# Supposedly Comic Characters Too Evil to Like **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155 "2005-01-17T04:11:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/41 "2005-01-17T19:33:28Z")
> [@lee](#): > > I do think that the character they brought back as Kochansky is not the real Kochansky that Dave used to know or even the one he married in that one ep. What she is, I don’t know. :start hijack: My theory is this: Lister is the cat people’s God. She must be the devil! She’s there to tempt him and draw him into evil :eek: Actually, one of my RD books says she was brought in to make the show appeal to Americans - after all, we’re so shallow we can’t stomach a movie without at least one attractive female. The original actress wasn’t available (or wasn’t pretty enough - I don’t remember which) so they decided to make the alternate dimension Kochanski instead. But, this is just one more reason I can’t stand her. The show was great with all the guys. She threw off the whole chemistry of the show. Seasons 7 and 8 are no where near the caliber of the first 6. Did you see Can’t Smeg Wont Smeg? She was so obnoxious. I just wanted to slap her. :end hijack: ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/42 "2005-01-17T19:35:09Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > > [@NDP](#): > > > > It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the show, but didn’t Mike eventually get a job while he was in college? I seem to recall one episode where Mike told Gloria he’d been working nights to contribute his share of the family income. > > You missed the one where he inherited some amount of money - not huge, but not insignificant either - and Archie’s all “Gonna pay me back now?” and Meathead’s all “No, I’ve been working on paying you off but with this free money I got from a deceased relative (and it’s all okay until now but this is the kicker) I’m gonna contribute it to the McGovern campaign.” This is, of course, the day before the election or so, when one could not possibly miss the fact that this is gonna be wasted money. What a little jerk. Not that he had to give it to Archie, but hell, I’m sure he and Gloria could use a little treat of some sort. Give it to Edith, she needs it! IIRC, that **was** the episode where Meathead got off his butt and earned some money (after being shamed into it for a while by that incident). ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/43 "2005-01-17T20:08:32Z")
Kramer. He’s not funny. I can’t stand him, although my parents-in-law think he’s just the greatest character ever. Third on Frank Burns. He’s just utterly hateful, so much so that now I watch the M_A_S_H_ credits to see if he’s on, then give it a miss. I do despise Cartman, although I know that you’re supposed to. The thing is, when you play one note for such a long time, you end up getting sick of it. If Matt and Trey would mix it up a little with Cartman, it’d go a lot farther. Henry Higgins (from _My Fair Lady_). My mom loves him, but I can’t see him as anything other than a prick. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/44 "2005-01-17T20:49:31Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > The entire cast of **Sex and the City**. Not only are they 4 complete polar opposites and best friends they have fucked everything in the city and would hump anything that moved and none of them got any STD’s. > > Though, Samantha, I liked, because she was honest about it all. I never watched that show, and it never seemed like an appealing idea to watch. It’s like, “I GET IT! YOU’RE ALL MUCH HIPPER THAN ME!” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/45 "2005-01-17T21:34:06Z")
_“I’m Chip! …I’m Dale! We’re just a couple of crazy rascals out to have some fun!”_ Well, no you aren’t. You little bastards are sadistic thieving vandals who deserve to be tortured with red-hot knives. You, Jerry, Tweety and all the rest. But it’ll never happen because **the cute little cartoon character is always the hero, no matter what.** :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/46 "2005-01-17T21:40:12Z")
This far and noone has mentioned Absolutely Fabulous? I am shocked and horrified. My fiancee loves the show. I’ve tried to like it in every way possible, but can’t. None of the characters are the least bit likable. And I disagree about King of the Hill. Only Peggy Hill is too evil to like. She sabotaged Hank when he was teaching shop class just so she could win substitute teacher of the year. Khan and Dale have at least done one or two good things in the shows run. I really can’t think of anything that Peggy has done. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/47 "2005-01-17T22:24:17Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > _“I’m Chip! > …I’m Dale! > We’re just a couple of crazy rascals > out to have some fun!”_ > > Well, no you aren’t. You little bastards are sadistic thieving vandals who deserve to be tortured with red-hot knives. You, Jerry, Tweety and all the rest. But it’ll never happen because **the cute little cartoon character is always the hero, no matter what.** :mad: I don’t know about Chip and Dale but Tweety and (to a lesser extent) Jerry Mouse don’t deserve to be mentioned together. Tweety and Jerry are, for the most part, just trying to survive against predators that are not only much bigger then they are but also have sharp teeth and claws. The only thing they have to defend themselves are their wits and luck (e.g., when a complicated plan hatched by Tom or Sylvester to catch Tweety or Jerry inevitably backfires on them Wile E. Coyote-style). Now, Woody Woodpecker… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/48 "2005-01-17T22:30:12Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > This far and noone has mentioned Absolutely Fabulous? I am shocked and horrified. My fiancee loves the show. I’ve tried to like it in every way possible, but can’t. None of the characters are the least bit likable. > > And I disagree about King of the Hill. Only Peggy Hill is too evil to like. She sabotaged Hank when he was teaching shop class just so she could win substitute teacher of the year. Khan and Dale have at least done one or two good things in the shows run. I really can’t think of anything that Peggy has done. I liked Saffron on AbFab, but that’s the old “smart girl in glasses” thing. I haven’t watched KOTH in a while, but I’d like to see Peggy get into some horrible propane-powered dildo accident. As for Frank Burns, you always know he’ll never succeed in whatever scheme he has going. He was well played. In a few instances, you found out why he was the way he was, but because he decided not to rise above it, he’s not worthy of sympathy. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/49 "2005-01-17T22:48:25Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Now, if you want **evil** , check out Edmund Blackadder and his descendents. However, I don’t think they’d qualify because, despite their nastiness, they’re still funny. Was Blackadder always evil? Or more precisely - were _all_ the Blackadders evil? Because all four of them were very different characters. 1 and 3 were evil, to be sure: 1 was evil and pathetic, while 3 was evil and obsequious. Backadder the Scond, though, may have been a self-serving scoundrel and a total bastard at that, but he never actually did anything evil per se, despite repeated threats. The poor cad even managed to fall in love pnce or twice. Blackadder the Fourth, in turn, was just very, very cynical. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/50 "2005-01-17T22:54:31Z")
In later seasons, Mimi from _The Drew Carey Show_. She started out as just a minor pest, and she ended up evil enough to get Drew fired as store manager, send him to China with no way to get home (okay, that one was kinda funny, but taken with everything else…) and basically destroy his sanity, despite the fact that Drew’s always been nice to her when it counted. And when she kept Wick in her apartment, making him think the world had ended outside or something… I guess it was kinda funny, but it was mostly creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/51 "2005-01-17T23:07:12Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Everyone except Khan Jr. on _King of the Hill_. I like the show well enough but I don’t know why – I hate everyone on it and wish to see them die slow and gruesome deaths. Change that to Peggie. The others on the show just crack me up. Peggie, on the other hand, has gone from mildly annoying to outright makes me want to smack her head into a brick wall irritating. I can’t watch _Will & Grace_, because I hate everyone on the fucking show. I’ve watched it a few times, and while it has its funny moments, I just want to smack everyone upside the head! _Sex and the City_. I saw a promo where Carrie is bitching with her friends about her engagment ring. It’s a pair-shaped diamond on a gold band. And everyone starts going eeewwww…ick!!! What? How is that funny? How does that make sense, except to make you look like a gold-digging, money-grubbing bitch? I’ve never watched this show-how is this supposed to make me want to watch it? A bunch of nitpicking, catty women sitting around meowing about everyone else’s flaws? I got enough of THAT in middle school, thankyouverymuch. _Malcom in the Middle_. Lois is just a shrill bitch who hates everyone, and the boys are a bunch of idiots. It stopped being funny a long time ago-it just became, OOOh, let’s try and make Mom EXPLODE!!! See, unlikable characters can work, but only if you make it clear you’re supposed to hate them. (Romano on _ER_ would be a perfect example) The problem is, they try to make them hateful and at the same time, likable and popular. Like Roseanne. She’s a sassy, tell it like it is working class mom! Except she’s not. She’s just a miserable, stupid cow who goes around screaming all the time. Damn, watching sitcoms makes me violent. Hmmm… ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/52 "2005-01-17T23:10:38Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > pair-shaped diamond on a gold band. Make that _pear_-shaped. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/53 "2005-01-18T00:27:11Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Was Blackadder always evil? Or more precisely - were _all_ the Blackadders evil? Because all four of them were very different characters. 1 and 3 were evil, to be sure: 1 was evil and pathetic, while 3 was evil and obsequious. Backadder the Scond, though, may have been a self-serving scoundrel and a total bastard at that, but he never actually did anything evil per se, despite repeated threats. The poor cad even managed to fall in love pnce or twice. Blackadder the Fourth, in turn, was just very, very cynical. The [Christmas Carol](http://imdb.com/title/tt0094754/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD1vbnxwbj0wfHE9YmxhY2sgYWRkZXIgY2hyaXN0bWFzfGh0bWw9MXxubT1vbg__;fc=1;ft=1;fm=1) episode was hysterical. In that one, Ebenezer Blackadder is the saintliest and most generous man in Victorian London, the complete opposite of his ancestors (and descendants). Unfortunately, things change when the very drunk Spirit of Christmas (Robbie Coltrane) winds up at the wrong house and accidentally shows him the value of virtue (or lack of). ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/54 "2005-01-18T00:48:46Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > … > Mike the Meathead from _All in the Family_ was a character I respected far less than Archie. He was a freeloader (oh boo hoo hoo… you don’t have money and want to go to college… WORK! You won’t be the first student to have a job while getting an education!), he never missed an opportunity to insult the man who was supporting him, he obviously looked down on his very sweet mother-in-law (and to a lesser degree on his wife), he was prone to temper tantrums and ultimately left Gloria for one of his students. In some ways, bigoted Archie was actually the real “man” on the show. That was always my take on the Meathead character too. I don’t know if the writers intended for the audience to (mostly) sympathize with Archie over the son in law but I sure did. ---
**Author:** ![sleeepy2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@sleeepy2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeepy2)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/55 "2005-01-18T01:06:07Z")
She’s not a comedic character, but I thought Mary Jane in Spider-Man 2 was downright evil when she left John Jameson at the altar to run off with Peter. Think about the reality of leaving a guy, who by all accounts was a great guy, standing at the altar in front of his entire group of family and friends. Watch out Peter, she’s unstable! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/56 "2005-01-18T01:36:53Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > I though Seinfeld syndrome was where you ended up dumping people routinely for the slightist little percieved inperfections: “She had man Hands!” or there was one episode where Jerry was freaked out by a toe that was too big. > > Basically, being incredibly shallow. In real life a neutrotic dorky smartass, a short fat timid bald man, a gangly unemployed psychopath, and a 30 something year old shrew might have a hard time with the singles scene in NYC. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/57 "2005-01-18T01:44:05Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Even Boomhauer?!?!?!? :eek: > > Nah, really, how can you think they’re evil? Sometimes nuts, sometimes obsessed, usualy weird, but not evil. Well, not evil, really. I guess I should have stuck more to the OP’s intent but didn’t really think about it when posting. The only characters I find truly despicable are Dale and Peggie. They’re supposed to be funny in their extremism, I guess, but I just want to murder them in cold blood. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > Change that to Peggie. The others on the show just crack me up. Peggie, on the other hand, has gone from mildly annoying to outright makes me want to smack her head into a brick wall irritating. I’ve never found her the least bit amusing. If it weren’t for the Khans and Bobby, the show wouldn’t be worth watching. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/58 "2005-01-18T02:02:33Z")
> [@case sensitive](#): > > […]a major difference between British and American comedy: American comic characters, no matter how nasty on the surface, always have to have a heart of gold deep down, whereas in Britain they’re given full rein to be despicable […] Count the number of British comedies in which the main characters are loathsome human beings with no redeeming features: Fawlty Towers, The Young Ones, Blackadder, Red Dwarf… American comedy tends to go for a more morallly didactic approach, in which values are taught and valuable life lessons are learnt, whereas the best British comedy isn’t afraid to see that being horrible can be funny in its own right, sans message. It goes further, I think. British comedy can be very black without necessarily shredding the pretense that _it’s still comedy_: a put-on, a “turn”. When American comedy goes black, it gets _serious_. Think of a coke-addled, post-Vietnam, nihilist-elitist, overeducated-Ivy-League-prick kind of humor. The active ingredient is a glimmer of straight dramatic nastiness: the water in the bucket balanced on top of the door replaced with bleach. The queasiness in the stomachs of the less hip, maybe even straight realistic fear or pain on the part of the supporting characters, becomes the real topic of the laughter (if you find laughter in it; I usually don’t). Think Michael O’Donoghue, _National Lampoon_, Andy Kaufman going off on one of his audience members, or Steve Martin’s character in _Little Shop of Horrors_. The big difference between (say) Basil Fawlty and Mr. Mike was that Fawlty was played like a big howling slapstick caricature. Mr. Mike was played absolutely, eerily, cold-bloodedly straight. > [@sleeepy2](#): > > This was my problem with Meet The Parents. Robert DeNiro was supposed to be “over protective”, but I thought he was closer to psychotic. I agree. This is the legacy of the American school of black comedy. De Niro was the right choice here because - again - he could play it with real menace. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/59 "2005-01-18T02:53:53Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > The [Christmas Carol](http://imdb.com/title/tt0094754/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD1vbnxwbj0wfHE9YmxhY2sgYWRkZXIgY2hyaXN0bWFzfGh0bWw9MXxubT1vbg__;fc=1;ft=1;fm=1) episode was hysterical. In that one, Ebenezer Blackadder is the saintliest and most generous man in Victorian London, the complete opposite of his ancestors (and descendants). Unfortunately, things change when the very drunk Spirit of Christmas (Robbie Coltrane) winds up at the wrong house and accidentally shows him the value of virtue (or lack of). As a tangental aside, the viewing of this show is a Christmas tradition at Casa Fidelius. The Girls have loved it since they said “It’s Hagrid!” at Coltrane’s entrance, and I was very proud of Older Daughter for pointing out “Queen Elizabeth” in the Phantom of the Opera movie. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/60 "2005-01-18T03:53:03Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > And I disagree about King of the Hill. Only Peggy Hill is too evil to like. She sabotaged Hank when he was teaching shop class just so she could win substitute teacher of the year. Khan and Dale have at least done one or two good things in the shows run. I really can’t think of anything that Peggy has done. God, second that. I don’t watch King of the Hill regularly, but on the few occasions I did catch it, she was a hard-boiled creep. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155.md?page=4)