Of late, I have been subjected to reruns of a show called Burn Notice, about a spy left out in the cold. I have come to find the main character flat and uninteresting, as compared to his henchman, Sam Axe, who has all the personality in the show. It is a bit like Kirk v. Spock in Star Trek, or Shrek v. Donkey.
Now, I know of stories told from the perspective of incidental characters – Star Wars: a New Hope / Hidden Fortress and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but those are deliberate efforts to shift the focus away from the protagonists, which is not what I am looking for.
What other examples are there of a main character, around whom the story obviously revolves, who is just not that interesting, but there is a sidekick who steals your attention?
Happy Days - Richie vs. Fonzie Mary Tyler Moore - Mary vs. Rhoda Andy Griffith - Andy vs. Barney Barney Miller - Barney vs. Fish. Actually Barney vs. any of the detectives.
The TV version of MAS*H was originally suppose to focus roughly equally on Hawkeye, Trapper and Henry, but Alan Alda quickly overshadowed the others.
Arrested Development: As a typically normal everyman surrounded by unique and colorful characters, Michael ends up almost completely overshadowed by Pop-Pop, Lucille, Gob, Lindsay, Tobias, Buster, Barry Zuckerkorn, Lucille #2, Steve Holt, Carl Weathers, John Beard, etc.
Never was much of a Seinfeld fan, but every episode I’ve seen seems as if Jerry’s merely peripheral to whatever plot’s happening that week. Same with Cheers and Sam Malone.
The worst and most boring character on How I Met Your Mother was the character who was the narrator and also all of the stories revolved around his dating life. His friends and his girlfriends were way more interesting.
When you write it like that, and I never thought about it, Arrested Development (and Seinfeld for that matter), really is a double act with Michael (or Jerry) playing the straight man. They may come off as boring in and of themselves, but they exist to set up the jokes.
Andy was supposed to be the central and POV character on WKRP.
One Day at a Time was supposed to be a show about Ann’s struggles as a divorced mother, and the target audience was actually adult women who would identify with her. However, more adolescents, especially girls, tuned in, so it became about the girls and their problems, and how they coped with being children of divorce. It became a much better show in the second season when it stopped trying to focus on Ann. As Valerie Bertinelli became a teen idol, more boys began tuning in, so they added her sad sack would-be suitor as a character for boys to identify with.
I did say that. He had all the personality of a plate of poutine. Jonathan Archer was far more interesting than Kirk, and even he occupied the low spot in the character array (except, perhaps, for Mayweather). Peter Quincy Taggert was a more interesting character than Kirk.
I submit sir you have barely even seen any, IF any, TOS episodes. Going off what you have said that is.
PSSSSSSHHHH “Kirk v. Spock”…Spock is NOTHING without Kirk. Without Kirk lollygagging about at Tarsus (4?) to rescue Spock…Spock would have died halfway through the first season on his first command outing! Their friendship is what makes Spock interesting. No Kirk, and Spock is just another Vulcan who doesn’t get humans. Yawwwwwwwwwwn
James West and Artemus Gordon. How many times did Artie pull Jim’s ass out of the fire in the nick of time?
For that matter, what would The Green Hornet be without Kato? And who would get the crap beaten out of him going into town to buy supplies every week if The Lone Ranger didn’t have Tonto?
Yeah, Armie Hammer’s Lone Ranger was a pretty bland character, next to that one guy who played Tonto. And I want to say that Léon was not as interesting as Mathilda, but that is not really true: the chemistry between the two of them is what made that movie.
This has been a pretty standard formula for comedies ever since *The Jack Benny Show *at least. You have a relatively “normal” central character who serves as the straight man who has to deal with a variety of wackos who make up the rest of the cast. The central character gives the audience someone to identify with.
Other examples include Judd Hirsch’s character in Taxi and Rob Morrow’s in Northern Exposure.
In the movie Me, Myself, and Irene, Charley’s sons are much more interesting than he is, even though Charley is the main character. They’re also a lot more fun to watch than Charley’s other personality.
And Edna from The Incredibles is the favorite character of a lot of people.
I’m not sure I agree that Bob Newhart, or Jack Benny for that matter, can be considered straight men, at least not in the sense someone like Bud Abbott was. Nine times out of ten, the ultimate payoff to a bit wasn’t the wacky antics but their reaction to it. And sometimes they just didn’t set up the gag, their character was the gag. “I’m thinking, I’m thinking!”
I guess I’m saying that if Newhart or Benny were straight men, then Abbott would be the gold standard and Newhart and Benny were platinum.