# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/61 "2005-01-18T04:30:33Z")
The **Welch’s** grape juice girl. The blonde one. Pure evil. And now there is a **Kraft Cheese Girl** that is so cute and perfect in her lines telling her Daddy how important calcium is for her growing bones that I just want to get out the death style ray to kill her before she spawns an army of cute kids against us. I started my boycott against Kraft the moment I saw that commercial. However, on the flip side, the guy who is now the State Farm spokesman, a tall, distinguished man with an awesome trustworthy deep voice and he is handsome too…whoooooo, he could open up a can of whoop ass on the Welch’s Evil Munchkin and I’d pay to watch that. HI YA. Sorry. ---
**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:** [January 18, 2005, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/62 "2005-01-18T04:37:05Z")
> [@sleeepy2](#): > > 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! Don’t worry, I’m sure John Jameson will get some revenge in Spider-Man 3. In the comics, he later became the villain Man-Wolf, but a lot of speculation says that he may become Venom, one of Spider-Man’s arch-enemies, in the third movie. I nominate David Brent, boss from hell, from The Office. We laugh at him, but it’s a very uncomfortable laughter. He’s a pretty horrible person, and completely oblivious. He thinks he’s well-loved, important, and hilariously funny, but nobody likes him or trusts him–with very good reason. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/63 "2005-01-18T04:49:22Z")
Non-Australians, be thankful - for you do not get _Kath & Kim_. That show has the most unlikeable, feral, repellent characters ever. My sister-in-law loves the show and thinks they (the characters) are hilarious, but the voices alone are like nails on a blackboard to me. I \*hate \* that show. Which is a real disappointment, as I quite like the actors and actresses in it and I know they’re capable of much better. ---
**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 18, 2005, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/64 "2005-01-18T05:22:39Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > 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. > > 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. What’s wrong with Dale? I just love conspiracy nuts. OH, and I don’t believe Peggy sabotaged Hank in the shop class episode. She just refused to support him. No, he got in trouble because his class was fixing up broken items around the school (sanding off grafitti, repairing broken locks, etc), and Bobby got in trouble for having a saw blade on his tool belt. ---
**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, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/65 "2005-01-18T05:48:00Z")
His extremism. Played quirky and not as out there, he’d be a funny character a la Kramer from \*Seinfeld \*but as is, I can’t stand him. ---
**Author:** ![Flipstrip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f6c823/32.png) [@Flipstrip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipstrip)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/66 "2005-01-18T06:18:36Z")
Another vote for Peggy Hill from “King of the Hill”. She wasn’t so bad in the first season or so, and she’s had her vulnerable moments. Like when she entered the beauty contest, only to find that her standards of attractiveness weren’t the same as theirs, and her only prayer was to completely overhaul herself 'till she was nearly unrecognizable (and even then she might not win). Or when she was leading Strickland Propane’s softball team to a winning season and turned out to truly be better at softball (both playing and coaching) than Hank, which led to conflict in their relationship (especially since he NEVER bothered to come see any of her games for her previous softball teams). You get the idea. She wasn’t always this “I’m always right, the smartest, most attractive, and best person for the job, no matter what that job might be” person. The writers took the easy way out with her and focused on her bravado to get a cheap laugh, or to just get her out of the way so they could go back to writing for Hank and Bobby or Hank, Dale, Bill, and Boomhauer. So instead of being mildly irritating but amusing, she’s now completely and utterly annoying and cringeworthy. I find Mr. Strickland or Cotton Hill to be a lot more unlikeable. But this thread is about characters we’re supposed to like or find funny, and quite honestly I don’t think those characters are supposed to be likeable at all. ---
**Author:** ![Flipstrip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f6c823/32.png) [@Flipstrip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipstrip)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/67 "2005-01-18T06:24:10Z")
Actually this thread IS about supposedly comic characters that are just too evil to like. :smack: So Cotton and Mr. Strickland from “King of the Hill” WOULD qualify. And I’m a :wally for not reading more carefully. ---
**Author:** ![Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3ab097/32.png) [@Khan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/68 "2005-01-18T07:28:04Z")
I hate the cast of King of the Hill too. Peggy and Dale are the worst, followed by Khan, Luanne, and Bill. Specific examples aren’t coming to mind right now, but the ease with which they all turn on each other isn’t funny, but depressing. I also really, REALLY used to hate Bender from Futurama. He’s begun to grow on me now, but… …that episode where he throws Fry’s fossilized dog into the lava really, REALLY pissed me off. :mad: And like Bender, I didn’t warm up to the rest of the cast much either until recently, except Fry. A large part of why I didn’t like the show is that it seemed to exist solely to victimize him for much of the first season, so he had my sympathy. As for current sitcoms, I find myself hard-pressed to find one within the last ten years that didn’t have characters I hated. Friends, Frasier, Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond… misfortune and misanthropy might be what’s funny in the mainstream, but I almost never turn on the networks any more because of it except for syndicated stuff like the Simpsons and Malcolm (the family itself doesn’t piss me off so much as does the way their community treats them). Speaking of sympathy, my very soul aches for the sake of Jason Bateman’s character in Arrested Development as well his son and niece. How the hell do they put up with that shit? Anyone remember Larry Appleton on Perfect Strangers? Now there was one class A prick. An opportunistic, heartless bastard that was almost wholely inept on top of that. …damn, I hate everybody. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/69 "2005-01-18T07:51:25Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > The Family Guy > Other than Stewie, Brian the dog and I guess the mom who’s harmless, I hate the characters. Peter is basicaly a moronic, psychotic version of Homer Simpson but without his charm. He fucks up shit for his family and in the last 5 minutes everything is somehow ok. You couldn’t be more right. I actually avoid Family Guy reruns these days; I think it’s aged poorly because you can’t care about the characters. There’s no depth. Great example of exactly what you’re talking about: at the end of the pilot, Lois convinces Peter to give back the welfare money and says the man she married wouldn’t do something like this. She’s wrong! It’s exactly the kind of thing he’d do. And if you really need proof, it’s exactly the kind of thing he would do because _he does it again in another episode_: he gets reparation money from Lois’ father and spends it on himself instead of sharing it. He even makes up for the two things in the exact same way. 😛 Now that I think about it, this is really horrible writing. > [@Beware of Doug](#): > > 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. Okay, I’m thinking of M_A_S_H_. Now what? 😉 > [@Khan](#): > > I also really, REALLY used to hate Bender from Futurama. He’s begun to grow on me now, but… > > …that episode where he throws Fry’s fossilized dog into the lava really, REALLY pissed me off. :mad: Yeah, in one or two episodes - the other that comes to mind is _A Pharaoh to Remember_ - he’s just awful. When they missed with him, it really stuck out. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/70 "2005-01-18T08:03:43Z")
Yes, Jerry Mouse and Speedy. The thieves. And Peggy Hill too. I’ll also add Jack Nicholson’s character in “As Good As It Gets.” Oh did I hate him. Kneecap the son of a bitch. And Tornado Shanks from Sealab 2021. Totally ruined the show. They should have buried it with Goz. And Brainy fucking Smurf. ---
**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 18, 2005, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/71 "2005-01-18T08:12:25Z")
> [@Beware of Doug](#): > > 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_. I wouldn’t include Steve Martin’s sadistic dentist from _Little Shop of Horrors_ not only because he was just redoing the character from the original 1960 movie but also because the character was so absurdly over-the-top (especially in the scene with Bill Murray as the masochistic patient) that there was no way anyone could take him even the slightest bit seriously. As for Andy Kaufman, his bits were not so much examples of black humor as they were conceptional pieces about blurring the border between what’s part of the show and what’s real. (Kaufman was really probably more of a performance artist rather than a comedian.) Now, you did hit the nail on the head with O’Donoghue (although I do think that while he was likely a grade-A asshole who you wouldn’t want to be around for more then ten minutes, he was funnier than you give him credit for). But, in his defense, he was a product of his times. In terms of mean-spiritedness, you may think things are bad now but there was a _lot_ more acrimony going around in the 60’s and 70’s and that was reflected in the cold-blooded nastiness of the humor. Oddly enough, perhaps the most notable recent practitioner of this type of humor today is Eminem. Unfortunately, he undercuts his effectiveness because he’s a dumbass who’s so thin-skinned that he can’t handle it when somebody else (e.g., Triumph the Insult Comic Dog) starts ragging on him. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/72 "2005-01-18T08:25:18Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Kaufman was really probably more of a performance artist rather than a comedian. I agree completely. The fact that his stuff wasn’t funny ought to prove that’s not what he was going for. ---
**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, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/73 "2005-01-18T12:06:07Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Don’t worry, I’m sure John Jameson will get some revenge in Spider-Man 3. In the comics, he later became the villain Man-Wolf, but a lot of speculation says that he may become Venom, one of Spider-Man’s arch-enemies, in the third movie. I really hope venom is not in 3. He’ an okay enough comic villain, but in the flick he would be a pure CGI character, and I think real, mechanical/physical characters work best in the spidey movie-verse. CGI characters just aren’t good enough for feature roles yet (YOU HEAR ME LUCAS??!! ) Man-wolf was just a lame character in a super groovy “containment suit” and a swell necklace. ---
**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 18, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/74 "2005-01-18T17:21:50Z")
> [@Khan](#): > > Anyone remember Larry Appleton on Perfect Strangers? Now there was one class A prick. An opportunistic, heartless bastard that was almost wholely inept on top of that. > > …damn, I hate everybody. :eek: I was thinking of him last night before I went to bed. I NEVER understood what Jennifer ever saw in him. She was this beautiful woman (in an overdone 80’s kind of way, but still), smart, successful, and what the hell did she want with this completely unattractive, greedy, selfish, whiny little troll? Carole on _Growing Pains_ always made me wince. She wasn’t so bad in the first years, as the former nerd who can’t believe that she’s attractive, but they never let her character mature. She stayed the same self-righteous yet insecure know-it-all who always ended up dating perfect losers. (Dwight? AAAHHH!!!) And when she DID find someone (Matthew Perry pre-_Friends_), he dies. Same with David on _Roseanne_. Classic doormat. Remember the next time we have the “Nice Guy” threads-he’s the one we’re talking about. He’s like an overly-inbred puppy that after you kick him he keeps coming back for more. He’s whiny and smothering and insecure. But let’s not forget the ultimate most hateful character: **Urkel**!!! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/75 "2005-01-18T19:19:54Z")
I want to second or third Peter from Family Guy. He’s a complete sociopath, utterly free of charm, humor, class, or any other redeeming qualities. I know the show is supposed to be a parody of the man-child husband and his long-suffering, gentle-humored wife combo that is so popular in sitcoms, but he’s just so… maddeningly so. It’s just not funny. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/76 "2005-01-18T19:48:24Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > 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. But they do. Remember the episode where Stan’s girl has erotic dreams of him? When she is over him at the end he is honestly crushed. ---
**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 18, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/77 "2005-01-18T19:57:23Z")
The one who annoys me the most is not so much evil as incompetant: the Mayor from _Spin City_. He is a man so unqualified for his job I’m constantly surprised the few non-idiot characters on the show still support him. I don’t know - maybe I love New York too much, but the thought of such a buffoon running the city pisses me off so much that I can’t find it funny. If the show was satiric, or the humor was blacker maybe I could accept him. But I think we, the viewers, were actually supposed to like him. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/78 "2005-01-18T20:16:47Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The one who annoys me the most is not so much evil as incompetant: the Mayor from _Spin City_. To be fair, the Mayor didn’t start acting stupid until the last season Michael J. Fox was on the show and didn’t turn into a blithering idiot until the start of the Charlie Sheen era. You’d be amazed how smart he was in the first few years. ---
**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 19, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/79 "2005-01-19T02:02:34Z")
> [@sleeepy2](#): > > I really hope venom is not in 3. He’ an okay enough comic villain, but in the flick he would be a pure CGI character, and I think real, mechanical/physical characters work best in the spidey movie-verse. CGI characters just aren’t good enough for feature roles yet (YOU HEAR ME LUCAS??!! ) Eh? Gollum? “Sonny” the robot? Buzz Lightyear? Shrek? > [@flight](#): > > But they do. Remember the episode where Stan’s girl has erotic dreams of him? When she is over him at the end he is honestly crushed. And Token gave him a well-deserved beating, once. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155/80 "2005-01-19T04:23:45Z")
Well, all mine have already been named, even Tweety Bird and Scrappy-Doo! And the cast of “Seinfeld.” And, I guess, Ali G – I get the feeling that the show might be funny in there, but watching it just makes me too uncomfortable; it’s like scratching a chalkboard with my metal fillings. So I can only add this hijack: > [@Sampiro](#): > > Well in the show’s defense they have to do _something_ to occupy 24 minutes, since clearly they can’t (God & Zell Miller forbid) let Will or Jack actually _kiss_ another guy [unless it’s for laughs] and therefore an accurate depiction of a gay relationship just isn’t an option (unless it’s with _Special Guest Star Michael Douglas!_ and begins and ends in that episode). Well, I don’t see how that’s a defense. If you’re not allowed to show a realistic gay relationship, then _don’t make your whole damn show about homos_. (I know you went on to say you don’t like the show, **Sampiro** , but I’m on a roll here). I hate, _hate_, _ **hate** _ “Will & Grace.” Same for “Queer as Folk” (at least the American version; don’t know if the UK version’s any better). I hate their gross perpetuation of stereotypes. I hate that they’re lauded for being daring and increasing awareness and showing stuff that _needs_ to be seen, when they’re actually just trotting out the same old self-indulgent crap. I hate that people give them a pass because they’re afraid of coming across as homophobic. I hate that there are probably people still in the closet who look at them and think, “I’m not like that at all, so there must be something else wrong with me.” I hate that they can’t go for 5 minutes without talking about leather daddies and chaps or showing topless guys in cut-off shorts and cowboy hats dancing to club music. I don’t see why it’s so great that they have gay characters; I’d prefer they just get that shit off the air and leave TV 100% hetero until they can come up with something that gets it right. And I hate it that “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” is actually the most positive of the lot of 'em, because it acknowledges that it’s all just goofy stereotypes and advertising and then plays to that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supposedly-comic-characters-too-evil-to-like/285155.md?page=5)