GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

The infamous catalyzer.

POSTED BY: KAYLEESBOY
UPDATED: Wednesday, February 11, 2004 01:16
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Friday, February 6, 2004 7:23 PM

KAYLEESBOY


I just noticed this as I am sitting here watching the episode "Ariel". When Wash and Kaylee are going through the junkyard at the beginning and wash picks up that piece of "junk" then throws it at the ambulance they use. I swear that piece of "junk" was a catalyzer like the one they needed from "Out of Gas". I've watched that part like 5 times now. Just kinda ironic that this piece of junk was so important the prior episode but gets tossed by Wash in this one.
Oh, and if this was pointed out before...then my bad.


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Saturday, February 7, 2004 9:52 AM

DORAN


You know I wouldn't put it past Joss to have stuck that in there on purpose; he's so good at irony and very subtle foreshadow. He often goes the extra mile and throws things for the one or two people in the audience clever enough to catch them.

I notice in "Serenity" Kaylee mentions she wants to replace the whole compression coil which would include the now infamous catalyzer; she warns," "if it blows we're drifting". I'll bet Mal wishes he'd listened to her now.

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Saturday, February 7, 2004 10:07 AM

DTT


Nice catch! I agree completely -- that's a sand-filled catalyzer that Wash picks up & throws. Gotta love Mutant Enemy

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Saturday, February 7, 2004 11:26 AM

CAPNRAHN


You know what the other funny thing is...

... that prop looks EXACTLY like a desiccant (absorbs moisture) unit for a B-52 doppler radar unit waveguide.

If it is, the sand is really small beads of desiccant, basically calicum oxide or silica gel beads.

The ones in radar unit were a tan color with a few blue beads mixed in.

When the desiccant was overloaded with moisture, the blue beads turned tan - which means it is time to refill the tube with fresh desiccant...

...OR ($$ saver) pour out the saturated desiccant beads into a mirowave safe container and nuke it to dry out the beads! Once the blue is back, itis good for another 300 flying hours.

WOW, that was a huge sidetrack - sorry!

Ignore the old AF vet ... carry on!

"Remember, there is only ONE absolute - There ARE NO absolutes!!!"

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Monday, February 9, 2004 9:19 AM

OKKAY


Quote:

Originally posted by Doran:
You know I wouldn't put it past Joss to have stuck that in there on purpose; he's so good at irony and very subtle foreshadow. He often goes the extra mile and throws things for the one or two people in the audience clever enough to catch them.

I notice in "Serenity" Kaylee mentions she wants to replace the whole compression coil which would include the now infamous catalyzer; she warns," "if it blows we're drifting". I'll bet Mal wishes he'd listened to her now.



See, but since Ariel was after Out of Gas, that wouldn't really be foreshadowing, would it?
In this case, it doesn't really make any sense for Wash to throw it away unless he didn't know what it was (in OOG I think only Kaylee & Mal knew exactly what the problem was).

Given what happened in OOG, it would make sense that while they were in the junkyard, they picked up some extra parts for the ship. At least we know they have extra sychronizers, whatever those are.

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Monday, February 9, 2004 9:46 AM

STATIC


Quote:

Originally posted by CapnRahn:
You know what the other funny thing is...

... that prop looks EXACTLY like a desiccant (absorbs moisture) unit for a B-52 doppler radar unit waveguide.



Nooooooooooooooooo. . .

YOU'RE thinking of the 'synchronizers' that Kaylee found. And the Catalyzer. . .from what I can see of it, appears to be part of a SDC (shaft-driven compressor) unit from a CH-53 helicopter. And I'm sure any of you military-type aviation-type enthusiasts noticed that body of the Space Ambulance (Spambulance? Ewwwwwwwwwwwww.) is actually an Mi-24 HIND (D). . .an old Soviet Gunship/Troop Transport Helicopter. The ancient nemesis of the Apache. Wanna bet this scene was filmed in an aircraft graveyard somewhere?

==================================================
"Wash. . .we got some local color happening. A grand entrance would not go amiss."

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Monday, February 9, 2004 9:55 AM

ADEPTUS


Quote:

In this case, it doesn't really make any sense for Wash to throw it away unless he didn't know what it was
Exactly! Wash probably wouldn't have any idea what a catalyzer looked like, because as the captain of the salvage ship said in OoG, "Catalyzer's a nothin' part." I believe the whole thing was meant to be one of those ironic moments that make you cringe to see what the character is missing. It was a nice touch, I thought.

No power in the 'verse can stop me.

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Monday, February 9, 2004 9:58 AM

DRAGONFLYDIRECTOR


Quote:

Originally posted by Static:
Nooooooooooooooooo. . .

YOU'RE thinking of the 'synchronizers' that Kaylee found. And the Catalyzer. . .from what I can see of it, appears to be part of a SDC (shaft-driven compressor) unit from a CH-53 helicopter. And I'm sure any of you military-type aviation-type enthusiasts noticed that body of the Space Ambulance (Spambulance? Ewwwwwwwwwwwww.) is actually an Mi-24 HIND (D). . .an old Soviet Gunship/Troop Transport Helicopter. The ancient nemesis of the Apache. Wanna bet this scene was filmed in an aircraft graveyard somewhere?



DOH, yer right, I haven't had my DVDs for 2 weeks, they have been out infectin' folks!

The catalyzer looked a bit like a steering pump to me, but never took a close look at it.

The Mi-24 hull is on the 'prop' yard of ... durn it ... I can't remember the company's name.

Anyhoo, they are the folks that rent a drenn load for props, large props and vehicles in LA.

Paramount, most notably Trek productions, rent from them ALOT!

"Observe Analyze & Respond"
Motto of the A.P.E.s


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Monday, February 9, 2004 10:00 AM

DTT


Quote:


In this case, it doesn't really make any sense for Wash to throw it away unless he didn't know what it was (in OOG I think only Kaylee & Mal knew exactly what the problem was).



Personally, I think it's a great little moment. It has a "one man's trash" feel to it. In one episode, the catalyzer is a precious part that has crippled the ship. In the very next episode, a catalyzer is junk hardly worth tossing. In my opinion, it kind of increases the power of OOG. Very nice inclusion.

"You didn't have to wound that man."
"Yeah, I know. It was just funny."

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Monday, February 9, 2004 10:05 AM

STATIC


Quote:

Originally posted by Adeptus:
Quote:

I believe the whole thing was meant to be one of those ironic moments that make you cringe to see what the character is missing. It was a nice touch, I thought.




I'm going to be the 'downer' here and suggest that it might have all been a great big coincidence. . .if the scene was NOT filmed in an aircraft graveyard, and it was instead a sound stage filled with a bunch of props. . .when they filmed OoG, Joss or Tim could have just easily told Asok, their faceless intern, "Yeah. . .go to the prop shed and look in the pile of junk we used in 'Ariel'. . .find a part about 'this' big. . .Jewel will ad-lib where it's supposed to go. Oh yeah. . .and grab me some more coffee."

That's me. . .Mister "Too Much Reality".

I hope I don't offend.

==================================================
"Wash. . .we got some local color happening. A grand entrance would not go amiss."

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Monday, February 9, 2004 10:54 AM

LTNOWIS


Quote:

Given what happened in OOG, it would make sense that while they were in the junkyard, they picked up some extra parts for the ship. At least we know they have extra sychronizers, whatever those are.


Except later in the episode we see Kaylee installing the sychronizers into the ambulance. Unless I'm wrong.

Say, as long as we're on the subject, what do you think they did with the ambulance after Ariel? It couldn't have been that reliable, considering its origins, so they may have just cannibalized it for spare parts. Still, that would've been a shame, considering its spiffy paint job. Maybe they sold it along with a batch of medicine.

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Monday, February 9, 2004 11:00 AM

ADEPTUS


Only Joss and Company know for sure there, Static.

No power in the 'verse can stop me.

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Monday, February 9, 2004 11:06 AM

ADEPTUS


Quote:

Maybe they sold it along with a batch of medicine.
Were I they, and were it possible, I'd stash it somewhere for a repeat performance. The Ariel job netted them a fat profit, and was relatively easy to pull off (Jayne's betrayal notwithstanding.) With a decent downtime, they could probably pull off something like that at least two or three more times.

No power in the 'verse can stop me.

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Monday, February 9, 2004 11:17 AM

STATIC


I totally agree with that!!!

I'd say wait about a year, then hit a hospital on a different planet.

Without the need to sneak Simon and River in as well, it might go even easier this time. . .and I'm pretty certain Niska would be alot more willing to listen to his henchman say, "Listen. . .ummm. . .Captain Reynolds would prefer that you and him just stay out of each other's way from now on. Is that cool?"

So there would be no need to GIVE away the 'take' again.

Damn good idea. . .of course. . .if they ever get RICH. . .how do you think it would go after that? Dress up Serenity a little? Get a whole CRATE full of Catalyzers? Mal could get a second set of suspenders and a few dozen more maroon shirts. . .Simon could buy Jayne a new T-Shirt to replace the one River. . .ummm. . .'modified'. . .Wash and Zoe could get their short vacation on the naked beach somewhere. . .

. . .

. . .

Sorry. . .was thinking of Zoe naked.

Anyhow. . .how do you think it would affect the show?

==================================================
"Wash. . .we got some local color happening. A grand entrance would not go amiss."

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Monday, February 9, 2004 11:35 AM

ASTRIANA


What? How could Zoe naked affect the show? I'd probably quadruple ratings for just the first minute of airtime... After that, exponential is pot lickings comparatively...

Not that I'm biased or anything...

~A~

...I'm still free,
You can't take the sky from me.

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Monday, February 9, 2004 11:36 AM

ADEPTUS


Well you have to remember that they'd mostly be selling these goods for platinum, not credits. Can't spend platinum in the Core, and the conversion rate ain't so good; so, they'd only be rich out on the Rim. Now, that's still significant. If you get enough money together, you start to weild a fair bit of influence, and can maybe begin to consolidate a power base. You'd be able to afford a few more contacts, maybe bribe some displaced Alliance officials, probably even draw a few allies to you. Before you know it, you'd have your own crime network built to help you expand your wallet and your influence.

From there, you might be able to build up say, a militia, and start carving out your own Alliance-free territory if you did things right.

Anyway, that's one direction the show could go in. There are many others.

No power in the 'verse can stop me.

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Monday, February 9, 2004 11:46 AM

STATIC


You know. . .I had never heard anywhere that you can't spend platinum in the core, but I sometimes miss details like that. Makes sense in a way, tho.

I don't picture Mal as the 'crime network' type. . .and I CERTAINTLY don't picture him as the 'militia' type either.

I think I'll start a new thread on this topic. . .'what would they do with ALOT of money?'

==================================================
"Wash. . .we got some local color happening. A grand entrance would not go amiss."

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Monday, February 9, 2004 12:30 PM

LTNOWIS


Yeah, the repeat performance idea never occured to me. That's probably what they did. Still it wouldn't really fly with their "take jobs as they come" lifestyle to have a continually lucrative scam.

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Monday, February 9, 2004 6:38 PM

STEVE580


Quote:

Originally posted by Static:
Damn good idea. . .of course. . .if they ever get RICH. . .how do you think it would go after that? Dress up Serenity a little? Get a whole CRATE full of Catalyzers?


When I first watched the show on TV, it occurred to me that they would never be terribly successful in their endeavors; because, as you say, if they became wealthy, than the whole nature of the show would change. And of course, this can't happen on TV shows.

And then I saw 'Angel'.
-Steve

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Tuesday, February 10, 2004 2:53 AM

DRAKON


Quote:

Originally posted by Static:
Anyhow. . .how do you think it would affect the show?



Ask Rhoda Morgenstern.

Characters in dramas have to have a difficult life. A life where you have plenty of money and resources to follow your every whim, it makes for a boring story. Nobody would watch it, although you would be hard pressed to find someone who would turn down that life.

When Mary Tyler Moore's friend got spun off, one of the things they did was give her, her "happily ever after". And the show tanked. You can't write about the problems of a person when that person ain't got none. Well you can, but nobody wants to watch that stuff.

"Wash, where is my damn spaceship?"

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Tuesday, February 10, 2004 5:29 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.


I would think that the ambulance got dumped or sold by Mal and crew. Mal does not strike me as the type to try the same stunt twice and press his luck. I think he will be happy w/ the payoff of that job and move on.

Static wrote:
Quote:

Without the need to sneak Simon and River in as well, it might go even easier this time. . .and I'm pretty certain Niska would be alot more willing to listen to his henchman say, "Listen. . .ummm. . .Captain Reynolds would prefer that you and him just stay out of each other's way from now on. Is that cool?"


I have to disagree w/ this line of thought. As Niska told Mal in "Train Job" they both are perceived as their reputations. If it gets around that Niska has been burned by Mal, and that Mal and crew got away from him after he had captured him, Niska's rep goes down and a lot of people will be convinced they can pull a fast one on Niska as well. Niska obviously holds a grudge, and money can not buy him off. I think Niska will rear his ugly head again down the road somewhere.


"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."


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Tuesday, February 10, 2004 6:24 AM

WERESPAZ


Quote:


I have to disagree w/ this line of thought. As Niska told Mal in "Train Job" they both are perceived as their reputations. If it gets around that Niska has been burned by Mal, and that Mal and crew got away from him after he had captured him, Niska's rep goes down and a lot of people will be convinced they can pull a fast one on Niska as well. Niska obviously holds a grudge, and money can not buy him off. I think Niska will rear his ugly head again down the road somewhere.



I put a little though into this, and unfortunately, the episode doesn’t really explain what transpired on the station after they found Mal. Did they pretty much clean house and were able to get their money back? Or was it a quick insertion/extraction only involving a small portion of the complex? In any case, Niska must’ve been pretty severely weakened after that, both troop-wise and reputation wise. He got burned by Mal & Co in a big way, and won’t be likely to recover soon. He’d be extremely angry about Mal ruining his reputation and will probably seek some form of retribution, however he’s a must pretty smart guy and ought to realize that Mal & Co make a pretty formidable force, so there’s a possibility that he’ll change the way he does business, mostly because he won’t inspire quite so much fear in people anymore. I’m sure there are lots of people that are very happy about his downfall and possibly some people who would be willing to help Mal, even at a great expense to themselves (i.e. “Niska killed my Mother/Brother/Nephew/Dog” type people) these people are also more like to try and strike back now that Niska is weaker. I’d also have to believe that Niska “learned who the true Malcolm Reynolds is” after torturing him for that time, and something tells me he’ got to have some fear of him after that.

Just some thoughts..


-The SpAz

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Tuesday, February 10, 2004 7:00 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.


Originally posted by Werespaz:
Quote:

I put a little though into this, and unfortunately, the episode doesn’t really explain what transpired on the station after they found Mal. Did they pretty much clean house and were able to get their money back? Or was it a quick insertion/extraction only involving a small portion of the complex? In any case, Niska must’ve been pretty severely weakened after that, both troop-wise and reputation wise. He got burned by Mal & Co in a big way, and won’t be likely to recover soon. He’d be extremely angry about Mal ruining his reputation and will probably seek some form of retribution, however he’s a must pretty smart guy and ought to realize that Mal & Co make a pretty formidable force, so there’s a possibility that he’ll change the way he does business, mostly because he won’t inspire quite so much fear in people anymore. I’m sure there are lots of people that are very happy about his downfall and possibly some people who would be willing to help Mal, even at a great expense to themselves (i.e. “Niska killed my Mother/Brother/Nephew/Dog” type people) these people are also more like to try and strike back now that Niska is weaker. I’d also have to believe that Niska “learned who the true Malcolm Reynolds is” after torturing him for that time, and something tells me he’ got to have some fear of him after that.



The impression I got from the scene where the guy that had tortured him had Mal hanging over the catwalk was that the bulk of the interior of the station was some sort of mining operation or processing plant. Remember how we got a shot of the fall Mal would take if he got tossed over? Looked like a lot of conveyors, lifts, and machinery down that shaft. I figured it must be some sort of operation Niska had in the area where Mal was captured.

I am pretty sure the op was a quick extraction and they got Mal out as quick as possible. I would highly doubt they would do any sort of mopping up.

I do agree that Niska may have caught a glimpse of the real Mal and may rethink taking a personal hand in dealing w/ Mal in the future. I do not, however, doubt that Niska will still be looking to exact revenge, if for no other reason than to repair his reputation.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."


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Tuesday, February 10, 2004 8:34 AM

DORAN


"...since Ariel was after Out of Gas, that wouldn't really be foreshadowing, would it?"


No, that would be irony.

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Tuesday, February 10, 2004 8:53 AM

MANIACNUMBERONE


Quote:

Originally posted by Doran:
"...since Ariel was after Out of Gas, that wouldn't really be foreshadowing, would it?"


No, that would be irony.



And very like Joss and Tim Minnear to do as well.
It extends the story-line for the culmination of the "compression coil" subplot.
In the Pilot episode, Kaylee tells Mal that they need a new compression coil. If it busts she says, they are floating. He responds by saying lets not bust it then.
In the Train Job, Mal confronts Kaylee with the state of the engine room (space monkeys, terrifying space monkeys) and she responds by saying that if he would replace the compression coil she wouldn't have to rewire the grav thrust.
Then, of course, in Out of Gas, the catalyzer blows on the port compression coil, and like Kaylee said, they were dead in the water.
Then Kaylee (wrongly) takes the blame and apologizes to Mal for not taking better care of the engine.
So, the new catalyzer that Mal eventually fits into the engine is the same type of piece that Wash throws at the salvage shuttle in the dump in Ariel. (from Kelly's weblog - stored on this site - we know that it is actually the very same prop.) It's damn funny really. Finding the catalyzer right after OOG is like, well wouldn't this have been a handy part to have had a few weeks ago?

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Tuesday, February 10, 2004 9:22 AM

JAVIDRHO


One thing no one seems to be considering, is that the catalyzer Wash picked up on Ariel, could easlily have been damaged, and therefore of no value to them. It was a salvage yard afterall - not everything would be in perfect working order.

Just a thought...

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Wednesday, February 11, 2004 1:16 AM

DRAKON


Quote:

Originally posted by BrownCoat1:
I have to disagree w/ this line of thought. As Niska told Mal in "Train Job" they both are perceived as their reputations. If it gets around that Niska has been burned by Mal, and that Mal and crew got away from him after he had captured him, Niska's rep goes down and a lot of people will be convinced they can pull a fast one on Niska as well. Niska obviously holds a grudge, and money can not buy him off. I think Niska will rear his ugly head again down the road somewhere.



You may be right, but Niska has been beaten by Mal twice now. Last time, I suspect he lost his precious space station as well. But in either case, Mal has shown that he is bad for Niska's business.

Niska may take a hit in reputation. But that has to be weighed against the loss of 2 top leutenants (at leats), a space station (maybe) and Niska's own life. Another confrontation would not be good for business.

"Wash, where is my damn spaceship?"

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