# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/101 "2012-09-24T16:48:00Z")
Peggy is funny because you are supposed to hate her for her high opinion of herself ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/102 "2012-09-24T18:44:50Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Every last Eddings book has a sanctimonious, cheeky, “charmingly childish” female character. Also an overbearing motherly figure who knows what’s best, dear and rolls her eyes saying “Men !” a lot. Flute & Sephrenia, Ce’Nedra & Polgara, whatshername the cat goddess in _Redemption of Althalus_… > And yeah, they do grate. Dweia, who I always thought was badly written. (Apparently they were all badly written but Dweia was the one that I actually noticed. And by noticed, I mean was really surprised and confused about her reaction to being magically lifted off the bed being psychically coldcocking Althalus.) ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/103 "2012-09-24T18:50:11Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > about her reaction to being magically lifted off the bed being psychically coldcocking Althalus.) …What? ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/104 "2012-09-24T18:54:19Z")
Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. I could probably watch the show if not for him. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/105 "2012-09-24T19:04:29Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > …What? When he was first learning how to use the book, he lifted her into the air and she whanged him hard in what I can only assume was a display of dominance. > [@](#): > > He was practicing on that one day in late summer when an impish kind of notion came to him. He looked over at Emerald, who was sitting on the bed carefully washing her ears. He focused his attention on her, set his hand on the Book, and said, “dheu.” Emerald immediately rose up in the air until she was sitting on nothing at all at about the same level as his head. She continued to scrub at her ears as if nothing had happened. Then she looked at him, and her green eyes seemed very cold and hard. “Bhlag!” she said quite sharply. The blow took Althalus squarely on the point of the chin, and it sent him rolling across the floor. It seemed to have come out of nowhere at all, and it had rattled him all the way down to his toes. So maybe it wasn’t quite coldcocking but it was uncalled for. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/106 "2012-09-24T20:20:29Z")
Everyone in the film _Crash_ except the locksmith and the woman who bought the blanks for her father’s gun. Unsympathetic jerks, all of them. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/107 "2012-09-24T21:13:00Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Well, Jar Jar Binks is the obvious candidate, so we’ll get him out of the way right now. Not to mention Young Ani. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/108 "2012-09-24T22:14:51Z")
Gotta go with the Ruby Rhod haters. _The Fifth Element_ was an interesting, visually appealing sci-fi flick until he arrived on the scene. From then on it was over-the-top, screechy camp that I found damned near unwatchable. Tinkerballa comes pretty close to ruining _The Guild_ for me. Her dialog is hilarious, but I think my associating with a person like that for any amount of time will end up in a gruesome axe murder. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/109 "2012-09-24T22:24:27Z")
In “Good Omens” I absolutely hated the anti-christ. If I didn’t know that his character was of the utmost importance I would have skipped every section that he was in. I found him annoying as all hell (HA!). ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/110 "2012-09-24T22:33:10Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > When he was first learning how to use the book, he lifted her into the air and she whanged him hard in what I can only assume was a display of dominance. > So maybe it wasn’t quite coldcocking but it was uncalled for. Emm, I would have said totally called for… I’d have reacted the same or worse to being sudden levitated with warning or a by your leave. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/111 "2012-09-24T22:35:04Z")
Navi, from Legend of _Zelda: Ocarina of Time_. “Hey! Listen!” \<_smack_\> ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/112 "2012-09-24T22:35:38Z")
> [@MegaBee](#): > > Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. I could probably watch the show if not for him. Funny how people are different, IMHO there is no show without Sheldon. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/113 "2012-09-24T22:53:54Z")
JarJar, not just actual JarJar, but the badly overdone comic relief character wherever it appears. Dawn, Buffy. “Get out, Get Out, GET OUT!” > [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > It was Brenda that I hated. Freakin’ whackjob. One thing I loved about the show is that just about every character has both times when you root for them, and arcs when they are unbearable dicks. Just when Brenda starts being normal, Nate goes off the deep end. They really captured the amazing/unbearable paradox excellently. ---
**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 25, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/114 "2012-09-25T02:09:30Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Peggy Hill on _King of the Hill_. She’s like the Dunning–Kruger effect personified. I never liked Lucky (Luann’s boyfriend/husband in later seasons). This is despite the fact that he was voiced by Tom Petty, who is perhaps my second favorite singer (behind only Ke$ha). ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/115 "2012-09-25T04:55:54Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > I never liked Lucky (Luann’s boyfriend/husband in later seasons). This is despite the fact that he was voiced by Tom Petty, who is perhaps my second favorite singer (behind only Ke$ha). Agreed. He added nothing to the show, but the stumping episode was watchable. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/116 "2012-09-25T05:48:47Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > But it is _hard_ to read when all of the female characters are reduced to stereotypes. Actually at this point I don’t even read Eddings anymore. Redemption of Althalus was the last straw - the only good chapter was the first chapter, when his luck goes sour, and the rest of it was filled with sanctimonious women. > > Skald, I don’t mean you as my second. I’ll take Mauvaise as my second. I meant for you to send killer bees in lieu of having to fight at all. > > And oh yes, Thomas Covenant. I have a hard time understanding how anyone can read a book with a rapist protagonist. I read Eddings’ first 10 volumes, and then the series that came after that. I concluded that he had certain themes that he liked, and I didn’t like those themes. What was interesting in the first five books became boring in the second five books, and then grating in the next series. I also do not want to read about a rapist protagonist. In general, I don’t find criminals to be sympathetic characters, but rapists are particularly nasty. I think that Pratchett’s Thieves Guild characters are funny, but it’s how Pratchett treats them that makes them interesting. Not only was Covenant a thoroughly unsympathetic character, but whatshisface was a bad writer. I believe that this was the guy who wrote about how horses reared to a character to show their submission. Horses don’t rear to show submission, they rear as a threat. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/117 "2012-09-25T06:29:04Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Emm, I would have said totally called for… I’d have reacted the same or worse to being sudden levitated with warning or a by your leave. People get levitated all the time in fantasy novels without their express permission. It’s not like it should have been a surprise to her. The first time should be a verbal warning and then if Althalus did it a second time, a physical smackdown would be more appropriate. As it is, it comes off as muscle-flexing for the sake of muscle-flexing, which, frankly, is a pointless exercise for a deity to be doing, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/118 "2012-09-25T09:11:04Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > 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. Oddly, he grew on me, which is not something I expect from a Chris Tucker character. When I saw it at the theater, it was one of the few movies in about the last 20 years that I knew very little about. The whole tone of the movie threw me, then when I realized that Ruby Rhod was going to be in the entire last part of the movie, well, it upset me. Now that I’ve seen it like 10 or 12 times, I enjoy the movie for what it is - very odd, very funny, cool FX, and lots of barely-dressed Mila Jovovitch. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/119 "2012-09-25T10:47:28Z")
> [@MegaBee](#): > > Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. I could probably watch the show if not for him. Perhaps you could, but as 80% or more of the jokes would have been removed, it would be fairly pointless. Sheldon’s annoyingness, in large part, _is_ the show. ETA: I see I was beaten to it by **Icerigger**. Anyway, the point is, this is supposed to be about works that you _would_ like if a certain character were removed. If the character, and the way they are, are vital to the work, it is just a case of not liking the work. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195/120 "2012-09-25T15:07:43Z")
I like Alphas. But I really do not like the Gary Bell character. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-that-ruin-a-work-for-you/635195.md?page=7)