Serenity Chronicles II: War Stories

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9.4 (2)
 
9.8 (14)
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serenity02_front.jpg
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
2002
Original Running Time:
172 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
133 minutes
Time Cut:
39 minutes
Time Added:
10 minutes
Synopsis:
The second chapter in the Serenity Chronicles finds the Firefly crew harboring two Alliance fugitives and looking for any job they can find to keep their ship flying. The more time they spend hiding from the Alliance, the more Simon Tam fears for his sister River's mental stability as she begins to show signs of aggression that could endanger everyone on board.

Desperation will take the crew of Serenity down a dark and dangerous road. A high risk gamble to help River and a heist job for the most ruthless gangster in the 'verse will lead the crew to question their own morals - even if it leads to their demise.
Intention:
For this entry, I wanted to combine one of the bigger storylines of the show that involved the ruthless Niska and also gave more insight into Mal and Zoe's experiences in the Battle of Serenity Valley. These episodes lead into the grand finale, Serenity the movie.

It is difficult to do this kind of edit and not have it feel very episodic. This was certainly the trickiest of the trilogy, but I hope that you still enjoy the story I am hoping to tell with this trilogy.
Special Thanks:
As always, BionicBob
Release Information:
DVD
Special Features:
War Stories Trailer
Editing Details:
-All commercials breaks are gone
-Cropped credits whenever necessary
-New opening title to match the previous release
-Used ALL of the River Tam Sessions which were viral videos released to drum up hype for Serenity the movie.
Cuts and Additions:
The Train Job:
-Cut River’s line about Mal meaning bad in Latin
-Moved Book and Inara conversation about praying for Mal earlier to right after Mal accepts the job from Niska
-Moving the previously mentioned conversation made it possible so that when Mal and Zoe encounter Alliance soldiers on the train, there isn’t a commercial break followed by a cut away to Book and Inara and then back to a stunned Mal and Zoe looking suspiciously at a platoon of Alliance soldiers
-I did not want to cut Simon and Mal talking in the infirmary, but it led right into River repeatedly saying 2 by 2 hands of blue and since they wouldn’t make it into the edit, this whole thing had to go. I did leave her mentioning them earlier if only just for a shout out to them. I couldn’t let the Blue Handed Men thing go unresolved since Niska in fact lives at the end of this. Too many loose ends

Ariel:
-Cut any mention of Book not being on board Serenity, but had to leave mention of Inara leaving since it would’ve been too difficult to cut around later when everyone gets back from the heist
-Cut Mal and Zoe getting lost in the hospital and running into a doctor who figures out they are fake
-Cut out the doctor Mal knocks out and brings with them into the med closet
-Cut access card not working for Mal and Zoe
-Cut Blue Handed Men (sadly)
-Trimmed Jayne, Simon and River escape since they were not being chased by the Blue Handed Men
-Cut the numerous times Jayne hits the door handle. Now he winds up to hit it and Mal shoots open the door

War Stories:
-After we see Niska we cut right to some of the crew eating apples that Jayne had recently bought for everyone (now Kaylee doesn’t say the infamous No Power in the ‘Verse line)
-Cut the silly line “what are we going to do, clone him?”
-Cut “Yup, he’s dead.”

Objects in Space:
-Used only the opening scene, the scene with Mal scolding Jayne, and the dining area scene where they discuss River and her being a Reader
[Trailer]

serenity02_cover_art
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
2002
Original Running Time:
172 minutes
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
133 minutes
Time Cut:
39 minutes
Time Added:
10 minutes
Synopsis:
The second chapter in the Serenity Chronicles finds the Firefly crew harboring two Alliance fugitives and looking for any job they can find to keep their ship flying. The more time they spend hiding from the Alliance, the more Simon Tam fears for his sister River's mental stability as she begins to show signs of aggression that could endanger everyone on board.

Desperation will take the crew of Serenity down a dark and dangerous road. A high risk gamble to help River and a heist job for the most ruthless gangster in the 'verse will lead the crew to question their own morals - even if it leads to their demise.
Intention:
For this entry, I wanted to combine one of the bigger storylines of the show that involved the ruthless Niska and also gave more insight into Mal and Zoe's experiences in the Battle of Serenity Valley. These episodes lead into the grand finale, Serenity the movie.

It is difficult to do this kind of edit and not have it feel very episodic. This was certainly the trickiest of the trilogy, but I hope that you still enjoy the story I am hoping to tell with this trilogy.
Special Thanks:
As always, BionicBob
Release Information:
DVD
Special Features:
War Stories Trailer
Editing Details:
-All commercials breaks are gone
-Cropped credits whenever necessary
-New opening title to match the previous release
-Used ALL of the River Tam Sessions which were viral videos released to drum up hype for Serenity the movie.
Cuts and Additions:
The Train Job:
-Cut River’s line about Mal meaning bad in Latin
-Moved Book and Inara conversation about praying for Mal earlier to right after Mal accepts the job from Niska
-Moving the previously mentioned conversation made it possible so that when Mal and Zoe encounter Alliance soldiers on the train, there isn’t a commercial break followed by a cut away to Book and Inara and then back to a stunned Mal and Zoe looking suspiciously at a platoon of Alliance soldiers
-I did not want to cut Simon and Mal talking in the infirmary, but it led right into River repeatedly saying 2 by 2 hands of blue and since they wouldn’t make it into the edit, this whole thing had to go. I did leave her mentioning them earlier if only just for a shout out to them. I couldn’t let the Blue Handed Men thing go unresolved since Niska in fact lives at the end of this. Too many loose ends

Ariel:
-Cut any mention of Book not being on board Serenity, but had to leave mention of Inara leaving since it would’ve been too difficult to cut around later when everyone gets back from the heist
-Cut Mal and Zoe getting lost in the hospital and running into a doctor who figures out they are fake
-Cut out the doctor Mal knocks out and brings with them into the med closet
-Cut access card not working for Mal and Zoe
-Cut Blue Handed Men (sadly)
-Trimmed Jayne, Simon and River escape since they were not being chased by the Blue Handed Men
-Cut the numerous times Jayne hits the door handle. Now he winds up to hit it and Mal shoots open the door

War Stories:
-After we see Niska we cut right to some of the crew eating apples that Jayne had recently bought for everyone (now Kaylee doesn’t say the infamous No Power in the ‘Verse line)
-Cut the silly line “what are we going to do, clone him?”
-Cut “Yup, he’s dead.”

Objects in Space:
-Used only the opening scene, the scene with Mal scolding Jayne, and the dining area scene where they discuss River and her being a Reader
Cover art by BionicBob (DOWNLOAD HERE) image

[Trailer]

Trusted Reviewer reviews

2 reviews
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
MusicEd921 has created a sequel edit here that is actually better than his first edit, in my opinion! I'll say again (as I did for part one in his series) that I'd still prefer to show someone the actual TV episodes, which really aren't that much longer. But this is a fun way to do a 'cram-session' rewatch for those who are already fans of the show. The addition of the "River Tam sessions" internet content are very well-integrated into the narrative to keep it moving and keep a growing sense of purpose for River. This edit actually feels more balanced about hinting towards River's evolution in the theatrical film because we are making consistent progress rather than seeming like the writers only decided what to do after many episodes.

On the other hand, I did miss some elements that were skipped over in the show... it's a shame to lose nearly all romance with Mal, most of Book's narrative arc, and arguably the biggest bads of the series (the blue-handed men). But if you didn't know what you were missing, MusicEd921 does a fantastic job at choosing which parts of episodes to include to bridge the pilot episode to the theatrical movie. Nearly every character gets an arc and a bit of depth. We get a real sense of the crew coming together, and developing a sense of morality and a purpose. And we clearly move from a slightly (but not overly) episodic feel into a growing sense that River and the Alliance will take center stage. This actually does a pretty remarkable job at working as a standalone film that also bridges the 2 parts of MusicEd921's trilogy.

If I were to quibble, my one issue would be that the editor sets up a great villain early on in the film to be paid off at the end. But there's then another 15 minutes or so afterwards of character stuff which honestly feels like an anti-climactic finale to the 'film'. I know these scenes were necessary to set up the events in the final part of the trilogy, but I wonder if it wouldn't have been better to end with the big showdown and save everything that happens "2 Months Later..." for the start of the third 'film'? It's honestly a small quibble though, and I was really impressed with the narrative work here, and found only a couple of minor hard cuts or clipped audio bits. It's all quite professional, and leaves me eagerly anticipating the final part of the trilogy.

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Yes
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Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
No power in the Verse can stop MusicEd now!

The second chapter in Ed's Serenity Chronicles is another WINNER!

It is by far the most challenging of the three part trilogy, as War Stories weaves together material from four different episodes. But Ed pulls it off wonderfully, tying the stories together with underlying series stories arcs and further connecting it with the River Tam sessions. It truly feels like a complete story rather than a bunch of episodes stitched together. Yes, it has a slightly episodic feel (or rather a three act arc with an epilogue), but that is not a bad thing -- ever seen the The Godfather? It is very episodic in structure. So Ed is in good company.

And the best thing, you do not need to be a Firefly fan or have any knowledge of the series to follow, understand or be entertained by this movie. I watched with my bride, who has never seen the show or even part one, and she was completely enthralled from beginning to end. So fantastic work on narrative!

And the trailer for Part Three has left me salivating! Bring it on!!!

Awesome edit. THUMBS UP!

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Yes
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Overall rating
 
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.8(14)
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9.8(14)
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10.0(14)
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9.7(14)
Enjoyment
 
9.7(14)
View all user reviews View most helpful
Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
9.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I enjoyed the second part of this cinematic adaptation even more than the first part. The editing feels even defter here, cutting out and linking up segments in a really smooth way overall. It also brings us close-to-home with the main point of the story: River's powers and secret... which develops into the plotline for Serenity. I found myself sometimes missing parts of the story from the sundry episodes not included, but I think it's a tight and elegant solution all the same. Some of the choices I didn't even fully appreciate until Part III, which I could see the narrative choices really paying off.

This is another superb piece of work, and it was a perfect way to spend my afternoon.


From my review of Part I because it's relevant throughout all three edits:
There are definitely places where some audio cuts are noticeable, or where music fades show up over one another. But these are few, and rare enough to not distract from the enjoyment or immersion. I could also see room for improvements through both some more advanced editing and the use of modern technology. AI upscaling of the footage from deleted scenes might yield some interesting results, for instance. But, more reasonably, there could be color grading edits that would help sew some of the scenes together better. This is a comment that I'll repeat for all three releases. However, despite this, I have to say that the overall effect is still excellent, and I wasn't particularly pulled out of the narrative by anything. Then again, I'm a Firefly superfan.

I don't think I'd start someone new to Firefly off with this, because you're going to end up missing a lot of the little moments from sideline episodes, moments that make the series what it is. But, I do think this is absolutely the edit-to-end-all-edits when it comes to *rewatching* Firefly, if you want to watch an arc that lines up **perfectly** with the Serenity film. One of the greatest problems with the film was that it needed to cater to an audience that hadn't seen the show!

Time to pull out my old DVDs and catch the other episodes now, though... or maybe just watch the whole thing again through. :D

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Yes
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Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
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10.0
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On the whole i think this was probably the most work out of the three, and the one ii most appreciated the work going on. lots of good work trimming and getting everything to flow. looking over the changelist, there were plenty of changes i didn;t even notice (or miss always). No power in the verse - really out of nowhere spooky now.

Seeing the river tam sessions mixed in really brought a lot more depth in a shorter space of time, and set up nicely for a serenity watch. the last one is a little dodgier than i remembered, and as a closer feels a little bit whatever.

Whatever. Really impressed by this one.

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(Updated: March 11, 2018)
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
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10.0
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10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I think this is a great way to see growth of the crew and hit the darker parts of the Firefly story, the focus on the advancement of plot points surrounding River was excellent. I think this is the best prep for re-watching Serenity...I'm looking forward to see how the final chapter is.

I kindof miss Our Mrs Reynolds, and Shindig, but I think this edit met the goals it set out.

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Great fanedit! The storyline is edited to be seamless, staying true to what made Firefly. Great selection of scenes out of various episodes!

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Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
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Overall rating
 
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10.0
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10.0
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10.0
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Great edit of a great show. Me and my family had the best time watching this. From all the browncoats I want to thank you!

PS. I'm sure copying and pasting the same review for each of the movies is not the most professional thing to do but I really feel each of these edits are spectacular.

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