Mal Reynolds was a Sargent in the war fighting for the Independance side. When the Independance lost to the Alliance Mal bought a transport ship named Serenity. Now with his crew, Zoe his first mate and fellow army veteran, Zoes husband Hoban 'Wash' Washbourne the pilot, a tough guy named Jayne, a beautiful 'campanion' Inara, a young mechanic Kaylee, a preacher called Shepard Book, a doctor named Simon and his psychic sister River who are on the run from the law, they all must do legal and illegal jobs to make a living while trying to stay under the Alliances radar. They do what they have to do to survive but are constantly getting into trouble.

Joss Whedon originally cast Rebecca Gayheart as Inara.

[opening narration for episodes: Train Job, Bushwacked, Our Mrs. Reynolds, Jaynestown]


Book:
After the Earth was used up, we found a new solar system and hundreds of new Earths were terraformed and colonized. The central planets formed the Alliance and decided all the planets had to join under their rule. There was some disagreement on that point. After the War, many of the Independents who had fought and lost drifted to the edges of the system, far from Alliance control. Out here, people struggled to get by with the most basic technologies; a ship would bring you work, a gun would help you keep it. A captain's goal was simple: find a crew, find a job, keep flying.

Continuity: The Chinese characters for "Blue Sun" change from episode to episode. On Jayne's T-shirt, "Blue Sun" is "qing ri", but in logo signs, it's "lan ri". "Qing" and "lan" refer to different hues of blue (sky blue vs. indigo).

Performed by Sonny Rhodes
Written by Joss Whedon