# 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:** 4
### Author:  [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2020, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/61 "2020-04-29T05:07:46Z")
Lisa Simpson as the moral touchstone/voice of reason/(mostly) sane foil/whatever…
Nah…meh… whatevs.
While Jeffrey Tambor was absolutely perfect as Hank Kingsley, the role was kind of a shleppy bummer to watch in _Larry Sanders_.
I get it that Smith in _Lost in Space_ was supposed to be a sort of antagonist to give the series motivation for conflict, but he still needed to get tuned up, really badly.
Every episode.
The chimp in _Me and the Chimp_. Didn’t really do shit. Except that, basically. Ted Bessel, off-camera, was apparently super-pissed.
Not a fantastic, earth-shaking “televisual feast”\*, but The Andy Griffith Show had two characters who really required the now-iconic, swooping, over-sized mallet bonk: the character played by Don Knotts (possibly because it was Don Knotts) (ok ok I have a _Love God_ soft spot), and the Floyd the barber character.
Cousin Itt - a hirsuite Hamburglar
_SNL_’s “Makin’ cop-ies!” dude
\*If you get that reference, this makes you ineffably cool.
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### Author:  [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2020, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/62 "2020-04-29T05:09:01Z")
double post - this wonky time-out stuff.
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### Author:  [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2020, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/63 "2020-04-29T12:52:35Z")
“Not a fantastic, earth-shaking “televisual feast”\*, but The Andy Griffith Show had two characters who really required the now-iconic, swooping, over-sized mallet bonk: the character played by Don Knotts (possibly because it was Don Knotts) (ok ok I have a _Love God_ soft spot), and the Floyd the barber character.”
**Oiy!. Nip it in the bud! Who doesn’t love Barney Fife?**
“Cousin Itt - a hirsuite Hamburglar”
**Did Cousin Itt come first? Wouldn’t that make Hamburglar a bald Cousin Itt?😛**
“_SNL_’s “Makin’ cop-ies!” dude”
**"Sting! Stiiiiiiing! Sting - a - Ling!"**
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### Author:  [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2020, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/64 "2020-04-29T14:26:39Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#):
>
> “Cousin Itt - a hirsuite Hamburglar”
Possibly the goofiest research I’ve ever undertaken - looks like [Cousin Itt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin_Itt) has [The Hamburglar](https://mcdonalds.fandom.com/wiki/Hamburglar) beat by seven years.
I like my spelling of hirsuite - musta had something horrible like Niel Simon’s “California Suite” on my mind or something.
Snufflauppagus - “Well, biiirrrrrrrrd…”
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### Author:  [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2020, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/65 "2020-04-29T15:12:35Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#):
>
> Debra Morgan, Dexter’s sister in Dexter.
> Seriously, what did she add? She wasn’t particularly good at her job, she was unable to sense anything odd from two serial killers she was very close to, her former fianceé and her own brother, and mostly she ended up as damsel in distress at the end of a couple of seasons.
I thought she was a good foil to Dexter. Same family but a very different person, showing it was the early childhood trauma which made Dexter turn out the way he did. Also, she was easy on the eyes.
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### Author:  [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/66 "2020-04-29T17:22:15Z")
I’m quarantine binging _Deadwood_, and halfway through the 1st season, Calamity Jane’s really annoying me.
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### Author:  [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/67 "2020-04-29T18:57:59Z")
> [@LLCoolL](#):
>
> Excellent example.
>
> Having said that, Omar was pretty much a comic book character as well - with his ability to wander around in the same neighborhoods where he was ripping off major drug dealers, yet they could never find him to retaliate. But Omar is almost universally loved by fans of the show.
True, but Omar was based on a real person who’s antics they actually had to tone down for the show because they were actually too unrealistic.
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### Author:  [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2020, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/68 "2020-04-29T20:14:48Z")
> [@bibliophage](#):
>
> I loved Star Trek: The Next Generation, despite it featuring three hyper-annoying characters: Deanna Troi, Wesley Crusher, and Q.
Deanna Troi had two redeeming features: 1. Her lovely figure. 2. The uniforms that made the most of that lovely figure. Otherwise, she was an annoying drag. I thought of her as their HR specialist. Gak! The only thing in Wesley’s favor was that he, eventually, went off to the Academy and only came back to soil the movies. I never had a gripe with Q as a character.
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### Author:  [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2020, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/69 "2020-04-29T23:26:29Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#):
>
> "Not a fantastic, earth-shaking “televisual feast”\*, but The Andy Griffith Show had two characters who really required the now-iconic, swooping, over-sized mallet bonk: the character played by Don Knotts (possibly because it was Don Knotts) (ok ok I have a \*Love God]
:
:eek:😕:rolleyes::eek: Don Knotts won 5 Emmys playing Barney Fife and is one of the most beloved comic characters on any tv show.
Congratulations! You join the ranks of those people who dislike that Star Wars stuff because, too much outer-space illiness!
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### Author:  [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)
#### Post date: [April 29, 2020, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/70 "2020-04-29T23:48:19Z")
> [@salinqmind](#):
>
> :
>
> :eek:😕:rolleyes::eek: Don Knotts won 5 Emmys playing Barney Fife and is one of the most beloved comic characters on any tv show.
>
> Congratulations! You join the ranks of those people who dislike that Star Wars stuff because, too much outer-space illiness!
She has every right not to appreciate the comedic talents of Don Knotts. We all have different tastes. How many people dislike Seinfeld or Friends Or MASH or All in the Family? She wasnt criticizing the genre but the specific actor/character.
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### Author:  [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/71 "2020-04-30T00:05:01Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#):
>
> I never cared much for Det. Fontana (Dennis Farina) on _Law & Order_.
Speaking of Law & Order I always found assistant district attorney Serena Southerlyn (played by Elisabeth Röhm) to be annoying. (And no, it’s not because she’s a lesbian.)
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### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2020, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/72 "2020-04-30T00:39:32Z")
> [@salinqmind](#):
>
> :
>
> :eek:😕:rolleyes::eek: Don Knotts won 5 Emmys playing Barney Fife and is one of the most beloved comic characters on any tv show.
>
> Congratulations! You join the ranks of those people who dislike that Star Wars stuff because, too much outer-space illiness!
I recently did a rewatch of The Andy Griffith Show. I’ve always liked Don. And had fond memories of Barney Fife.
But dude, let me tell ya’. His character has NOT aged well. Rewatching the series I’m reminded he cheats, he’s possessive, and manipulative WRT Thelma Lou.
And he’s a compulsive liar.
Fife is a straight up asshole.
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2020, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/73 "2020-04-30T01:55:23Z")
> [@dorvann](#):
>
> Speaking of Law & Order I always found assistant district attorney Serena Southerlyn (played by Elisabeth Röhm) to be annoying. (And no, it’s not because she’s a lesbian.)
I have a theory that the producers made Serena a lesbian on the way out the door because it gave her character some depth. Otherwise she would have been just “you’re a bad ADA. You’re fired.”
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### Author:  [@wanderer2575](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wanderer2575)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2020, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/74 "2020-04-30T02:00:47Z")
Lwaxana Troi on any episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation or Deep Space Nine.
Damaris Phillips or Katie Lee appearing on any Food Network competition episode.
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### Author:  [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2020, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/75 "2020-04-30T05:21:26Z")
Max Louis, the character Jon Lovitz played in the fifth season of _NewsRadio_, was a real turd in the punch bowl. Admittedly, it was a difficult situation Lovitz was stepping into. Not only was he trying to replace a comic legend like Phil Hartman, but his mere presence was a constant reminder of Hartman’s tragic murder. But I just didn’t like the character at all.
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### Author:  [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2020, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/76 "2020-04-30T08:40:00Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#):
>
> I never cared much for Det. Fontana (Dennis Farina) on _Law & Order_.
I blotted those two seasons out of my memory so thoroughly that I had to check to see if you were really talking about him on some other series!
> [@Kent\_Clark](#):
>
> I have a theory that the producers made Serena a lesbian on the way out the door because it gave her character some depth. Otherwise she would have been just “you’re a bad ADA. You’re fired.”
My understanding is, they asked her to improvise her parting line so Fred Thompson would have to improvise his response.
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### Author:  [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2020, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/77 "2020-04-30T09:00:37Z")
> [@Superdude](#):
>
> I’m quarantine binging _Deadwood_, and halfway through the 1st season, Calamity Jane’s really annoying me.
Alma’s the one who really gets to me. It’s the supercilious judgey vibe that constantly emanates from her.
Also, that kid. Specifically, the way she sits there like a lump whose only purpose seems to be to get her hair brushed and smile politely . Real kids _play_
Another contender - Stark from _Farscape_. I’m not quite sure what it was about him … a touch of melodrama, perhaps. I was mega-pissed when they decided to make him one of the long list of revolving-door brought back from beyond the grave characters, but allowed Zhaan to stay dead :mad:
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### Author:  [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2020, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/78 "2020-04-30T10:46:57Z")
> [@jaycat](#):
>
> Helen Crump. What a sourpuss.
Andy should have stuck with Ellie Walker—much cuter and upbeat than Crump the Frump. Better still, Andy should have got hitched to Charlene Darling (yowza!), but I s’pose he was scared Ernest T. Bass would busta cap in ‘iz ass.
Speaking of annoying characters, Howard Sprague and Clara Edwards tied for longest stick up their ass. Had Howard played _hide the pickle_ with Clara (not one of Aunt Bee’s prize homemade pickles), their love-child would be Harold “_Champ_” Baxter.
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### Author:  [@Mrs\_Fairway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Fairway)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2020, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/79 "2020-04-30T11:33:09Z")
Andy Bernard on The Office. He was tolerable in the beginning because he didn’t get that much screen time. When Michael Scott left and Andy’s role expanded, it dragged the show down. I can’t stand that guy.
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### Author:  [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2020, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrible-characters-from-great-shows/852614/80 "2020-04-30T12:02:06Z")
> [@Tibby](#):
>
> Andy should have stuck with Ellie Walker—much cuter and upbeat than Crump the Frump. Better still, Andy should have got hitched to Charlene Darling (yowza!), but I s’pose he was scared Ernest T. Bass would busta cap in ‘iz ass.
>
> Speaking of annoying characters, Howard Sprague and Clara Edwards tied for longest stick up their ass. Had Howard played _hide the pickle_ with Clara (not one of Aunt Bee’s prize homemade pickles), their love-child would be Harold “_Champ_” Baxter.
Aunt Bee is too old for Howard. Besides, despite appearances, I still think she was getting busy with the butter-and-egg man.
mmm
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