Who is River Tam?
This page is dedicated to the crazy and awesome character of River Tam, who definitely kicks butt (especially Reaver butt). Learn more about River Tam, Summer Glau, the actress who plays River, find pictures, search fan videos, and read the epic story of River Tam.
Table of Contents
- Who is River Tam?
- Firefly and Serenity on DVD
- Childhood
- Proof of how awesome River Tam is!
- River Tam and The Academy
- River Tam kicks Reaver-butt!
- River Tam Fixes the Bible Clip
- River on the run...
- Check out these Flickr pics of River Tam
- River Tam-Firefly/Serenity Fan Videos
- River Tam and the cast of Firefly!
- A Fun Poll-Chuck Norris vs. River!
- River Tam T-Shirts
- River is Scared of The Hair Clip
- A little on Summer Glau
- More by Summer Glau
- Firefly/River Tam Related Links
- Hilarious xkcd.com Comic
- River Tam on Twitter!
- Guestbook
- Bookmark This Lens
- Love This Lens?
- Who's talking about River Tam?
- About Me: The Lensmaker
- Check out our home page!
Who is River Tam?
A quick summary on River Tam...
A hyper-intelligent child of privilege, River Tam discovered that the Academy in which she'd enrolled was more of a torture center than a school. No one knows yet what The Academy did to her before her brother Simon stole her back, because she's still too traumatized to tell them.But she and Simon need to keep running-because the Academy wants their experiment back...
Firefly and Serenity on DVD
Childhood
Snagged from FireflyWiki.org
River was born with a mind of unparalelled brilliance. While Simon was smart enough to become a gifted doctor in the top 3% of his class at the finest medical institution, River was so bright she corrected her older brother's spelling by the time she was three years old, and even found mathematical errors in his textbooks. Simon claimed in Serenity that River made him "look like an idiot child".Their parents spoiled them and lavished them with luxuries, even signing River up for the most challenging of education programs: The Academy. Simon and his parents thought nothing of it; she was an exceptional child and belonged in an educational institution that could cater to her needs. But after a few months, Simon received a perplexing letter from her...
Proof of how awesome River Tam is!
Hilarious and awesome things she has said before! There's no denying!
Vote the best quotes said by River! Add your own if you can't find your favorite!
"I'm not on the ship. I'm in the ship. I am the ship. ..River's gone. You're talking to Serenity. And Early, Serenity is very unhappy."
0 points
"You're wrong, Early. You're wrong about River. River's not on the ship. They didn't want her here, but she couldn't make herself leave. So she melted... Melted away. They didn't know she could do that, but she did."
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River Tam and The Academy
Problems arise...
The letter Simon received was all sorts of confusing. There were misspellings and references to individuals who did not exist, to events which never happened. Simon theorized that the letter was written in some kind of code, but his parents refused to take Simon's fears seriously, believing River was just being playful and Simon was irrationally overreacting to River's absence. They were wrong.While her family thought she was safe, The Academy was actually a scientific installation (likely funded by the Blue Sun corporation). Simon decoded his sister's letters and set out to try to get her back, seeking someone, anyone-even those living in Blackout Zones-who could help him help his sister escape...

River Tam kicks Reaver-butt!
River Tam Fixes the Bible Clip
River on the run...
River and Simon escape...
Simon made arrangements for stealing River from The Academy, then made his way to Persephone and the Eavesdown Docks slums. There, he met with the people delivering cargo containing his sister in stasis from which she was later awakened on the Firefly Transport Serenity. Blue Sun still considers River their property, and they will stop at nothing to get River back.Unfortunately, exactly what River is now remains uncertain. River's brain was operated on countless times while The Academy had her in its clutches, and she was treated for all intents and purposes like a laboratory animal. Simon was able to perform diagnostic tests and now knows for certain that, among other things, they cut into her brain multiple times. They even stripped her amygdala, which is a part of the brain used to control emotional responses and 'filter' incoming information. As he describes it: "She feels everything; she can't not." The R. Tam sessions, recorded at The Academy, show River's slow descent into her current state.
River's state of mind is inconsistent and unpredictable. Simon Tam administers semi-regular treatments of medication that seem to improve her ability to cope with her own mental damage for short periods of time, but these treatments have side-effects which leave her physically ill. When in good spirits, River likes playing with Kaylee and occasionally play practical jokes with the crew. She's potentially very dangerous, however.
Check out these Flickr pics of River Tam
The actress who plays River Tam, Summer Glau, on Flickr!

River Tam and the cast of Firefly!
A Fun Poll-Chuck Norris vs. River!
Do you think River Tam could beat Chuck Norris in a fight to the death?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byDuh, did you see her with those Reavers?
anothersky says:
Some say the boogieman (singular) checks his closet at night for Chuck Norris. Reavers are space boogiemen...
Posted October 18, 2009
jj says:
sure
Posted September 12, 2009
unique_freak77 says:
River would slaughter Chuck! Sure, Chuck Norris is awesome, but River is PSYCHIC. She'd see his roundhouse kicks coming a mile away. Sorry Chuck.
Posted May 18, 2009
No way, it's Chuck Norris!
River Tam T-Shirts
River is Scared of The Hair Clip
The Hair of Shepherd Book
Hilarious scene from episode Jaynestown. Starring Shepherd Book,River, Zoe and the HAIR :) (still waiting) :) River: Hello? Book: In here, River River:I'm--I tore these out of your symbol, and they turned into paper-- but I want to put them back, so-- Book: Sorry? What's that? River? River, come back! Zoe: Preacher, what the hell did you... WOW! River: They say the snow on the roof is too heavy. They say the ceiling will cave in. His brains are in terrible danger. Book: River? Please, why don't you come on out? River: No! Can't. Too much hair. Book: Is--is that it? Zoe: Hell, yes, preacher. If I didn't have stuff to get done, I'd be in there with her. Zoe: River, honey, he's putting the hair away now. River: Doesn't matter. It'll still be there. Waiting.
Runtime: 66
30475 views
144 Comments:
curated content from YouTube
A little on Summer Glau
Let's take a peek at the actress behind the character...
Summer Glau is most known for her part of River Tam on "Firefly" and "Serenity". Summer is a native of San Antonio, Texas. For most of her life, she was a prima ballerina, but she soon began acting. She made a guest appearance on the popular WB show, "Angel", and continued on to "Firefly" and "Serenity". Currently, she working on the second season of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles". More by Summer Glau
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - The Complete First Season
Amazon Price: $17.49 (as of 12/21/2009)![]()
Check out Summer Glau's latest tv show, The Terminator, The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Firefly/River Tam Related Links
Looking for more River, Firefly, or Serenity?
- Firefly Wiki
- The ultimate source: a Wiki-style website for all things Firefly.
- River Tam Gifts
- River Tam related gifts on CafePress!
- IMDB on River Tam
- Read more on River Tam the character, and the actress who plays her, Summer Glau.
- Summer Glau's IMDB
- The IMDB page for the actress that plays River Tam, Summer Glau!
- River Tam @ BrownCoats.com
- River Tam profile on BrownCoats.com
Hilarious xkcd.com Comic

River Tam on Twitter!
Follow the River Tam rpg on Twitter!

- aka Twitter
- 0 followers
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- @Kaylee_Frye spiced meat soup?
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- @malcolmreynolds can't read @Jayne_Cobb's mind... his mind will scar me worse than the Alliance ever did...
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- @Kaylee_Frye mystery... mystery meat. meat that is not, was not meat.
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- @Kaylee_Frye hiding in the shadows, listening to whispers... kiss kiss wake up
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- silver glitter, spun gold
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- @scribblecraft why xie xie baobei
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- so many luminous balls of plasma often hidden by the black
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- @malcolmreynolds would now be the time to tell you I'm heading towards Reaver territory? ... just joking!
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- @JoshGorfain I see you know our captain's reputation...
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- @AmbassadorInara there *could* be! in a parallel dimension or something...
Guestbook
Share your comments!
Tell us what you think about this Squidoo page! Tell us what you would add, what questions to add in a poll, and more! We love to hear your feedback!
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Reply
- roamingrosie roamingrosie Jun 13, 2009 @ 8:06 pm
- I LOVE Firefly! I wish the show hadn't been canceled. All of the characters were great and I was really intrigued by River. Sad to see the show go.
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Reply
- Zana Zana Apr 10, 2009 @ 5:49 am
- She is the closest character that could describe me personaly..
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Reply
- tandemonimom tandemonimom Apr 7, 2009 @ 5:07 pm
- Love River Tam, love ALL the Firefly characters! It's practically criminal for them to have cancelled such a brilliant series! 5*
Bookmark This Lens
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Who's talking about River Tam?
Check out who's talking about River Tam on Twitter right now!
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- nicstepro
- @dannysgirlsg1 Firefly :a great show pulled before its time. Loved River. Have u seen the R. Tam Sessions? i loved Wash too :(
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- garypryke
- ♫ Song For River Tam (Demo) - http://iLike.com/t/QrqN
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- garypryke
- Blog Off - Hey all, hope you are well etc. I've just uploaded "Song For River Tam (Demo)" to my ilike profile. W... http://iLike.com/t/QrqX
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- thebrownpants
- Not many things more awesome in life than when River Tam kicks everyone's arse in Serenity.
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- CNRedDragon
- @sisterwintered Rashida Jones wrote a comic? Is it about how River Tam visits the Pawnee Parks & Rec department?
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- whedonage
- @jwhedonaddict You'd think that military training of his would let him pull a River Tam on the covert ops
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- AshJolliffe
- Xkcd's "River Tam Beats Up Everyone" could only be matched with "Veronica Mars Tases Everybody".
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- Nickolz
- @whedonesque So many. Drogyn (epic), Illyria (more epic), Giles (in old times), Alpha (would be gross), River Tam (would be psychedelic)
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- brinderwalt
- @whedonesque River Tam or Malcolm Reynolds - both have the charisma and unplumbed depths.
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- kimberlyL
- @hankgreen #p4a we kick ass! like river tam!
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