So I rewatched Serenity the other night since it happened to air on CityTV, and was reminded of something that had been nagging at me for a while - namely, what did Mr. Universe's lair remind me of? And now I think I remember...
Anyone here ever play The Longest Journey? It was a point-and-click adventure game released about seven or eight years ago, pretty well known in the genre. In any case, if anyone besides me has played it - Mr. Universe is Burns Flipper, no? Both are solitary, anarchist techno-geeks that help our heroes in a vital way. Both are found out and killed by representatives of a cold, totalitarian authority for their trouble. But what really caught my attention was their environments ... here's a screenshot of Burns Flipper's lair.
Dunno if The Longest Journey is well-known enough to have inspired the Serenity folks, though. I'm thinking they were both inspired by something older. Anyone have any ideas as to what?