In the television series Firefly and its feature film sequel Serenity, a Companion is a skilled, well-educated and well-respected member of a guild of professional courtesans/entertainers, somewhat similar to geisha, though with more obvious focus on sexual matters. While they do frequently engage in a form of state-sanctioned prostitution, they are nonetheless treated with a great deal of respect and deference from nearly everyone (as seen in several episodes, including "The Train Job"), though non-guild prostitutes (as seen in the Firefly episode "Heart of Gold") are generally treated in the reverse, even if they are former Guild members.