An attempt to make a heist on a planet of mud-sellers becomes more complicated when the Serenity crew discovers that Jayne's previous visit has left quite an impression.

Rather surprisingly, it seems that Joss Whedon has enlisted the creator of The Tick to write for Firefly, but he doesn't seem quite clear on how far he's allowed to go. It's certainly got some funny moments, such as Kaylee's reactions to Simon, Jayne's squeaky when he rips some tape of his chest, and his embarrassment at being hailed as a hero. The fantastic song devoted to Jayne the Hero is also a treat, but it feels as thought it wants to be funnier than it actually is but has pulled back to keep the show a drama. Where Buffy had the balance right from the start, this series seems to be struggling to work out what direction it wants to follow. Here we have Western styles on top of the Sci-Fi and comedy elements and they don't entirely sit comfortably.

As a story that gets into Jayne's character a bit more it works rather well, especially with the slightly disturbing discovery that Jayne is actually his first name. Oooh, how tough. Adam Baldwin plays the mercenary well, shifting from worry to acute embarrassment to enjoyment of his fame to a realization that he doesn't deserve the hero worship he's been getting. It shows him as a more sympathetic character and less of a grumpy hard-nosed soldier, even if the ending is just inches away from that dreadful cliché 'everyone needs a hero'.

Meanwhile, the Inara storyline doesn't serve much purpose short of showing that she really just turns up as an expensive hooker, and enables her to find out what's going on and help the crew leave the planet at the end of the episode. It's all a bit convenient, and the relationship between the local magistrate and his son isn't given enough time to develop any depth.

There are some moments that show how good this series could become, but it's still too muddled at the moment and really needs to get a handle on what it wants to be before it loses the viewers it's got. I'll be sticking with it to see what happens, but I'm getting a nasty feeling it's going to be dragged kicking and screaming off TV screens if it can't produce some standout episodes soon.

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