I love Joss Whedon’s writing. It’s why I wrote “Firefly: Old Wounds” the first audio drama fan-fiction in the ‘Verse. But, Whenesque writing has really hurt modern shows and seems especially to infect a lot of audio drama.
Quippy dialogue can be painful when it doesn’t fit the character. When it works best is when it’s limited not to events as much as to character. Look at all the quippy stuff from Firefly itself, because it’s there to hide things. Mostly pain.
Wash is quippy to mask the fact that he’s terrified all the time.
Zoe quips when she’s giving veiled threats.
Mal quips to mask that he cares about people.
Simon quips to make himself look more important with his intelligence and less weak in front of others.
Inara quips to shame others (the woman whose occupation itself would be shameful in today’s society. It’s perfect!)
Kayla quips to try to be part of the group and endear herself to all.
Shepherd Book quips to hint that he’s much more than just a man of God.
Jayne quips are double-edged because they demonstrate how dumb he is.
Too many audio dramas have a full range of quippy characters that just sound like they’re trying to fire off “clever” pop culture references.
Be less clever in your dialogue and most honest to your character and you’ll make a bigger impact.
That’s what I always endeavor to do.
https://youtu.be/Tb0Nw3HrYL4?si=zuQR1UQNgbd2GMri