I agree about Ariel advancing things, which is something Whedon would have needed to work on if the show had survived... (woe ). And that was good, but I dunno if I got as much enjoyment out of the episode, purely because of the setting. Since it took place in a hospital, you lost out on a lot of the wonderful grittiness of cowboys in space, as well as the great fun of seeing what the costume/set designers could come up with.

I think Objects in Space is hands-down the most well-crafted episode, and it looks like there's some agreement here on that score. My favorite to watch, however, is Safe. I love the scene where River is happy and dancing and then suddenly it stops. I also love the witch-y thing, although the warning against fundamentalism is rather too heavy-handed for my tastes. Setting-wise... what can I say, I like forests. Oh, and I enjoy the childhood flashbacks too.