Character background
Book's character during the series is a preacher, and though Glass discussed with Whedon about making him more Buddhist, Whedon explained that the character of Inara Serra was to be the Buddhist-type and Book more of the "fundamentalist Christian guy".[3][4] Glass, himself a Buddhist, found it intriguing to play this role:
"What I was able to bring to the Christian part of it was the humanism and the humanistic point of view. It was the hook in terms of being able to make that adjustment. I wasn't born Buddhist, so I do have some other traditions to pull from."
Whedon conceived the character because he felt that faith was important to people dealing with being that far out in space. As Whedon states, "Shepherd Book is somebody I would probably get along famously with, except we don't agree about anything." He also wanted to give "a voice for the other side".[5]
One of the underlying aspects of the show is Shepherd Book's secret past. He holds some sort of high priority status within the Alliance, and on numerous occasions has demonstrated a depth of knowledge in a number of fields one would not expect a clergyman to be familiar with, including space travel, firearms, hand-to-hand combat, and criminal activity. Glass enjoyed this aspect of the role as well: "Though rather mysterious, it was absolutely clear that he had had a very full life before he went off to the monastery and took on that responsibility. I loved the fact that he could save your soul but he could also kick your ass. That's a really great combination to play."[3]
In the 14th episode of Firefly, "Objects in Space", Simon berates the bounty hunter Jubal Early for assaulting Book, a Shepherd. Early replies, "That ain't a Shepherd."[6] In the DVD commentary Firefly, Whedon states this is due to Early's intuition and ability to quickly size people up. He also comments that Early's methods for dealing with each crew member are custom-tailored to their personalities. Early disposes of Mal in a straightforward manner; Whedon then notes that Early's method for taking out Book is equally straightforward, alluding to a similarity between the two otherwise different characters.[7]
Another hint to Book's mysterious past is shown in the episode "Safe". When Book is accidentally wounded, Mal is forced to seek medical help from an Alliance cruiser. The commanding officer, after tersely dismissing Mal, changes his attitude once one of his officers shows him Book's identification. Though the exact information on the card is never shown, the crew does note that it affords Book urgent and immediate access to the medical facilities on board, as well as free passage for Serenity without the expected inspection.[8] Several other episodes contain allusions to Book's past; in "The Train Job", he is aware of the identity of crime lord Adelei Niska,[9] while in "War Stories", he displays a working knowledge of high-powered weaponry, first to identify sharp-shooters and later to take part in a coordinated assault against Adelei Niska's space station.[10]
On the 2007 Browncoat Cruise, Ron Glass revealed with Whedon's permission several facts about Book, including that Derrial was not the shepherd's real name, but the name of a man he had killed.[11] Also, a "part of [him] is artificial, he found God in a bowl of soup, and [he] is best known for his greatest failure".[12] This was part of an announcement for a comic book series based on Book's past, titled The Shepherd's Tale.[11] Scott Allie, editor for the Serenity: Better Days comic series, confirmed this announcement and stated that Dark Horse Comics was aiming for a late 2008 release.[13] It was later announced that this would be seeing print in November 2010,[14] and was subsequently released November 3, 2010.[15]
During the Dallas Sci Fi Expo 2012 Ron Glass said he did not like the fact that Book had never been married, and would like to have married at some point in the show.
