Firefly: 10 Hidden Details About Serenity You Never Noticed

Firefly is the rare science fiction classic that comes along once in a generation. Despite only running for a single season and airing its episodes out of order, the series has had a lasting impact. Unfortunately, after Fox prematurely cancelled the show, the only other piece of media filmed in the Firefly universe was the movie Serenity, named after the ship the main characters live on.

Truth be told, it is quite an impressive ship, continually managing to astonish both Reavers and the Alliance military with all the tricks it is capable of. Here are 10 details about Serenity even the most dedicated Browncoats don’t know:

10 Two Levels

Serenity is a relatively small ship. Compared to the massive vessels used by the Alliance, it is absolutely tiny! The way it darts about wasplike through the lower atmosphere of planets shows off an agile amount of mobility that no larger ship could pull off.

Despite being a small craft with a skeleton crew, Serenity actually has an upper and lower deck, both of which are comfortably spacious. This gives it plenty of room to store lots of cargo and allow the various miscreants who call it home to stretch their legs on long flights.

9 Passenger Quarters Near Infirmary

Throughout Firefly‘s 14-episode run, there were a whole lot of scenes that took place in the infirmary. Part of the reason for this is that one of the characters, Simon Tam, served the role of the ship’s new doctor. Another reason for this is that characters kept getting shot, stabbed, and tortured, which generally requires one to go to an infirmary or else fork up credits for undertaker.

In a great piece of practical design, the infirmary is located near the passenger quarters. This means that after getting patched up, patients can get plenty of rest in their bunks. At least, this should be the case, except that it seems like characters are never given a chance to rest before they’re thrown back into the fray of things.

8 Dining Area On Upper Deck

There are three main areas on the upper deck: the cockpit, the engine room, and the dining area. While the first two are essential to make the ship function, the mess hall feels like it could go anywhere in the ship.

One cool aspect about having the crew eat on the upper floor is that if there is ever an attack or some emergency mechanical failure while people are eating, people can get to the engine room or cockpit in a hurry without having to travel a long distance. It also ensures that the crew’s food is kept separate from potentially unhygienic cargo in the lower deck’s storage area.

7 Engineering Signs In Chinese

Joss Whedon created an incredible mythos for Firefly, using all of his worldbuilding skills to design this far future culture which spanned multiple planets in the Verse. One aspect of this future is that Chinese language and religious traditions are widespread, even among English speaking peoples.

While the crew of Serenity seemed to all speak English as their primary language, some of the signage on the ship is written in Chinese, including some engineering signs.

6 Solar Panels On Outer Hull

Artist John R. Mullaney designed some of the most detailed artwork of Serenity for fan material, known as the Serenity Architecture Cutaways. One key aspect of the design is that the outer hull actually has solar panels.

Considering that fuel is a rare and crucial resource, having this additional power source makes all the difference in the Universe for giving the ship a little bit more time to keep afloat without needing to redock as often for fuel.

5 Joystick Controls

This detail was actually not part of the original TV show Firefly, but was added for the film. In the cockpit, there was a new addition to the dashboard, essentially a joystick.

Actor Alan Tyduk, who plays the pilot Wash, has said he was able to decide what the new part was for. Apparently, this joystick controls the angle of the thrusters. This is a cool little detail given the way the ship manages to do some impressive aerial stunts by adjusting its thrusters mid-flight.

4 Hand-Painted Signs On Bunks

All of the main crew have their own bunks. These can be accessed through hatches on the upper deck. Each crew member must open a hatch and climb down a ladder to reach their room. Interestingly, the names of the characters are inscribed on hand-painted signs upon the doors of each hatch that lead’s to that character’s room.

One can just picture Kaylee and Inara having fun, painting together as they chat, or imagine Jayne’s gruff unappreciative reaction when he first saw a sign that was made for him. Then again, maybe Jayne’s just happy to have a bunk he doesn’t have to share.

3 Movie Made The Interior Bigger

After Fox cancelled Firefly, the original set of Serenity was completely destroyed. So, when the movie was approved to begin filming, a whole new ship had to be constructed. Most of the details remained the same, but of course, some things changed, like the addition of the previously mentioned controls to adjust the thrusters.

One noteworthy change was expanding the size of the interior, especially for the corridors. The reason for this was to make it easier for the camera crews to negotiate the space while filming, but of course these changes impact the specs for the ship’s interior layout.

2 It’s A Rare Ship

While Firefly-class ships are known about, there are several clues throughout the series which indicate these are older crafts that aren’t seen frequently by the time the series begins. In the Pilot episode, when the Alliance military first identify Serenity as the crew rob a downed vessel, an Alliance officer is asked by a subordinate if Fireflies are even still made, to which the officer responds the ships are favored by criminals.

That same episode, Shepherd Book tells Kaylee he traveled on a Firely before she was born. Throughout the show, it’s made pretty clear that Fireflies are a ship people know about, but that don’t seem to be seen anymore.

1 It’s Actually A Good Ship

There is a bit of a hint that Serenity is supposed to be a lot like the Millennium Falcon. It’s old, constantly breaking down, and always in need of repairs, but still it manages to stay flying and outrun most of its enemies. However, unlike the Millennium Falcon, Serenity is actually a pretty great ship.

While it’s an old ship in need of repairs, the reason it breaks is that Mal is broke and doesn’t invest the money into keeping its parts updated. Despite this, the ship has outmaneuvered Reavers, the Alliance, and every enemy in the Verse Mal’s managed to make for himself.

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