Full spoilers for the episode follow...

Taking a few notable cues from Star Wars "lived in/junked" galaxy filled with smugglers, rebels, and imperialist regimes, Joss Whedon dialed the Western gunslinger aspects of the genre up to eleven with Firefly - a superbly unique adventure series that, unfortunately, was given such poor scheduling treatment by FOX back in 2002 that fans still hold an unwavering grudge to this day, long after all the network executives responsible have left.I will, naturally, begin these flashback reviews with the pilot episode, "Serenity," which was inexplicably aired toward the end of show's short seasonal run, despite the fact that it very obviously (as pilots do) introduced us to the premise, all the characters, and set up the ongoing story. [For those watching with us, we'll be going by the order you'll find on Netflix, DVD and all other outlets for Firefly these days, not the order they aired on FOX.]"Serenity," as a double episode, still holds up as a rollicking, solid mini-movie. Exposition is abundant, but cleverly spread out and well-integrated into the story of a smuggling job gone south. Ex-"Browncoats" Mal (Nathan Fillion) and Zoe (Gina Torres) - seen on the losing end of the "Battle of Serenity Valley" during the episode's first few minutes - headline a crusty crew of smugglers that include wise-cracking Wash (Alan Tudyk), perpetually mutinous Jayne (Adam Baldwin), and charmingly chipper Kaylee (Jewel Staite).It's now six years after the crushing defeat of the Browncoat colonist rebellion and Mal's got a severe, stubborn chip on his shoulder. And Serenity does a great job of giving us a hero who's spent so many years being angry and resentful that his previous nobility has been sort of squashed down deep inside him. It's there, but it takes some rather extreme circumstances to draw it out. Because Mal's default setting is to protect his immediate circle of comrades. Like a peripherally-blinded platoon leader would."Serenity" throws a lot of bold moving parts at us - notwithstanding the mix of frontier prairie speak (with some Chinese flare) and the fiddle folk waltz score - but it all feels quite linear because of the simple story of "Mal wanting to get paid for goods and services." A gig involving a salvaged cache of food ration bars immediately shows us the crew's fear of patrolling Alliance watchdogs and shines a spotlight on Mal's overall discontent with the fickle smuggler scum - like Mark Sheppard's Badger - he's forced to make deals with in his quest to earn an honest illegal buck.The episode then takes an exciting turn when Mal, for some extra coin, takes on passengers. A really cool story element that instantly creates an "us and them" dynamic aboard the ship. Though with some passengers feeling more like "us" than others. Like Morena Baccarain's sexual "ambassador" Inara, who's a familiar and welcome face to the crew - though engaged in a "doth protest too much" flirtation with a petulantly hostile Mal.Other tag-alongs include the enlightened-but-mysterious Shepherd Book (Ron Glass) and the prim/poised Simon (Sean Maher). The episode very briefly turns into a "who dunnit?" when someone on board signals the Alliance, and while it's easy to peg background passenger Carlos Jacott's Lawrence as the culprit, the swerve occurs when it turns out he's not after Mal, but Simon. Thus opening up Firefly's heartfelt B-story involving Simon and his rescued, "gifted" sister River (Summer Glau) - an important through line that will constantly test Mal's patience during the season and provide him with several turning point/hero moments as his empathy for other human beings outside of his crew begins to emerge.Add to all of the boogeymen space-cannibals (Reavers), the idea that Jayne may betray Mal at any moment if the price is right, the love/hate spark between Mal and Inara, the desperation of Simon to protect River at all costs, the slight jealously Wash feels regarding Mal and Zoe's relationship, and the actual, splendid humor peppered throughout this double-wide episode, and "Serenity" has imagination to spare. And at the end of the day, Mal's still flying. And that's enough.Closing note: The way Mal abruptly shoots down Lawrence right at the end when he's rushing back aboard the ship so that the crew can avoid a Reaver attack is A: of course reminiscent of Indy shooting down the swordsman in Raiders, and B: one of those pleasing Whedon hallmarks where big, overwrought tension is quickly undercut by something funny and logical. Mal's very good at not meeting the standards of a cookie-cutter action hero.