Annoying Characters.... Necessary???!

[VulcanMindBlown]

I know that searching through message boards and other things on the internet that some people don't like characters that aren't socially graceful.... now it's one thing to say "oh, they aren't entertaining or cool," but sometimes they are there to prove a point, be an object of the plot, or move the plot along.

As you guys may have already known, I posted about Wesley Crusher, Jar Jar, Anakin Skywalker, Jake Sisko (though I didn't make a whole thread about him), and Lt. Barclay.

Now, sometimes people who aren't socially graceful contribute to the plot. Without Jar Jar, the Star Wars saga involving the Galactic Empire would have never come to be if he wasn't annoying enough to eventually set things in motion to bring the Naboo and Gungans together and give the Chancellor emergency powers to fight the Clone Wars. I could go on and on...

However, I will point out this one more point... sometimes it is interesting to portray someone as socially ungraceful. Take Lt. Barclay or Charlie X, the point about the episode was showing how the crew reacted to people who struggled to socialize. It is interesting for people who don't have as good social skills in real life to see themselves in them. Is it going to be as cool as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Dominion 7th Season ending the Dominion War arc with the Defiant blasting them things to bits and other bad***-ery? No, but it resonates with some people.

 

[JWPlatt]

Joe Pesci in Lethal Weapon.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Aside from Jar-Jar, I don't mind the ones you've listed. In fact, like you say, some of them like Barclay can be used to make very good points, and I think Barclay was used very effectively to the point that he's one of my favourite characters.

Although, I do think that at times, there are characters that are just grating in their very nature. I'm currently on Season 3 of Farscape, and the character of Jool annoys me greatly due to the way she screams out. It's very shrill. And it's a replacement for a calmer character that left. So, sometimes it's not so much characters themselves, but the circumstances in which they're introduced as well.

 

[sojourner]

I think the OP is lumping together characters that are problems for different issues. Jar Jar is a poorly written character in a poorly plotted movie. Wesley is a wish fulfillment of the producer. Anakin is a good character hobbled with terrible lines and bad acting. Lt. Barclay is exactly what the story needed him to be and works all around.

 

[TommyR01D]

Neelix's problem was that the writers expected him to be Voyager's breakout character. It wasn't until a few years in that they learned to tone him down or relegate him to the background.

 

[Paradise City]

Badly drawn characters are not needed, they are pretty much universally irritating, There's some characters that are reasonably drawn or even well drawn, that irritate depending on particular tastes.

 

[JWPlatt]

Neelix's problem was that the writers expected him to be Voyager's breakout character. It wasn't until a few years in that they learned to tone him down or relegate him to the background.

Neelix's best scene is when Tuvok strangles him to death.

 

[DeepSpaceYorks]

Characters can be annoying and still be likeable and yes I agree that having a character like that can be very rewarding and enriching for a show, as long as they don't descend into downright obnoxiousness. Of all the characters you listed in my opinion Barclay is the only one who works for me. However, in the interest of full disclosure I have never found Barclay annoying, on the contrary, I actually think he's one of the most sucessful characters in Next Gen.

 

[stardream]

Neelix's problem was that the writers expected him to be Voyager's breakout character. It wasn't until a few years in that they learned to tone him down or relegate him to the background.

I would say around the time of the Season Third Episode Fair Trade is when they started to dial back on Neelix. He still had his moments after that but he became a sort of quasi Guinan type character.

 

[Doom Shepherd]

I could get along without annoying characters... but it'd be awful lonely all by myself.

 

[Owain Taggart]

My big problem is when there's a lack of balance. I've always felt that a good show could have its annoying characters as long as they've also had characters to counteract that.

With Farscape, those characters, at least for me, were Zahn and Aeryn. Zahn left at the end of season 2, and Aeryn receives a reduced role in Season 3, which threw things off-kilter a bit for me. When Chiana first came onboard I was annoyed with her, but they toned her down some, thankfully. But then there's still Jool, and Stark to a lesser extent. So for me, season 1 is still the best due to that balance.

 

[MacLeod]

So some charactes on TV don't have great social skills, isn't that realistic as a great many people don't have great social skills. Why we find characters annoying might have little to do with their social skills but other attributes that the writers imbue them with. Anakin came over as a spoiled brat at who felt entitled to have everything his way at times.

 

[JoeZhang]

No not required at all - the first two films that come to mind -' Letter from an unknown woman' or 'the red shoes' don't continue such characters.

 

[Anna Yolei]

Neelix's problem was that the writers expected him to be Voyager's breakout character. It wasn't until a few years in that they learned to tone him down or relegate him to the background.

Ethan Philips' talent was far too good for a lot of the material he received. When he was allowed a meaty story and Neelix wasn't straight comic relief, he was actually quite excellent.

 

[Kelthaz]

I know that searching through message boards and other things on the internet that some people don't like characters that aren't socially graceful..

No one has ever said that. The complaints about the characters that you listed have to do with them being poorly written. Data and Picard are both socially awkward and they're the two most popular characters in TNG. Barclay gets quite a bit of love from the fans too.

 

[Owain Taggart]

No one has ever said that. The complaints about the characters that you listed have to do with them being poorly written. Data and Picard are both socially awkward and they're the two most popular characters in TNG. Barclay gets quite a bit of love from the fans too.

Yeah, this. As I said, I don't mind annoying characters if they serve a purpose and if they're well-written, but I also feel that sometimes they're used as a crutch with writing that lets me down.

 

[Scotchy]

Barclay pulled his weight in episodes like the Nth degree. At least his character had a journey, so he didn't end up being that annoying. He was very assertive in the Voyager finale.

Chiana first came onboard I was annoyed with her, but they toned her down some, thankfully.

I agree, her character evolved very well. She started to be less annoying when she started contributing, like when she went with Crichton to Scorpius' secret base.
However, comic relief characters do tend to suck. On Farscape, I found Rygell, Jule and (sometimes) Noranti to be the most annoying. Good thing characters like Scorpius and Sikozu were there to even things out.

 

[Spot261]

Life contains socially awkward characters, so why not fiction? A character being annoying does not necessarily imply poor writing, especially if that were the intent.

What is less however is when that character is intended as comic relief but ends up having the opposite effect, where the effect is less on the other characters and more on the viewer.

 

[locutus101]

Joe Pesci in Lethal Weapon.

He's a very talented actor. Remember his role in Goodfelllas?

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

How much is too much sand in the Vaseline? It's a subjective matter.