Ranking of Firefly characters

[dangermousie]

Because I am compulsive about lists. Mind you, this is only after seeing 4 eps, so this can clearly change.

From most to least:

Love:
1. Mal: He is the main character and I am so predictable. I am a sucker for the angsty funny leader guy. If he is hot and has forbiden feelings for a chick? All the better.
2. Jayne: Because no one else on this show makes me laugh the way he does. That, and he is an unusual scifi character. Sort of like Rygel and D’Argo’s bastard child.


Like:
3. Inara: Hooker with a heart of gold? Cliché. Hooker with a heart of gold who is in love with a noble outlaw? Ditto (watch the lovely “Stagecoach” all the way back in 1939). Hooker who is well-bred and happy in her job, and who snarks with the best of them? My kind of gal.
4. Wash: He’s like Xander. Only capable and with a love life.
5. Kaylee: Cause she is too sweet not to like. And because I know girls like her.

Indifferent for now, but with potential:
6. Simon: He just hasn’t shown much personality so far, or any other really likeable qualities. Plus, he is responsible for the annoyance that is River. But there are potentialities there. He really reminds me of Angel’s Wesley and we know how well he turned out.
7. Zoe: She is nice and capable and a good wife and a good second in command. Just not very interesting. Well-adjusted and settled people do not make for a good drama.
8. Book: Nice guy. If I were a Christian, a great Preacher to have. But no hot angst? No sarcastic quips? No off-the-wallness? Not so much interest.

It would take a miracle:
9. River: Crazy people alert. I feel sorry for her, I do. Now if she would only shut up. The only crazy I ever liked was John Crichton. This chick is like a non-evil Baltar: a little taste goes a looooong way.

Comments

[ayn-rand-fan-13.livejournal.com]

Gah, it all sounds awesome. Yet another show I've managed to get obsessed with without actually seeing it. I think I'm getting the DVD for my birthday.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

You should!

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

River annoys me more than anything. I have no clue how Simon puts up with her or why all the women are so patient with her. Yes, she's crazy, but it's like she's not even trying to make sense ever. It's like she's deliberately being cryptic and psycho. I know Simon says she used to be a sweet girl, but he did let on that she'd been manipulative and spoiled back then and NOW she seems manipulative, spoiled and crazy.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I just want them to sedate her. Permanently.

[hobviously.livejournal.com]

Wow, your list is very similar to my inital one, though Jayne was lower down and Book higher up. However, I have to say that on repeat viewings my love for all characters has grown a lot. I'm still not a big River person, partially because the character type and how she's used in all Joss Whedon work really kinda squicks me out, but I like her much more now than I did at first. My biggest opinion change has been Simon — he gets cooler as the season goes on and every time I rewatch I find I love him more. Though, of course, my heart belongs to Mal. Even though his belongs to Inara. ;]

Also: you will LOVE Serenity!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Also: you will LOVE Serenity!

Does that mean there is a lot of Mal? Please....

River does remind me of Dawn, though she has the excuse of being nutty. But that would make Simon Buffy and that is not anywhere I want to go :)

[grace-om.livejournal.com]

While Jayne adds a lot to the show, I can't like him as a character. I don't trust him, and his presence worries me. He is a brillian foil for the other characters though. And useful in a fight...if you can feel reasonably certain he won't change sides in the middle.

I hope Simon will grow on you. He is always socially inept, a quality I find kind of endearing. But he is also seriously smart and highly skilled at the those things he does well. He's just a fish out of water on Serenity...for now.

River, I'm pretty much with you. Though her babblings are pretty much always meaningful (though it can take multiple re-viewings to catch it), there could be less of them. Also, for me, she's less of a character, per se, than a mystery. What exactly did the Alliance do to her and why?

Book is not what he appears to be. Or he wasn't before he became a shepard. But what was he? Another mystery.

Inara really isn't happy in her work. It's subtle, but from very early on, there are glimpses of her pain. It's not professional satisfaction that keeps her from admitting that Mal is right; it's pride (a quality which makes her and Mal sooo much alike, and will probably keep them apart forever ::sigh::). Just imo.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't trust Jayne, but I find him wastly wastly amusing. Funny goes a long way with me, even if it's unintentional.

Simon isn't usually the type I go for in fiction, but you never know. As to River? Urgh. I am just not very patient.

Gald to hear there is more to Book. I love his manner.

It's an interesting observation about Inara. I am now going to watch it with that in mind. She certainly likes the status, at least. But you are right, she is not gung ho. She is not ashamed however (at least yet).

will probably keep them apart forever

Nooooo! I prefer HEA

[kaseido.livejournal.com]

I agree on Inara - and I think a lot of it is that the hicks on the frontier treat her more like a call girl and less like a Companion. We see bits of that even in the first ep, when her client turns all snarky at the end.

Simon grew on me, and by the end of what we got I *so* wanted more Book!

River, yeah. I *like* Baltar quite a lot, and can even take higher doses than a lot of people. But River - scarier than I even used to date, is how bad *she* is! ;-)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Icon Love!

Yes, I think how she is treatedmight affect her opinion of her role, but I don't think morality enters into it.

Book is getting a bit interesting, what with his unusual knowledge and rank.