Firefly, but before she was in charge of the ship, she played another space mechanic in a different space show. Jewel Staite has become sci-fi royalty thanks to her performances in different sci-fi shows and movies, and she first visited this genre at a young age. Staite began her career as a child actor, making her acting debut in 1991 in the TV movie Posing: Inspired by Three Real Stories. After more TV projects like Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Staite played Amy Jacobs in an episode of The X-Files.

Staite became a widely known talent when she was cast as Kaylee Frye in the space Western drama TV show Firefly. Created by Joss Whedon, Firefly is set in the year 2517, and it follows the crew of Serenity, all of them survivors of a civil war that changed society. The crew did what they could to survive, and never hesitated to steal. Firefly only lasted one season, but it got proper closure with a movie, Serenity, and has now reached cult status. Firefly launched the careers of its main cast, among them Staite, but she had already played a similar character before.

Jewel Staite Played A Ship Engineer In Nickelodeon's Space Cases

Space Cases Aired From 1996 To 1997

Six years before boarding Serenity, Staite was cast in another sci-fi TV show where she also traveled through space on a ship. The show was Space Cases, created by Peter David and Bill Mumy, which premiered in March 1996 on Nickelodeon. Space Cases followed a group of five students and two grown-ups who sneak aboard a mysterious spaceship. The group of students is formed by athletic leader from Earth, Harlan; Saturnian rainbow-headed Catalina; pessimistic Uranian, Bova; happy Mercurian, Rosie; and super-strong Andromedan, Radu. The two adults are the academy’s principal, Mrs. T.J. Davenport, and teacher Commander Seth Goddard.

Staite played Catalina, the girl with the rainbow-headed Saturnian who serves as the ship’s engineer.

Once on the ship, they meet an android called Thelma, who tells them the ship is half living and has a name (Christa). Soon, the crew learns they are close to a hole that, if they get sucked into, will leave them stranded in space for seven years. Together, the crew does their best to find a way back home, and in the process, they get involved in all types of adventures and problems, with the show occasionally addressing some mature topics. Staite played Catalina, the rainbow-headed Saturnian who serves as the ship’s engineer.

Given her Saturnian origin, Catalina has the ability to release destructive sonic screams, which she uses to disable missiles and take down large attackers. Catalina also has an invisible friend named Suzee, who the rest believe is actually an imaginary friend, but is later confirmed to be invisible when she, well, becomes visible. Suzee and Catalina trade places in season 2, which is why Staite doesn’t appear. Six years later, Staite played another space engineer in Firefly, as her character, Kaylee, was the mechanic of Serenity and thus was in charge of keeping her running.

Jewel Staite Continued Her Sci-Fi Career In Another Franchise

Firefly Wasn’t The End Of Jewel Staite’s Sci-Fi Career

Firefly’s cancellation after just one season was disappointing, but it wasn’t the end of Jewel Staite’s career in the sci-fi genre. The same year she reprised her role as Kaylee in the movie Serenity, Staite ed the world of Stargate in the spinoff TV series Stargate Atlantis. Staite played Ellia in one episode, and in 2007, she returned in the recurring role of Jennifer Keller. On TV, Staite’s reign in the sci-fi genre continued with Warehouse 13 and Quantum Leap.

Jewel Staite is one of three Firefly actors to Stargate, the others being Morena Baccarin and Adam Baldwin.

Despite her work in other sci-fi worlds and other genres – such as comedy with Wonderfalls, crime drama with The Killing, fantasy with The Magicians, and legal drama with Family Law – Jewel Staite continues to be best known for her role as Kaylee in Firefly, but it’s fun to see that she already had experience as a space engineer in another ship and universe before ing Serenity.