So, two things happened.
One, I noticed how long it’s been since I did a SerenityStuff-type review or gave anything away. And two, Kris Barton contacted me and said he had a signed copy of his new book, The Big Damn Firefly and Serenity Trivia Book, available for such a thing if I was interested.
OK, they didn’t happen in that order. But it still means you’ve got a shot at winning, and all you’ll need is an insane knowledge of big damn trivia. Fortunately, that covers most of my readership. Let’s look at what you’re playing for.
It would be relatively easy to whomp up a list of trivia questions about the ‘verse. Only 14 TV episodes and a movie, just skim through the scripts, read a few interviews and start primping for your author photo. But, like the Browncoat he is, Barton had to do it the tough way.
For one thing, he assumed most of the people buying the book already knew the easy stuff, and he wanted to make it challenging. But he also wanted to bring out some of the joy of the show itself. “The cast and crew went to great lengths to ensure that the fans would truly enjoy learning about these characters and the process involved with bringing them to life,” he says in his forward. So many of the questions aren’t so much the gotcha kind of obscure factoids as they are “hey, did you know this cool thing?”
There’s also a bit more in the book than just questions. The intro by “Jaynestown” director Marita Grabiak adds some more insider info about that episode I had never heard before, with some descriptions of the ingenious solutions they came up with to meet their location and budget restrictions. Each chapter begins with the bio of one of the main actors, Joss Whedon and Tim Minear.
The questions themselves — all 1,050 of them — are split up into logical chapters such as Places in the ‘Verse, Time, Weapons, Episodes, Behind the Scenes, etc. They’re from the episodes and the movie, sure, but they’re also pulled from the comics, the DVD commentaries, Titan’s companion books, and other sources. There are technical questions, questions about the inspirations for the show, and questions about the broadcasts. There are even questions about the fan movements and charity works. I’ll admit that some of them stumped me at first and I’m as obsessive a Firefly fan as you’re likely to find, but more than a few made me smile and after the first few pages I really wanted to go watch the shows again.
Which, I think, was kinda the idea.
So let’s give one away. Below you’ll find three questions, chosen at random from the book. Send the answers to cabridges@gmail.com with the subject line “Big Damn Trivia Contest” and I’ll draw a winner from the correct responses. Please include your name and a valid email address so I can contact you (your info will not be kept or used for any other purpose). You must have a US or Canada mailing address, or be willing to pay for shipping outside continental North America. One submission per person. You must have correctly answered all three questions to be considered. You’ve got a week: contest ends at 11:59 p.m. next Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012. The winner will be announced by midnight Thursday night. If I don’t hear back from the winner within 24 hours, another winner will be drawn. No purchase necessary to win. We good?
The prize: A copy of The Big Damn Firefly and Serenity Trivia Book, signed by the author, Kristin M. Barton.
The questions:
1. What does River think she is holding when she finds a gun on the cargo bay floor?
2. In which of the Serenity graphic novels published by Dark Horse does Badger make an appearance?
3. What two words did Tim Minear say to Joss Whedon that ultimately inspired Whedon to write the episode “Objects in Space”?
Good luck, travelers.
Please email the answers to me, do not post them in the comments. They will be deleted and you won’t get entered.
You are, however, welcome to post either your reviews of the book, or your won fiendishly clever trivia questions, for the heck of it.