# What TV character would you HATE having to be around in reality? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126 "2010-06-30T22:10:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/81 "2010-07-02T15:04:49Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Darren Stevens? Sure he’s ridiculously judgmental but aren’t most people? Or maybe you just hate him because he’s married to Samantha? 😛 Endora was entirely right to dump on Durwood. What sort of schmuck marries a beautiful and extraordinarily talented woman, and then insist she not use her talents? She should have walked right out the door and the marriage, turning him into the toad he was on her way out. I’m entirely serious, by the way. I can’t stand watching that show, entirely because of his character. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/82 "2010-07-02T19:07:23Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Endora was entirely right to dump on Durwood. What sort of schmuck marries a beautiful and extraordinarily talented woman, and then insist she not use her talents? She should have walked right out the door and the marriage, turning him into the toad he was on her way out… It get’s even worse when you realize how Samantha kept coming up his ad campaigns and saving the day with the client (granted alot of the time the day needed saving _because_ of her relatives). ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/83 "2010-07-02T19:33:03Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Endora was entirely right to dump on Durwood. What sort of schmuck marries a beautiful and extraordinarily talented woman, and then insist she not use her talents? She should have walked right out the door and the marriage, turning him into the toad he was on her way out. > > I’m entirely serious, by the way. I can’t stand watching that show, entirely because of his character. I can actually deal with Darren not wanting Samantha to use her magic to help him with his career. That’s justifiable; it’s taking pride (in the good sense) in his work and personal integrity. Not using her magic at all, to make HER life easier–or, looked at differently, more _natural_ from her POV–is something else. On the one hand, it’s remarkably sexist, no less so than if insisted that she not work outside the home despite her desire to do so. But on the other hand, she went into the marriage with full knowledge of the situation; he did not. As I recall, the series premieres with their wedding night, and it’s only after they’re Mister and Missus that she tells him she is a witch. That’s sort of underhanded, particularly since there is no real sense in which Darren is a danger to Samantha. Honesty would have required that she tell him before the wedding; hell, I think she has to tell him before saying yes to his proposal. I’ve always seen _Bewitced_ as a light-hearted metaphor for a poor person marrying someone from a rich family and preferring to live and work on ordinariy terms rather than off a trust fund. From Darren’s POV, Sam’s power is like un-earned money. A lot of people are uncomfortable with that. Where Darren goes wrong is the way he treats the in-laws. Not Endora; she almost always starts it. But insisting that Sam’s father (whose name I forget), her uncle, and her cousin restrict themselves because he’s uncomfortable with their powers is like saying that his wife’s rich and beloved relatives can visit, but only if they take a bus to the house because he’s embarrassed by the expensive cars they own. And, of course, Darren was nowhere near good-looking enough for Sam. She could have done better even WITHOUT her powers. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/84 "2010-07-02T19:49:26Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Anyone comes stomping into my house without an invitation is leaving through the goddamned window. [Lenny & Squiggy]Hello.[/Lenny & Squiggy] ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/85 "2010-07-02T20:02:52Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > 56 posts before a mention of Wesley Crusher? He should have been #1 with a _bullet_. I could handle Wesley. Deannna Troi, on the other hand… ‘‘I’m sensing hostility.’’ ‘‘I’m sensing you’re a weak-willed, simpering, sorry excuse for a Starfleet Officer. Go back to your shitty little office and pretend to be helping people.’’ I actually came in here to say _House_. House likes to poke at people’s sore spots and drag out their skeletons for the world to see. I’d be a wreck by the end of the first day. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/86 "2010-07-02T20:06:22Z")
> [@villa](#): > > Detective Holland Wagenbach, aka Dutchboy, from The Shield. God he is an annoying little weasel. I’d hang around with Dutch anyday. He’s cooler than he looks. Imagine the crazy stories he could tell. Vic Mackey on the other hand… He’d either be beating or killing me and if he wasn’t doing that he’d be setting me up to be the fall guy for his latest scheme. All while pretending to be my best buddy. All his actual friends are either dead or in jail. So no thanks on Vic. Nancy Botwin from Weeds is another character that might seem great to be around at first (plus a possibility of hot sex- she sleeps with any man wearing pants on the show) but she is an absolute magnet for tragedy. She doesn’t just burn her bridges, she burns the whole town down. If there ever was a compelling case for “reefer madness” it’s Nancy Botwin. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/87 "2010-07-02T20:11:43Z")
Darren - is it really fair though to judge someone who is behaving normally (is he?) as per the social mores of his time? ---
**Author:** ![BeeDubU2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BeeDubU2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeDubU2)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/88 "2010-07-02T21:05:24Z")
> [@BillDozer74](#): > > Dwight Schrute makes my slapping hand itch. > > Also, Three minutes with Hyacinth Bucket and I’d wind up in a nice white room with padded walls. I came in to call Hyacinth. I have no idea how she kept the entire town from burning her at the stake… ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/89 "2010-07-02T21:31:25Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > The fact that every episode that’s involved sex (which has always been less than vanilla) has involved him doing a speech about how it’s icky to have kinks kind of makes him intolerable. > > (Oh, and Sir Siete - I actually kind of like Rory. A bit of a doofus, but not a bad one.) He was really sweet when Angela came out as bi, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/90 "2010-07-02T23:40:11Z")
Raymond. I _don’t_ love that guy. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/91 "2010-07-03T00:36:46Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > He was really sweet when Angela came out as bi, though. Which is a point in his favour, sure, but not getting all assholish over who someone sleeps with is still not enough to make his (potentially) being a judgmental prick about what they do when they’re in private significantly less obnoxious to me. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/92 "2010-07-05T15:26:04Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > Darren - is it really fair though to judge someone who is behaving normally (is he?) as per the social mores of his time? Yes, because HIS time was MY time. I was only a kid, but even then the world was changing and he should have known better. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/93 "2010-07-05T18:30:15Z")
Kramer, from Seinfeld. I know he isn’t bad or evil. But seriously, he looks like he smells. In particular, those dirty, baggy, too- short old mans pants smell like mothballs and poop. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/94 "2010-07-05T18:34:14Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Kramer, from Seinfeld. I know he isn’t bad or evil. But seriously, he looks like he smells. In particular, those dirty, baggy, too- short old mans pants smell like mothballs and poop. That’s the least of it, I should think. Elaine’s lawyer should’ve used her tolerance of Kramer as proof of her being mentally ill, and thus not responsible for her actions, in the trial in the last episode. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/95 "2010-07-05T19:38:15Z")
Any & all “wacky neighbors”. I’d be on the phone to cops & my lawyers 24/7/365. Or kill them. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/96 "2010-07-05T20:11:47Z")
From sitcoms, Cheers’ Cliff Clavin. Lot’s of people have mentioned Sheldon Cooper. He’s annoying but at least he would mostly keep to himself if you left him alone, and if he did start spouting knowledge it would be real accurate knowledge. Cliff, on the other hand is a know nothing know it all who won’t shut up. From dramas, Breaking Bad’s Tuco Salamanca. He’s homicidal and totally unstable and you would be in constant fear for your life. He’d challenge you on everything and giving the wrong answer could get you killed. And often any answer you give would be the wrong answer. ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/97 "2010-07-05T20:13:24Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Endora was entirely right to dump on Durwood. What sort of schmuck marries a beautiful and extraordinarily talented woman, and then insist she not use her talents? She should have walked right out the door and the marriage, turning him into the toad he was on her way out. > > I’m entirely serious, by the way. I can’t stand watching that show, entirely because of his character. Preach it Brother!😃 Samantha’s character may have been a manipulative product of the times, but Darren was such a wet blanket! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/98 "2010-07-05T21:46:09Z")
Kelly from “The Office.” Michael is the obvious irritating person, but Kelly also has no redeeming qualities, plus she seems quasi-normal at first, then sucks you in to her shallow world of gossip, back-stabbing, cluelessly insulting idiocy. Before you know it you’re best friends with her and the only way to get rid of her is to move and change all your contact info. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/99 "2010-07-06T00:15:32Z")
Definitely George Costanza tops my list. He’s a pitiful, hateful little troll that makes me hate Seinfeld as a series. As for the rest: Ross from _Friends_. Elliot Reid from _Scrubs_. (and JD’s brother, but he mercifully only appears in a few shows) Buddy Sorrell from _The Dick Van Dyke Show_. Too manybad jokes. Elliot Stabler from _Law & Order: Special Victims Unit_. Do I really need to explain this one? Jamie Buchman from _Mad About You_. Not terrible in early seasons, but later became shrill and self absorbed. Dick Solomon from _3rd Rock From The Sun_. A funny character, but come on. In real life? Argh! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-tv-character-would-you-hate-having-to-be-around-in-reality/545126/100 "2010-07-06T00:42:59Z")
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