangout in Gulf Shores, AL on St Patrick’s Day with Kilted Kings
News
- Special Offer on Patreon in February…
Upcoming Shows for Mikey Mason
- MarsCon Jan 18-20
- Concert Window Jan 25
- Standup show Cerro Gordo, IL Jan 26
- Kentucky Pirate Festival with the Varlots on Feb 2
- Standup Show in Martin’s Ferry, OH Feb 9
- Comedy Zone in Harrisburg, PA on Feb 15-16
- Crown Point IN on Feb 22
- Coshocton, OH on Feb 23
Quick review of the Blue Sun Tour
- Huntsville, Maggie McGuinness Pub
- Birmingham, Brennan’s Irish Pub
- Indianapolis, Flying Cat Concert Series
- Cincinnati, Gateway Games & More
- Muncie, The Fickle Peach
Review Songs from Last Episode
5 Minute Show Summary: Shindig
Plot synopsis:
Mikey – The show opens with Mal and Jayne playing a game of pool with some men on the planet Santo while Inara watches from the bar. After finding out the men are slave-traders, Mal picks one's pocket and a fight ensues.
Marc – Back on Serenity, Inara books a regular client named Atherton Wing for several days. Down on Persephone, Kaylee admires a fluffy pink dress, and Mal offends her by comparing her to “a sheep walkin' on its hind legs.”
Mikey – All head back to the ship save Mal and Jayne, who are invited at gunpoint to a business meeting with Badger, who wants them to smuggle cargo for Warwick Harrow, who won’t have anything to do with Badger. He got them a couple of rare invites to a fancy ball at which they can make contact with Harrow.
Marc – At the ball, Wing proposes to make Inara his permanent companion on Persephone, and she isn’t quite receptive. Mal arrives with Kaylee on his arm. She is wearing the fluffy pink dress from the shop, and he goes to look for Harrow while she “interrogates” the buffet.
Mikey – A group of young ladies is cruel to Kaylee about her dress, and she is rescued by an older gentleman who directs her to a group of men where she leads a rousing discussion about spacecraft and mechanics. Meanwhile, Mal is interrupted while making a bad first impression with Harrow by Atherton Wing and Inara. Mal asks for a dance.
Marc – As Mal and Inara dance, wing becomes increasingly jealous, and at the end of the dance seizes her arm to march off. Mal and he get into a verbal altercation, which ends when Atherton says that Inara was bought and paid for, and Mal punches him.
Mikey – Atherton publicly accepts this “duel” challenge, and Mal goes along, completely unaware of what’s ensuing. It turns out they’ll be sword fighting to the death at dawn, that Atherton is a master swordsman, and that he’ll be kept in quarters on Persephone to ensure that he doesn’t flee. The only real upside is that Harrow seems to like Mal for hitting Wing.
Marc – Back on Serenity, Badger boards the ship with his men to hold the crew on board hostage until the duel is over so they won't attempt to save Mal. Inara sneaks into Mal's room at night and offers a means of escape, but Mal refuses and instead Inara stays to help him practice dueling for the morning. Mal asks her not to stay with Atherton if he dies in the morning.
Mikey – On board Serenity, the crew is planning a method of getting around Badger's men when River enters and pretends to be from Badger's home world, criticizing his delusions of social standing and calling him a “sad little king of a sad little hill” before going back to her room.
Marc – In the morning, Mal and Atherton duel and it's clear that Atherton is more skilled. He breaks Mal's sword and is about to deliver the death strike when Inara says that she'll stay on Persephone if he lets Mal live. While Atherton is distracted, Mal takes the opportunity to hit him with the hilt of his sword, then taking his unbroken sword and holding Atherton to the ground. After poking him with his sword two times, Mal spares Atherton's life.
Mikey – As he recovers, Atherton realizes that Inara never intended to stay with him and threatened to put her out of work. Inara then says that Atherton has earned a black mark in the Companion registry and will never be able to contract with another one; or as Harrow puts, if he wants to court women, he'll have to rely on his “winning personality”. Harrow says he will have his cargo on Serenity later that day.
Marc – After boarding Serenity, Mal is attended to and Badger's men leave. That night, Inara expresses her gratitude to Mal for standing up for her and says that she wouldn't have accepted Atherton's offer. As Inara remarks, “Why would I want to leave Serenity?” Mal responds “can't think of a reason,” and we learn that Harrow's cargo is a herd of cattle.
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Thanks so much for listening. We would love your comments, songs and lyrics or links to videos to share in the next show. You can post them on the Blue Sun Tour Facebook page or email intheverse@fireflydrinkingsongs.com
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