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593:, 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.
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25:
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429:, 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 view that the United States saw itself in World War II: doing "very good things", helping people and spreading
190:
Originally composed solely of a number of "core worlds", several years prior to the show's time frame the
Alliance fought the Unification War to bring all colonized worlds under its control. The Independent Faction or "Browncoats" wanted the outer worlds to remain autonomous and attempted to resist
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Note, however, that medical aid is given to
Shepherd Book only after showing his ID badge to the Alliance crew, to which they react with surprise followed by deference — no other crew members received such treatment. Shepherd Book receives free medical treatment for a very specific reason explained
609:
franchise. He says that in contrast to most westerns, the central civilizing force (the
Alliance) is portrayed as evil. He goes on to say that little concrete evidence is given to support this, especially in the series as opposed to the movie. He notes an example where the Alliance gave medical aid
448:; 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 "
463:
Chinese appears to be the superior language in
Alliance society as it is used for written public communications and for polite address between strangers. For example, when the Alliance agent McGinnis, answers the intercom in the episode "Ariel", he uses,
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s 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.
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as potentially threatening his future, including the possibility of becoming the medical-elect, presumably the equivalent of an elected
Technocrat representing the Medical sector.
183:(USA). It retains a mixture of both Western and Eastern cultures. English and Mandarin Chinese are commonly used languages, with most of the inhabitants under the Alliance being
215:
and on the stolen boxes. The
Alliance flag shown in the pilot is a blending of the American and Chinese flags, having the blue field and the red and white stripes of the
625:
Whedon himself has said the
Alliance sometimes represents a "beautiful shining light of democracy" but at other times reflects the American government as it was when it
399:
with the inclusion of technocratically elected members, where outside of the central planets, oligarchies through lordships represent local colonial governance.
410:(USA). The Alliance retains a mixture of both Western and Eastern cultures from the "Earth-That-Was", the original home of all humans, spearheaded by the
510:. The pilot episode of the series reveals that the large city-ships carry smaller gunships; these are never named nor described further. In the episode "
545:
The exact structure of the
Alliance military, such as its rank system and branch organization, is not described. Some Alliance officers are seen with
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crew member, and then let the ship go, and contrasts it with the implausibility of similar treatment being afforded to the rebels by an
Imperial
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was signed between the Alliance and the Independent Faction, thus ending the war and securing Alliance control over the entirety of the system.
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milieu. Pelkey says that even in the movie with its "dark revelation," there is still some ambiguity about the Alliance's moral alignment.
191:
Alliance control. The war raged for several years, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides, until the Alliance emerged victorious. An
363:
250:" and said that "practically half the government was Blue Sun." Their agents are "Hands of Blue." The Weyland-Yutani corporation from
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538:; officers and enlisted crew are identically dressed (except for headgear: officers wear hats, enlisted crew wear berets). In
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The Blue Sun corporation is a powerful conglomerate with much influence within the Alliance. Joss Whedon compared it with "
585:, in which the Alliance had inadvertently created the first Reavers in an attempt to create peace on the planet Miranda.
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498:, resembling huge floating cities, that act as both military and police in the space between the various planets of the
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Similar to the courtesy-titles for judges and elected mayors of some cities in Britain (e.g., the “
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223:. Two versions of this flag, one with 13 stripes and one with five stripes, appear in the series.
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Universe. Alliance ships have the registry prefix IAV (Interstellar Alliance Vessel): e.g., IAV
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Due to the melding of American and Chinese influences in the Alliance, most people in the
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Alliance ground troops are nicknamed "purple bellies" (in contrast to the Independent "
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and power-grabbing, although rarely more so than any real-world democracy.
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Serenity Found: More Unauthorized Essays on Joss Whedon's Firefly Universe
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Buffy, Ballads, and Bad Guys who Sing: Music in the Worlds of Joss Whedon
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resolves to reveal this to the universe, and after a lengthy battle with
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is also alluded to; its logo appears on Alliance weapons. In the movie
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Channeling the Future: Essays on science fiction and fantasy television
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The two worlds that make up the "core planets" (the first worlds to be
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There is also evidence that the Alliance may have some elements of a
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339:'s captain) said "I'd like to be king of all Londinium" and many of
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that controls the majority of territory within the known universe.
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An alternate Union of Allied Planets flag (episode "Bushwacked").
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347:. However, "King of all Londinium" may just be an idiom (i.e.,
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influences. The alliance of the two worlds leads up to a multi-
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in modern usage) and Lord could merely be a political title.
829:. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 39–47.
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Author Stanley C. Pelkey notes the marked influence of the
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Pelkey, Stanley C. (2005). Leonard, Kendra Preston (ed.).
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universe are equally adept in speaking both English and
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universe, it is revealed that the Alliance is run by a
125:
Union of Allied Planets flag (episode "The Train Job").
514:," it is revealed that Alliance ships have nurseries.
391:. This invites the possibility that the Alliance is a
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Ken Wharton (2007), "The Alliance's War on Science",
581:'s insanity; she had discovered the truth behind the
211:". refer to an "AngloSino" flag on the IAV spaceship
262:, the Alliance also hires local security companies.
402:It appears that this Alliance was a melding of the
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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433:. At other times the Alliance can tend towards
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950:. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.
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226:The alliance is formally described as the
219:and the red field and yellow stars of the
494:The Alliance operates a fleet of massive
321:The Alliance may have some elements of a
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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358:, as in a flashback within the episode "
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141:and law-enforcement organization in the
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866:This occurs in the last ten minutes of
857:", and there is reference to a Colonel.
827:Language in Science Fiction and Fantasy
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754:David Lavery, Cynthia Burkhead page 64
1393:Fictional elements introduced in 2002
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914:Nussbaum, Emily (22 September 2002).
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207:", and the first broadcast episode, "
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137:, is a powerful fictional corporate
47:adding citations to reliable sources
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490:Uniforms worn by various characters
366:parents chastised Simon's fear for
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421:Generally, the Alliance is rather
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944:Kowalski; Kreider, eds. (2011).
397:Westminster parliamentary system
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788:Geraghty, Lincoln, ed. (2009).
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34:needs additional citations for
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947:The Philosophy of Joss Whedon
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648:United Federation of Planets
203:The scripts for the pilot, "
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972:Jane Espenson, ed. (2007).
920:The New York Times Magazine
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1277:Serenity Role Playing Game
577:discover the truth behind
404:People's Republic of China
165:People's Republic of China
163:–themed planet led by the
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1270:Firefly Role-Playing Game
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893:, see esp. pp. 219–224.
853:appears in the episode "
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408:United States of America
181:United States of America
133:, formally known as the
825:Mandala, Susan (2010).
393:constitutional monarchy
379:, the movie set in the
228:Union of Allied Planets
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135:Union of Allied Planets
58:"Alliance" Firefly
916:"Must-See Metaphysics"
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298:, a world with mostly
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179:influences led by the
171:, a world with mostly
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1398:Fictional governments
724:in the graphic novel
627:intervened in Vietnam
569:During the events of
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1253:Boom! Studios comics
712:Lord Mayor of London
668:Notes and references
532:Imperial German Army
294:–themed planet, and
43:improve this article
16:Fictional government
1403:Firefly (franchise)
1291:Done the Impossible
727:The Shepherd's Tale
349:"king of the world"
1245:Leaves on the Wind
978:. BenBella Books.
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217:United States flag
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1231:Those Left Behind
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482:Alliance military
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41:Please help
36:verification
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1262:Other media
1238:Better Days
1144:The Message
1130:War Stories
1081:Bushwhacked
889:. pp.
855:The Message
536:World War I
512:Bushwhacked
427:Joss Whedon
425:, although
364:Simon Tam's
356:technocracy
341:Inara Serra
286:, a mostly
280:terraformed
167:(PRC), and
155:, a mostly
1387:Categories
1300:soundtrack
1191:Characters
1116:Out of Gas
1109:Jaynestown
900:0810869454
851:Lieutenant
800:. p.
738:References
528:browncoats
504:Dortmunder
496:spaceships
450:Out of Gas
385:Parliament
318:universe.
213:Dortmunder
69:newspapers
1204:River Tam
1041:TV series
1035:franchise
652:Star Trek
641:Star Wars
620:Star Wars
618:from the
579:River Tam
551:Commander
435:black ops
431:democracy
412:Americans
316:religious
296:Londinium
248:Microsoft
244:Coca-Cola
193:armistice
185:bilingual
169:Londinium
146:franchise
99:July 2024
1372:Category
1336:(vessel)
1334:Serenity
1323:Alliance
1316:Universe
1298:Serenity
1180:Serenity
1067:Serenity
1059:Episodes
869:Serenity
660:Farscape
633:See also
612:Serenity
575:Serenity
540:Serenity
520:Serenity
508:Magellan
506:and IAV
454:Serenity
414:and the
376:Serenity
336:Serenity
327:Serenity
323:monarchy
310:, multi-
300:American
266:Universe
259:Serenity
205:Serenity
131:Alliance
1353:Con Man
1345:Related
1328:Reavers
1088:Shindig
1049:Firefly
1032:Firefly
686:Chinese
607:Firefly
605:on the
583:Reavers
559:General
555:Colonel
500:Firefly
442:Firefly
416:Chinese
381:Firefly
144:Firefly
83:scholar
1218:Comics
991:7 July
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