# Terrible characters from great shows.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 26, 2020, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614 "2020-04-26T14:49:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/21 "2020-04-27T06:05:23Z")
> [@chizzuk](#):
>
> Abby on NCIS. Annoying, emotionally immature, no character development whatsoever over 15 seasons. Every other character changed and matured, she was the same emo high schoolish caricature. I couldn’t believe it when I learned Pauley Perette was like a full decade older than Sean Murray and Brian Dietzen. At some point, nearing 50 years old and playing someone who acts and dresses like a rebellious 16-year-old is just embarrassing. I don’t know how they managed to give everybody else some kind of depth but not her.
Yeah, she was bearable about the first 4 years. After that I cringed.
And let’s not forget Scrappy-Doo.
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### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/22 "2020-04-27T06:28:39Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#):
>
> Voyager had a lot of other flaws, but also some very good aspects - it could be argued to be great.
>
> Neelix ruined every episode he was in. The worst thing was, we were supposed to like him and think he was a wonderful, kind person. Even with all his “Mr Vulcan” stuff.
>
> And the one time I went to a Star Trek con we were given a free autographed photo in our goody bags. Guess whose it was?
Nelix had his moments though.
Q jr, sews Nelix’s mouth shut. Something the whole crew has probably been wanting to do sinnce day ! Later on Q jr loses his powers and Nelix does NOT waste this opportunity to amp up everything that is abrasive about his personality just to fuck with Q jr.
My submission: Pedo guy from Family Guy.
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/23 "2020-04-27T12:45:09Z")
I never cared much for Det. Fontana (Dennis Farina) on _Law & Order_.
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### Author:  [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/24 "2020-04-27T13:55:36Z")
> [@Grrr](#):
>
> My submission: Pedo guy from Family Guy.
Came in here to say that. Herbert is his name. :dubious:
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### Author:  [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/25 "2020-04-27T14:44:38Z")
I asked my quarantined mother (mid-90’s) what she’d been watching. She listed some classic shows, ending with “And I still love the Dick Van Dyke show!” Then she added (and I knew she would, so recited the words along with her) “Except for that Richie.” She launched into her usual rant as to WHY would they cast such a wooden kid, he clearly can’t act, the rest of the cast is SO good, and they obviously could’ve afforded a professional…"
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### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/26 "2020-04-27T14:48:07Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#):
>
> A follow-up to my “Terrible episodes of great shows” thread.
>
> Even great shows can have characters that bring the rest of the show down, whether it’s because of the character’s actions, the character’s actor/actress, or the character is just plain annoying. Who are some such characters?
Are we talking about unlikeable characters, but who were GOOD in the sense of were well acted, advanced the plot, etc… like Janice Soprano, or are we talking about poorly written/conceived characters who were generally incongruent and didn’t really add much like say… Neelix on “ST:Voyager”, or Seven on “Married with Children”?
I kind of agree about Abby on NCIS, mostly because she was a one-note character. I mean at first, she was kind of interesting and AFAIK was the originator of the “quirky technical wonk in the basement” character, but they never changed it. Which is peculiar, as EVERY other character on the show, including recurring guests like Fornell get more character development and have changed over the course of their tenure on the show. But first season Abby and last season Abby aren’t much different, unlike say… first season McGee and and current McGee.
While I’m on the CBS series subject, I think Captain Lindell on SEAL Team is a great example of the former- he’s well acted, and not even necessarily a villain. He’s realistic, and doing his job like he’s supposed to. But to Hayes, he’s a primary antagonist, because he represents fundamental change and a threat to the only lifestyle/calling/career he knows (being a tier-1 operator). So good character in a dramatic sense, but definitely an antagonist and a little unlikable from the viewer’s perspective, assuming the viewer is sympathetic to Hayes.
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### Author:  [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/27 "2020-04-27T15:02:53Z")
For me it would be Cliff on Cheers. He is mildly annoying. But it is rare when he adds anything to the show. (maybe I’m a minority on this)
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### Author:  [@Allecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Allecher)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/28 "2020-04-27T19:40:01Z")
> [@bibliophage](#):
>
> I loved Star Trek: The Next Generation, despite it featuring three hyper-annoying characters: Deanna Troi, Wesley Crusher, and Q.
You somehow misspelled Tasha Yar. 😃
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### Author:  [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/29 "2020-04-27T20:03:58Z")
> [@bump](#):
>
> Are we talking about unlikeable characters, but who were GOOD in the sense of were well acted, advanced the plot, etc… like Janice Soprano, or are we talking about poorly written/conceived characters who were generally incongruent and didn’t really add much like say… Neelix on “ST:Voyager”, or Seven on “Married with Children”?
>
> I kind of agree about Abby on NCIS, mostly because she was a one-note character. I mean at first, she was kind of interesting and AFAIK was the originator of the “quirky technical wonk in the basement” character, but they never changed it. Which is peculiar, as EVERY other character on the show, including recurring guests like Fornell get more character development and have changed over the course of their tenure on the show. But first season Abby and last season Abby aren’t much different, unlike say… first season McGee and and current McGee.
>
> While I’m on the CBS series subject, I think Captain Lindell on SEAL Team is a great example of the former- he’s well acted, and not even necessarily a villain. He’s realistic, and doing his job like he’s supposed to. But to Hayes, he’s a primary antagonist, because he represents fundamental change and a threat to the only lifestyle/calling/career he knows (being a tier-1 operator). So good character in a dramatic sense, but definitely an antagonist and a little unlikable from the viewer’s perspective, assuming the viewer is sympathetic to Hayes.
This was exactly what made me so irritated with Abby. She was completely one-dimensional, for 15 years. Nobody is that static. Every other character who had been there that long changed a LOT over that span. Palmer was a bit part and and is now a central character. McGee went from baby-faced probationary agent to seasoned senior. The writing for Abby was terrible and flat and totally out of step with every other character. The new forensic scientist, Kasie (who I like), has already developed more in 2 seasons than Abby ever did. Was it lack of acting range or what? NCIS is naturally somewhat formulaic but most of the actors were able to rise to whatever the writers gave them (or fairly explode out of it, in Michael Weatherly’s case). But they barely tried with Abby. And eventually the character just becomes pointless and obnoxious in its refusal to change.
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### Author:  [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/30 "2020-04-27T20:22:22Z")
Elliot Stabler on Law & Order SVU. How he managed to stay on the force without being brought up on charges of brutality constantly amazed me. I remember at least one show where a suspect was brought in on pedophile charges and Stabler tried to beat a confession out of him. It turned out that the guy was totally innocent, but apparently the mere suspicion was enough to justify Stabler’s actions.
Oddly enough, I loved Chris Meloni in Happy!
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### Author:  [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/31 "2020-04-27T20:32:23Z")
When I was a kid it was Cousin Oliver on The Brady Bunch.
What? I liked that show! Don’t judge me.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/32 "2020-04-27T20:44:01Z")
> [@digs](#):
>
> I asked my quarantined mother (mid-90’s) what she’d been watching. She listed some classic shows, ending with “And I still love the Dick Van Dyke show!” Then she added (and I knew she would, so recited the words along with her) “Except for that Richie.” She launched into her usual rant as to WHY would they cast such a wooden kid, he clearly can’t act, the rest of the cast is SO good, and they obviously could’ve afforded a professional…"
Your mother is SO right! Except for that annoying kid, the DVD Show had a stellar cast. Did someone owe his real-life parents a favor or something.
And then there were the kids on _Everybody Loves Raymond._
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### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/33 "2020-04-27T20:48:41Z")
> [@chizzuk](#):
>
> NCIS is naturally somewhat formulaic but most of the actors were able to rise to whatever the writers gave them (or fairly explode out of it, in Michael Weatherly’s case). But they barely tried with Abby. And eventually the character just becomes pointless and obnoxious in its refusal to change.
The truly weird part is that they had all sorts of opportunity- they could have leveraged the Gibbs/Abby surrogate father/daughter relationship, they could have gone down a path of having her grow up a bit and/or tone down the weirdness, or even gone down a rabbit hole of showing just HOW unusual she really was, and why. Or even go so far as to show the impact of dealing with all that forensics stuff on her- maybe have her fail spectacularly or something and see how she and everyone else deals with it.
But they didn’t. She was essentially static- I mean, they introduced a long-lost brother and a park ranger boyfriend, but that’s about it over all that time.
I kind of wonder if Perrette is/was hard to deal with in some fashion, so the writers and producers just kept her at arms length since she was reasonably popular otherwise.
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### Author:  [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/34 "2020-04-27T20:56:45Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#):
>
> Nobody has mentioned the young cousin from Brady Bunch?
> [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](#):
>
> When I was a kid it was Cousin Oliver on The Brady Bunch.
> What? I liked that show! Don’t judge me.
🆒
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### Author:  [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/35 "2020-04-27T21:00:18Z")
For a show with a lot of complex interesting characters I thought Walter Jr. on Breaking Bad was a combination of poorly written and not that great of acting.
I appreciated having a character with a disability but outside of that he didn’t serve much purpose besides being someone they were trying to keep a secret from and then over reacting when he found out. They never really used him for much else.
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/36 "2020-04-27T21:03:46Z")
> [@Hampshire](#):
>
> For a show with a lot of complex interesting characters I thought Walter Jr. on Breaking Bad was a combination of poorly written and not that great of acting.
> I appreciated having a character with a disability but outside of that he didn’t serve much purpose besides being someone they were trying to keep a secret from and then over reacting when he found out. They never really used him for much else.
\*\*Great Shows? \*\*
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### Author:  [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/37 "2020-04-27T21:16:36Z")
Helen Crump. What a sourpuss.
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### Author:  [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/38 "2020-04-27T22:54:52Z")
I have to admit I liked Q when I watched _Star Trek: TNG_ when it originally ran. But I was also in middle school at the time. I haven’t re-watched those episodes as an adult, so I don’t know how I’d feel about him now.
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### Author:  [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/39 "2020-04-27T23:03:09Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#):
>
> Nobody has mentioned the young cousin from Brady Bunch?
If we can name Cousin Oliver, then I’ll add Ricky from The Partridge Family.
Supposedly, the child of the next-door neighbor, four-year-old Ricky was brought in, in the final season. Unlike Cousin Oliver, Ricky contributed nothing to an episode’s plot (okay, in fairness, he did in the episode where his family moved in next door). Yet somehow, towards the end of an episode, Ricky would find an excuse to visit the Partridges, and insist on singing a children’s song. The kid’s speaking voice sounded like fingernails on a blackboard; you can imagine what his singing voice sounded like.
He did maybe ten episodes. I don’t know what kind of complaints the producers were receiving, but there must have been a lot of them, because suddenly Ricky disappeared, and the family never spoke of him again.
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### Author:  [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)
#### Post date: [April 27, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/40 "2020-04-27T23:24:46Z")
> [@panache45](#):
>
> And then there were the kids on _Everybody Loves Raymond._
It’s not about the kids. 😛
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