# Most beaten up characters of television **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125 "2010-05-20T14:08:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/41 "2010-05-20T19:50:27Z")
My dad once joked about assembling a gag reel of scenes where Elisha Cook jr. gets beaten up. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/42 "2010-05-20T19:53:30Z")
Michael Weston on _Burn Notice_ would be on the list but I’m not sure of the placement. He was badly beaten in the pilot and then about once every few episodes since: he’s arranged his own beating a few times (including by his friend and partner Sam, but since it has to look real it has to be real), he’s been beaten by people who kidnapped him, he jumped from a helicopter once, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/43 "2010-05-20T21:54:44Z")
. Tonto . ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/44 "2010-05-20T23:30:05Z")
OK, since some people are counting deaths as opposed to beatings, I’ll nominate Captain Jack Harkness from Torchwood, who has been fatally\* shot multiple times with conventional and energy-beam weapons, stabbed, trampled, hit with a javelin, poisoned, strangled, electrocuted, devoured, pushed off a building, buried, blown up, encased in cement, and struck down by a deadly virus. In fact, he claims to have died more than 1,000 times, although most of those were off screen. \*Although he describes himself as “the man who can never die,” I think “the man who doesn’t stay dead” is more accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/45 "2010-05-20T23:48:43Z")
Magnum got beaten up quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/46 "2010-05-21T00:30:28Z")
Crichton is definitely worth consideration(from Farscape). Then again, Buffy and Angel from their shows are also regularly beaten up, quite badly. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/47 "2010-05-21T02:01:51Z")
[Georgie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_characters_from_The_Sopranos_in_the_Soprano_crime_family#Georgie_Santorelli) the bartender guy at the Bada Bing gets his ass kicked in virtually every episode of _The Sopranos_ he’s in. It gets to the point that when you see Georgie, you just know Tony is going to go off on him. ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/48 "2010-05-21T02:09:06Z")
I was going to go with Spike from Buffy. He got beat up by the good guys and the bad guys. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/49 "2010-05-21T02:12:39Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > I can’t be quite as clear on the Mission:Impossible guy Peter Lupus (we called him Crate Pusher) but another big guy who was forever being accosted by little folks. :dubious: His character would throw the occasional fight against Jim Phelps or Barney Collier to make 'em look good as part of a con, but when it came to _ **actually** _ getting accosted IIRC we’re in count-on-one-hand territory – which ain’t bad for a seven-year series: he came along on missions to deliver one-sided beatdowns, and it usually went about as smoothly as when he’d get called on to play Crate Pusher. (I know you said you can’t be clear, but “forever” suggests you can set me straight on figuring he averaged less than once per season…?) ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/50 "2010-05-21T02:13:53Z")
Wish I had a copy of Jo Davidsmeyer’s book on “Combat!” because she has a list of the number of times the characters were wounded in the five year run. Saunders (Vic Morrow) was the most wounded. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/51 "2010-05-21T02:30:48Z")
I was thinking Popeye. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/52 "2010-05-21T02:37:36Z")
Not physical abuse, but I sort of love the running joke on Parks and Recreation that has everyone picking on Gerry. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/53 "2010-05-21T03:13:28Z")
How many times did coconuts fall on the heads of Gilligan and the Skipper? ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/54 "2010-05-21T03:26:10Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Jim Rockford. Amazing this was my immediate thought as well! > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Wile E. Coyote Then this! Of course there’s Tom from Tom and Jerry, or Sylvester… the list of cartoon characters could go on and on. Face from The A Team got punched out alot too! ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/55 "2010-05-21T03:52:16Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Jim Rockford. This ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/56 "2010-05-21T03:54:12Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Jim Rockford. Immediately came to mind. That poor guy took a pounding just about every week. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/57 "2010-05-21T03:54:45Z")
Anthy Himemiya in \*Revolutionary Girl Utena. \* I think everyone in this show slapped Anthy around at some point. I didn’t get to see it all the way to the end, so I don’t know if Utena hit her too. I also want to say half the lieutenants in _Bleach_. Renji, at least, keeps getting his ass handed to him. Even his own captain beat him. Oh yeah, Ichigo is always getting hit also. His dad always wakes him up with a kick or a punch to the face, to “make him stronger,” at least till Ichigo finally gets strong enough to hit him back and leave him bruised. It’s played for laughs, though. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/58 "2010-05-21T03:57:29Z")
Quickly added up the vote for Jim Rockford, and he has 7 so far. That’s pretty impressive. How many even read the thread past the first “Jim Rockford” nomination? There is no second answer. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2010, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/59 "2010-05-21T06:47:22Z")
> [@Random\_Design](#): > > Does anyone come close to Ben from Lost? For what it’s worth, his shiner in the latest episode was real. The actor playing Desmond accidently hit him for real during filming! And the actor who plays the original MIB broke two toes filming the scene where Jacob drags him to the cave! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125/60 "2010-05-21T11:56:39Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > :dubious: > > His character would throw the occasional fight against Jim Phelps or Barney Collier to make 'em look good as part of a con, but when it came to _ **actually** _ getting accosted IIRC we’re in count-on-one-hand territory – which ain’t bad for a seven-year series: he came along on missions to deliver one-sided beatdowns, and it usually went about as smoothly as when he’d get called on to play Crate Pusher. > > (I know you said you can’t be clear, but “forever” suggests you can set me straight on figuring he averaged less than once per season…?) I must concede that my memory is all I have to go on and that it must be flawed if your account is right. That’s just how I remember his character’s contribution to the show. I’m just happy somebody else remembers the old show so well. Can you comment on Cheyenne? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-beaten-up-characters-of-television/540125.md?page=4)