The Firefly Timeline

We figured it was about time we put together a Firefly Timeline. This is as accurate as we could make it, and we will be sure to update it as new information becomes available. We cite our sources for every date given, so you can judge the worth of each piece of information. We should also mention that this is not the only Firefly Timeline on the internet. An alternative timeline is Edgar Governo's Firefly Timeline. The Governo timeline is mostly in agreement with the Signal's to within a month, but there are minor differences in some of the less accurately known dates.

Our intent in putting this together is that it may be of use to anyone creating new Firefly content (which includes fanfic, audio dramas and movies, or just RPG game sessions).

Controversial Dates

There are some controversial dates in there, so I'd like to spend some time justifying them. The first dubious one is Mal's date of birth. It's in the movie - and therefore it's canon - that Alliance records list Mal's date of birth as September 20th 2468. The trouble is, that makes him fifty years old at the time of the movie. Is Mal really fifty? A lot of people think not. Additionally, that information conflicts with non-true-canon sources (specifically, props from the movie), so take that with as many pinches of salt as you prefer. Governo's timeline makes a strange compromise, taking the date and month from the movie, but not the year.

The next problem, chronologically speaking, is the question: Did the Miranda event happen before or after the start of the war? Either possibility would be consistent with the information available, since all the relevant references are vague. We do know that Miranda was an Alliance world, not an Independent world, and that the Pax was intended to "calm the population, weed out aggression". It just makes more sense to me that such a program would have happened before the war rather than during.

Finally, there is the date of the movie. This isn't particularly controversial, but there is some educated guesswork in there. I placed the movie at November 2518. It might have been earlier - however, the earlier it is, the less time there would have been in which all the other stuff could have taken place.

Contradictions

There are one or two places in the series and movie where contradictions may be perceived. Here are all the ones of which I am aware:

In Objects in Space , Inara says to Jubal Early, "Serenity is a smuggling ship. I've been here a year, I couldn't name all the places she might hide." By my reckoning it should be one year and five months. But hey - there was no reason for Inara to have been completely accurate to Jubal Early in a flippant remark like that.

In the movie, Mal says to Simon, "Eight months you've been on my boat". This is just impossible. I tend to assume Mal meant eighteen months, which would be consistent with my timeline.

Here's an interesting non-true-canon one. In the Visual Companion, on page 49, the Operative says to Matthias, "River was your greatest success. A prodigy - a phenomenon. Until her brother walked in eight months ago and took her from you" As noted above, this is impossible. Fortunately, this is extended canon, not core canon, so we are able to ignore it. That said, if you want to take it as real, you could assume that the movie scene in which Matthias died took place in March 2518 (with the rest of the movie being set in November). Personally, I choose to ignore that one.

And just to bring sex into the equation, in the movie, Kaylee says to Mal, "Going on a year now I ain't had nothing twixt my nethers weren't run on batteries." So when exactly did she last get laid? Logically, it has to be sometime after November 2517 - which was after Simon boarded Serenity. It wasn't with Simon, so I guess there's a story there to be told. My favorite explanation is the "boy whores" in Heart of Gold .

Note that the last three are consistent with each other, and therefore mutually reinforcing. An alternative interpetation is that there really were only eight months between Serenity and Serenity . I've played with that possibility, but there was just no way I could get it to work. You're welcome to try.

Differences from Edgar Governo's Timeline

The Governo timeline and mine are largely in agreement, however there are still some differences between the two. Most obviously, the Governo timeline includes things from real history, such as the formation of the USA. Mine doesn't. Conversely, mine incorporates the dates of fan audio and video productions, wheras Governo's doesn't. Governo's timeline makes some estimates about e.g. Book's date of birth. I make no guesses without good reason. But let's look now at the explicit differences.

The Governo timeline cites Malcolm Reynolds' date of birth as September 20th 2486. As noted above, this is controversial. Governo's date is conjecture based on the assumption that Nathan Fillion was the same age as Malcolm Reynolds during Firefly (but not during the movie); mine is from canon, but marked as unreliable.

We also disagree about Simon's date of birth. Governo says late November 2490; I say November/December 2491. Well, at least we both agree on November! As to the year, Governo estimates based on the age of Sean Maher during Firefly, wheras I estimate based on the age of Zak Effron during Safe. Estimating the age of a character from the age of an actor is always risky, but my feeling is that an estimate based on a the age of a child actor will be much more robust than an estimate based on the age of an adult actor.

We also disagree about River's date of birth. (I have December 19th 2500; Governo has 2501). In this case, however, I'm right. The date comes straight from the records of Project Oracle (known from a prop from the movie).

The Governo timeline claims that Mal bought Serenity in 2512. I say 2514. Governo's date is deduced from the fact that on the DVD commentary for the episode, writer Tim Minear and director David Solomon indicate that this took place "five years ago." My date comes from Mal's Alliance record (known from a prop from the movie).

The timing of the episodes Ariel and War Stories is also different. Governo places them before Christmas; I place them after. Governo's main reason for placing Ariel before Christmas is River's statement "they took Christmas away". However, since River was referring to the past, not to the present, I don't see that as sufficient justification for trying to squish two extra episodes into 2517, and I really don't think it works. Note that the very next episode, Trash , is set in March/April 2518. In other words, I have assumed that Ariel and War Stories fit into that nice big gap, Governo squeezes them into a tiny gap just to get them in before Christmas.

We only very slightly disagree about the timing of Trash . I have late March; Governo says April. Governo's conclusion is a logical deduction, given that Mal says it is "about half a year" since Our Mrs Reynolds , however, I believe it must have been a few weeks earlier, or there would not have been sufficient time afterwards for everything else that needs to happen.

Governo places Those Left Behind in June, I in August. Truth is, we're both really guessing on this one. I prefer my date.

And finally, there's the movie itself. Governo says August; I say November. Again, we're both really guessing. Again, I prefer my date. Governo's timeline allows only three months between Objects in Space and Serenity ; mine allows six months. Just from watching the movie, it does seem to me that more than three months must have passed.