Alliance (Firefly)
Encyclopedia
The Alliance is a fictional supra-governmental entity in the Serenity franchise, a powerful authoritarian
government and law-enforcement organization that controls the majority of territory within the known universe. Originally composed solely of a number of "core worlds", several years prior to the show's timeframe the Alliance fought the Unification War to bring all colonized worlds under its control. The Independent Faction (Browncoat
s) wanted the outer worlds to remain autonomous and attempted to resist Alliance control. The war raged for several years, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides, until the Alliance emerged victorious. An armistice
was signed between the Alliance and the Independent Faction, thus ending the war and securing Alliance control over the entirety of the system.
, "Serenity
", and the first-aired episode, "The Train Job
", refer to an "AngloSino" flag on the IAV Dortmunder and on the stolen boxes. However, the term AngloSino Alliance was never used in an actual episode or film; the phrase Union of Allied Planets is explicitly mentioned in on-air dialogue in the episode "Ariel
", so it can be assumed to be the formal name of the Alliance.
's natural resources were used up generations ago, mankind abandoned the planet (which now exists in myth and legend as "Earth-That-Was"), and moved out into the stars. But, mankind held onto the tenets of culture and civilization in the exodus, carrying with it those things both material and spiritual that make us human.
Relatively little is known of the early history of the Alliance (such as the exact date of the exodus from Earth, and the reasons why China and the U.S. allied themselves with each other). The Alliance flag, seen in the original pilot episode, is a blending of the American
, European Union
and Chinese
flags (two versions of this flag, one with 13 stripes and one with five stripes, appear in the series). The flag consists of the red and white stripes of the United States flag, the red and yellow stars of the Chinese flag and the navy blue of the E.U flag.
At the Battle of Serenity Valley, both the Alliance and the Browncoats suffered heavy casualties, particularly amongst officers. Survivors from both sides were stranded on the battlefield until the Alliance was able to send a fleet of medical transports to rescue them.
The day that the Unification War ended is known as "Unification Day" (often abbreviated to "U-Day") and is celebrated as a holiday throughout the Alliance. Alliance military officers like to drink a toast to Unification Day and enthusiastically encourage others to join in the festivities.
) are Sihnon, a mostly East Asia
-themed planet, and Londinium, a world with mostly American
and Western Europe
influences. The alliance of the two worlds leads up to a multi-racial, multi-ethnic
, and multi-religious
universe.
The Alliance may have some elements of a monarchy
. In "Serenity
", Malcolm Reynolds
(Serenity' s captain) said "I'd like to be king of all Londinium" and many of Inara Serra's customers are Lords
. However, "King of all Londinium" may just be a catchphrase (i.e., "king of the world" in modern usage) and Lord could merely be a positional title.
In Serenity
, the movie set in the Firefly universe, it is revealed that the Alliance is run by a branch of the government called the Parliament
.
It appears that this Alliance was a melding of the People's Republic of China
and the United States of America
. Generally, the Alliance is rather authoritarian, although Joss Whedon
, the series' creator, has said this is at least partly because the show is seen from the viewpoint of those hostile to the Alliance. Whedon himself admits that sometimes, the Alliance is like the predominant US view of the USA in World War II
: doing very good things, helping people, spreading democracy. At other times the Alliance can tend towards black ops and power-grabbing, although rarely more so than any real-world democracy.
It is a government
run by bureaucratic
rules. Corporate influence is high, the prime example of "Blue Sun", a powerful corporate conglomerate Whedon has compared to "Coca-Cola
or Microsoft
" and which owns "at least half the government". A lesser example is the Weyland-Yutani corporation of Alien
fame, whose logo can be seen on certain Alliance weapons. In Serenity, the Alliance also relies on local security companies to serve as the Alliance presence.
Due to the melding of American and Chinese influences in the Alliance, most people in the Firefly universe are equally adept in speaking both English
and Mandarin; some characters on the show speak Chinese at times (usually when using obscenities, so Whedon wouldn't have to bleep anything out and ruin the suspension of disbelief), and many signs are printed in both English and Chinese. Additionally, during the episode "Out of Gas
", Serenitys warning messages over the intercom are repeated in both English and Cantonese.
The Chinese spoken is based on Mandarin (intermixed with Cantonese), but the pronunciation is heavily corrupted from the real-world language by the actors.
In the film Serenity
, we see a fleet of sleeker, more streamlined warships, suggesting that the Alliance has a wide variety of space vessels for various purposes.
Alliance ground troops are nicknamed "purple bellies" (in contrast to the Independent "browncoat
s"). They wear armor similar to that worn by the Mobile Infantry
in the movie Starship Troopers
(the makers of Firefly used leftover costumes from that movie). Crewmembers on Alliance starships wear gray uniforms resembling those worn by Imperial German Army
from World War I
; officers and enlisted crew are identically dressed (except for headgear: officers wear hats, enlisted crew wear berets). In Serenity, Alliance crew members wear blue uniforms.
The exact structure of the Alliance military, such as its rank system and branch organization, is not identified within the series or the film. Some Alliance officers have been seen with naval ranks, such as Commander
, and others with ground-based ranks such as Colonel
and General
.
, the crew of Serenity discover the truth behind River Tam's insanity; she had discovered the truth behind the Reavers
, in which the Alliance had inadvertently created the first Reavers in an attempt to create peace on the planet Miranda. Malcolm Reynolds
resolves to reveal this to the universe, and after a lengthy battle with the Operative, succeeds in doing so, ruining the Operative's faith in the Alliance's methods and revealing the existence of the Reavers (plus the true colors of the Alliance) to the system at large. Before he departs, the Operative tells Mal of how much trouble he had caused the Alliance (in the shooting script, he states that they had gotten multiple complaints from several worlds), and warns him that, although their regime is weakened, they will be after him in revenge.
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization characterized by submission to authority. It is usually opposed to individualism and democracy...
government and law-enforcement organization that controls the majority of territory within the known universe. Originally composed solely of a number of "core worlds", several years prior to the show's timeframe the Alliance fought the Unification War to bring all colonized worlds under its control. The Independent Faction (Browncoat
Browncoat
Browncoat is a term with two meanings. One is a nickname for the Independence fighters in the television series Firefly. The other refers to fans of the series.-Fictional meaning:...
s) wanted the outer worlds to remain autonomous and attempted to resist Alliance control. The war raged for several years, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides, until the Alliance emerged victorious. An armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
was signed between the Alliance and the Independent Faction, thus ending the war and securing Alliance control over the entirety of the system.
Name
The scripts for the pilot episodeTelevision pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
, "Serenity
Serenity (Firefly episode)
"Serenity" is the two-hour series pilot for the American science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon. However, Fox executives were not satisfied with this as a pilot, and so instead, "The Train Job" was created as a second pilot and was the first episode of the series aired....
", and the first-aired episode, "The Train Job
The Train Job
"The Train Job" is the second episode of the American science-fiction western television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon, although it was the first to be shown...
", refer to an "AngloSino" flag on the IAV Dortmunder and on the stolen boxes. However, the term AngloSino Alliance was never used in an actual episode or film; the phrase Union of Allied Planets is explicitly mentioned in on-air dialogue in the episode "Ariel
Ariel (Firefly episode)
"Ariel" is the ninth episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon.Hard up for cash, Serenity takes on a job from Simon: break into an Alliance hospital on central world Ariel so that he can get a thorough diagnostic of River and the crew can loot the valuable...
", so it can be assumed to be the formal name of the Alliance.
History
After EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
's natural resources were used up generations ago, mankind abandoned the planet (which now exists in myth and legend as "Earth-That-Was"), and moved out into the stars. But, mankind held onto the tenets of culture and civilization in the exodus, carrying with it those things both material and spiritual that make us human.
Relatively little is known of the early history of the Alliance (such as the exact date of the exodus from Earth, and the reasons why China and the U.S. allied themselves with each other). The Alliance flag, seen in the original pilot episode, is a blending of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and Chinese
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
flags (two versions of this flag, one with 13 stripes and one with five stripes, appear in the series). The flag consists of the red and white stripes of the United States flag, the red and yellow stars of the Chinese flag and the navy blue of the E.U flag.
At the Battle of Serenity Valley, both the Alliance and the Browncoats suffered heavy casualties, particularly amongst officers. Survivors from both sides were stranded on the battlefield until the Alliance was able to send a fleet of medical transports to rescue them.
The day that the Unification War ended is known as "Unification Day" (often abbreviated to "U-Day") and is celebrated as a holiday throughout the Alliance. Alliance military officers like to drink a toast to Unification Day and enthusiastically encourage others to join in the festivities.
Universe
The two worlds that make up the "core planets" (the first worlds to be terraformedTerraforming
Terraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms.The term is sometimes used more generally as a...
) are Sihnon, a mostly East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
-themed planet, and Londinium, a world with mostly American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Western Europe
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
influences. The alliance of the two worlds leads up to a multi-racial, multi-ethnic
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
, and multi-religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
universe.
The Alliance may have some elements of a monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
. In "Serenity
Serenity (Firefly episode)
"Serenity" is the two-hour series pilot for the American science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon. However, Fox executives were not satisfied with this as a pilot, and so instead, "The Train Job" was created as a second pilot and was the first episode of the series aired....
", Malcolm Reynolds
Malcolm Reynolds
Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds is a fictional character and main protagonist in the Firefly franchise. Reynolds is played by actor Nathan Fillion in the 2002 TV series Firefly and the 2005 film Serenity. In the series, Reynolds is the captain of the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity...
(Serenity
Lords
- Places :*Lord's Cricket Ground, English Cricket Ground and home of Marylebone County Cricket Club.- Politics :*House of Lords, upper house of the British parliament*Lords Spiritual, clergymen of the House of Lords...
. However, "King of all Londinium" may just be a catchphrase (i.e., "king of the world" in modern usage) and Lord could merely be a positional title.
In Serenity
Serenity (film)
Serenity is a 2005 space western film written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is a continuation of the short-lived 2002 Fox science fiction television series Firefly, taking place after the events of the final episode. Set in 2518, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a cargo ship...
, the movie set in the Firefly universe, it is revealed that the Alliance is run by a branch of the government called the Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
.
It appears that this Alliance was a melding of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
and the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Generally, the Alliance is rather authoritarian, although Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
, the series' creator, has said this is at least partly because the show is seen from the viewpoint of those hostile to the Alliance. Whedon himself admits that sometimes, the Alliance is like the predominant US view of the USA in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
: doing very good things, helping people, spreading democracy. At other times the Alliance can tend towards black ops and power-grabbing, although rarely more so than any real-world democracy.
It is a government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
run by bureaucratic
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
rules. Corporate influence is high, the prime example of "Blue Sun", a powerful corporate conglomerate Whedon has compared to "Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
or Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
" and which owns "at least half the government". A lesser example is the Weyland-Yutani corporation of Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
fame, whose logo can be seen on certain Alliance weapons. In Serenity, the Alliance also relies on local security companies to serve as the Alliance presence.
Due to the melding of American and Chinese influences in the Alliance, most people in the Firefly universe are equally adept in speaking both English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Mandarin; some characters on the show speak Chinese at times (usually when using obscenities, so Whedon wouldn't have to bleep anything out and ruin the suspension of disbelief), and many signs are printed in both English and Chinese. Additionally, during the episode "Out of Gas
Out of Gas
"Out of Gas" is the eighth episode of the science fiction television series Firefly created by Joss Whedon. It differs stylistically from the rest of the series, in that it tells its story alternately in three timeframes: events in the present, events in the near-past that led to the present, and...
", Serenitys warning messages over the intercom are repeated in both English and Cantonese.
The Chinese spoken is based on Mandarin (intermixed with Cantonese), but the pronunciation is heavily corrupted from the real-world language by the actors.
Alliance military
The Alliance operates a massive fleet of spaceships, resembling huge floating cities, that act as both military and police for the distances between the various planets of the Firefly Universe. Alliance ships have the registry prefix IAV (Interstellar Alliance Vessel). Examples include the IAV Dortmunder and IAV Magellan. The pilot episode of the series reveals that the large city-ships carry smaller craft referred to as 'gunships', though the gunships themselves are never identified and their specific characteristics are never revealed. In the episode "Bushwhacked", it is revealed that Alliance ships have nurseries.In the film Serenity
Serenity (film)
Serenity is a 2005 space western film written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is a continuation of the short-lived 2002 Fox science fiction television series Firefly, taking place after the events of the final episode. Set in 2518, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a cargo ship...
, we see a fleet of sleeker, more streamlined warships, suggesting that the Alliance has a wide variety of space vessels for various purposes.
Alliance ground troops are nicknamed "purple bellies" (in contrast to the Independent "browncoat
Browncoat
Browncoat is a term with two meanings. One is a nickname for the Independence fighters in the television series Firefly. The other refers to fans of the series.-Fictional meaning:...
s"). They wear armor similar to that worn by the Mobile Infantry
Mobile Infantry (Starship Troopers)
The Mobile Infantry is a fictional military force in Robert A. Heinlein's novel Starship Troopers and in the movies Starship Troopers, released in 1997, the 2004 sequel, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, the 2008 film Starship Troopers 3: Marauder and the TV series Roughnecks: Starship...
in the movie Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers (film)
Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction film, written by Edward Neumeier , directed by Paul Verhoeven, loosely adapted from Starship Troopers, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the only theatrically released film in the Starship Troopers franchise...
(the makers of Firefly used leftover costumes from that movie). Crewmembers on Alliance starships wear gray uniforms resembling those worn by Imperial German Army
German Army (German Empire)
The German Army was the name given the combined land forces of the German Empire, also known as the National Army , Imperial Army or Imperial German Army. The term "Deutsches Heer" is also used for the modern German Army, the land component of the German Bundeswehr...
from World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
; officers and enlisted crew are identically dressed (except for headgear: officers wear hats, enlisted crew wear berets). In Serenity, Alliance crew members wear blue uniforms.
The exact structure of the Alliance military, such as its rank system and branch organization, is not identified within the series or the film. Some Alliance officers have been seen with naval ranks, such as Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
, and others with ground-based ranks such as Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
and General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
.
Future
During the events of the 2005 filmSerenity (film)
Serenity is a 2005 space western film written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is a continuation of the short-lived 2002 Fox science fiction television series Firefly, taking place after the events of the final episode. Set in 2518, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a cargo ship...
, the crew of Serenity discover the truth behind River Tam's insanity; she had discovered the truth behind the Reavers
Reaver (Firefly)
Reavers are a group of humans in the television series Firefly and the movie Serenity who live on the fringes of civilized space and have become animalistic...
, in which the Alliance had inadvertently created the first Reavers in an attempt to create peace on the planet Miranda. Malcolm Reynolds
Malcolm Reynolds
Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds is a fictional character and main protagonist in the Firefly franchise. Reynolds is played by actor Nathan Fillion in the 2002 TV series Firefly and the 2005 film Serenity. In the series, Reynolds is the captain of the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity...
resolves to reveal this to the universe, and after a lengthy battle with the Operative, succeeds in doing so, ruining the Operative's faith in the Alliance's methods and revealing the existence of the Reavers (plus the true colors of the Alliance) to the system at large. Before he departs, the Operative tells Mal of how much trouble he had caused the Alliance (in the shooting script, he states that they had gotten multiple complaints from several worlds), and warns him that, although their regime is weakened, they will be after him in revenge.