# TV characters whose personalities drastically changed during series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2008, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473 "2008-12-03T06:16:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/121 "2008-12-09T00:26:37Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > The best one mentioned so far, I think, is Mark from \*\*Roseanne \*\*-- not because he got dumber (he did, but it wasn’t a qualitative change), but because he started out as an evil biker scumbag and turned into a dim but devoted husband and a hard worker. I thought Mark was always a hard worker. I remember Dan said so after he and Becky broke-up, and Becky wanted her dad to fire him. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2008, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/122 "2008-12-09T06:14:55Z")
> [@Liche](#): > > Agreed re: Ross. You can date a random Friends episode simply by watching Ross for five seconds. If he is a plausible human being, it’s season 5 or before. This corresponds pretty closely with the entire show becoming but a pale shadow of its former glory. Other _Friends_ morphs: [ul] [li]Joey goes from being a total Italian womanizer with no morals to, well, just the same but with no brains but a huge heart. Dumb but sweet.[/li][li]Monica goes from being the Mom of the Group to be Neurotic Obsessive-Compulsive Clean Freak.[/li][/ul] ---
**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:** [December 9, 2008, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/123 "2008-12-09T15:45:00Z")
Here’s on I hadn’t thought of for awhile: Peter White on _St. Elsewhere_. He started out as Jack Morrison’s best friend, but a not-too-competent doctor. The next thing you know, his wife kicks him out of the house and he becomes a rapist. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/124 "2008-12-09T16:07:27Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Didn’t Milhouse go from being “Bart’s friend” to “Bart’s somewhat odd friend” to “Bart’s very confused, if not actually an eventual closeted homosexual friend”? Nah, Milhouse was always Bart’s weird friend. But he has morphed into an eventually closted homosexual that is, at the same time, destined to have a weird sexual relationship with Lisa sometime in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/125 "2009-04-08T13:39:19Z")
I think the changes in Dexter and Swearengen were both completely intentional from the outset, kinda the point, although different in this respect: with Dexter, we’re watching him get in touch with the humanity that actually resides inside of him and his experiences are actually shepherding him through that. (One of the core problems I have with Dexter is the supposed explanation for why he is the way he is; it doesn’t jibe with anything I’ve ever read about real murderers of his ilk, those who are compelled. But if you buy that premise to begin with, it’s easier to buy that a normal human is buried in there.) With Al, I think the point was to show that he was that guy all along, but that, as with many people who are superficially icky, you couldn’t see it at first. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/126 "2009-04-08T13:56:22Z")
Al isn’t just superficially icky. He actually is a murdering scumbag. He just happens to be a complicated murdering scumbag. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/127 "2009-04-08T16:26:01Z")
> [@Thalion](#): > > Even worse was Sheriff Lobo (from _BJ and the Bear_). He was introduced in a two-hour movie (I think there were a couple of them before _BJ_ became a series) as a Sheriff who arrested women and forced them into white slavery. BJ was hired to get the women out of the county in his truck, and Lobo did everything he could to kill him. BJ won, of course, because he had a chimp on his side. > > When they spun Lobo off into his own series, he was suddenly a heroic, fish-out-water Lawman (sort of like a comic version of _McCloud_). > > Now, anyone who actually knows what I’m talking about has an idea how freaking old I am! Hey, those were two of my favorite shows when I was a kid! Geezers of the world, unite! ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/128 "2009-04-08T21:47:37Z")
In the original Firefly premiere “Serenity” (as opposed to the movie, _Serenity_), Shepherd Book was _gasp_ a paying customer. Not sure if/when that changed. Part of what drove Sipowicz’s transformation was the changing of the cast. First the redheaded lead, then Jimmy Smits. Couple that with the ongoing events in Sipowicz’s life, and that drove the transformation to him becoming the lead character of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/129 "2009-04-08T23:06:24Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > In the original Firefly premiere “Serenity” (as opposed to the movie, _Serenity_), Shepherd Book was _gasp_ a paying customer. Not sure if/when that changed. There’s no indication that it ever did. He’s a paying passenger, just like Inara and the Tams - the latter, I could more see Mal putting off the boat despite that fact than Book, because they’re trouble magnets. But that trouble involves messing with the Alliance, and Mal’s got a not very well hidden soft spot, which the crazy girl plays to, so they get to stay, even before the crazy girl turns out to be crazy deadly. Book, on the other hand, not only pays his way, but holds his own when trouble starts, so there’s no reason not to keep him around. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/130 "2009-04-08T23:11:18Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > There’s no indication that it ever did. He’s a paying passenger, just like Inara and the Tams - the latter, I could more see Mal putting off the boat despite that fact than Book, because they’re trouble magnets. But that trouble involves messing with the Alliance, and Mal’s got a not very well hidden soft spot, which the crazy girl plays to, so they get to stay, even before the crazy girl turns out to be crazy deadly. That, and Simon and River get passage because Simon is a doctor. They need that pretty often in their line of work. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tool_of_the_Conspiracy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/131 "2009-04-08T23:18:32Z")
> [@ShelliBean](#): > > Everyone in Married With Children. > > Kelly suffered the Boy Meets World/Roseanne disease where she went from slutty airhead to “surprised she can flush a toilet” level of stupid. > > Peg was a lazy mom that didn’t cook a lot to someone that couldn’t boil water and was actively a bad mother (I can’t think of examples because I haven’t seen the show in years I just remember thinking damn that’s cold to do to the kids). > > Al went from regular pathetic loser to super nasty never washes himself, disgusting guy. > > I think of this show whenever I see a character start to become a caricature of himself, a la Sheldon. This process is known as “flanderization”, after Ned Flanders. One or two aspects of the character are progressively exaggerated, squeezing out any other dimensions that the character used to have. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/132 "2009-04-09T01:10:27Z")
Steve Urkel. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/133 "2009-04-09T03:45:51Z")
In **Lost** , Sawyer seems to flip randomly between goofy lovable rogue and complete sociopath. This is even in the episodes focusing on him… maybe different writers have different ideas? I can’t think of any other good reason. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/134 "2009-04-09T03:53:28Z")
Over the course of the plotline of GI Joe, Cobra Commander turned into a real snake. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/135 "2009-04-09T03:55:53Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > In **Lost** , Sawyer seems to flip randomly between goofy lovable rogue and complete sociopath. This is even in the episodes focusing on him… maybe different writers have different ideas? I can’t think of any other good reason. I’m not exactly a HUGE **Lost** fan, but my guess would be that a lot of females love that he’s a ‘bad boy’, but a “sweatheart if you\* rrrreeaallyy get to know him”\*. Unlike real life, this seems to be the case with Sawyer. Ok, so I have little bias against the character. Women love him!! I mean, I would think that Jack would so obviously be considered more attractive. Even on looks alone. I don’t get it!! Plus I’m pissed how much women like guys like Sawyer instead of me. :mad:😉 ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/136 "2009-04-09T17:20:15Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > The best one mentioned so far, I think, is Mark from \*\*Roseanne \*\*-- not because he got dumber (he did, but it wasn’t a qualitative change), but because he started out as an evil biker scumbag and turned into a dim but devoted husband and a hard worker. Mark on **Roseanne** started out as an evil biker scumbag _teenager_ and turned into a dim but devoted husband _adult_ - which is actually a pretty realistic transformation. IRL, It happened to pretty much all of the metal-head party-hardy dudes that I went to high school with. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/137 "2009-04-09T17:32:59Z")
> [@Kozmik](#): > > Steve Urkel. I was gonna say this but when I saw your post, I thought “How so?” If you’re talking about Stephan, he was meant to be “not Urkel,” via that transformation machine and being treated as a totally different person once converted over. Urkel was always Urkel, even after he and Laura started dating.\* - Which I only just realized recently, along with the fact that Jo-Marie Payton France left the show) because I stopped watching a few seasons before the series went off the air. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/138 "2009-04-09T17:33:26Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > HotLips Houlihan from MASH. She went from being a hostile, type A, officious bitch to being a softer character who had standards but also had a heart. > > Ditto Hawkeye Pierce–he went from drunken gadfly commentator to tortured soul who has Right on his side. I’ve always suspected that the changes in both characters were at least in part the result of the actors wanting to be able to play characters that they could sympathize with more, or were closer to their own personality. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473/139 "2009-04-09T18:24:02Z")
Everyone on the L Word flips characteristics at the drop of a hat. Bette is suddenly a control fream because Tina said she was. Alice suddenly becomes practiaclly a stalker hepped up on pills when she breaks up with Dana. Helena is a rich bitch out to get the gang until she becomes a sweet gal part of the gang. Tina went from being a social worker to a studio exec all of a sudden. And Jenny was supposed to be the gateway character, innocent and sweet from the midwest and introducing us all to the world of the show but she quickly devolved into this horrid crazy _thing_. I haven’t seen this last season yet, I’ll see it on DVD just to see the glory of Dead Jenny. Somehow I think Alice is responsible because she’s the only character on there that I really find likeable (when she’s not freaking out). Plus she’s supposed to spin off into the women in prison series. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-whose-personalities-drastically-changed-during-series/475473.md?page=6)