 The part of recurring character Badger, who appeared in several  episodes of _"Firefly" (2002/I)_ (qv) including "Serenity" and  "Shindig", was originally intended to be played by creator and  executive producer Joss Whedon (qv) himself (according to Josss  DVD commentary for the episode "Serenity.") In the end, actor  Mark Sheppard (I) (qv) was cast in the part instead.