Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the episode, Mal, Jayne and the slavers are playing holographic snooker. One of the slavers gets ready to hit the white ball and leans over the table with his snooker cue. The holographic balls then start to malfunction. In the shot of them malfunctioning the snooker cue that the slaver was holding has disappeared from the table only to return in the following shot.
Visible crew/equipment: Right after Kaylee tells Mal that she's not speaking to him there is a wideshot of the ballroom dancers. In the archway at the back of the room Joss Whedon, the director/creator, walks into shot wearing a Hawaiian shirt, shorts and a baseball cap with headphones around his neck. Just as he raises his hands to speak to the dancers the shot cuts to Inara and Atherton.
Continuity mistake: During the duel, after Atherton breaks Mal's sword, he puts the blade to Mal's chest with his arm straight and his wrist slightly bent. The angle changes, and Atherton is suddenly holding the sword with his elbow bent and a straight wrist, in a completely different manner. (00:37:30)
Chosen answer: One of the premises of the show is that the two major Earth societies that survived, and ultimately merged, were the Chinese and Americans. As a result the common language includes much Chinese. Clothing, signage, and building designs also have a heavy Chinese influence.