Best recent Television Villain (SF inclusive)

[tomalak301]

Rachel Duncan

 

[Christopher]

Eric Cartman, in the grand scope of humanity, is the reason we can't have nice things. If he sees someone else receiving a privilege, he wants it. If he sees weakness, he attacks. If he sees anything going on, he makes it about him. Every story told is the story about his desires being fulfilled or denied. In his own world he is all that is good, those who deny his desires are all that is evil.

Whenever humans try to get something good done that helps people and makes the world a better place, Eric Cartman is that one asshole who ruins it for everyone.

So he grows up to be Donald Trump, is what you're saying?

 

[The Old Mixer]

Gotta give a shout-out to Hell on Wheels, which does excellent antagonists (I'd never call them "villains," the show isn't that black-and-white)...Thor "The Swede" Gundersen, John Campbell, and Chang come foremost to mind. And while I'd think of him as more of a protagonist, Colm Meaney's Thomas Durant is a Magnificent Bastard.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

The really great villains have not only a strong drive through the narrative, but are generally intrinsically linked to their environment or the "hero", building pathos and a real investment in their rationale, so when you examine it, you can understand their point of view, if not necessarily agree with it.

I would agree with that. I might tweak that to say, they have clear understandable motives, but they have no moral boundaries in achieving those motives. Like, if there exists a peaceful and a violent solution to achieve the same ends, they might go with the peaceful ones. But if the violent solution is the clear most efficient solution they don't have any limits for how violent the solution will be.

So he grows up to be Donald Trump, is what you're saying?

For that he would have to inherit lots of money.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Ninja'd by @{ Emilia } re: Trump.

As for fictional characters...does Law & Order: SVU count? Because if so I'd have to say William Lewis. Now there's a villain for ya. One of the most truly evil monsters ever to appear on any L&O show. His "motives" were just to make people suffer, and did he ever. In fact he even managed to keep doing it even after his death:

Spoiler: SVU

He committed suicide and tried to make it look like Lt. Benson murdered him.

Soon after that SVU tried to do it again with Gregory Yates but that wasn't even close. Yates was just a douchebag. A killer, to be sure, but as far as L&O-verse villains go Yates was a dung beetle.