 Two wrecked ships are shown with the registration numbers C57D, a  reference to _Forbidden Planet (1956)_ (qv) put in by the graphic  designer, Geoffrey Mandel (qv). Jayne points out the first one as  they explore. The second is the rescue ship, the source of the  beacon. Writer/Director Joss Whedon (qv) says in the DVD  commentary that the name of the world, Miranda, was taken from  William Shakespeare (I) (qv)s The Tempest, where it is the name  of a character who says, "O brave new world that has such people  int!" Forbidden Planet was loosely based on The Tempest.