Robert N EmersonTop 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 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)
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)
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
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*
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*
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*
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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