Biggest mistreatment of a TV character? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 03-08-2021, 07:21 PM

Basically, what are the most notable examples of a good character getting screwed by outside circumstances such as the ego or negligence of the writers.

RetroGuy2000 · 03-08-2021, 09:23 PM

Cordelia Chase (played by Charisma Carpenter) on Angel. It was like they were trying to assassinate the character... and they eventually did. New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Crusie calls the season-long destruction of this character, formerly one of the best-written characters on television, one of the worst moments in TV history, and states that Season 4 of Angel, with Cordelia's stupid storyline, was the moment "the writers lost their minds". It's been stated that the silencing of Cordelia Chase made viewers question how feminist this show really was, and viewers reacted so badly to Cordy's storyline that the series was effectively revamped after the season, according to TVTropes. It was soul-crushing watching the writers slowly destroy this character over 22 episodes, and it's even worse now, knowing actress Charisma Carpenter hated what they were doing to her character, and was dealt this terrible end simply because she had become pregnant.

favoriteshow · 03-11-2021, 02:14 PM

This topic is hard. Its easier to find examples when an actor was mistreated (or screwed) and likely written off the show or replaced, than just the character but not the actor.

As for character:
-On Boy Meets World, Topanga seemed more quirky the first season but made more normal in the subsequent seasons. It might not have made a huge difference but thought a normal Topanga was more boring.
-On Parks and Rec, the character for Jerry was bullied and made fun of way too much. In real life, that’d be form of work place harrasment most likely.
-On Wonder Years, Kevin’s brother Wayne seemed mostly one-dimensional and a big jerk most of the time. I think if they made him more realistic with some positive qualities it would have made his character more interesting.
-On Family Ties, I think the writers made Mallory too dumb. Indirectly it kept her so far behind Alex in terms of popularity.

RetroGuy2000 · 03-11-2021, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by favoriteshow

-On Wonder Years, Kevin’s brother Wayne seemed mostly one-dimensional and a big jerk most of the time. I think if they made him more realistic with some positive qualities it would have made his character more interesting.

Yes. I remember watching at the time, thinking he could have been fleshed out into a real person, but instead he was very two-dimensional.

Quote:

-On Family Ties, I think the writers made Mallory too dumb. Indirectly it kept her so far behind Alex in terms of popularity.

Another good pick. I remember the episode where a teacher gets Mallory to open up, revealing that she is not as dumb as she lets on... but in the very next episode, Mallory was dumb again.

stevea · 03-11-2021, 09:50 PM

Arthur Harmon on Maude.

Darrin on Bewitched (Ah, the places I've been [sent] and the things I've been turned into)

Charley Knox · 03-11-2021, 10:43 PM

Stuart Bloom on The Big Bang Theory.

RetroGuy2000 · 03-12-2021, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charley Knox

Stuart Bloom on The Big Bang Theory.

OMG, that poor man!

favoriteshow · 03-12-2021, 01:06 PM

Angela, on The Office, started out more xenophobic in nature, and dismissive towards Pam and other characters. Her character was best in the early seasons. (My favorite seasons are the early seasons, before Ed Helms as Andy Bernard joined the show).

Towards the middle to end of the series when the characters started dating then marrying each other, the writers reduced her idiosyncrasies and just made her bland, almost a friend of Jim and Pam.

GentlemanJim · 03-12-2021, 01:48 PM

I always thought that Uncle Fester got kind of a raw deal

Schmo · 03-12-2021, 02:45 PM

Did any of these actors or actresses come to resent the characters they played?

Charley Knox · 03-12-2021, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schmo

Did any of these actors or actresses come to resent the characters they played?

I think Ted Knight was a little self conscious.

icecream · 03-12-2021, 03:51 PM

Jawarhalal on Head of the Class- Jory Husain who sometimes posts here on the Head of the Class board was a good actor. But the writers just had too many characters to give good stories to everyone, I don't recall Jawarhalal ever being the main focus or even B plot of an episode. He was the only student that happened to, barely had any lines in many episodes.

Judy Winslow on Family Matters- I had thought Jaimee Foxworth's demanding stage mother was the main reason she appeared less and less until not at all. But after hearing about how her acting was mocked by Jaleel White and Darius McCrary, it seems like a lot of the cast was cruelly out to get her. As immature as Urkel always was, I had assumed Jaleel White was naturally better than that in real life, I had liked his guest appearance on Psych. Mocking her is awful enough, but if he really did lock her in the closet what shameful behavior.

Darrin on The Middle- The writers treated him like total dirt after Sue rejected his marriage proposal. Most of the time after that Darrin was ghosted like he never existed. It went from Axl having Darrin and Sean as co best friends to Sean being his only friend until meeting Hutch. The one time Darrin was mentioned it was very disparagingly, although poor Carly was even worse there. She was not the type of girl who slept around and got knocked up.

They also made revisionist history like Sue and Sean had wanted each other from early on. Yeah right, the only way they interacted before Darin left was thru Axl. Sean's asking Sue to the prom was a pity invite, nothing more.

icecream · 03-12-2021, 04:21 PM

Eric and Mr. Turner on Boy Meets World- Besides the addition of Rachel who I couldn't stand and lousy writing in general, the sharp dumbing down of Eric is why the latter era of this show, especially seasons 6 and 7, is so much worse. It is one thing for a character to be dumb and stupid yet funny from the start, like Lowell on Wings, Bull on Night Court, Waldo on Family Matters, and Mr. Kimball on Green Acres. But Eric had average intelligence for the first four seasons, sure he had screw-ups but he wasn't a moron either. Mr. Turner was great when he was a regular. They supposedly got rid of him because of it being unrealistic for a teacher to follow their kids all the way through high school. But that can't be the real story since Mr. Feeny followed them all through college and married life.

SledgeBarone · 03-12-2021, 04:26 PM

Chrissy on Three's Company
Potsie on Happy Days
Mrs. Wilson on Dennis the Menace (due to Joseph Kearns's death)

MikeLutton · 03-12-2021, 05:00 PM

putting fonzie in the bunny suit on the fonzie's spot episode so against his charactor

03-08-2021, 07:21 PM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 125,403	Biggest mistreatment of a TV character? Basically, what are the most notable examples of a good character getting screwed by outside circumstances such as the ego or negligence of the writers.

03-08-2021, 09:23 PM	#2
RetroGuy2000 Julie,Julie Anne,&Felice 4Ever Forum Star Join Date: Dec 27, 2013 Posts: 16,914	Cordelia Chase (played by Charisma Carpenter) on Angel. It was like they were trying to assassinate the character... and they eventually did. New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Crusie calls the season-long destruction of this character, formerly one of the best-written characters on television, one of the worst moments in TV history, and states that Season 4 of Angel, with Cordelia's stupid storyline, was the moment "the writers lost their minds". It's been stated that the silencing of Cordelia Chase made viewers question how feminist this show really was, and viewers reacted so badly to Cordy's storyline that the series was effectively revamped after the season, according to TVTropes. It was soul-crushing watching the writers slowly destroy this character over 22 episodes, and it's even worse now, knowing actress Charisma Carpenter hated what they were doing to her character, and was dealt this terrible end simply because she had become pregnant.
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03-12-2021, 03:51 PM	#12
icecream Cat-tastic and Whiskerlicious Forum Celebrity Join Date: Sep 01, 2006 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 20,689	Jawarhalal on Head of the Class- Jory Husain who sometimes posts here on the Head of the Class board was a good actor. But the writers just had too many characters to give good stories to everyone, I don't recall Jawarhalal ever being the main focus or even B plot of an episode. He was the only student that happened to, barely had any lines in many episodes. Judy Winslow on Family Matters- I had thought Jaimee Foxworth's demanding stage mother was the main reason she appeared less and less until not at all. But after hearing about how her acting was mocked by Jaleel White and Darius McCrary, it seems like a lot of the cast was cruelly out to get her. As immature as Urkel always was, I had assumed Jaleel White was naturally better than that in real life, I had liked his guest appearance on Psych. Mocking her is awful enough, but if he really did lock her in the closet what shameful behavior. Darrin on The Middle- The writers treated him like total dirt after Sue rejected his marriage proposal. Most of the time after that Darrin was ghosted like he never existed. It went from Axl having Darrin and Sean as co best friends to Sean being his only friend until meeting Hutch. The one time Darrin was mentioned it was very disparagingly, although poor Carly was even worse there. She was not the type of girl who slept around and got knocked up. They also made revisionist history like Sue and Sean had wanted each other from early on. Yeah right, the only way they interacted before Darin left was thru Axl. Sean's asking Sue to the prom was a pity invite, nothing more.
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03-12-2021, 05:00 PM	#15
MikeLutton Mike Lutton DVD Legend! Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 05, 2005 Location: usa pennsyvania Posts: 6,881	putting fonzie in the bunny suit on the fonzie's spot episode so against his charactor
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03-11-2021, 02:14 PM	#3
favoriteshow Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 08, 2018 Posts: 587	This topic is hard. Its easier to find examples when an actor was mistreated (or screwed) and likely written off the show or replaced, than just the character but not the actor. As for character: -On Boy Meets World, Topanga seemed more quirky the first season but made more normal in the subsequent seasons. It might not have made a huge difference but thought a normal Topanga was more boring. -On Parks and Rec, the character for Jerry was bullied and made fun of way too much. In real life, that’d be form of work place harrasment most likely. -On Wonder Years, Kevin’s brother Wayne seemed mostly one-dimensional and a big jerk most of the time. I think if they made him more realistic with some positive qualities it would have made his character more interesting. -On Family Ties, I think the writers made Mallory too dumb. Indirectly it kept her so far behind Alex in terms of popularity.

03-11-2021, 09:50 PM	#5
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,476	Arthur Harmon on Maude. Darrin on Bewitched (Ah, the places I've been [sent] and the things I've been turned into)

03-11-2021, 10:43 PM	#6
Charley Knox Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 09, 2019 Location: Tn Posts: 634	Stuart Bloom on The Big Bang Theory.

03-12-2021, 01:06 PM	#8
favoriteshow Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 08, 2018 Posts: 587	Angela, on The Office, started out more xenophobic in nature, and dismissive towards Pam and other characters. Her character was best in the early seasons. (My favorite seasons are the early seasons, before Ed Helms as Andy Bernard joined the show). Towards the middle to end of the series when the characters started dating then marrying each other, the writers reduced her idiosyncrasies and just made her bland, almost a friend of Jim and Pam.

03-12-2021, 01:48 PM	#9
GentlemanJim Concerns, Support, & Feedback Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 26, 2019 Location: The back country Posts: 5,443	I always thought that Uncle Fester got kind of a raw deal

03-12-2021, 02:45 PM	#10
Schmo Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Aug 24, 2013 Posts: 466	Did any of these actors or actresses come to resent the characters they played?

03-12-2021, 04:21 PM	#13
icecream Cat-tastic and Whiskerlicious Forum Celebrity Join Date: Sep 01, 2006 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 20,689	Eric and Mr. Turner on Boy Meets World- Besides the addition of Rachel who I couldn't stand and lousy writing in general, the sharp dumbing down of Eric is why the latter era of this show, especially seasons 6 and 7, is so much worse. It is one thing for a character to be dumb and stupid yet funny from the start, like Lowell on Wings, Bull on Night Court, Waldo on Family Matters, and Mr. Kimball on Green Acres. But Eric had average intelligence for the first four seasons, sure he had screw-ups but he wasn't a moron either. Mr. Turner was great when he was a regular. They supposedly got rid of him because of it being unrealistic for a teacher to follow their kids all the way through high school. But that can't be the real story since Mr. Feeny followed them all through college and married life.

03-12-2021, 04:26 PM	#14
SledgeBarone Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 01, 2020 Posts: 1,930	Chrissy on Three's Company Potsie on Happy Days Mrs. Wilson on Dennis the Menace (due to Joseph Kearns's death)