256:. According to Simon, the Alliance attempted to isolate River from her family, though she managed to send a call for help by putting a coded message in a letter to her brother. Simon decoded the message and set out to rescue his then sixteen-year-old sister, despite his parents' insistence that he was being paranoid. In his quest to locate and free River, Simon enlisted the aid of anti-governmental groups, exhausting his personal fortune and sacrificing a promising medical career.
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248:, part of the wealthy Tam family on the "core" planet of Osiris. She was graceful and intellectually gifted. She is described as having a strong thirst for knowledge and a love for and intuitive grasp of dance. By the time she was fourteen years old, she had grown "bored" with her studies and enrolled in a graduate program for physics.
251:
It was at this point that she was sent to a government learning facility known as "The
Academy". While her parents and Simon believed the Academy was a private school meant to nurture the gifts of talented children, it was in fact a cover for a government experiment in creating assassins. While in
42:
332:, in comparison to the more heroic role of Buffy Summers. Film critic and horror author Michael Marano also compared the character to Buffy, citing the two characters' combat prowess as similarities and describing River as the
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223:. River Tam was Glau's first major role. Glau's inexperience assisted her in playing the character: she likened River's emotional withdrawal to her own initial apprehension on the set.
271:, and mentions the Academy's first subject "dying on the table." The first session clip indicates she has strong "intuitive" abilities and can easily understand complex subjects.
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The nature of the character and her role in the franchise has garnered praise from various reviewers. Some have positively likened the character's erratic behavior to
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the hands of
Alliance doctors and scientists, River was secretly experimented on, including surgery that damaged her
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Seers, "Witches" and
Psychics on Screen: An Analysis of Women Visionary Characters in Recent Television and Film
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Seers, Witches and
Psychics on Screen: An Analysis of Women Visionary Characters in Recent Television and Film
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267:. She references the "G-23 Paxilon Hydrochlorate", which would later be a plot point in the film
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559:"Chapter Two: Transformation of River Tam - Psychic Warrior, Female Prodigy and Anti-Hero in
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selected Glau for the role after having previously worked with her on another of his shows,
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In many of the hand-to-hand combat scenes featuring the character, particularly those in
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457:"'Firefly': Summer Glau reflects on Joss Whedon, sci-fi women and River's edge"
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615:
Serenity Found: More
Unauthorized Essays on Joss Whedon's Firefly Universe
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During River's early childhood, she grew up alongside her brother,
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for Best
Supporting Actress, again for her role as River in
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for Best
Supporting Actress, again for her role as River in
403:"The 32nd Annual Saturn Awards Honors Genre Entertainment"
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depict her descent into insanity and portray hints of her
1096:
Fictional characters with post-traumatic stress disorder
610:"River Tam and the Weaponized Women of the Whedonverse"
480:. About.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
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franchise (also created by Joss Whedon), in her book
96:, Skylar Roberge (young), Hunter Ansley Wryn (young)
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533:"Taking a moment for National Autism Awareness Day"
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283:award for Best Actress for her role as River in
186:magazine award for Best Actress for her role in
236:was incorporated into her fight choreography.
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8:
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16:Fictional character of the Firefly franchise
356:"Better living through Firefly's River Tam"
336:of Joss Whedon's strong female characters.
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295:in May 2006. Glau was also runner up for
198:in May 2006. Glau was also runner up for
1146:Television characters introduced in 2002
1081:Fictional characters with eidetic memory
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1091:Fictional characters with schizophrenia
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312:University of Northern British Columbia
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21:
1086:Fictional characters with neurotrauma
7:
478:"Summer Glau Talks About "Serenity""
328:. Beeler labeled the character an
154:is a fictional character from the
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314:compared and contrasted River to
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1136:Science fiction film characters
1076:Female characters in television
1131:Firefly (TV series) characters
1:
1126:Fictional human test subjects
455:Clark, Nolene (May 3, 2011).
358:. Cliqueclack.com. 2011-06-15
613:. In Espenson, Jane (ed.).
232:, Glau's own experience in
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960:Serenity Role Playing Game
310:. Dr. Karin Beeler of the
1101:Fictional child prodigies
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953:Firefly Role-Playing Game
576:Jefferson, North Carolina
490:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
39:
29:
1121:Fictional super soldiers
1116:Fictional sleeper agents
607:Marano, Michael (2007).
321:Buffy the Vampire Slayer
180:. In 2005, Glau won the
580:McFarland & Company
519:Ariel (Firefly episode)
101:In-universe information
675:Quotations related to
556:Beeler, Karin (2008).
279:In 2005, Glau won the
168:in the 2002 TV series
164:River is portrayed by
318:, protagonist of the
936:Boom! Studios comics
538:Entertainment Weekly
130:Gabriel Tam (father)
1106:Fictional criminals
974:Done the Impossible
677:Firefly (TV series)
431:"SyfyPortal Awards"
287:. Glau later won a
190:. Glau later won a
19:Fictional character
1111:Fictional psychics
928:Leaves on the Wind
297:Best Actress/Movie
210:Production details
200:Best Actress/Movie
174:and the 2005 film
132:Regan Tam (mother)
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914:Those Left Behind
850:
849:
785:Our Mrs. Reynolds
663:Television portal
628:978-1-9352-5132-3
589:978-0-7864-3346-9
531:Bernardin, Marc.
476:Murray, Rebecca.
462:Los Angeles Times
301:SyFy Genre Awards
265:psychic abilities
204:SyFy Genre Awards
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967:Finding Serenity
882:Malcolm Reynolds
841:Objects in Space
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55:First appearance
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67:Last appearance
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649:External links
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621:. p. 38.
619:BenBella Books
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437:on 2006-11-07
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679:at Wikiquote
639:Google Books
637:– via
632:. Retrieved
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594:Google Books
592:– via
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439:. Retrieved
435:the original
411:. Retrieved
407:the original
383:. Retrieved
380:"SFX Awards"
360:. Retrieved
330:anti-heroine
325:
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289:Saturn Award
284:
281:SFX Magazine
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192:Saturn Award
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90:Portrayed by
70:
49:as River Tam
30:
945:Other media
921:Better Days
827:The Message
813:War Stories
764:Bushwhacked
215:Joss Whedon
166:Summer Glau
94:Summer Glau
84:Joss Whedon
47:Summer Glau
1070:Categories
983:soundtrack
874:Characters
799:Out of Gas
792:Jaynestown
634:2024-03-05
617:. Dallas:
441:2006-10-08
413:2006-07-11
385:2006-10-08
362:2006-07-16
340:References
334:apotheosis
303:for 2006.
206:for 2006.
114:Occupation
80:Created by
887:River Tam
724:TV series
718:franchise
275:Reception
240:Depiction
159:franchise
152:River Tam
142:Homeworld
137:(brother)
135:Simon Tam
127:Relatives
35:character
25:River Tam
1055:Category
1019:(vessel)
1017:Serenity
1006:Alliance
999:Universe
981:Serenity
863:Serenity
750:Serenity
742:Episodes
565:Serenity
506:Serenity
486:cite web
293:Serenity
285:Serenity
269:Serenity
254:amygdala
229:Serenity
196:Serenity
188:Serenity
177:Serenity
120:Serenity
72:Serenity
62:" (2002)
60:Serenity
1036:Con Man
1028:Related
1011:Reavers
771:Shindig
732:Firefly
715:Firefly
561:Firefly
299:in the
202:in the
171:Firefly
157:Firefly
32:Firefly
901:Comics
625:
586:
308:autism
145:Osiris
109:Female
106:Gender
75:(2005)
820:Trash
806:Ariel
246:Simon
220:Angel
855:Film
778:Safe
623:ISBN
584:ISBN
563:and
543:Time
492:link
259:The
183:SFX
1072::
578::
574:.
570:.
541:.
535:.
488:}}
484:{{
459:.
422:^
394:^
371:^
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
