Xander: Ahh. Buffy and food.
Willow: Maybe we shouldn’t be too couple-y around Buffy.
Cordelia: Oh, you mean ’cause of how the only guy that ever liked her turned into a vicious killer and had to be put down like a dog?
Xander: Can she cram complex issues into a nutshell, or what?
Oz: All right, prepare to uncouple… Uncouple.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Season 3: Episode 3 – “Faith, Hope & Trick”
“So that’s little Scorpius,” said Ron under his breath. “Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother’s brains.”
“Ron, for heaven’s sake,” said Hermione, half stern, half amused. “Don’t try to turn them against each other before they’ve even started school!”
“You’re right, sorry,” said Ron, but unable to help himself, he added, “Don’t get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood.”
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
By this point, every glimpse, shot, or tidbit of Star Wars: The Force Awakens we’ve seen thus far has been analyzed, dissected, and picked apart by anyone and everyone in the hopes of finding all of the clues to unlocking the story’s secrets. I’ve talked enough about my concerns about The Force Awakens as well as my feelings about how the film has been treated by the general populace, and I’m not going to go into that any more now. But I thought it’d be fun to take a look back at all of the trailers released for the film thus far with an eye not to solving all of the mysteries but instead looking at the larger picture. What I love most about trailers is the way they can evoke emotions with just a few images, a handful of musical notes, or the slightest bit of context. So let’s take it from the top with the very first trailer for The Force Awakens, which conveyed quite a lot from very little.
Book: Shouldn’t we report this?
Mal: To who? Alliance? Right. They’re going to run out here lickety-split and make sure these taxpayers are okay.
Book: Then we’ll have to.
Jayne: If there’s folks on board in need of help, why ain’t they beaming no distress call?
Zoe: It’s true, there’s no beacon.
Mal: Which means it’s likely no one’s looking to find her.
Book: All the more reason for us to do the right thing.
Jayne: How about you just say a prayer when we slide on by.
Book: Shall I remind you of the story of the Good Samaritan?
Mal: I’d rather you didn’t. But we’ll check it out. See if there are survivors. If not, then, well no one’s going to mind if we take a look around, see if there’s not something of value they might have left behind.
Jayne: (Suddenly “concerned”) Yeah, no, uh, someone could be hurt.
Firefly – Episode 3 – “Bushwhacked”
‘Dogs,’ said the chaplain, who was not one to leave his corner of the table silent long. ‘That reminds me of a question I had meant to put to you gentlemen. This short watch that is about to come, or rather these two short watches — why are they called dog watches? Where, heu, heu, is the canine connection?’
‘Why,’ said Stephen, ‘it is because they are curtailed, of course.’
A total blank. Stephen gave a faint inward sigh; but he was used to this. ‘Mr Butler, the bottle stands by you,’ said Jack. ‘Mr Lydgate, allow me to help you to a little of the undercut.’
It was the midshipman who first reacted. He whispered to his neighbour Dashwood, ‘He said, cur-tailed: the dog-watch is cur-tailed. Do you twig?’
It was the sort of wretched clench perfectly suited to the company. The spreading merriment, the relish, the thunderous mirth, reached the forecastle, causing amazement and conjecture: Jack leaned back in his chair, wiping the tears from his scarlet face, and cried, ‘Oh, it is the best thing — the best thing. Bless you, Stephen — a glass of wine with you. Mr Simmons, if we dine with the admiral, you must ask me, and I will say, “Why, it is because they have been docked, of course.” No, no. I am out. Cur-tailed — cur-tailed. But I doubt I should ever be able to get it out gravely enough.’
Post Captain – Patrick O’Brian
Willow: I’m giddy.
Oz: Oh, I like you giddy. Always have.
Willow: It’s the freedom! As Seniors, we can go off-campus now for lunch. It’s no longer cutting. It’s legal! Heck, it’s expected! Wow, it’s, uh, also a big step forward, a Senior moment, one that has to be savored. You can’t just rush into this, you know?
(Oz and Xander grab Willow’s arms and carry her across the street.)
Willow: Ohh! No, I can’t!
Xander: You can.
Oz: See, you are.
Willow: Oh, but, no! What if they changed the rule without telling? What if they’re lying in wait to *arrest* me a-and, and throw me in detention and mar my unblemished record?
Xander: Breathe. Breathe.
Willow: Okay. Hmm… This is good! This is… Hey, we’re Seniors! Hey, I’m walkin’ here!
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Season 3: Episode 3 – “Faith, Hope & Trick”
“If you’re not in Gryffindor, we’ll disinherit you,” said Ron, “but no pressure.”
“Ron!”
Lily and Hugo laughed, but Albus and Rose looked solemn.
“He doesn’t mean it,” said Hermione and Ginny.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
Jayne: Tell you what I think. I think that fellow we ran into did everyone on board, killed them all, then decided to take a swim through space, see how fast his blood would boil out his ears.
Wash: You’re a very “up” person.
Firefly – Episode 3 – “Bushwhacked”
He went below, noticed the smell of midshipment in the fore-cabin, walked through into the after-cabin, and found himself in total darkness.
‘Close the door,’ cried Stephen, swarming past him and clapping it to.
‘What’s amiss?’ asked Jack, whose mind had moved so deep into naval life that he had forgotten the bees, as he might have forgotten even a vivid nightmare.
‘They are remarkably adaptable — perhaps the most adaptable of all social insects,’ said Stephen, from another part of the cabin. ‘We find them from Norway to the burning wastes of the Sahara; but they have not grown quite used to their surroundings yet.’
‘Oh God,’ said Jack, scrabbling for the handle. ‘Are they all out?’
‘Not at all,’ said Stephen. ‘And learning from Killick that you expected guests, I conceived you might prefer them away. There is so much ignorant prejudice against bees in a dining-room.’ Something was crawling on Jack’s neck; the door had completely vanished; he began to sweat heavily. ‘So I though to create an artificial night, when, in the course of nature, they return to their hive. I also made three fires for the sake of the smoke: these did not have the desired effect, however. It may be that the darkness is too complete. Let us compromise with a twilight — dark, but not too dark.’ He raised a corner of sailcloth, and a beam of sun showed an incalculable number of bees on every vertical surface and on most of those that were flat; bees flying in a jerky, meaningless fashion from point to point; fifty or so sitting on his coat and breeches. ‘There,’ said Stephen, ‘that is far, far better is it not? Urge them to mount on your finger, Jack, and carry them back to their hive. Gently, gently, and on no account exhibit, or even feel, the least uneasiness: fear is wholly fatal, as I dare say you know.’
Jack had the door-handle; he opened it a crack and glided swiftly through. ‘Killick!’ he shouted, beating at his clothes.
‘Sir?’
‘Go and help the Doctor. Bear a hand, now.’
‘I dursn’t,’ said Killick.
‘You don’t mean to tell me you are afraid, a man-of-war’s man?’
‘Yes I am, sir,’ said Killick.
‘Well, clear the fore-cabin and lay the cloth there. And uncork a dozen of claret.’ He plunged into his sleeping-cabin and tore off his stock — there was something creeping beneath it.
Post Captain – Patrick O’Brian
The Love Pirate 