# Characters that ruin a work for you **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195 "2012-09-19T17:45:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/41 "2012-09-20T13:40:02Z")
That stupid Seven brat on _Married with Children._ Fortunately they fired his ass after just one season of terror. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/42 "2012-09-20T14:00:05Z")
Daenarys in A Song of Fire and Ice. After a while, I just started skipping chapters with her in them. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/43 "2012-09-20T14:00:56Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > One of the reasons I stopped watching Six Feet Under was the fact that I found Billy whiny and crazy and annoying and totally unbearable. It was Brenda that I hated. Freakin’ whackjob. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/44 "2012-09-20T14:02:27Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > I don’t care how fabulous _A Confederacy of Dunces_ is supposed to be or how intriguing the foreword is, I cannot subject myself to any more than one chapter of **Ignatius J. Reilly**. Thaaaank you, I could not \*stand \*that smug self entitled mamma’s boy prick. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/45 "2012-09-20T14:05:52Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Daenarys in A Song of Fire and Ice. After a while, I just started skipping chapters with her in them. For me it was Sansa. I didn’t skip her chapters, but I sure didn’t enjoy them. I think what it really comes down to is that GRRM writes terrible female characters. His most engaging female characters are those who buck female convention (Arya and Cersei, who are respectively a tomboy and a politically cunning sexual deviant). ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/46 "2012-09-20T14:08:01Z")
Downton Abbey - Cora, I don’t know if it’s her lack of acting ability or the vapid character she is supposed to play but I’m expecting in season 3 they will reveal her to really be a robot and there is nothing but a steampunk mechanical clock churning behind those doll eyes. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/47 "2012-09-20T14:21:38Z")
Tom Colicchio. **Top Chef** is exactly the type of show I should love. I can’t watch it because of him. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/48 "2012-09-20T14:55:31Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > Tom Colicchio. **Top Chef** is exactly the type of show I should love. I can’t watch it because of him. I feel that way about Joe Bastianich on MasterChef. His smug face makes me want to scream at the TV “dude, it’s only food, you don’t have to be so goddamn rude about your opinion”. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/49 "2012-09-20T15:22:25Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Pistols at dawn. IF YOU MAKE IT THAT FAR. I know people, you know. I tried, I tried! I think part of it is that he’s like a smart, overgrown child and I never like child characters. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/50 "2012-09-20T16:12:30Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The cutesy thing is wearing thin. She is 43 years old. Just a couple seasons ago they mentioned the character was in her late 20s. I would have done a spit take if I was drinking something. I have no problem with the actress’s age vs the character’s age – after all, I’m 41 and a lot of people assume that I’m in my late 20s. I have a problem with the fact that the character hasn’t grown/changed one bit since the series started: she and Gibbs are the two most static characters on the show, but Gibbs doesn’t annoy me. It’s totally the “cutesy” thing, as you say. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/51 "2012-09-20T16:30:33Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I plowed my way through the Billy scenes to learn that Crazy Billy largely disappears for the rest of the show, except for a 3-4 episode arc where he gets it on with Claire and, yes, stops taking his meds. Figures. > [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > It was Brenda that I hated. Freakin’ whackjob. She was a lot more interesting, especially at first. But yes, they were both so narcissistic and crazy that it was very hard to watch them - and there was more than enough happening with the Fishers. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/52 "2012-09-20T16:42:03Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > I tried, I tried! I think part of it is that he’s like a smart, overgrown child and I never like child characters. I don’t like child characters either. I am head over heels in love with Sherlock though. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/53 "2012-09-20T16:47:43Z")
Roseanne: Roseanne ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/54 "2012-09-20T18:01:41Z")
Any character played by Richard Kind. He always plays characters that I find loathsome and when he is on the screen I always just want to smack him. (OK, I only know him from two shows, maybe his other characters are OK.) ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/55 "2012-09-20T18:09:48Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Ruby Rhod in _The Fifth Element_. Yeah, he was _supposed_ to be an annoying guy - he succeeded _too well_. What? He’s the best character! My answer is pretty much any useless character in perilous situations. There’s normally one person who, through their idiocy, causes huge problems and gets half the characters killed. _And they never get called out on it!_ Personally I blame the writers for being unable to write a believable situation in which competent characters still end up in life or death situations without making terrible decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/56 "2012-09-20T19:24:43Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > What? He’s the best character! Whew! Someone else who liked Rhuby Rhod. I didn’t think he was the best character, but he was hilarious next to Bruce Willis’ deadpan…ness. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/57 "2012-09-20T19:35:33Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Pistols at dawn. IF YOU MAKE IT THAT FAR. I know people, you know. Did you know that the second series of _Sherlock_ is now streaming on Netflix? All 3 (!) episodes, uncut. The show is up for several Emmy’s this Sunday… ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/58 "2012-09-20T19:44:25Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Did you know that the second series of _Sherlock_ is now streaming on Netflix? All 3 (!) episodes, uncut. > > The show is up for several Emmy’s this Sunday… I already watched it on DVD, when they got it on DVD (had to wait forever!) Now my SO bought me the first season, so I am re-watching those, and then I will re-watch the second season. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/59 "2012-09-20T19:56:34Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Did you know that the second series of _Sherlock_ is now streaming on Netflix? All 3 (!) episodes, uncut. > > The show is up for several Emmy’s this Sunday… I couldn’t wait, so I bought the blue ray as soon as it was on Amazon. I don’t guess I’ll ever rewatch it, but it wasn’t too costly and I didn’t want to wait for it on Netflix. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/60 "2012-09-20T20:13:22Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > What? He’s the best character! > > My answer is pretty much any useless character in perilous situations. There’s normally one person who, through their idiocy, causes huge problems and gets half the characters killed. _And they never get called out on it!_ > > Personally I blame the writers for being unable to write a believable situation in which competent characters still end up in life or death situations without making terrible decisions. Suggestion: do not, if you value your sanity, watch _Prometheus_. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195.md?page=4)