T’ other night I was watching a Britcom called “As Time Goes By”. This show has nothing like the goofiness of “Are You Being Served?” or even “Good Neighbors” (it is actually listed on Yahoo! under “Dramas”). But it is funny in a warm, low-key way that I really don’t see in American sitcoms.
As I was watching it, I was struck by the lead male character, Lionel (Geoffrey Palmer). Here is an older man (older than I, anyway), I call him middle class, though others may say upper-middle class. But his personality, the character of his character, is what struck me. He is charming without being sleazy (in other words he treats women nicely without any ulterior motives). He is funny without being silly (I believe the word is wry). He is warm without being cloying.
The short of it is, I found myself truly admiring this character, practically to the point of actually wishing I could be more like him. But I was further struck by how long it has been since I found a male television character that all-around admirable. I know there has been a conscious push to get quality lead female characters onto primetime, but seemingly every male, lead or otherwise, must have at least one serious personality flaw.
I suppose I understand that drama arises from conflict, and dramatic shows especially love to show conflict actually within a character. But what about comedies? Nearly all male comedic characters on TV are funny because of some “quirk”. But I confess I mostly find these quirks manifesting as a man being rude, insensitive, insecure, lazy, or just plain stupid. Why can’t a guy just be funny?
For that matter, and I’m not trying to turn this into a reverse-sexism screed, are there any lead female comedic characters that are funny because of some personality quirk that always gets them into trouble? I know Lucy was like that, but are there any women on TV today that are as rude as Becker, as hugely egotistical as Frasier, as insensitive and selfish as Raymond, or as moronic as Joey on Friends?
Anyway, to bring it around to my main question (but feel free to answer any of the others, too) – do any of you have a male character you find admirable to the point of viewing him as a role model? Most especially in a current series?
