Jane Espenson

On the Good Ship Fangirl...

The below is my best recollection of an evening with Jane Espenson at the CSTS screening in Arlington on Joss-day, 2007 (also useful as an alibi):

Because Jane’s plane was delayed (only about 30 minutes) I had the pleasure of an encore by Cedric the Bard, whose passion for Firefly is beyond contagious.

A sudden change in the bookstore and instant applause signaled her arrival although I couldn’t see her from where I was sitting just yet. I couldn’t have been more excited if it were The-It-Couple-du-Jour. And then in she came. If Joss Whedon and Shirley Temple had a time machine and a child, the product would look very much like the permanent smile in human form that is Jane Espenson. Dressed in a Wash-ish flowered shirt and denim skirt, Jane immediately sat down live and in person to give us the awesome blogs that highlight my surfing.

Topics included the fifth Cylon and Starbuck’s origin, which she remained tight lipped on; Kat’s death as a hit put out by Ron Moore with Jane as the triggerwoman; Anya’s fear of bunnies resulting from the shame of her Nordic heritage; Inara’s dignity as a Companion, despite Atherton’s asshole-ery (that’s a near quote); and Jane’s own lack of desire to direct due to the fact that it would end up as all master shots. She also has a new favorite episode of hers which has usurped "Band Candy." No surprise, it’s "Superstar."

After the Q & A, she stayed to sign every gorram thing, take lots of pictures, and answer even more questions from people like me. Interesting thing about Jane’s signing: she’ll sign the inside - never cover - of everything, and she’ll write your name (and spell it right!) as if she’s known you for years. She also played a solo game of musical chairs as she stood and sat and stood and sat to take pictures. I would post one, but it seems my camera has some sort of ancient device called film and needs to be sent to a far away and magical place called a lab.

At the Serenity screening, Jane again made another appearance, where she took center stage to answer more questions. She professed her love of old-timey radio shows, but did not see a comeback in the future. She also spoke of what she would have done on The Inside had there been a season two. She was quick to remind us that this was a Tim show, but her reply was almost un-Jane-like. She said she would have made it less funny, as this was her first procedural and she was unsure where humor fit exactly. At this point, I started shaking my head and she quickly recovered by saying she would make it more funny. From what I know about Jane, she could make a audit pap smear rectal exam root canal funny even if you’re the one in the chair. Her dream show to write for? House? The Office? CSI grab bag? Nope. It would be Friday Night Lights. Gonna make room for that one. Finally, when asked which writer’s room she got the most out of, Jane was quick to say: 1. Battlestar 2. Buffy 3. Ellen. She couldn’t include Firefly because it was so short lived and these shows got chances to see growth and change.

She stayed a while after to applaud the auction winner and sign some more stuff. Then like Cinderella at midnight, she was gone, leaving only the glass slipper of that contagious-ass smile (the glass is half full on that one).