Degrees and Joss Whedon

NEWS THIS WEEK: Contrary to what some may have expected, I actually managed to graduate this week, so it's now Anthony Finch, Bachelor Of Science, thankyou very much. Aaah, science - crunchy and delicious.

So, to celebrate in style, I settled down this evening with some beers, Burnout Paradise, and the special edition of Alien Resurrection.

Which, I noticed for the first time, is written by none other than Joss Whedon. Oh yes, the boy wonder who won me over with Firefly and Serenity, who, for a few short years, wrote the perfect pulp sci-fi. What's interesting is how many ideas he was mulling over back then which made their way into Firefly. Observe:

• Johner, the happy-go-lucky psychotic who turns out alright, is a clear prototype for everyone's favourite thug, Jayne. He's angry, stupid, and not afraid to let you know about it.
• The Betty, from it's rotating side-arms, to it's snub nose, could be an early model of the Firefly.
• The Betty is crewed by Pirates - In Space! Ring any bells?
• Earth That Was? I guess he's referencing half of science-fiction here, but whatever.

Check back here for anymore pointless parallels I can think of!