[OOC] Timeline
SPAMMING YOUR FL la la la. This is a super vague and not at all complete timeline, and it hasn't been checked with anyone else in my cast so it may not line up with theirs just yet. Some of the dates are direct canon; others are assumptions, estimations, or flat out lies.
Mal's Vague-ish Timeline (Version 1.1)
September 20th, 2586
Mal is born (date taken from the movie; last two digits are incorrectly transposed)
2504
The Miranda Incident occurs (and is covered up). Reavers are created.
(The BDM movie has a line stating that the event happened twelve years ago (from 2518, anyway). Considering that anti-Alliance sentiments were probably building 5-10 years in advance for the Unification War, this doesn't surprise me in the least. My guess is that they developed Pax due to the looming war, made a call for settlers on Miranda (hoping that at least some of the Independent-minded people would take the opportunity and go there -- Kaylee states that she heard her dad talking about going there a while back), made the test ... and everything went to hell. Considering the sophistication of technology that Miranda had, I'm guessing that it was a) initially a Border planet (or at least a specially outfitted Rim planet) and b) fully developed. Which begs the question: why Miranda? And if there wasn't a particular reason for Miranda to have been selected ... why not a different world? Why not a more volatile, Independent-minded world like ... Shadow, for example? I get the feeling that Mal's homeworld might have dodged a bullet there.)
Mid-2505
Beginning of the Unification War
Mal joins the army
(Joss says that the war lasted a little over five years and that Mal was "just a kid" when he joined up. The way I see it, the war + pre-war settlement / army gathering + post-war camps and other stuff = at least five and a half years of stuff, possibly six or six and a half. I'm putting it at five and a half for now, which means Mal was 19 when the war actually started. He probably actually joined when he was closer to 18.)
(Mal is 19.)
2505-2511
(Various battles. Specifically referenced: Battle of Sturges, Siege of New Kasmir, Du-Khang, Battle of Serenity Valley. Assumed: several battles on Shadow, bombing / incineration of Shadow, bombing of Athens and other border planets.)
2511
Battle of Serenity Valley
End of the Unification War (on September 20th)
Post-war camps
(Mal is 25)
2511-2514?
(Blank years -- not sure what happened to Mal here. I'm assuming he stuck with Zoe and survived a Reaver attack during this time.)
2512-2514?
Mal gets Serenity
-- This one I really need to double-check. I think I remember Joss mentioning something in the commentary about exactly how long ago the flashback scenes are in "Out of Gas;" I'm not sure if this is true or not. Either way, he probably got Serenity + the core crew 3-5 years before the pilot episode.
- Mal gets his crew. Possible order: Zoe Alleyne-Washburne, Hoban "Wash" Washburne, Bester (temporarily), Kaywinnet Lee "Kaylee" Frye, Jayne. Another possible order: Zoe, Jayne, Wash, Bester (temporarily), Kaylee. While getting Jayne last makes more thematic sense (he's the last crew flashback we see), his sequence has him facing off against Mal and Zoe, who are (as far as we can tell) very alone on the ship. I doubt that they would have been held up like that if they'd had any other crew with them. Also, this gives Zoe and Mal time to have attempted to manage a ship on their own and possibly run into a Reaver attack. ... but in Wash's flashback, it looks like Serenity isn't quite spaceworthy yet. Bit of a dilemma here.
(Mal is 27)
2517
- Inara Serra joins the crew in January-February. (One of the deleted scenes in the BDM states that she traveled with Mal for a year before she left for the Companion House.)
"Serenity: Parts 1 & 2" (Probably takes place a couple weeks before "The Train Job." I'll set the date for September 1st until I sit down and hash out how big the gaps between each episode are.)
- Simon Tam, River Tam, and Shepherd Derrial Book join the crew.
"The Train Job"
- Unification Day: September 20th (lol same date as his birthday. I totally missed this the first year he had his birthday in camp. WHOOPS.)
"Bushwhacked"
- Serenity is captured by the law. No charges pressed. (This is the fifth time that Mal's been arrested.)
"Shindig"
"Safe"
"Our Mrs. Reynolds"
- Saffron/Yolanda/Bridget briefly joins the crew.
"Jaynestown"
- (Need to rewatch and set a date for when Jayne pulled his job. Five years ago? Ten?)
"Out of Gas" -- November, Simon's birthday
"Ariel"
(Mal is 31)
2518
"War Stories"
"Trash"
"The Message"
"Heart of Gold"
"Objects in Space"
- Bounty hunter Early Jubal killed.
[A month's worth of empty space]
Those Left Behind (the graphic novel)
- Agent (Eric?) Dobson killed.
[One-two months' worth of empty space]
Big Damn Movie
(Date of the movie is taken from the RPG Sourcebook, which lists the current year as being 2518. Considering how "The Train Job" works out timewise, the movie probably takes place in April-Mayish.)
- Shepherd Derrial Book is killed.
- Hoban "Wash" Washburne is killed.
- The Signal goes out. Pandemonium ensues! What kind, I'm not sure. There's news of riots and the like during the final lines of the BDM.
- Serenity is repaired. This probably took at least a few months, if not more than that. Probably not more than 5 or 6, though. Serenity takes off again in October-November of 2518.
(Mal is 32)
(Camp adds on one year, so Mal is currently 33.)
Mal's Vague-ish Timeline (Version 1.1)
September 20th, 2586
Mal is born (date taken from the movie; last two digits are incorrectly transposed)
2504
The Miranda Incident occurs (and is covered up). Reavers are created.
(The BDM movie has a line stating that the event happened twelve years ago (from 2518, anyway). Considering that anti-Alliance sentiments were probably building 5-10 years in advance for the Unification War, this doesn't surprise me in the least. My guess is that they developed Pax due to the looming war, made a call for settlers on Miranda (hoping that at least some of the Independent-minded people would take the opportunity and go there -- Kaylee states that she heard her dad talking about going there a while back), made the test ... and everything went to hell. Considering the sophistication of technology that Miranda had, I'm guessing that it was a) initially a Border planet (or at least a specially outfitted Rim planet) and b) fully developed. Which begs the question: why Miranda? And if there wasn't a particular reason for Miranda to have been selected ... why not a different world? Why not a more volatile, Independent-minded world like ... Shadow, for example? I get the feeling that Mal's homeworld might have dodged a bullet there.)
Mid-2505
Beginning of the Unification War
Mal joins the army
(Joss says that the war lasted a little over five years and that Mal was "just a kid" when he joined up. The way I see it, the war + pre-war settlement / army gathering + post-war camps and other stuff = at least five and a half years of stuff, possibly six or six and a half. I'm putting it at five and a half for now, which means Mal was 19 when the war actually started. He probably actually joined when he was closer to 18.)
(Mal is 19.)
2505-2511
(Various battles. Specifically referenced: Battle of Sturges, Siege of New Kasmir, Du-Khang, Battle of Serenity Valley. Assumed: several battles on Shadow, bombing / incineration of Shadow, bombing of Athens and other border planets.)
2511
Battle of Serenity Valley
End of the Unification War (on September 20th)
Post-war camps
(Mal is 25)
2511-2514?
(Blank years -- not sure what happened to Mal here. I'm assuming he stuck with Zoe and survived a Reaver attack during this time.)
2512-2514?
Mal gets Serenity
-- This one I really need to double-check. I think I remember Joss mentioning something in the commentary about exactly how long ago the flashback scenes are in "Out of Gas;" I'm not sure if this is true or not. Either way, he probably got Serenity + the core crew 3-5 years before the pilot episode.
- Mal gets his crew. Possible order: Zoe Alleyne-Washburne, Hoban "Wash" Washburne, Bester (temporarily), Kaywinnet Lee "Kaylee" Frye, Jayne. Another possible order: Zoe, Jayne, Wash, Bester (temporarily), Kaylee. While getting Jayne last makes more thematic sense (he's the last crew flashback we see), his sequence has him facing off against Mal and Zoe, who are (as far as we can tell) very alone on the ship. I doubt that they would have been held up like that if they'd had any other crew with them. Also, this gives Zoe and Mal time to have attempted to manage a ship on their own and possibly run into a Reaver attack. ... but in Wash's flashback, it looks like Serenity isn't quite spaceworthy yet. Bit of a dilemma here.
(Mal is 27)
2517
- Inara Serra joins the crew in January-February. (One of the deleted scenes in the BDM states that she traveled with Mal for a year before she left for the Companion House.)
"Serenity: Parts 1 & 2" (Probably takes place a couple weeks before "The Train Job." I'll set the date for September 1st until I sit down and hash out how big the gaps between each episode are.)
- Simon Tam, River Tam, and Shepherd Derrial Book join the crew.
"The Train Job"
- Unification Day: September 20th (lol same date as his birthday. I totally missed this the first year he had his birthday in camp. WHOOPS.)
"Bushwhacked"
- Serenity is captured by the law. No charges pressed. (This is the fifth time that Mal's been arrested.)
"Shindig"
"Safe"
"Our Mrs. Reynolds"
- Saffron/Yolanda/Bridget briefly joins the crew.
"Jaynestown"
- (Need to rewatch and set a date for when Jayne pulled his job. Five years ago? Ten?)
"Out of Gas" -- November, Simon's birthday
"Ariel"
(Mal is 31)
2518
"War Stories"
"Trash"
"The Message"
"Heart of Gold"
"Objects in Space"
- Bounty hunter Early Jubal killed.
[A month's worth of empty space]
Those Left Behind (the graphic novel)
- Agent (Eric?) Dobson killed.
[One-two months' worth of empty space]
Big Damn Movie
(Date of the movie is taken from the RPG Sourcebook, which lists the current year as being 2518. Considering how "The Train Job" works out timewise, the movie probably takes place in April-Mayish.)
- Shepherd Derrial Book is killed.
- Hoban "Wash" Washburne is killed.
- The Signal goes out. Pandemonium ensues! What kind, I'm not sure. There's news of riots and the like during the final lines of the BDM.
- Serenity is repaired. This probably took at least a few months, if not more than that. Probably not more than 5 or 6, though. Serenity takes off again in October-November of 2518.
(Mal is 32)
(Camp adds on one year, so Mal is currently 33.)