Inara. No problems with the actress, but the character felt tacked on and unnecessary. Everyone else seemed to have a point, or a reason for being there, but not Inara.
If you mean why Inara had joined up with the crew of Serenity, I'm sure that would have been revealed and explored more as the series went on
Book. Wise-old preacher man cliché with a touch of magical negro, the way he just steps out of nowhere ready to pull out whatever skill or information the situation requires. I had no idea what he was even doing on the ship, every episode seemed to have to give him a new function, and I didn't much care for the unresolved secret history thing. Maybe if the show had lasted longer and more of his biography had come to light he would have made a more interesting character, certainly counteract the feeling of the semi-spiritual character with no past, but he was just so bland most of the time. Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
Oh, I'm sure she had her reasons, and I'm sure they would have been explained eventually, but we only have fourteen episodes and the movie to go on, and none of it was ever really fleshed out in any of them.
River ... I always thought she was the most annoying character in terms of her actions, even if her character story was one of the more intriguing ones.
Agreed. I'll call it the Riley Finn Factor.(TM) I was very angry at the end of the movie when, much to my surprise, Simon survived yet my favorite character, Wash, was given one of the most pointless, brutal deaths in cinematic history. I thought the actor who played Book did it magnificently. He was always a character that left me wanting more. As for his backstory, the best theory I've heard is that he used to be an Operative. But just like the Operative in the movie, he had an experience that opened his eyes to the true depravity of the Alliance, which is why he left. If he was an Operative, it also explains how he was able to pull out a new badass skill every other episode.
That pretty well sums up my thoughts as well. However, I thought the circumstances of her government tampering and subsequent escape did more to make Simon interesting, not River. I was always impressed with Simon's self sacrifice, giving up his rightfully earned status and everything he knew for the love of his sister. River herself, on the other hand, was just pointless and annoying.
Inara was the least interesting of the bunch. Morena Baccarin is much much better on V. Favorites: Jayne, Simon, Zoe, Wash.
Inara. Don't know what it is about her, but I just loathe her. I didn't really like River in the series; I was always waiting for her character to "get started" (a bit like Inara - except with her I didn't care). I really liked River in Serenity, though.
I have to go with Zoe as well. She never got fleshed out compared to the other characters — even the ones like Book and River that they were trying to keep mysterious — and as a result, came across as a bit 2D. No negative reflection on Gina Torres; I enjoyed her portrayal. I think if Firefly had had a longer run than 14 episodes, one movie, and two comic book miniseries, we'd have eventually seen some more background for Zoe beyond "Mal's right hand." And honestly, asking who's my least favorite Firefly character is like asking what's my least favorite flavor of ice cream.
Simon...he was a tool. Kaylee's constnat whining also got very grating. At times I was hoping they would trip and fall out an poorly secured airlock.
Apart from Mal, the Tams and maybe Book, I thought they were all pretty terrible. They actually average to less than the Enterprise crew in my eyes, and I found that crew the least interesting of all the Treks. Truth be told, I'd be hard-pressed to come up with a show I liked that had worse characters, though in fairness, I don't like Firefly. Zoe and Wash were perfect for each other in that each was blander than the other. Jayne was a moron. Kaylee's name makes me think "porn star" every time, and she often acts like a porn star trying to be giggly, though she does that fairly well. Inara was as bland as the married couple, though she at least had an interesting face. River isn't really interesting either, I just like the rescuing-older-sibling dynamic. That makes two good characters (Mal and Simon), one okay one (Book) and six lame ones. Even Enterprise only really had one clunker in Mayweather, and there it was as much the actor as the character. The draws for the show and movie were Mal, the Tam story, the setting and the writing. Along with the meandering story, the characters were its biggest setback.