355 replies to this topic

[Laval]

There are lots of people in your lives that you feel sorry for and television is definitely no exception. It can be any character, actor, and/or reality show participant from the past and present

For example, Meowth from Pokemon gets some sympathy from me because not only is he always surrounded by incompetence from Team Rocket, but he is overshadowed by Pikachu.

I also feel sorry for Becky Slater from the Wonder Years. She is always playing 2nd fiddle to Winnie Cooper, she is much cuter than Winnie, and she was treated like dirt by that loser Kevin Arnold.

Esther Rolle get my sympathy for putting up with Jimmie Walker. Once John Amos left Good Times, Esther Rolle made it a little bit tolerable. Her legacy deserves better than being remember by playing second class to Jimmie Walker's incompetence and stupidity.

I have lots of sympathy for Savannah (7th Heaven), Lyric (There and Back), and Landon, Atianna, Alabama (Meet the Barkers) because of bad parenting on their respective shows.

Edited by Laval, Mar 1, 2006 @ 10:26 PM.

[theglitterfades]

Not a character or actor, but I kindof feel sorry for Diana Eng on Project Runway. I wish she were more experienced so that her innovation could have gotten her further in the competition.

[bobkatt13]

I feel bad for Beecher from Oz. He made a mistake and may have killed a girl but he did not deserve to be raped, tattoed, son killed, father killed, wife suicide/murder, find true love to only have it screw you over and maybe responcible for his murder, and develop a herion addiction. i mean damn what didn't go bad for him. this is not a complete list as it is only the stuff off the top of my head.

Edited by bobkatt13, Mar 3, 2006 @ 3:53 PM.

[simpatico]

I feel sorry for Michael Rosenbaum and Annette O'Toole for being great actors stuck in a stinking crapfest of a show like Smallville. They were the only reasons I subjected myself to that torture and used precious spots in my Netflix queue for the SV DVDs.

Edited by simpatico, Mar 2, 2006 @ 4:13 AM.

[McKay]

Not a character or actor, but I kindof feel sorry for Diana Eng on Project Runway. I wish she were more experienced so that her innovation could have gotten her further in the competition.

Very much agreed there. I loved her idea with the magnets in the one challenge. Okay, so it didn't work out so well, but it was a damn cool idea. She really does seem to be extremely smart.

I feel sorry for Meredith Grey because everyone hates her. I like her. Well, not so much "like" as "relate far more than I'd ever like to admit." I just want to cuddle her, feed her half her own weight in protein bars, and tell her everything's going to be okay.

Speaking of people I want to cuddle and comfort, I feel endlessly sorry for Lilly Rush. Not in a pitying way, just in a "man, I wish things didn't suck so bad for you" way. Life just seems to enjoy crapping all over her, and the fact that she's so wonderfully not-whiny about it makes me feel even more sympathy.

Edited by McKay, Mar 2, 2006 @ 3:04 AM.

[ElleEstTrois]

Ditto. Sometimes I swear Michael looks particularly pained about what he's doing. Even Bo was kinda pissed looking. What a waste of acting talent.

And poor Allison Mack as Chloe on the same. Her character keeps getting crapped on yet she still pines for the BDA. That's just got to piss off an actor that her character is so pitiful.

[ainoarwen]

I see you Michael Rosenbaum and Allison Mack, and raise you John Glover. All rock the boat while whoa, and it truly pains me to think that they're stuck in that unholy crapfest. I consistently dream of them moving onto bigger and better things, even to the point of feverishly fantasizing of a time when they all guest star on Aaron Sorkin's new as-of-yet unseen, unproduced show (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip).

[prairiegirl]

Paul McCrane on ER, his Romano was witty, brilliant at what he did and had layers that hadn't even been explored when TPTB decided to drop a helicopter on him. Twice. Of course they are throwing him a bone and allow him to direct. Dumbasses.

[cacophony]

Gotta add Ensign Harry Kim from Voyager on this one. How many times during the course of that show did he bail their asses out of something? Never got promoted. Or even, I dunno, thanked by anyone. I seem to remember Tom Paris getting promoted and he's the dork who got them lost in the first place. Poor Harry.

[kostgard]

I feel sorry for any actor who actually works on his/her character, actually spends some time thinking about the character's personality and history, and working on their acting choices (not just showing up and looking pretty, which is how far too many people on television get jobs) only to have the writers come up with plot "twists" that are completely out of character, or completely change the character on them overnight because they want to ramp up the drama - or in the case of Smallville, suddenly decide that he needs to be in love with the Pwetty Pink Pwincess (I'm so sorry, Michael Rosenbaum).

On the end of the spectrum, I also feel sorry for actors who have to watch their characters slowly go from wonderful, complex characters to one-note idiots or caricatures of their former selves. God bless the actors who keep trying to put in a good performance under those conditions and resist the urge to phone it in - I'm not sure I'd be able to.

I guess I just feel sorry for any actors who starts out with great writing and a great character, then the writers get lazy/stupid/bored on them and only hand them crap to work with.

[pinkmoon]

I kinda feel sorry for Kristin Kreuk. Yeah, she's not the best actress out there but it must be tough to live with the constant ogling of dirty old men like AlMiles.

[VersesBatman]

Not to mention the craptacular writing of Lana's character. How can anyone work with that?

[marxfan]

I feel bad for any actor who either replaces a popular character or plays a popular character's rival. I read somewhere that when the character of Jen on Dawson's Creek was a potential love interest for Dawson (and everyone was rooting for Joey) people actually set up "We Hate Jen" sites, which I'm sure disturbed the hell out of poor Michelle Williams. And after all that, Joey ended up with Pacey. Go figure.

[tribema]

Drea De Matteo on 'Joey'. She went from winning an Emmy and getting famously whacked to being on that dud and as a character has done asbolutely nothing memorable since starting. Poor Drea. I just don't think she is a sitcom actress.

[TheAngleMan]

Nicholas Brendon. What they did to Xander was just awful. Joss said several times that Xander was the character they related to, the most. Well if that's true it becomes clear that they all need serious therapy, because they abused him so so much.

[labprincess]

Michael Vartan. He gets dumped by Jennifer Garner for Ben Affleck, has to act like the baby is Vaughn's, then his character gets shot 50 billion times. Vaughn hasn't had it easy either.

Also from Alias, Emily Sloane. She was married to a vey eeevil man, was dying of cancer, marked for death by the Alliance, had to fake her death, and ended up getting shot by Dixon, who I also feel sorry for. Sloane blew up his wife, and he has to continue working with him, his kids got kidnapped, and he thought he had been working for a legitimate governement agency. Same with Marshall, who Sloane was pretty mean to.

And then there's Will, who was kidnapped and tortured; lost his job and his reputation, because he had to be "discovered" as a heroin addict to avoid being killed, and then had to go into the witness protection program. And from some spoilers I've read, it sounds like they have some more crap to dump on him. Poor guy.

Last but not least, Francie. Shot in the head and replaced by the "Francinator."

ETA: Mark Green from ER. Beat up in the bathroom, dies of cancer, just to name two things...

Edited by labprincess, Mar 2, 2006 @ 5:28 PM.

[sweet cheeks]

I also feel sorry for actors who have to watch their characters slowly go from wonderful, complex characters to one-note idiots or caricatures of their former selves. God bless the actors who keep trying to put in a good performance under those conditions and resist the urge to phone it in - I'm not sure I'd be able to.

Kelly Rowan (The OC) comes to mind. I feel sorry for her, she should just leave that unproven show and get a better role that shows off her outstanding acting skills. I'm amazed at how she still has energy and smiles with such dull and crappy scenes and minimum of screen time, especially after she used to have a much bigger part.

I feel sorry for whoever has to share scenes with Mischa Barton / [insert name of another wooden actor here] and see her trying to emote in real time. And should act like she's doing just fine.

I feel sorry for good actors that are being pushed aside so crappy actors take over the show. And I hope time will make justice for them all.

I also feel sorry for showrunners who can't admit that their show sucks and are still convinced that it's best thing ever.

Edited by sweet cheeks, Apr 8, 2006 @ 8:39 PM.

[Videostar]

Butters from South Park.
-He is always the Main Four's buttmonkey.
-He got a Ninja Star in his eye.
-His parents tried to sell him to Paris Hilton.
-His mom tried to drown him.
-His loose tapshoe killed eight people.
-Was always compared to Kenny when he was the fourth friend.

I just want to give this kid a hug.

[Actinolite]

Butters from South Park.

And after his friends faked his death so he could infiltrate the girls, his parents thought he was an evil zombie & chained him in the basement! And tried to give him a curtain salesperson to eat! "Can't I just have some Spaghetti-O's?"

Edited by Actinolite, Mar 2, 2006 @ 5:42 PM.

[Pooki]

Nicholas Brendon. What they did to Xander was just awful. Joss said several times that Xander was the character they related to, the most. Well if that's true it becomes clear that they all need serious therapy, because they abused him so so much.

Word to that. I felt so sorry for him (and Xander) in the episode ‘First Date’, where they had him suspended upside down with his top off when... well, he wasn't in the best shape of his life.

I felt really sorry for Matt Le Blanc towards the end of Friends, since Joey went from being a little vacant to being a drooling idiot. The episode where Joey was pretending he could speak French? So embarrassing. Or the one where he's asking Dakota Fanning's teddy bear for advice over the phone? Cringe-worthy.

[Laval]

More characters that gets my sympathy.

Stephanie Tanner - She was so cute and funny on Full House. It makes me very sad that Michelle Tanner gets all the glory and poor sweet Stephanie gets left out in the cold. For all eternity, Stephanie Tanner (Jodie Sweeten too.) will always have my sympathy.

Judy Winslow - She was gone from Family Matters and nobody seemed to care. They're were all too busy focusing on that idiot Steve Urkel. I can also put Harriet Winslow (Jo Marie Payton) on this list because of Urkel ruining her show. Grandma Winslow is also on this list because of Urkel and that she got married on that show & we never heard from her husband ever again.

Kirby Scroggins - The only good thing about the Torkelsons. Being constantly rejected & made fun of by Dorothy Jane. He's just trying to show his love for Dorothy Jane and Dorothy Jane always make him look bad. I always like Kirby. I think he has more sense that Dorothy Jane. At least, we don't see him constantly embarassing himself by talking to the moon all the time & always saying, "But MaMa." in a squeaky southern voice (She sounds like she is from Georgia.).

Edited by Laval, Mar 3, 2006 @ 1:49 PM.

[prairiegirl]

Maybe not now, but at the time, I felt sorry for Ron Howard on Happy Days-here he was, supposed to be the star of the show, and what was supposed to be the secondary character of Fonzie, got pushed to the front and after they went to doing the show in front of an audience, Fonzie would walk on camera, and the audience would scream so loudly, the actors had to stop and wait for them to settle down. Not that I blame Henry Winkler so much, Garry Marshall was calling the shots-oh, who am I kidding-I blame them both. But Ron Howard, as usual, dealt with in in a professional, classy way and it's well to note that Happy Days was just crap after he left. Okay, I have always wanted to say that, now I have, I feel better.

[ChicagoGonzo]

I tend to feel sorry for the entire cast of a popular TV show when it is revealed that on a "very special landmark" episode this season, somebody important will be killed in a "very real and definite death." TPTB are so intent on keeping this a secret that the actors often don't even know until the episode itself. Then, I imagine that the actor who is being offed has to be mighty pissed when they finally get that script. It's just like, "okay, I guess I don't have to show up to work anymore. I still get payed as long as the show keeps running, right?" Not that Shannon, Boone, or Pa Kent were my favorite characters, nor are the actors hurting for money, but I just really feel bad for any worker put in that situation by their employer.

[FfrauleinN]

That is kind of a crap deal. I guess I just assumed that at least the actor whose character was being offed would be told. That's fucked up to just blindside somebody with news like that.

[erica]

For all eternity, Stephanie Tanner (Jodie Sweeten too.) will always have my sympathy.

I saw her on GMA a couple of weeks ago and was shocked to learn she's a recovering crystal meth addict. Though if I'd have been on that show, I probably would've used drugs to dull the pain and memories myself.

I always felt sorry for Carol Seaver/Tracey Gold on Growing Pains. She was NOT fat, not even by Hollywood standards, and they kept writing jokes calling her fat (and possibly ugly, I don't remember). I hope the writers feel horrible for how they treated her and for the eating disorder they no doubt fostered. Assholes.

[Hassenfeffer]

Major word to that erica. That girl got treated like a 2nd class citizen because she wasn't the Holy Grail that was Kirk Cameron.

[Phenobarbara]

I feel sorry for Lorelai Gilmore, from the Gilmore Girls. She gets dumped on, criticized, and verbally attacked by her insane parents, yet continues to crawl back to them and tries to make peace in the family. Her daughter has treated her like shit for over a year, yet Lorelai takes her back with no questions asked. Her hypocritical "Let's have no secrets between us" boyfriend discovers he has a daughter and doesn't tell Lorelai for two months and Lorelai is too polite to call him on it. Her former lover and father of her child asks her to babysit his other Horrific Hell Child and when Lorelai tactfully suggests the child needs a bit of discipline, said former lover bitches her out and tells her she doesn't know what she's talking about, and after said lover calls later to apologize for his outburst, Lorelai says to forget it, then actually offers to help him with the godawful brat in the future.

Sydney Bristow, from Alias. Mother dies when she's six. Her father was absent. Her boyfriend dies at the hand of her employer, who turns out to be not the CIA as she thought, but an eeeevil organization. Later finds out her mother was actually a KGB agent who faked her death and is out there somewhere still being evil. She gets tortured numerous times. Her friends die. She gets kidnapped and ripped away from the love of her life for two years. Returns with amnesia. Said love of her life gets married during those two lost years, and Sydney has to work with him and the new wife in the office every day. Finds out that the wife is part of an eeeevil organization and married Sydney's love as part of a mission. Sydney's love kills the wife. Sydney and her love get back together. She's pregnant. They plan to get married. Then he gets shot a million times. She's alone again.

Edited by Phenobarbara, Mar 3, 2006 @ 4:50 PM.

[tashiann11]

On the end of the spectrum, I also feel sorry for actors who have to watch their characters slowly go from wonderful, complex characters to one-note idiots or caricatures of their former selves. God bless the actors who keep trying to put in a good performance under those conditions and resist the urge to phone it in - I'm not sure I'd be able to.

Well then I nominate the entire cast of The West Wing. To go from the genius of Aaron Sorkin to the crap that John Wells can put together that's a hard day of work.

[kelseyg]

prairiegirl, I know that at least the girl who plays Shannon was told before the 1st season ended, which still sucks. They have to work out contracts and etc, so I think legally speaking the actor/ress has to have some sort of warning.

But still, that's something most workers don't have to face.

I felt really bad for Kelly last night on The Office. I'll explain the situation for those of you who haven't seen it. She's a big sweetheart, very chatty but more or less likeable. She hooked up with a co-worker who really isn't into her, and she's just not getting the message. Well, they were helping someone else plan a wedding and at one point she remarked that she'd love a June wedding. She turns to him and very shyly/carefully asks, "And when can you picture yourself getting married?". He responds very coldy that he doesn't ever see himself getting married.

She really did need the message, but still: One of those "Ooouch." moments.

[Split Ends]

kelseyg, I felt bad for Kelly too, but it was easy for me to shrug off because of the previous episodes where we saw her driving Jim crazy. In an office, Kelly would be a nightmare. She's a nice girl, and I bet it hurt, but Ryan was probably doing the best thing he could by saying it that way. I keep thinking that I never, ever want to work with Kelly, and that if I did, I'd feel guilty for all the bad thoughts I had about her.

I always feel bad for Meg Griffin on Family Guy. Yes, it's a cartoon, and it's a funny show, but the fact that everybody in the family laughs at her always ends the humor for me. I sound like such a priss saying that, but I can't help it. When Peter threw her off the "boat" in the yacht-race episode to reduce weight; when Lois laughed at her for pretending that she had a boyfriend to make out with; when they made her room a hamster cage with one of those bottles to drink water from. I just always feel bad for her. And then I feel dumb.