FireFly: Inara or Kaylee

[Gentleman of Fortune]

I couldn't help thinking though, of the comparison between "Mary Anne" and "Ginger" of Gilligan's Island, and Kaylee and Inara of Firefly. (not that they are similar characters mind you, but there has always been kind of a "male" choice.... Mary Anne or Ginger?

Kaylee is the home grown girl next door type and Inara is the Hottie "Dream" girl type....

So

Question 1

Kaylee or Inara?

(Ok.... DESPITE that fact that Inara has had... "professional" training!)

Question 2

Ginger or Mary Ann?

Anyone?

[Caraccioli]

Well, I still haven't watched this series (15 hours of time watching old TV that hasn't quite captured my imagination for some reason...), so I can't call that one.

As for Ginger/Mary Ann, my choice is:

Isolation on the other side of the island. Maybe I'd come back to talk to the professor, but the rest of them...definitely isolation. If I'm picking amongst fictional women, I definitely want more options. (Tiffany Case from the book (not the movie...gawd) Diamonds are Forever? Possibly. Moxie Mooney from the books Fletch's Moxie and Fletch and the Widow Bradley? Could be. It's difficult to say, since I only have glimpses. This is also assuming, of course, that any of them would put up with me. (How's that for an answer? ))

[michaelsbagley]

Okay, I'll bite on this one... Despite the fact that my answer may seem inconsistant to some....

From Firefly/Serenity I would so choose Inara over Kaylee.... It is a tough call, but Inara is the clear winner in my books...

From Gilligan's Island I would choose Mary Anne over Ginger in a heartbeat, not that I would kick Ginger (as she looked at the time of the airing of the show) out of bed for eating crackers, but Mary Anne, just has a "Je ne sais quoi" to her.

So, why is this inconsitant? Well I chose the sex-kitten from one show, and the "girl next door" from the other.... Or at least that is how my brain is translating this....

[Gentleman of Fortune]

Same line of thinking... But different selection

Gil Island: Ginger... no question (and hey, if the carpet matches the drapes its a bonus!)

Firefly: Kaylee. My caveat above was Inara's training which I am sure is well worth the admission price, but the girl alone, Kaylee. Hell, I'd drink either one's bathwater though!

GoF

[Iron Bess]

Question 2

Ginger or Mary Ann?

Anyone?

The Professor! (Yeah, I always kinda thought he'd make a great *Little Buddy!*

[CaptainSatan]

She be a little tall for my taste, but I've always had a sweet spot fer Kaylee.That be one wench who needs to be spanked and have her hair pulled.

-CS

[Barbados Sam]

Back when I used to watch G.I., Mary Ann was always my favorite....and if you look at each of them today, Mary Ann is still very pretty and has aged beautifully. Ginger....not so much.....

[blackjohn]

Interesting... ok, I'll bite. I have a couple ways of looking at this. From a pragmatic point of view, Mary Ann and Kaylee both have a certain appeal because, on the surface, they seem to be the type of girl that doesn't take an hour+ every day to just put on some makeup. They both appear to be relatively low maintainence types.

However, ignoring outward appearance and looking deeper into the character, I don't believe Kaylee compares well to Mary Ann. Sure, they are both the girl next door, but when the chips fall, I know Kaylee is going freeze. When I need someone to watch my back, I think Mary Ann has enough farm girl gumption in her to be able to make a stand. Kaylee, she breaks under pressure.

Thus, I'm going with Mary Ann and Inara. Inara, by a long sea mile the most beautiful of the four, is not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside as well. She has inner strength, focus, poise, grace and most important of all, self confidence!

And... when Reavers are bustin' at my airlock, I know Inara will make a stand and fight alongside of me.

[Blackbead]

Either pair, the answer is the same for me: why do we always think of "either/or"? "Bring on both of 'em at the same time," says old Blackbead! If we're going to fantasize, let's SUPER size that fantasy!

[Duchess]

Interesting... ok, I'll bite. I have a couple ways of looking at this. From a pragmatic point of view, Mary Ann and Kaylee both have a certain appeal because, on the surface, they seem to be the type of girl that doesn't take an hour+ every day to just put on some makeup. They both appear to be relatively low maintainence types.

However, ignoring outward appearance and looking deeper into the character, I don't believe Kaylee compares well to Mary Ann. Sure, they are both the girl next door, but when the chips fall, I know Kaylee is going freeze. When I need someone to watch my back, I think Mary Ann has enough farm girl gumption in her to be able to make a stand. Kaylee, she breaks under pressure.

Thus, I'm going with Mary Ann and Inara. Inara, by a long sea mile the most beautiful of the four, is not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside as well. She has inner strength, focus, poise, grace and most important of all, self confidence!

And... when Reavers are bustin' at my airlock, I know Inara will make a stand and fight alongside of me.

If I were to choose, I'd have chose exactly as Blackjohn for exactly the same reasons. I've never really forgiven Kaylee for failing to defend the ship. I was trying to come up with some kind way of saying this but now I don't need to. Inara's other attraction is that she is very very good at mulitiple things, and I have much respect for people who put forth the effort to be multi-capable.

Now Mal or Jayne? Perhaps I need to start another thread...

[Cpt Sophia M Eisley]

I'd choose the same as Blackjohn and Duchess, but have an extra thought on Inara. As much as I find her (and Kaylee) to be likeable characters for a variety of reasons, I wonder who would be more genunine? Inara has had the training to gain skill and confidence, but also the character and hospitality needed for her line of work. Granted her clients are high class (which she seemed to enjoy for the most part), but I'm sure she could turn on the same charm for others.

The answers may have to come from the characters themselves, eh?

[blackjohn]

Thinking on this some more, I believe I'd actually place River (sans knife or gun ) above Kaylee...

ps - glad you ladies agree.

[michaelsbagley]

I dunno BlackJohn, I think I am gonna have to disagree with you on this on...

River (the character) even without a gun or a knife is still one creepy little lady...

Kaylee, coward as she may be, is certainly more attractive than River... If we were talking about going into a battle, i would choose to have River by my side over Kaylee, or even Inara any day.... But I thought this thread was more about who was the most attractive...

There does seem to be quite a strong leaning towards Inara... So all of you back away, she'e mine...

[blackjohn]

If I may, a bit of explanation. I believe River, based on those brief glimpses we see of her in the past or under the right medication, would be an interesting person to talk to. Attraction has elements of not only physical connectedness, but emotional/intellectual connectedness as well. Kaylee is sweet and kind, all worthy traits, but I doubt she and I would have much in common.

Ok, if you get Inara I guess I'll settle for Saffron.

And while I ain't sly, I'm waiting to Duchess to start her Mal or Jayne or The Skipper or Gilligan thread.

[michaelsbagley]

Saffron... Was she the traitoress red haired chick? the one that was married to the Captain for a bit? It's been while since I watched the series, and I'm not remembering some of the more minor characters.

And if we are going to rate the guys, I'de have to say Mal over Jayne (Jayne just reminds me of any random Baldwin brother for some reason)... And any actor that does an appearance on "Lost" (another addiction of mine) is cooler in my books (it seems I am one to talk when it comes to the why's of someone's appeal )... And the professor is the man on Gilligan's Island.. There is no question there...

I guess I can see your point on "medicated" River being a cool and interesting girl though...

[blackjohn]

Sounds like another thread... you are LOST, who do you hang with?

Seems to me I may have started a LOST thread a year or two ago...

[Duchess]

Sounds like another thread... you are LOST, who do you hang with?

Seems to me I may have started a LOST thread a year or two ago...

I think you did, somewhere, sometime but in sweet irony it is probably Lost as well.

Blackjohn is right, for someone to be attractive to me its the whole picture. And being a moderately paranoid person, a portion of attractiveness is being capable of dealing with whatever arises (or at the very least trying) and Kaylee just doesn't have that.

okay okay, I'm off to start the other thread...

[michaelsbagley]

Sounds like another thread... you are LOST, who do you hang with?

Seems to me I may have started a LOST thread a year or two ago...

Best to leave the "Lost" thread burried.. Get me started on that whole thing, and there will be no shutting me up. And Kate on "Lost"... now there is a woman!

Not sure what you mean by the "who I hang with" bit... But on a whim I will say that I am straight, just quirky enough to be able to rate men without playing for that team ("not that there's anything wrong with that" to bring in a Seinfeld reference)...

[Caraccioli]

I dunno BlackJohn, I think I am gonna have to disagree with you on this on...

River (the character) even without a gun or a knife is still one creepy little lady...

Kaylee, coward as she may be, is certainly more attractive than River...  If we were talking about going into a battle, i would choose to have River by my side over Kaylee, or even Inara any day.... But I thought this thread was more about who was the most attractive... 

There does seem to be quite a strong leaning towards Inara... So all of you back away, she'e mine...     

Actually, having only seen the movie and still pondering my foray into the show, my opinion may not count as highly as some others who are so well-versed in this bit of fiction, but I really liked River the best of all the characters. She was creepy, but she was also the most complex one of the lot. Hidden depths and all that.

Now, would I choose to be on a desert island with such a person? Possibly. She'd probably be the most interesting person to philosophize with. So I'll take River and the professor for interesting desert island companions. If you're going to be stuck on a desert island with someone (which is not actually the conditions of this question, but I'm good at wandering OT), it may as well be someone you can have interesting discussions with. (I know some of you may disagree with me here, but we all view the world in our own ways, eh?)

[Edit: I had not yet read blackjohn's follow up post to the above-quoted post when I posted this. We agree yet again. Weren't you going to buy me a scotch when we met? Maybe we should buy each other a scotch... ]

[Gentleman of Fortune]

I think its an apples and oranges argument. Sure, Kaylee "cracked" under pressure when the ship was being attacked, but then again, that is not what she is there for to begin with.

I don't think that Wash, Simon, or Kaylee are your warrior types... and no telling what River is good for when she is un-medicated.

So if you want the warrior woman, it HAS to be Zoe, no questions asked.

But when the ship goes belly up... who is your man (actually woman)?

Thats right... come crawling back to Kaylee, cauze not only does she have the hottie girl-next-door thing down pat, but hey... she keeps you in the sky too!

And they needed a mechanic to fix the ship waaay more often then they needed the respectability to get onto a planet.

Besides, Inara doesn't do crew members. So its just eye candy.

But you did raise another interesting point....

Saffron.... mmmmmmmm..... Saffron!

Greg

***EDIT*** these comments pertain to Firefly only. I haven't seen Serenity yet, so I can't comment on that.

[Gentleman of Fortune]

And for the record....

Left to right

Kaylee River Inara Zoe

Greg

[michaelsbagley]

The above photo that GoF posted, has suddenly very much changed my opinion of the appearance of the actress who plays River... In the above photo, she shines as the most striking one in the whole lot, with the actress that plays Zoe as a close second... The other two just don't seem to measure up in this particular picture...

The shorter hair definately (in my opinion) doesn't work for the actress that plays Inara...

[Duchess]

But they don't look right!

Those aren't the characters, those are the actresses who play them, very very different. At least in my opinion.

[Cpt Sophia M Eisley]

I agree...that's taking them out of the context of their character's look. This might provoke a different response:

[Gentleman of Fortune]

Ahhhhh but it just shows their potential. Wipe the grease off of Kaylee and put her in a dress and presto!

Also

Yeah... River is much hotter in the modern picture, but don't forget, at the time of the original firefly, she was about 20 years old playing a teenager (16?) and they are trying to make her look like a teenager.

By the time they were filming Serenity, she is a 24/25 year old trying to do the same thing.

She does look good though....

Greg