# Mary Ann, Bailey Quarters, and the rest: when the sidekick is hotter than the lead **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794 "2006-08-22T19:46:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/41 "2006-08-23T06:41:26Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] Naturally, getting cast as the Plain Jane sidekick is still intensely desirable for an actress, and so the women that are cast are often – athough not always – beauties in real life. Their characters are then adorned with glasses, sweatshirts, and unflattering hairstyles to signal to the audience that they are supposed to be unattractive, and the story lines continually show them as not having the sex appeal that their bombshell roommate/best friend/neighbor has. [/QUOTE] I recall Jan Smithers on a talk show talking about being a model. Here she is on the cover of [Newsweek](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Newsweek_March_21_1966.jpg). Here is a side by side Jan Vs. Loni [comparison](http://www.cfhf.net/lyrics/wkrp.htm) I always thought that Loni Anderson’s face looked weird. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/42 "2006-08-23T06:47:15Z")
[QUOTE=Hilarity N. Suze] It’s possible that what American males are responding to is the persona. For instance Loni Anderson and Tina Louise were both playing the archetypal femme fatale (with a twist in Anderson’s case of her being really very smart), whereas Jan Smithers and Dawn Wells were playing the girl scout. [/QUOTE] It also seems to me that quite often the “second banana” character is more interesting than the obvious lead. Most of the (at least the female) characters who are supposed to be the beauties on the show seem to get by on that, pretty much. Yes, Jennifer was smart enough, but there was a lot more to Bailey. Same with Mary Ann and Ginger. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/43 "2006-08-23T12:14:51Z")
I can’t believe Hoshi vs T’Pol (Enterprise) hasn’t been mentioned yet. Brian ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/44 "2006-08-23T12:47:52Z")
_Charlie’s Angels_: I always had a crush on Kate Jackson. Farrah? Eh. I could recognize Farrah’s contribution to the show (let’s call it the “nip factor”), but I found Jackson so much more… substantive. Jaclyn Smith struck me as somewhat asexual- she had all the right parts, but I never felt that she knew what to do with them. Jackson didn’t have any sultry vixen-ness about her but I got the sense that she knew what she had to offer, and how to use it to rock my world. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/45 "2006-08-23T13:31:17Z")
[QUOTE=McNew] _Charlie’s Angels_: I always had a crush on Kate Jackson. Farrah? Eh. I could recognize Farrah’s contribution to the show (let’s call it the “nip factor”), but I found Jackson so much more… substantive. Jaclyn Smith struck me as somewhat asexual- she had all the right parts, but I never felt that she knew what to do with them. Jackson didn’t have any sultry vixen-ness about her but I got the sense that she knew what she had to offer, and how to use it to rock my world. [/QUOTE] I was going to post something to that affect myself, but after so royally messing up the firefly reference, I figured I shouldn’t try anything else. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/46 "2006-08-23T13:46:20Z")
[QUOTE=simster] I was going to post something to that affect myself, but after so royally messing up the firefly reference, I figured I shouldn’t try anything else. [/QUOTE] I’m here for ya, buddy. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/47 "2006-08-23T14:03:45Z")
Going back into the way back machine, what about Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern? Rhoda was cute and funny, but Mary back then was sweet and smart and a real babe. Let’s not debate LaVerne DeFazio vs. Shirley Feeney. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/48 "2006-08-23T17:13:25Z")
[QUOTE=N9IWP] I can’t believe Hoshi vs T’Pol (Enterprise) hasn’t been mentioned yet. Brian [/QUOTE] And I can’t believe I didn’t mention it. My only excuse is that I’ve been trying not to dominate thread. Linda Park is quite a cutie, far more attractive in her subtlety than the more obvious charms of Sub-Commander Big Boobs. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/49 "2006-08-23T20:40:52Z")
On “The Patty Duke Show” I thought Kathy was far hotter than Patty. Smart yet demure versus overly enthusiastic but not nearly as much fun as the theme song suggested. “Kids, look–she’s Sean Astin’s mom. And so is she!” ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2006, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/50 "2006-08-30T20:48:37Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Janet was better looking that Crissy. [/QUOTE] Agreed. But in the end I thought [Priscilla Barnes](http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/CZPB.HTM) (scroll down to her name) was the best-looking, as well as funny in a goofy way. She had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in _Licence to Kill_ and, though it appears she’s been working steadily, that was the last I’ve seen of her. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/51 "2006-08-30T20:57:56Z")
[QUOTE=a35362] Agreed. But in the end I thought [Priscilla Barnes](http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/CZPB.HTM) (scroll down to her name) was the best-looking, as well as funny in a goofy way. She had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in _Licence to Kill_ and, though it appears she’s been working steadily, that was the last I’ve seen of her. [/QUOTE] I had never heard of Priscilla Barnes until Kevin Smith’s 1995 movie _Mallrats_, where you see her bare boobs (including a fake third nipple). Barnes fans need to check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/52 "2006-08-30T22:03:35Z")
Heck, Dawn Wells _now_, at 60-something, is hotter than whatshername who played Ginger ever was. That one’s just no contest. One of the great things about _Firefly_, though, is that Inara and Kaylee were _both_ hot (as was Zoë, and (if you go for the psychopathic type) River. Granted, Kaylee is still far hotter than the others, but a guy who drools over Inara doesn’t exactly need to have his eyes examined. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/53 "2006-08-30T23:55:53Z")
**Betty** …WAAYYYYY hotter than **Veronica**. What the hell was Archie thinking? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/54 "2006-08-31T00:49:01Z")
[QUOTE=Talon Karrde] In the Breakfast Club, I prefer Ally Sheedy\* to Molly Ringwald (who isn’t too bad herself). Before or after the makeover. [/QUOTE] Slight thread deflection: this “makeover” meme really bugs me. They go to all the trouble of changing the girl (often from a tomboy to a fem), the girl herself is severely insecure about her looks, and nobody is questioning the wisdom or necessity of such a move-and she looks better in the “before” picture than the “after” one! There was one teen movie where the female lead has beautiful straight dark hair, and a lot of it got chopped off and made “wavy” in the makeover! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/55 "2006-08-31T01:09:06Z")
[QUOTE=Kevbo] **Betty** …WAAYYYYY hotter than **Veronica**. What the hell was Archie thinking? [/QUOTE] Reminds me of one of my favorite bad TV movies [Archie: Return to Riverdale](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099054/) when Betty (played by Lauren Holly) utters the unforgettable line: “I want to be _bad_, Archie!” ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/56 "2006-08-31T13:54:05Z")
Carla over Diane / Rebecca? OK, maybe not, forget I said that. From _Firefly_, in order: Zoe, Kaylee, Inara, River - although the last is twig-like jailbait (in appearance, at least). I’m willing to go to war over that order, so you best be careful if you disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/57 "2006-08-31T14:29:48Z")
I thought both [Grace Park](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0661825/) and [Kandyse McClure](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0565973/) put [Tricia Helfer](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1065454/) to shame in **Battlestar Galactica**. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/58 "2006-08-31T14:44:24Z")
Betty Rubble over Wilma Flintstone. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/59 "2006-08-31T16:15:22Z")
Chiming in on my own thread–I’ve been watching Xena: Warrior Princess on Bravo in the mornings, and I’ve been struck by how scrumptious Renee O’Connor was. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e36b37/32.png) [@Not\_A\_Tame\_Lion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_A_Tame_Lion)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794/60 "2006-08-31T19:37:42Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] Chiming in on my own thread–I’ve been watching Xena: Warrior Princess on Bravo in the mornings, and I’ve been struck by how scrumptious Renee O’Connor was. [/QUOTE] You keep away from my Renee, or that won’t be the only thing striking you. I think the folks in this thread have sussed out the fact behind the phenomenon: these ostensibly worse looking sidekicks are cast as such because they’re “Hollywood ugly”; that is, they’re really good looking people, but they are cast to fill a character who is simply not the “type” that the other actor–the supposedly more beautiful top-billed actor–actually does fit. In any other context, these people walk into a room and all eyes immediately turn towards them. Actually, given some of the earlier posts, I think Alyson Hannigan is not a good example of this. She was still quite gawky and kid-like in those first couple seasons of _Buffy,_ whereas Sarah Michelle Gellar was top notch right from the start. Go take a look at those first few episodes; SMG was gorgeous right out of the gate, until she stopped eating and turned into a wraith. AH, on the other hand, grew up and turned into something really special. Right now, at this moment, you take Alyson over Michelle hands down. But not back in the day. I think folks are being fooled by hindsight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mary-ann-bailey-quarters-and-the-rest-when-the-sidekick-is-hotter-than-the-lead/369794.md?page=4)