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TV Babble - January 2007

Top Ten Most Irritating Main Characters

January 31st 2007 02:11
This is a concept that is a frequent occurrence in television shows. Writers will set a character up as the hero, a leader, loved by all.
That is, except for the audience.
I've mentioned before that I tend to have an aversion to main characters. Personally, I seldom respond to the above approach because I don't like being told who to empathise with, or bludgeoned with the message that I am supposed to like this person.
However, a bigger problem lies in the fact that these central characters are often extremely annoying. Below is a list of the ten most irritating characters as I see them.



10. Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Before anyone lynches me, I am going to justify my choice of Buffy. The character did have some really great moments. But far, far too often she fell into arrogance about her own abilities, and her speeches about the slayer always being alone became tiresome. Had Buffy actually been without the Scooby Gang, I would have stopped watching.

9. Sydney Bristow (Alias)
Sydney falls into a similar category to Buffy; it was fun to watch her kick butt, but failures with her characterisation were jarring. It was like Sydney had two modes of operation. In some instances, she was practically a Mary Sue, whose amazing abilities bordered on the ridiculous. Other times, she was an absolutely terrible spy, whose mistakes were almost unfathomable. These two extremes detracted from an otherwise interesting character.

8. Ben Hawkins (Carnivale)
Ben was the perfect recipe for a really complex character - a supernatural power, a mysterious past, and a mountain of issues and baggage. What I can't understand is how someone with the ability to heal and raise the dead could be so profoundly uninteresting, annoying and dense. Something is wrong when I want the evil guy to triumph.


7. Frasier Crane (Frasier)
For a smart man, Frasier's stupidity was truly baffling. Traits that would have been sufficient as simple idiosyncrasies often went too far, delving almost into the realm of insanity. The other characters had their quirks, but were redeemable because they were still likeable. Frasier's egomania and arrogance, however, was not.

6. Peter Griffin (Family Guy)
It is obvious that Peter Griffin is Family Guy's answer to Homer Simpson - as said on the Simpsons, plagarisimo. While both characters are unbelievably idiotic, Peter lacks something. There is no underlying sense of goodness in him as there is with Homer. The consequence of this is that it makes the character extremely hard to warm to, and is probably the reason that I, and many others, simply watch the show for Brian and Stewie.

5. Clark Kent (Smallville)
DuskDevi will attest that my dislike of the Superman character stems from his Deus Ex Machina ways. However, that is not the reason that I find Clark irritating. I think it is the fact that he seems to be incapable of any facial expression other than pensive or constipated. The character comes across as weak and whiny, and the only time he has even one iota of the sexiness of Lex Luthor is when he’s under the influence of red kryptonite.

4. Susan Mayer (Desperate Housewives)
For some reason Susan is positioned as the leader of the housewives on Wisteria Lane. In reality, she is the most annoying and least funny of any of them. Her Season 2 hysterical crying scene in the wedding dress was one of the most painful things I have ever witnessed on TV. We can only hope she looks to Mary Alice for inspiration.

3. Jake Green (Jericho)
Jake Green - Jericho
Jake*

Jake is a great example of the infallible hero. Many writers seem to think that the audience wants to see a perfect character always save the day - in fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Jake's amazing wealth of knowledge and abilities, with no apparent explanation, makes the character seem completely false, and prevents the audience from connecting with him in any meaningful way. It's bad writing, and it's bad characterisation.

2. Jack Shepherd (Lost)
Jack Shepherd - Lost
Jack*

The Lost writers certainly decided to drop the anvils with Jack. His last name is Shepherd, we get it - he’s going to lead the flock. It’s just a shame that the character is so annoying that it is unbelievable that anyone would actually listen to a thing he says.
Hopefully he will lead Kate out into the jungle where the polar bear will devour them.

1. Marissa Cooper (The OC)
Marissa Cooper - The OC
Marissa*

The only thing worse than an irritating main character is one that wasn't even the main character in the first place. The OC was meant to revolve around Ryan, yet the show increasingly became the Marissa hour. The writers were constantly telling us to feel for her character, that poor Marissa had this terrible hard life. In reality, most of her problems were all her own doing, and she was stuck in a cycle of self destruction. Most of us couldn't wait to see that cycle come to an end.


Do you agree with the list? Which main characters do you find annoying? Since these are from fairly recent shows, are there any older ones that have this phenomenon?

*Images courtesy of WIkipedia, and used under Fair Dealing for identification and critical commentary
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Veronica Mars: The Quick and the Wed

January 30th 2007 06:08
The Quick and the Wed was another solid episode of Veronica Mars. The plotlines continued to advance, but there were no particularly shocking revelations.

Right off the bat, I just have to say that they were the longest 'previouslies' I have ever seen.
Veronica Mars - The Quick and the Wed
The Bachelorette Party in full swing*
It really is a testament to the continuity of the show, but I don't think they had to feature every plotline in the history of the show.
The 'Runaway Bride' mystery of the week was fairly entertaining, although considering how annoying Heidi (Virginia Williams) was, I'm not sure why Jane (Valorie Curry) wanted to find her. However, a character I love to hate is the sleazy but amusing Vinnie Van Lowe (Ken Marino), so I enjoyed his part in the investigation.

The involvement of Terrence Cook (Jeffrey Sams) in the bus crash keeps getting stranger and stranger. Just as Keith (Enrico Colantoni) finds evidence to exonerate him, Terrence is shot while breaking into Ms Dumass' house. His actions and lies throughout the season are not those of a man with a clear conscience. They just seem to extreme to be solely to protect his reputation, but perhaps I'm underestimating the cut-throat world of baseball and sponsorships.

I enjoyed the exchange between Kendall (Charisma Carpenter) and Beaver (Kyle Gallner), and there was some wonderfully snarky dialogue between them. The incorporation is obviously going to have an impact on Beaver's business; from his reaction, it is not going to be favourable.
It was great to see Aaron Echolls again; Harry Hamlin plays this chilling character well. His scene with Kendall was particularly disturbing, particularly with the allusions to The Silence of the Lambs. I wonder if this reference has any significance to silencing Sheriff Lamb?
I’m not certain precisely what Kendall was doing in Logan's hotel room, but it appears she may have been getting a hair sample from Duncan's shower. Considering how long he's been gone, the fact that there is any hair there at all says little for the Neptune Grand's cleaning service.

Poor Logan (Jason Dohring) is feeling more ostracised with the airing of "The Tinseltown Diaries" and the rapid onset of his court case. Seeing it all in one place makes you realise how truly messed up Logan's life is. The always hilarious Cliff (Daran Norris) was back, apparently still representing Logan despite his pleas for him to hire another lawyer.
I hope the charade with Hannah (Jessy Schram) ends soon; I don't like the way he is using her, and I have no desire for them to be together in any way, shape or form. Logan's sneakiness in sending the email backs up my theory that he placed evidence for Hannah to find. Dr Griffith (Rick Peters) has agreed to drop his false testimony on the condition that Logan stays away from his daughter, so obviously he believes the worst of him. Logan's actions have done nothing to dispel his fear, though he now seems to be regretting his manipulation of Hannah. I wonder if he will keep to his word?
I liked the exchange between Logan and Veronica (Kristin Bell), and I think there certainly is merit to Logan's accusation of jealousy. I also let out a fangirl squee at the true love reference. Whenever Logan is in trouble, he always turns to Veronica, and she always helps him - that's LoVe.

Overall Rating
Overall Rating


Veronica Mars returns next Friday at 10.35pm on Network Ten.

*Screencap courtesy of Wikipedia, and used under Fair Dealing for identification and critical commentary
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Supernatural Design - Cafepress.com

January 26th 2007 03:39
It's Friday, so time for another television-related design from Cafepress.com. The site allows you to put your own designs onto a wide selection of products, for either your own use or to see to the world. If you're interested in learning more or joining, please click here.

To mark the return of the show to Australian screens, today's design is inspired by Supernatural. It comes from Dazinez.com.

Supernatural
Sam and Dean - Supernatural


Supernatural is a paranormal drama series, centring on brothers Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki). Originally brought back together by the disappearance of their father, they travel the country battling all sorts of supernatural creatures and occurances.
I like this design because I feel it's somewhat ghostly appearance mimics the feel of the show perfectly. The way the letters of the brothers' names fit with supernatural to me represents the way their lives are intertwined with these paranormal events.

This design is available on t-shirts, sweatshirts and calendars, so head on over to Dazinez.com. Don't forget to check out my store, Meme Me.
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Great news today for fans of political satire! The Colbert Report, a spinoff of The Daily Show, will begin airing on the Comedy Channel at 10pm (EST) starting on February 1st.
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert*

The show parodies cable news opinion shows such as the O'Reilly Factor, and recently gained its highest ratings for the exchange between Stephen Colbert and commentator Bill O'Reilly, on whom his character is largely based


[ Click here to read more ]
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Cousin Oliver

January 24th 2007 02:30
As I mentioned in my Jumping the Shark post, the introduction of a new character often heralds the decline of a series. A term that is often used to describe this phenomenon is a 'Cousin Oliver.' It tends to be a rather desperate move by the writers or producers of a show, attempting to breath new life into a programme that is on the verge of dying.


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Veronica Mars: Versatile Toppings

January 23rd 2007 03:24
Versatile Toppings was an enjoyable episode of Veronica Mars that once again felt reminiscent of the first season. There were a few small problems, but not so much as to diminish the episode.

This week's mystery was well executed - there were some good red herrings, and having Kylie (Kristin Cavalleri) as the blackmailer was quite unexpected.
Veronica Mars - Versatile Toppings
Ryan seeks Veronica's help to find who is blackmailing gay students*
The biggest problem was Kristin Cavalleri herself, whose poor line readings detracted from what could have been an interesting character. With Kylie's cruel outing of her closeted girlfriend, Marlena (Miriam S. Korn), you have to wonder if anyone in Neptune is a decent human being. Someone who did do a good job was Mario Ardila Jr. as Arturo, and it will be interesting to see whether his talk of PCH being back in charge will come to a head


[ Click here to read more ]
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Many claimed that it was to be the match-up of the century - Bill O'Reilly and Stephen Colbert going head to head. Was it so? Not really, but it certainly was entertaining.

Bill O'Reilly is a political commentator for the Fox News Channel. His programme, the O'Reilly Factor, is one of the highest rated cable news shows in the USA. O'Reilly claims to be independent, but his critics label him a conservative pundit. He is best known for his confrontational approach and the often heated disagreements he has with his guests


[ Click here to read more ]
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It's time again to feature another television-related design from Cafepress.com. Cafepress allows you to add designs on to a wide range of products, simply for you own enjoyment or to sell at the world at large. Please follow the link if you are interested in learning more or joining.

This week's design is a retro one, inspired by the series The Incredible Hulk, and comes from Poptastic
[ Click here to read more ]
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Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough was another entertaining episode of Veronica Mars. It was quite reminiscent of the more light-hearted episodes from the beginning of the first season.

The mystery of the week was very enjoyable, and despite all the subplots, was able to withstand scrutiny. I do like the subtle sense of co-operation between Veronica (Kristin Bell) and Principal Van Clemmons (Duane Daniels).
Veronica Mars - Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough
Veronica at the Winter Carnival*
It was great to see Ms Hauser (Kari Coleman) finally get her comeuppance after her atrocious behaviour throughout this episode and others. I do think that at times Veronica gets a bit too big for her boots – this attitude has gotten her into trouble before, and it may ultimately be her downfall. In addition to this, she is very willing to pick and choose who is punished, which is really not her decision to make - not turning in Weevil (Francis Capra) was a good example of this. Speaking of Weevil, I really like his new look - it seems to be a result of his departure from the PCHers. His niece, Ophelia (Maliah Hudson) was also very cute


[ Click here to read more ]
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New Comedy from GNW Productions

January 16th 2007 05:13
For those still mourning the loss of The Glass House, fear not - a saviour has come forth to fill the emptiness in your hearts, and, of course, make you laugh. A new topical comedy programme created by GNW productions will appear on the ABC in 2007. The man behind the new weekly one-hour series is Ted Robinson, who is best known for his work on the iconic comedies The Big Gig and Good News Week.
The Glass House
A new comedy will fill the void left by The Glass House

The word over at Australian Comedy Forum MOSH! is that the show will be in the vein of the Big Gig. The ABC's press release seems backs up this assertion, stating that it will feature sketch comedy, stand up and musical performances. No word on a title or air date yet, but nevertheless the show is a ray of hope for Australian Comedy


[ Click here to read more ]
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As promised, it's time to feature some television-related designs I love from other stores at Cafepress.com. On Cafepress, you can add your own designs to a wide range of products; they can be made for your own wardrobe or to sell to the world at large. It's a fun way to express yourself and earn some extra cash. Please follow the link if you are interested in learning more or joining.

The week's design is inspired by the show Mythbusters, and comes from pnkDesigns
[ Click here to read more ]
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Yvonne De Carlo Passes Away

January 11th 2007 05:40
Actress Yvonne De Carlo has passed away at age 84. She is best known for her role as Lily Munster on The Munsters and her role in Cecil B DeMille's The Ten Commandments.

As a tribute, here is the iconic opening to The Munsters. Rest in peace, Yvonne


[ Click here to read more ]
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As apparent from my online content and mobile tv posts, there are very mixed views on whether extensions and rebroadcasts of tv shows on other mediums are worthwhile. However, another factor has come into the mix that could have a marked impact on the issue - the actors themselves. Performers in Canada have called a strike, complaining that they receive little or no compensation for the work done for internet and cell/mobile phone broadcasts.

These problems have been simmering for some time - much of the online content for shows such as Jericho cannot be accessed outside of the USA because of restrictions of copyright and the stance of the Screen Actor's Guild. The underlying frustration is now coming to a head


[ Click here to read more ]
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Rashard and Wallace Go To White Castle was an excellent episode of Veronica Mars, and made a lot of headway into the season-long mysteries and story arcs.
Veronica attempts to help Wallace*

There was some really standout dialogue this week, particularly between Veronica (Kristin Bell) and Wallace (Percy Daggs III). It's great to see the pair back in action; they make a great team


[ Click here to read more ]
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Bad Wolf - Cafepress.com

January 5th 2007 06:56
Another week, another design from Cafepress.com. A fun way to express yourself, Cafepress allows you to place your designs on a variety of products. You can then choose to sell these or simply buy them yourself. If you are interested in learning more or joining, click here.

This week's design is another of my own and is once again based on the show Doctor Who
[ Click here to read more ]
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Teen drama The O.C. has officially been axed, with the final episode set to air February 22nd on Fox in the US. Assuming Network Ten continue to air the episodes without hiatus, the finale will screen in Australia on February 27th.
The OC Season 4 Cast*

The show has been cancelled due to poor ratings, which are only half what the show gained in its debut year. The OCs first season was one that resonated with audiences; the combination of lovable characters, meta humour and prominent indie music were greatly successful, despite the often melodramatic plotlines. However, in seasons 2 and 3 the show lost its way, moving away from the original premise and frequently conducting brutal acts of character assassination


[ Click here to read more ]
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Jumping the Shark

January 3rd 2007 01:30
The term Jump the Shark refers to the moment in which a TV show has lost its way; it is deemed to have passed its peak and moved away from its original premise. It typically is recognised as a single defining scene, although often it is broadened to include a general decline in the programme's quality rather than a single incident.
Fonzie (Henry Winkler) jumps the shark*

The term comes from a now infamous scene in the comedy Happy Days. It featured The Fonz literally jumping over a shark on water skis. It signified the moment for many viewers when they realised the show's plotlines had become illogical and there was no longer any point in tuning in


[ Click here to read more ]
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Veronica Mars: Donut Run

January 2nd 2007 02:07
Donut Run was a complex episode of Veronica Mars, although still entertaining. There were some problems, but on the whole the execution of the storyline was successful.

I enjoyed the kidnapping plotline, although it was quite convoluted. I found that I needed to view the episode a second time to truly understand it


[ Click here to read more ]
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