Careers, specs, top skills, characteristics maybe, obligations and motivations. How would you do it?

Just a few quickies:

Captain Mal Reynolds: Smuggler Thief/Commander. High Leadership, Dicipline, and ranged light, decent brawl, Underworld, resilience, streetwise, negotiation, deception and cool...
Obligation: responsibility(crew) + Dutybound(the independents, the past), motivation: Ambition(freedom).

Zoey: Soldier Commando/Scout. High stealth, ranged light, ranged heavy, decent brawl, athletics, discipline, coercion, gunnery...
Obligation: Responsibility(husband).

Doctor Simon Tam: Colonist Doctor/Scholar. High medicine, deception, knowledge education, core worlds, discipline, decent cool...

Obligation:Family(sister), Bounty(the Alliance) Motivation: Discovery(cure).

I see Mal more as a Smuggler scoundrel/Mercenary soldier but the rest is spot on i think.

Here's my take on some other crews

Wash: Ace: pilot/hotshot . High Piloting Space, good discipline, decent ranged light.

Obligation: Responsibility (wife and crew), motivation: Best in the field

Shepherd Books: Colonist politico/Soldier: sharpshooter. Decent leadership, good charm, good ranged heavy, cool

Obligation: Pacifist, Motivation:Fatith (religious code)

River Tam Warrior:Shi-cho knight/Marauder. Very high coordination, melee and brawl, high ranged light and good deception. Force powers: Enhance (with coordination, resilience and brawl upgrades) and Sense (maxed)

Obligation: Bounty(the Alliance), Motivation: Discovery (self)

Jayne: Soldier: commando. High ranged light and heavy, good melee, high coercion, decent streetwise.

Obligation: Family, Motivation: Reward (credits)

Kaylee: Technician: Mechanic/outlaw tech. High mechanics and computer, good charm.

Obligation: Favor (to Mal), Motivation: Ambition (wonderlust)

Inara would be a performer, I think Jayne would be a heavy personally and Mal...Gunslinger. Maybe scoundrel but he really sucks at being a criminal.

I thought Mal would have Gunslinger, perhaps with Tactician somewhere there too.

Kaylee could be a Rigger/Outlaw tec, with Serenity her signature vehicle, don't have to be the pilot to be one!

If I were to make them in Star Wars:

Captain Malcolm Reynolds: Male Corellian Human Smuggler: Gunslinger/Squad Leader/Scoundrel

Zoey: Female Human Soldier: Commando/Sharpshooter

Wash: Male Corellian Human Ace: Pilot/Hotshot

Kaylee: Female Sullustan (maybe MonCal) Technician: Mechanic/Outlaw Tech

Simon: Male Human Colonist Doctor/Scholar

River: Female Human Bounty Hunter: Survivalist/Force Sensitive Emergent and/or Force Sensitive Exile

Jayne: Male Wookiee Hired Gun: Heavy/Enforcer

Shepard Book: Male Chiss Bounty Hunter: Assassin/Scholar and/or Politico

Inara: Female Twi'lek Colonist: Performer/Ambassador

I ran a demo game awhile back using the crew as pre-gen characters. This is how I wrote up the character summaries to choose from. (For pre-gens, I usually don't hand out stats until the characters have been chosen from descriptions alone.)

The Smuggler Captain

"Okay, she won't be winning any beauty contests anytime soon, but she is solid. A ship like this will be with you till the day you die."

Species: Human

The smuggler captain fought in the Clone Wars on the side of the Separatists - the losing side of the war. Disenchanted with how the Galactic Empire runs things, the captain has purchased his own ship, hired a crew, and is now the master of his own destiny.

The Soldier

"...About 30 troops behind those buildings. I expect they plan to peck at us before they charge. They had two scouts sniffin', but I took 'em down. First rule of battle, little one, don't ever let them know where you are. 'Course, there are other schools of thought."

Species: Human

The soldier fought alongside the smuggler captain in the Clone Wars. Their side may have lost, but her loyalty remains strong. The soldier is the most stalwart member of the crew. The soldier is the rock the others in the crew can always rely on for steadfastness and a calm head in battle.

The Pilot

"I've been in a firefight before. Well, I was in a fire. Actually, I was fired - from a fry-cook opportunity. I can handle myself; I'll learn as I go."

Species: Duro

The pilot is a keen individual and knows his way around the cockpit of the ship like no other. No one can handle the controls of the ship better. The pilot is often the most daring and dashing member of the crew - and the one who is the most likely to see the light side of any given situation.

The Mercenary

"Can't get paid if you crawl away like a bitty, little bug. I didn't sign on with this crew to take in the sights."

Species: Trandoshan

The mercenary wasn't hired for his interpersonal skills or for public relations. Ultimately, the mercenary's loyalty is to credits, and there's always the chance he will sell out the rest of the crew if the right amount of credits came along. The mercenary is brash and over-confidant, but he knows his way around small arms.

The Doctor

"You're in a dangerous line of work. Odds are you'll be under my knife - often. So I want you to understand one thing very clearly. No matter what you do, or say, or plot... no matter how you come down on us, I will never, ever, harm you. I'm your medic, and however little we may like or trust each other, we're on the same crew. I'm trusting you. I think you should do the same.

Species: Droid

Programmed at the finest medical droid assembly plants, the doctor provides valuable assistance to the crew as their medic. Although it is a little more outspoken than the average medical droid, it has become a worthy member of the crew. Even in the incident that the droid was stolen, the crew went after it in a rescue mission.

The Mechanic

"Junker?! Six gerstlers crammed right under every cooling drive so that you strain your primary artery function, and you end up having to recycle secondary exhaust through a bypass system just so's you don't end up pumping it through the main atmofeed and asphyxiating the entire crew... Now that's junk."

Species: Twi'lek

The mechanic has the know how that keeps the ship running. The mechanic possesses an affinity for machines and their workings - almost as if they talk to her. She is young and not as worldly as some of the other crew, and she does not possess combat acumen. The droid doctor piques her mechanical interest.

The Missionary

"It's not where you're going; it's how you get there is the worthier part. I've been out of the world for a spell, and I'd like to walk it awhile - maybe bring the word to them as need it told. Rules can be a might fuzzier this end of space, where things aren't so plain.

Species: Human

Not much is know of the missionary's past. He comes to join the crew via his own need to travel and witness the world around him. He is very cosmopolitan and gregarious, and seems to know things that might ordinarily be beyond the scope of a preacher's knowledge base. He is very loyal to the crew. The missionary also harbors a secret...