I was watching House the other day, enjoying it quite a lot, and it started me thinking on the fact that we apply a really big double standard to TV characters. In real life not only would I not like Dr. House, I’d probably be doing something to try to get his medical license revoked. The man tortures his patients, invades their privacy, abuses his subordinates, is disrespectful towards his superiors, is an addict, etc., etc. He cheats steals and lies. And we the audience adore him for it.

And this happens with a lot of other characters. I love to watch the character of Marc on Ugly Betty, but I’d probably get another job if I had to work with him in the real world. If I didn’t punch him in the face first, that is. Or Shawn Spencer from Psych, whose antics would make him a raging asshole in the real world, but are enjoyable to watch.

I’m intrigued about the reason for this. Why do you think that we like characters that behave in ways that we wouldn’t tolerate in our daily lives? Is it because we know it’s just a TV show and therefore their actions don’t have real consequences?

And who are the worst offenders of all? Who are the TV characters you like… as long as they stay on the other side of the fourth wall?

Two that come immediately to my mind are Sawyer from "Lost" and Dr. Romano (pre-helicopter) from "ER". Those two are brutal with the put downs.

I think the fact that they are fictional is the reason we can enjoy them. They aren't hurting real people with their abuse. It helps that they frequently get the best dialogue with very clever writing. And often, they get to say what really needs to be said, but people are too polite to say it.

Michael Scott. I love to watch his socially retarded antics onscreen but if he was my boss I wouldn't make it one day before quitting.

This was going to part of my answer as well.

Also, I think we expect to see these characters grow/change/evolve (at least a little) over the course of their story. I'm specifically thinking of Brian on Queer as Folk, but I'm only on season three at this point, and I may be giving the writers too much credit in this case!

I agree with House, and would like to put Bree Van De Kamp down on here. She is someone whose uptightness would seem so inhuman in real life. On DH, it's satirical.

Also, I am not sure I would like Bailey from GA. Someone who is almost always sassy would make me want to smack her.

In general I don't understand the term "love to hate" because if I would hate someone in real life, I hate watching that character on TV. This leads to a lot of unpopular opinions like hating (and hating to see on my screen) Paris on Gilmore Girls, Faith on Buffy, Sylar on Heroes, etc. But so help me, I cannot help but LOVE House. I can't explain it. He gets worse and worse with each season and the love? It just will not go away. Sometimes I do wonder what's wrong with me. This probably sums it up though:

But also in his case I just love watching a brilliant mind at work, I think.

I also agree about Marc (add Amanda in here) on UB. They're just...funny. I'm also pretty certain I would loathe everyone on Gossip Girl, especially Blair.

Word on House, Micheal Scott, and Bree Van De Kamp. Sometimes I wonder why the other housewives are even friends with her. But damn it if I don't love her.

Anya and Cordelia from Buffy immediately jump to mind. Especially Anya. Cordelia I could learn to tolerate, but Anya? I would tell her to shut the fuck up within the first five minutes, and then remind her friends that she is a murderer. But as long as we are seperated by the fourth wall, I find her quite amusing.

I could not stand to be around any character from Gilmore Girls - yes, this includes Rory, Luke, *and* Lorelei - for over five minutes. I would kill myself, and I would know that the minute I left, they would start gossiping - no, cleverly bantering - about me.

Lorelai Gilmore is my favorite TV character ever, but I imagine if I knew her in real life I'd be telling her to shut up oh, every thirty seconds -- or every time she went off on some bantery tangent about some obscure cultural reference from the '80s.

I also agree with Paris Gellar and Blair Waldorf. Great TV characters, but both are very high-maintenance, and I just don't do well with high-maintenance people.

I must be the first person to come across this thread who's familiar with the Brit import Life On Mars (whose 2nd & final season just finished its run on BBCA), because DCI Gene Hunt (DCI=Detective Chief Inspector, I think) is the absolute epitome of what this thread title describes. He's all the absolute worst stereotypes of a thuggish 1973 cop; abusive, sexist, racist, homophobic, violent, alchoholic, minor corruption, absolute disdain for any real methodical police work, routinely beats up suspects brought in on the flimiest of evidence and even witnesses who he thinks are holding back on telling him something he needs to know. He doesn't even have saving grace of being right in the end, of being some kind of misanthropic genius like House. His way of going by his "gut" is sometimes shown as having something to offer, but even when he is on to something, it always takes Sam (the show's lead character who brings the "modern", "enlightened" police procedures to this backward little precinct) to pull back on Gene's leash, step in and do it right. If Gene were left to his own devices he'd accomplish nothing except getting a lot of innocent people hurt & killed. He bullies & intimidates people into signing what turn out to be false murder confessions and sends them to jail to rot, he gets innocent people killed who come to the police for help when he turns them back out onto the streets unprotected as "bait" to draw out the bad guys. His neanderthal, bullying and disdain for any real police procedure is so extreme that if you merely suggest something as routine (but non-violent) as conducting surveillance on a suspect to gather evidence he accuses you of being a faggot, only in more colorful (and arguably more offensive) language.

And yet, something about the way he says it is just wildly entertaining. He's a truly horrifying example of an out of control thug with a badge, but something about him is just so fun to watch. In fact the character is so popular that after LOM's two season run came to a conclusion (the central premise of the whole show was resolved and the story ended, so they really couldn't do more), they started working on a "sequel" series called Ashes To Ashes featuring Hunt, this time set eight years later in 1981 and pairing him up with a female partner, which is *not* going to go well. ATA premires in the UK next month, God knows when BBCA will ever get it, but David E. Kelly has shot a pilot for an American version of Life On Mars, supposedly quite faithful to the original, staring Colm Meany as Gene Hunt. This sounds like a brilliant choice, since although Meany's best known as the affable Miles O'Brien from several different Star Trek series, I've seen him play a couple of roles where he's a real mean bastard, yet still oddly charismatic.

Blair Waldorf would be hated by most people, especially if that Ivy League outing she pulled on Serena was done in real life. And, Chuck Bass would be in jail by now for all the attempted rapes.

Another character who would be in jail by in real life is Wilhemina Slater of Ugly Betty. That stunt that she pulled on the magazine a few episodes back is illegal.

I nominate the entire group of characters on Seinfeld. They're all hilarious to watch, but their self-centered and idiosyncratic behavior would make them insufferable in real life.

David Brent from The Office (UK Version.) And Gareth, too. Heck, maybe even Dawn, too. Watching them is hysterical, but if I had to work with either of them for more than five minutes, I'd snap and kill them all.

I would hate Vic Mackey from The Shieldin real life. He gets things done, and he gets the bad guy, but he in a lot of ways is the bad guy. He cheats, steals, beats people, kills people, and hurts people.

And Al Swearengen from Deadwood. He's hilarious and hypnotic to listen to. But he's a murdering pimp.

Those two are pretty easy. I don't think I would like Abby from ER in real life. I love her on the show, but as a real person, she'd be tough and prickly and unhappy; overall, not a fun person to hang out with.

Someone on the Simpsons DVD commentary said something to the effect of, "I love Homer, but I would rather have Flanders as my neighbor." He's loud, a drunk, prone to jackassery, and has questionable parenting skills. I think the show addressed this very well in the Frank Grimes episode, where they acknowledge that Homer's behavior wouldn't be tolerated very well in real life.

Spike on BTVS. I loved the bleached blond vampire on the show, but in real life, I'd blasted him with a super soaker filled with holy water.

They don't entirely qualify for me, because once it hit me that if I actually knew these people, I'd run when I saw them coming, I found I couldn't really enjoy watching them anymore.

I think I'd nominate the cast of Friends, instead. They're not so horrible to other people/ each other that I can't find them funny to watch, but enough that I don't think I could put up with them in real life. Have to agree with an earlier poster on House, though. I love watching him, since, you know, he's fictional...in real life I don't think I'd want to hang out with him. And might feel compelled to call the medical licensing board or something.

Hee! Raging Apathy beat me to Life on Mars' Gene Hunt, played by Philip Glenister. (*curses and snaps fingers, foiled again*) Things I would absolutely not tolerate in real life, he gets away with every show, and makes me laugh in the process... partly because it's '73 in the show, and we can tell ourselves that "he doesn't know better." There was one line several episodes back where he disses their one female detective and then tells the others that they need to go after the dark-skinned Pakistani suspects right away, unless his department is all girls or gay -- but all of that in stronger language. The character of Sam confuses him by saying, "You forgot the Jews." Hee!

Another character of this type is Adam Baldwin's Jayne Cobb, from Firefly/Serenity. I adore watching that character, in fact I think he's my favorite on the show which, considering the other characters, is saying a LOT. But if I had to work with him? The smell alone might drive me away, much less his abrasive character.

Lex Luther of Smallville cause he's, you know, turning evil.

Dan Vasser of Journeyman, cause he can't be counted on to show up anywhere, especially not on time. Especially if I, like most other characters, didn't know this was because of his time-traveling.

I'd like to nominate Kara Thrace from Battlestar Galactica. So much fun to watch her fuck everything and everyone up, but if I were stuck in a room with her I'd probably kill her. Or get killed trying.

As far as I'm concerned, Rodney McKay owns this thread.

I agree with everyone who put Blair Waldorf, Chuck Bass and Logan Echolls on the list of characters who I find awesomely awful and highly compelling on TV but would be horrified by in person.

I actually disagree with those who nominated Lorelai for this category, as I think she's got enough great qualities (warm, life-loving, smart, witty, loyal friend) to counterbalance the fact that her Words Per Minute count is totally out of control ;) Emily Gilmore, though, at least sometimes amused me on the show, but I would probably commit matricide if she were my mother in 'real life.' And ditto on those who liked Paris's snark but would get a restraining order against her if she tried to befriend you in real life.

Dexter.

What a fun topic!



Unlike worldwithoutend, I do enjoy Paris onscreen. But can you imagine being Rory, getting to Yale to find out that not only were you rooming with her, but she'd set it up by having her parents pull strings? That would be extremely disturbing.

Liza Weil, who plays Paris, married Paul Adelstein, who used to play Kellerman on Prison Break--SO much fun to watch on PB, full of dark snarky humor--but to actually have any dealings with Kellerman would be far worse than disturbing.

Fun thread! I'll hop on! My choices:

Lilly Kane, Veronica Mars: Fun (in an abrasive sort of way) and free-spirited to be sure, but, boy, would I hate to be friends with her!! I'm the reserved, introspective type, and I find people like Lilly so overbearing and unpleasant.

Gregory House: Yeah, he's brilliant. Yeah, he has an acerbic wit, killer wardrobe and blue eyes you could get lost in. That doesn't excuse the fact that House is a mean-spirited, cruel, sorry excuse for a human being who I wouldn't want to share an elevator with, much less work for.


Maggie Jacobs, Extras: While I think Maggie is hilarious and cute as a button (and Ashley Jenson is a terrific actress), think of all the trouble tactless, dim-bulbed Maggie would get me into if I were foolish enough to confide in her!

Any of Bertie Wooster's (Jeeves & Wooster) friends and family members: They're funny and all, but I dare you to argue that they're all a bunch of brainless, flighty, needy, selfish scumbags!

It's funny, because her name did leap to mind when I read the title of this thread, but then I remembered that I hated her on screen as well as thinking I'd hate her in real life :) (Same goes for House and BtVS's Faith).

I agree with the poster who mentioned The Office's Michael Scott, but I also wanted to put my vote in for Ryan. I seriously adore watching Ryan more than is healthy---he's the type of jerk I've actually known in real life, which makes it all the more amusing. I also find Michael's mancrush on Ryan endlessly amusing. However, in real life Ryan would be that guy you steer clear of and warn your friends that they should do the same.

The whole cast of Seinfeld. I love watching them, but I wouldn't want to be involved with any of them in real life.

Peter from Heroes, S1. I thought he was so cute with the slight superiority complex, emo hair, sensitive eyes, heroic dreams, but in real life I would've been annoyed at his swooning over saving the world because "HE HAS TO SAVE THE WORLD!" and have you heard that, GASP! He has to save the world!

Word.

I like to watch Spongebob Squarepants, but if I had to live next door to him I'd probably strangle him with all 8 tentacles.

I also think ANY of the Desperate Housewives would get on my nerves in one way or another.

Actually, most of the characters from both Heroes and Lost own this thread. In real life, I would pack all of them into a bus and ship them into the nearest psych ward.

Same goes for Sarah Connor, Tim Riggins and Tyra Collette.

Lenny from Law and Order, the Mothership. He always cracks me up, but the constant joke making would annoy me if I was in the wrong mood.

New York, from I Love New York. I find her hilarious and witty but I'd be tempted to rent a gun if I had to deal with her on a monthly basis. She can be charming if she wants but the cigarette smoking and ranch slurping is a little much.

Don Draper from Mad Men, I love watching the character but if I knew a guy like that in real life I would run in the other direction. He is handsome and charming but he is also closed off, passive aggressive, misogynistic (yes, I know things were like that in the 60's), and sometimes cruel. Basically he is a guy who really has some issues he needs to work on and I don't have that kind of time.

Celia Hodes and Nancy Botwin from Weeds, I enjoy seeing them on my television but I sure as hell would not want to meet either one of them. Conrad on the other hand....

Count me in on the Chuck and Blair train. Interestingly, Serena kind of bores me on the show but IRL she is the one GG character I wouldn't mind hanging with.

Lionel Luthor, Smallville - He's intelligent, articulate, cunning, and has a dry wit. Plus, John Glover adds sexiness to the character. However, Lionel has murdered, hurt, and swindled others. Furthermore, he has been willing to sacrifice Lex for his own personal agenda, turned Clark into a lab rat, tried to blow up Chloe, and flirted with a married woman. I love watching the Magnificent Bastard but I could never be friends with someone I don't trust.

Lynette Scavo, Desperate Housewives - I love watching her antics on the show but I could never be friends with someone who would try to manipulate me to get what she wants.

Blair Waldorf, Gossip Girl - Bitch!Blair is entertaining to watch but she's far too judgmental and self-righteous. Also, you never know when she might turn on you. And as others have mentioned Blair is high-maintenance.

Nora Walker, Brothers & Sisters - Sally Field's portrayal of Mama Walker is incredible. It's easy to see that Nora loves her children and wants what's best for them. However, she's far too involved in her children's lives. Nora makes me glad that my mom keeps a loving distance.

And Debra. And Rita.

Hawkeye Pierce, especially later on. His sermons between jokes would send me looking for the nearest NKA or Chinese Army unit, because they would be less painful a torture. Virtually all the Melrose Place crew, but especially Kimberly Shaw. I'd like to feel like my doctor wouldn't try to blow up my apartment complex.

Karen Darling on Dirty Sexy Money. Rich bitch with no morals.

T-bag on Prison Break, for scarily obvious reasons.

Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock. Pompous ass.

Pretty much the entire cast, male and female, of the Sopranos. Come on.....Tony, Janice, Pauly, Meadow and the whole "family" are fun to watch from a distance, but you sure as heck would not want to be close to them. I suppose this applies to most mob families in general.

Jack Bauer on 24. Great guy if you want to track down a terrorist. I cannot imagine spending much personal time with his low talking, unpredictable butt though.

I actually wouldn't mind being friends with Michael Scott. I wouldn't want to be coworkers with him, though.

Good one. I agree.

The Bluth family from Arrested Development. Except Michael and his son--I think I could be friends with them. The others? Great entertainment, but I don't think I could stand them for more than a half hour in real life.

Definitely - and in a similar vein, Chris Keller (Chris Meloni) from Oz. Fascinating, dangerous and sexy on TV, but scary as hell IRL.

Elliot Stabler on L & O SVU. Yeah, he's great in a t-shirt. He cares, he tries to be a good dad and a good cop. But damn, that self-righteous moralizing would cause me to look at him as say "Stick in your Catholic a$$."

I agree and thought of that right after I mentioned the Sopranos. I always viewed Arrested Development as basically a dysfunctional, California version of the Corleone family. The son Michael (same name) tries to distance himself from the family but cannot do it and is sucked back in when the dad gets arrested. Gob is the older brother than cannot run the family business. Gob even tries to go to a competitor and fails, although in this case Michael doesn't care. They have the family lawyer that in this case is completely worthless instead of the smooth talking legal expert for the Corleones. The feds spend years trying to bring down "the family". It doesn't work perfect, but its a fair approximation

This is exactly what popped into my head when I saw this thread. I think the only one I would actually like would be George Michael. Michael would be a little too self-righteous for me and while I admire Maebe for her snarkiness, in the end I'd be annoyed by her selfishness. The rest of the family are basically a bunch of lunatics.

Christina Yang: She has some great one liners and I appreciate the rare insights into her that we are granted, but in real life, if I ever went to lunch with her, I'd have to ask for a table for three: Me, her and her massive ego.

You guys mentioned a lot of my picks- House, Cordelia, Anya, the cast of Seinfeld, Faith, the cast of the The Sopranos, and Don Draper. I would get on the Bree van der Caamp bandwagon, except I realized just after S2 that I hated her on television just as much as I would in real life. Yeah, I know- unpopular opinion. Here's some more.

Connor from AtS- He was sexy, well-acted, and compeling. I had real sympathy for him because he always got the raw deal. But somehow his troubled childhood would mean little to me if he was making actual trouble for me. You can also include VK's character from Mad Men- a man without a consience who's just so fascinating to watch.

Toby Ziegler from West Wing- What makes Toby different from many of the characters named is that Toby really does have nobility, integrity, and kindness in spades. But he's also perpetually bitter, melancholy, impossible to please, maddeningly self-righteous, ascerbic, and incredibly veiled. RS is able to sell Toby's myriad flaws with his true, heroic strengths making him as fascinating good guy. But still- not someone I'd want to spend time with.

Ari Gold from Entourage- He's hysterical and...well, he's just a really funny guy. He's also got balls and charisma in spades. His loyalty to Vince can be touching. But he's also a mysonogistic, hypocritical, shallow, narscasitic, angry, plain mean guy.

Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote. A nice, nice lady, but after awhile, the way dead bodies pile up around her would bring out my dark side. I'd have to hate her for sheer self-preservation.

I don't think I'd have much of a problem with the unpleasantly honest or occasionally (okay, frequently) dishonest people as long as they were at least half as entertainingly snarky. But there is one character who came to mind the second I saw this topic: Drusilla, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While I love her crazy twirly rambling and the way she generally had Spike and Angelus dancing around like marionettes, in real life anyone who was even a fraction as bizarre in that particular way would have me desperately trying to refrain from killing them. And failing.

Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald on Cracker, as played by Robbie Coltrane on the original British version.

Brilliant psychologist, great at his job, a good sense of right and wrong, and doesn't give up until he has the criminals locked up. But he's also a gambling, drinking, philandering, loud, brash asshat with horrible people skills and a foul mouth.

I love the show, and I find him fascinating to watch, but in real life I'd stay the hell away from him.

Susan Meyer from Desperate Housewives. I sometimes find her cute and funny on the show. But in my real life I can't stand people like her. Nobody is that damn flaky and quirky all the time. When they mess up people just smile adoringly and say, "oh that Susan, isn't she cute"? I would just grab her by the shoulders and shake her.

I've always suspected that she was a traveling serial killer with some sort of mind bendy power. Everywhere she went someone was killed and no one ever suspected her. Really? I could just never buy that.

I echo the sentiments about House, he'd be an awful person to actually know but he's fascinating though often infuriating on TV. Shaun from Psych was mentioned and while I'm not sure we'd get along it's more because he and I are similar in a lot of ways, then anything else, which may or may not say unpositive things about me.

I think, however, the character I most like to watch but wouldn't like to know is HRG. Because likely, he's kidnapping me for study, killing me to protect his family or (if this were ten years ago) dragging me into a confrontation with a lightening throwing sociopath and her father who are trying to kidnap his daughter after learning of her location because of a really stupid prank I thought up.

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Dr. Cox from Scrubs. His rants are entertaining and I love it when he calls people on their crap when they deserve it, but if I actually knew the guy in real life I'd probably kick his ass the minute he speaks and then suggest he gets some anger management. Although quite honestly, I don't think I would be able to stand anyone on Scrubs in real life (especially in the current season), mainly because none of them act very professionally (I'm also looking at you, Grey's Anatomy!).

More to come...