# Name a television character hated at first, but who grows on you over time (SPOILERS) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 21, 2016, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689 "2016-11-21T22:52:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/42 "2016-11-23T14:18:58Z")
About 3 years ago, I embarked on a project to watch all ~1200 episodes of _Dark Shadows_ from the very first pre-vampire storylines to the lame ending. In the early parts, I really disliked Roger Collins–a supercilious man who couldn’t help being a jerk even when he was trying to be nice. Plus, you just knew from the beginning that he was the one driving the car in that manslaughter hit-and-run that Burke Devlin went to prison for. Then, somewhere along the line, his character began to be less hateful and more campy, and one day I found myself thinking affectionately of poor, clueless Roger who remains blithely unaware of the vampires, witches, ghosts, werewolves, and Leviathan cultists all around him; even his bratty son David has a better idea of what’s going on at Collinwood. From beginning to end, I never could stand his bratty son David, though. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/43 "2016-11-23T14:28:33Z")
Nobody’s mentioned Gregory House MD? Didn’t anyone grow to like him besides me? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/44 "2016-11-23T14:49:23Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Nobody’s mentioned Gregory House MD? Didn’t anyone grow to like him besides me? Even at his jerkiest, I still had a massive crush on him. I thought he was more often hilarious than malignant. I thought, ‘who wouldn’t want to have such a bitter, sarcastic command of the English language?’ ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/45 "2016-11-23T17:47:13Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Amy seemed like a one-joke character, and I was kinda surprised when she popped up again, and even more surprised when she became a regular, but I have loved her development. I don’t know if it’s good writing or just luck, but I see her going through all the developmental stages of a child and teenager through the seasons to go from practically an emotionless robot to a normal (albeit, still slightly naive in social matters) adult. By the time she and Sheldon had sex, Amy had finally become about 18 emotionally, so it was appropriate. I liked that. > > Does anyone else see this? She sort of parallel plays like a toddler in the beginning, then she’s a needy elementary schooler, “getting” it for the first time that other people have their own inner lives, and she’s trying to be part of them, then she’s an awkward tween, then a young teen, and finally and older teen, and now she’s a young adult? I agree wholeheartedly. But in addition to “good writing,” I’d have to add “great acting.” Mayim Bialik has perfectly kept pace with the evolving character. > [@salinqmind](#): > > Even at his jerkiest, I still had a massive crush on him. You and I have the same taste in men. I could never quite reconcile what an ass hole he was. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/46 "2016-11-23T18:43:52Z")
Hank on **Breaking Bad** was such an obnoxious douche in the first episode. I like how, parallel to Walt’s downfall, we get to watch Hank’s redemption. He really becomes a sympathetic, complex, three dimensional character after starting as an asshole cop on a power trip. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/47 "2016-11-23T19:37:22Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > The difference between Frank Burns and Charles Winchester I think is down to the way the producers changed the show into an ensemble piece. Frank - and early Margaret - were paper-thin puppets, whose only purpose was to serve as foils to Hawkeye and Trapper John. Frank, unfortunately for Larry Linville, was simply too shallowly villainous to ever develop; but Charles came along when the writers were bringing in more interesting, rounded characters (like Sherman Potter and BJ Hunnicut), and even fleshing out minor characters (like Klinger). It’s why I much preferred later _M_A_S_H\* to the earlier seasons. I was just about to post something very similar… I wonder- are we talking about characters who are meant to start out as dicks and then redeem themselves, or characters who don’t really change, but you grow to like them anyway? I think that G’Kar on Babylon 5 fits the first bill for me. In the first season or two, he was venal, scheming, and petty, but ended up a quite noble and spiritual character. In the second category, I’d say that Jean-Luc Picard is a good example. Initially, I was not happy with his un-Kirkian approach to interstellar relations- he seemed kind of a bit too talkative and negotiation-oriented for good space opera. I half wanted Riker in charge as a result. Over time, I grew to like him though. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/48 "2016-11-23T21:11:52Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Hank on **Breaking Bad** was such an obnoxious douche in the first episode. I like how, parallel to Walt’s downfall, we get to watch Hank’s redemption. He really becomes a sympathetic, complex, three dimensional character after starting as an asshole cop on a power trip. This is the one I came in to mention. He was basically such a cartoon character in his first appearance and I figured that he would always be the douchy character that drags down the show for me\*. Instead he emerged as a wonderfully realized version of a genuine good cop. Kudos to Dean Norris as well as the writers for really elevating a well-worn trope into a multi-layered character. \*That honor of course ultimately went to Walt Jr./Flynn :p. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2016, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/49 "2016-11-23T23:08:35Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Nobody’s mentioned Gregory House MD? Didn’t anyone grow to like him besides me? Nope. Adored him from the moment I saw his first scene in the pilot. That never changed (though I did get pretty frustrated with him toward the end when he took his jerkishness to the next level). I’m gonna go with the Sixth Doctor for my pick. He’s not my favorite Doctor by any means (even among the classics) but I really disliked him at first. Eventually he grew on me to the point where he’s no longer my _least_ favorite classic Doctor. He’s now behind Three, Four, and Eight, and ahead of One, Two, Five, and Seven. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2016, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/50 "2016-11-23T23:25:01Z")
How about Doc Martin? Starts off as a difficult asshole although a competent physician, but later, as we learn more about his background (and his awful parents) we learn how he got the way he is. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/51 "2016-11-24T09:20:08Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Dr. Julian Bashir on _Star Trek: Deep Space Nine_ was annoying in the first couple seasons as he was always tongue-dragging over Jadzia, but he got better. This. I remember flamewars on FidoNet between those who hated the character and those who didn’t. I was firmly in the former camp, though eventually warmed to the guy. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/52 "2016-11-24T13:46:53Z")
Re: _House_. Liked him at first. Generally liked him less and less over time (with some variation). With a couple of seasons left to go he was a complete and total jerk to everyone all the time. A despicable person. Until the shiny happy (?) ending and even then … ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/53 "2016-11-24T14:23:30Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Hank on **Breaking Bad** was such an obnoxious douche in the first episode. I like how, parallel to Walt’s downfall, we get to watch Hank’s redemption. He really becomes a sympathetic, complex, three dimensional character after starting as an asshole cop on a power trip. The moment I opened the thread I was thinking of Hank. The brilliance of “Breaking Bad” manifests itself in a lot of ways, but Hank is a great example. He is one of the primary antagonists, and they start you off thinking he’s a dick, and in some ways he IS kind of a dick. He’s the sort of person I would probably dislike at first if I met him. But as the events of the show unfurl, you realize that while he can be a dick sometimes, he’s a fundamentally decent human being. Hank has a moral compass; he knows what is right and what is wrong, and tries his best to act accordingly. Like a normal person, he doesn’t always succeed, but he steers himself in the righteous path as much as he is capable. When he beats up Jesse he admits he was wrong and accepts the consequences, though he didn’t necessarily have to. Our understanding of the characters are thus reversed over the course of five seasons; while we start out liking kind, quiet, mousy Walter and disliking brash, arrogant Hank, because that’s what TV shows condition us to assume we should like, we eventually learn that Hank is the person who has a righteous heart, and Walter’s heart is as black as coal. Do not judge a book by its cover, the show tells us. We also see what our initial assumption Hank is stupid and Walter is smart was quite wrong. Walter is clever, but very stupid in many ways, and Hank sees and understands things Walter does not. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/54 "2016-11-24T16:07:17Z")
In the vein of **RickJay’s** post, I really didn’t care for Skyler White very much initially. She seemed like a domineering, manipulative control freak. I later came to realize that that’s what she was…in response to Walter’s complete lack of personality or decision making role in the household, and their marriage. As Walt “Broke Bad” and devolved\*, Skyler evolved, and I became genuinely sympathetic towards her. And FTR, I was never an Anna Gunn hater. Why people hate on actors for playing the role they were hired to play, in the manner the producers, writers, and directors want them to play it, is beyond me. \*IMO, “Bad Walter” is the _real_ Walter, carefully buried under layers of respectability and conformity. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/55 "2016-11-26T03:04:58Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Came in to post exactly this. > > [This here](http://www.24spoilers.com/wp-content/uploads/2005/04/MachineGun-ChloeOBrian-24Season4.jpg) pretty much cemented the moment fell in love with this girl. That and the time she blurted out “I was gonna quit anyway” at whoever was running CTU at the time, when caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to be. > [@ftg](#): > > _Grey’s Anatomy_ has done this several times. > > Alex Karev started off as a selfish jerk and mellowed somewhat over time. Still had a few problems by the time I stopped watching. > > Addison Montgomery started off as the interfering, hated ex-wife and became a warmer figure in a fairly short time. Even became the center of a spin-off. > > And then there’s bad boy extraordinaire Mark Sloan. Stabbing in the back his best friend. Completely hopeless womanizer. Smug and self-centered. Also underwent a salvation story arc. Alex has long been the best GA character. Every single person on that show (except maybe Zola) is some sort of shitty asshole. At least Alex has always owned it. ---
**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:** [November 26, 2016, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/56 "2016-11-26T03:28:24Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Frasier Crane on _ **Cheers!** _ Did not care for the character _at all_, mainly because I viewed him as an interloper who didn’t belong in the bar and had no business coming between Sam and Diane. I was very surprised when he was still there after Diane left him standing at the altar. > > Of course, my opinion has changed radically since then. FWIW, I thought Cliffie was a dumb character the first few times I saw him, too. Obviously, it took me a while to get the joke! If it’s any consolation to you, Shelley Long originally also thought the character of Frasier was an interloper who the producers might use to break up Sam and Diane permanently. She wanted him to be a brief rival to Sam and then disappear after maybe three episodes. ---
**Author:** ![vedicgyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/898d66/32.png) [@vedicgyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vedicgyan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/57 "2016-11-26T05:52:27Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Who is a character from any show that you hated or that was a bad guy for a long time, but that–over another long period of time–slowly grew on you or turned into more of a good character or, at the very least, a bit more sympathetic? > > Obviously there will be SPOILERS, but spoil any HUGE revelations in any shows. > > Two examples I can think of are Ben Linus from Lost and Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer…at least IMO. Spike was an out and out bad guy Buffy fought, but eventually became one of her team mates. Ben had a much, much slower turn. In fact, I’d say Ben was fairly evil/bad from his introduction in season two all the way up to the last season (season 6), but he did wind up being redeemed somewhat and ending as a fairly “on the side of good, moreso” character. > [@RickJay](#): > > The moment I opened the thread I was thinking of Hank. > > The brilliance of “Breaking Bad” manifests itself in a lot of ways, but Hank is a great example. He is one of the primary antagonists, and they start you off thinking he’s a dick, and in some ways he IS kind of a dick. He’s the sort of person I would probably dislike at first if I met him. But as the events of the show unfurl, you realize that while he can be a dick sometimes, he’s a fundamentally decent human being. > > Hank has a moral compass; he knows what is right and what is wrong, and tries his best to act accordingly. Like a normal person, he doesn’t always succeed, but he steers himself in the righteous path as much as he is capable. When he beats up Jesse he admits he was wrong and accepts the consequences, though he didn’t necessarily have to. Our understanding of the characters are thus reversed over the course of five seasons; while we start out liking kind, quiet, mousy Walter and disliking brash, arrogant Hank, because that’s what TV shows condition us to assume we should like, we eventually learn that Hank is the person who has a righteous heart, and Walter’s heart is as black as coal. Do not judge a book by its cover, the show tells us. > > We also see what our initial assumption Hank is stupid and Walter is smart was quite wrong. Walter is clever, but very stupid in many ways, and Hank sees and understands things Walter does not. I am probably the only person in the world who will say this but I hated both Walter and Hank in the first few episodes of Breaking Bad. Hank, of course, seemed irritating, immature and a bit of a try-hard. While Walter had my sympathy, I couldn’t help but go “be a man, dude” every time he took insults from people without saying a word. Boy, did he turn that around as one season passed after another. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/58 "2016-11-26T07:18:42Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Pennsatucky on Orange is the New Black…in the first season, I had to mute 90% of her scenes, since she enraged me in entirely the wrong way…by the end of season 3, she’d grown into one of my favourite characters, being entertaining even when she was awful. > > Healy had a similar arc, though he’s never moved to the favourite column, and he only moved past ‘barely tolerable, and a little bit pitiable’ in season 4, when he was dealing with Lolly. This. And some other characters from _Orange is the New Black_ also fit the bill. When I started that series it seemed like low-grade comedy/soap but I stayed with it until it became one of my favorites for precisely this reason: The characters become interesting humans the viewer can empathize with. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/59 "2016-11-26T07:59:00Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > If it’s any consolation to you, Shelley Long originally also thought the character of Frasier was an interloper who the producers might use to break up Sam and Diane permanently. She wanted him to be a brief rival to Sam and then disappear after maybe three episodes. Interesting. I knew they didn’t exactly get along, but then it seems she didn’t get along with anyone else in the cast, either. I’m glad the producers eventually made Frasier a permanent member of the cast, whatever their motives were. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/60 "2016-11-26T10:40:14Z")
For a slight change-up, I couldn’t stand Captain Bialar Crais in S1 of _Farscape._ He was a one-dimensional caricature. He was more interesting in S2, even if he was still unsavory. Of course, by S3, he went out an absolute bad-ass; a hero even, however flawed. **Captain Bialar Crais:** All that I have cared for have gone: my parents were taken away from me, my brother dead - so now I live, I plan, I do all in the service of my own interests. In that I believe I am not unique in the universe. **Crais:** Scorpius. I am just making my final goodbyes. **Scorpius:** Where are you, Crais? **Crais:** I am standing in your heart, and I am about to squeeze. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2016, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689/61 "2016-11-26T11:16:32Z")
I agree about Q. When he first showed up he was just Random Godlike Alien #1854; irritating and generic. But over time he became much more interesting and non-generic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-television-character-hated-at-first-but-who-grows-on-you-over-time-spoilers/772689.md?page=4)