We got details on the new Firefly Blu-Ray set. 3 discs, widescreen 1080p, audio in 5.1 DTS Master Audio. With:

• Commentary Tracks:
  • “Serenity” (Part 1 & 2) by Executive Producer Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillion
  • “The Train Job” by Executive Producers Joss Whedon and Tim Minear
  • “Shindig” by Writer Jane Espenson, Morena Baccarin and Costume Designer Shawna Trpcic
  • “Our Mrs. Reynolds” (NEW to Blu-ray)
  • “Out of Gas” by Executive Producer Tim Minear and Director David Solomon
  • “Ariel” (NEW to Blu-ray)
  • “War Stories” by Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk
  • “The Message” by Alan Tudyk and Jewel Staite
  • “Objects in Space” by Executive Producer Joss Whedon
• Deleted scenes:
  • “Serenity” scene 1 (1:34)
  • “Serenity” scene 74-75 (4:34)
  • “Our Mrs. Reynolds” scene 18 (3:39)
  • “Objects In Space” scene 6 (2:08)
• Featurettes:
  • “Heres How How it Was: The Making of Firefly“
  • Serenity: The Tenth Character
  • Joss’ Tour of the Set
  • Cast Reunion (NEW to Blu-ray)
• Alan Tudyk’s audition
• Gag Reel
• Joss Sings the Firefly theme
• Easter Egg: Adam Baldwin sings “Hero of Canton”

New commentaries, a cast reunion, and high def! Woo hoo! Current street date is November 11th, 2008. So far. Preorder it at Amazon!

As long as you’re shopping for Operative-wear (see sword, below), why not pick up this fine set of chest covering and leather-looking guantlets from the Prop Store of London?

The chest plate and gauntlets worn by The Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor) in the sci-fi adventure Serenity. This excellent costume was worn by The Operative in scenes near the end of the film on Mr Universe’s planet where he tries to stop Mal (Nathan Fillion) broadcasting the message. The chest armour is made from rubber sprayed a dark bronze colour with an elasticated back section, there is a hole on the left shoulder for a squib, also a pair gauntlets made and finished in the same style.

LiveAuctioneers is auctioning off an Operative sword, complete wirh blood, on August 1.

1059. Chiwetel Ejiofor “The Operative” and Nathan Fillion “Mal” hero sword from Serenity. (Universal, 2005) This hero sword was used by Chiwetel Ejiofor as “The Operative” and Nathan Fillion as “Mal Reynolds” in the film, Serenity. It is custom made and features prominently in their final confrontation. This is the hero version featuring a metal blade, hard plastic handgrip with elaborate cord ties. It is studio distressed and features studio blood smears. $2000 - $3000

We’ve seen a few of these go by aty the Prop Store of London but this is specifically one of the “hero” metal swords that saw screen time.

ComicMix talked to Joss at Comic-Con - did anyone not talk to Joss at Comic-Con? Did the man ever sleep? - and he revealed a bit more about the upcoming Serenity comic:

COMICMIX: With The Shepherd’s Tale, why is Shepherd Book the first character from Firefly to get a solo story?

JOSS WHEDON: I’ve done a breakdown of the story. I think Jim Krueger is going to write the actual script. The biggest mystery of what we never got to tell is Shepherd’s backstory. Everybody knew there was something more than just being Shepherd in there. And poor Ron [Glass] came to me during the strike and said, “I’m going to another convention. You’ve got to give me something.” It’s been a number of years and they always ask [about Shepherd]. I said, “You know what, it has been long enough and this isn’t something I’m going to save for the sequel that may never happen, so we’ll make a comic book out of it.”

Because it’s an interesting story, really. It’s the single most-asked question: “What’s up with Book?” And now we’re going to answer that.

The interview has more about the current best-selling Buffy and Angel comics, so go check it out.

IGN interviewed Christina Hendricks about her role on “Mad Men” and brought up her role as YoSaffBridge in “Firefly.” She had good things to say…

The fans and the afterlife of Firefly, it’s amazing. I mean, it’s sort of bigger now then it was five, six years ago when it originally aired. I get calls from my dad in D.C. whose friends are just now coming home and saying, “I just discovered this show called Firefly, and your daughter’s in it!” It’s like, “Yeah, guys. Get with it. This is a while ago.” That show’s amazing. And, not unlike Mad Men, I think a lot of people watch Mad Men after the fact. They’re going to get the box set. They’ve got it on iTunes. They discovered it through word of mouth. And, there’s so many avenues to see shows now. It’s not like the past. I think people will continue to see Firefly. And it will become this little gem… this one season gem. And people will keep hearing about it. I think it’s amazing.

But where’s the stuff connection? I only link to items about merchandise and products - otherwise I’d never get to sleep - but I did notice this comment towards the end:

IGN: There is so much of an afterlife of comic books and fan fiction for that show. Is it funny for you to hear any of the speculation from fans on what could happen to Saffron, or with her and Mal?

Hendricks: Yeah, I’ve heard all sorts of ideas people have. And, they’ve come out with role-playing games and characters. I got sent a Barbie doll that looked like me. And, people come in costume. It’s really fun. It’s very flattering. It’s fun to be a hated villain. That’s fun.

The Barbie doll was from me, made by my wife Teresa, to thank Ms. Hendricks for judging the “Sing a Song of Saffron” contest.  Whoo!

OK, that was it. Just braggin’.

Got the word from AbbySHot: the Browncoats have spoken, and Jayne hoodies will be made!

We received lots of great feedback that really proved that
this hoodie is something that many Browncoats want to wear
proudly.

We’ve got a shiny new blog post up answering all the
questions that were brought up. There’s even some new
pictures of the prototype hoodie being worn on an outdoor
excursion - check ‘em out right here.

Some news of note: the pom-pom will be standard issue, sizes will include XS and XXL, there will be no earflaps, the red will be deeper, ArtCat’s Jayne tattoo patch will look utterly cool, and they’re probably going to run about 70 bucks but discounts may be available.

I don’t mind telling you, I love stuff like this. Original items that pay homage to versy things with creativity and style, while piquing the interest of newcomers and delighting any Browncoat who sees you and says “Wha…?”

Jason Palmer has just posted his new Serenity print, the 10th of his crew portrait set. Limited edition prints are now available or you can buy the original painting. Still to come: the Operative, and an as-yet-unrevealed bonus portrait.

Advance sales of the entire set have been closed, but he’s also offering several ways to get your hands on these amazing works of art. First, you can still buy individual Giclee prints or canvas versions here.

Or you can order the limited edition set with album and carrier:

The set includes 12 Giclee textured art prints (13×19): Mal, Wash, Zoe, River, Simon, Kaylee, Jayne, Inara, Book, Serenity the ship, the Operative, and a surprise print (only available with purchase of the set). Prints are signed and numbered; limited edition of 300. Also, 12 character production sketch pages are included, as well as a title page. The set is presented in a silver polyethylene album with acid free page inserts, and a matching carrier with shoulder strap. Both feature Serenity logo. Prints can be removed from the album and framed if desired.

And if you look him up at the San Diego Comic-Con (Booth 5359) you can get a special artbook, with all the characters, the ship, and the exclusive prints, title page, and 12 character sketch pages.

Check back here soon for more from Jason Palmer.

QMx’s “Serenity: Big Damn Heroes” lithograph set by Steve Anderson is now available for preorder from TFAW.com, with their usual 20% off. You won’t find them cheaper than this, folks.

We love our captain - and the rest of Serenity’s crew. That’s why we approached Steve Anderson, one of the best portrait painters in the business, and asked him to capture our Big Damn Heroes in a series of lithographs. Being a Browncoat of no small dedication himself, Steve gladly agreed to take on the daunting task of capturing the personalities and spirits of the BDHs.

The result is a series of museum-quality 13″ x 19″ lithographs, printed on 100-pound, satin-finish paper. The first set features Mal, Inara, Kaylee and Jayne, painted by one of the most reknowned portrait artists working today.

It’s not often you find a Companion on sale, but TFAW.com does like to be innovative…

Things From Another World is having a ginormous sale on thousands of items, and one of them is the “Inara Strikes” statue from Diamond Select (see my review here). UPDATED: This is Week Three and she’s 60% off for $39.60. At that price you can buy one and repaint the face yourself…

How this works: They’re looking to clear some room, so every week of the sale the price will drop to 50% off, then 60%, and so on. The catch is, of course, that supplies are very limited so if you wait too long your item may not be available. So it’s possible Inara could be available, as it were, for as little as 20 bucks by the end of the month, but it’s just as possible that they’ll sell out by next Tuesday. Your call, but don’t wait too long.

Buy some cheap movies and get free advertisements for new movies! Not a bad deal, actually, especially if the new moves are ones you’re interested in. But the main thing to take away from this is that you can get copies of “Serenity” for six bucks, and that makes loaning copies to friends even easier.

Now the specially priced DVDs below include a free movie certificate to see one of four surefire blockbusters: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Wanted, Hellboy II: The Golden Army and The Incredible Hulk.

Plus, with your purchase of one of these $5.99 DVDs, such as Miami Vice: Unrated or Serenity, you can get a free bonus disc. Take a look at both The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and Hellboy II: The Golden Army before you see them on the big screen.