 During filming of the pilot episode , Whedon was still arguing with Fox that the show should be displayed in widescreen format . Consequently , he purposely filmed scenes with actors on the extreme edge of both sides so that they could only be shown in widescreen . This led to a few scenes on the DVD ( and later Blu @-@ ray ) where objects or setups that were not visible in the original 4 : 3 broadcasts were now displayed — such as the scene in the pilot where Wash mimes controlling the ship with a non @-@ existent yoke . However , the pilot was rejected by the Fox executives , who felt that it lacked action and that the captain was too " dour " . They also disliked a scene in which the crew backed down to a crime boss , since the scene implied the crew was " being nothing " . Thus , Fox told Whedon on a Friday afternoon that he had to submit a new pilot script on Monday morning or the show would not be picked up . Whedon and Tim Minear closeted themselves for the weekend to write what became the new pilot , " The Train Job " . At the direction of Fox , they added " larger than life " characters such as the henchman " Crow " , and the " hands of blue " men , who also introduced an X @-@ Files @-@ type ending . 
