NationStates Jolt Archive

That's right boys and girls, it's another one of THOSE threads. Here's the thing: You list off your favourite characters (from a book, film, television, play, or even a comic strip if you please), including the source the character is from, and give your reasons for placing each on the list. (Quotations from characters are encouraged, for full effect.) List as many or as few as you like. I'm going with 5.

5- Mr. Bennet (Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen). Mr Bennet is on the whole a useless old man. He is a negligent father, a reclusive figure, and a bourgeois pig. Why, you may ask, is he on this list than? The man possessed a capacity to insult and tirvialize his daughters and wife that we mere mortals can only hope to replicate. In a truly defining moment, Mr. Bennet dismisses his wife's worries about what will happen after he has died by suggesting they comfort themselves with the hope that he will be the survivor. He constantly tells his daughters how silly they are, and considering all that's on their minds is marrying rich, one can hardly help but praise him for the skill with which he does so.
Memorable Quotation: "...my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you speak of them with consideration these 20 years at least."

4- Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Carribean, played by Johnnie Depp). I don't care what anyone says. Johnnie Depp made it cool to be a pirate again. From the very first moment we saw him sinking his way into Port Royal, it was clear this fellow was something special. He was just the right mix of crazy, drunk, witty, and cunning. Every word out of his mouth was magic, every swagger inspiring. In short, he was a fine action hero but went beyond that to be an excellent comedic role as well. To be able to bitch-slap Orlando Bloom in a sword-fight and question his sexuality at the same time is a feat seldom replicated, and for it I must applaud Jack Sparrow.
Memorable Quotation: "Me, I'm a dishonest man, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest, honestly, it's the honest ones you ought to watch out for, because you never know when they're going to do something unbelievably stupid!"

3- Ajax the Greater (The Illiad, by Homer). What can you say about Ajax? The name itself inspires one to think "Damn, that's a really cool name.". Ajax, you may or may not know, was a Greek warrior who fought in the Trojan War. He was called the wall, and lived up to that name. A perfect example of his character is the description given of the Trojan attack on the Greek ships. When every other hero had been taken from the battlefield wounded, and Achilles still refused to fight, only Ajax (and Ajax the lesser) remained to defend the ships. Following was a description of Ajax fighting off the Trojans on the first of the Greek ships, though his spear was broken and he was pressed hard on all sides he holds his ground. I cannot hope to put it any better than a professor at Queens University once did. "Ajax is... the man."

2- Glen Quagmire (Family Guy)... Okay, I know. He's a sex fiend, presumably guilty of statutory rape and drugging his dates (as numerous references per episode seem to demonstrate), and he's nothing we should possibly consider funny in real life. That's the wonder of cartoons, though. We KNOW that the man is disgusting, filthy, and nothing we want near our families, but to see him play off of other characters in a bizarre, unreal world of television results in a hilarity that simply cannot be described, lest through example.
Memorable Quotations (they're all memorable): "Glen, honey, I have a question for you. What do you do?" "Hey, I got a question for you too. Why are you still here?"
(Upon shaving his pubic hair) "Does this look like a "Q" to you?....... How about now?"

1- Jules Winnfield (Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino. Played by Samuel L. Jackson). Here we have it. The man himself. We have here the role that ensured Samuel L. Jackson the eternal title of "BAD MOTHER FUCKER". We have here a hitman so cold blooded, that he comes into an apartment, eats his victim's burger, ends a human life to make a point, and quotes scripture before blowing that poor schmuck away. We have, also, a man who shows genuine reform throughout a film one might dismiss as being gratuitous violence. In the end, he spare "Ringo", not because he has to, but because he's trying to be the shepherd.... okay, forget the character development, I just love it when he says those lines... Aw, hell, here's the whole "What" exchange, because I love it.
Memorable Quotations:
Jules : What does Marcellus Wallace look like?
Brett : What?
Jules : What country you from?
Brett : What?
Jules : "What" ain't no country I ever heard of! They speak English in What?
Brett : What?
Jules : ENGLISH, MOTHERFUCKER! DO-YOU-SPEAK-IT?
Brett : Yes!
Jules : Then you know what I'm saying!
Brett : Yes!
Jules : Describe what Marcellus Wallace looks like!
Brett : What, I-?
Jules : [pointing his gun] Say "what" again. SAY "WHAT" AGAIN. I dare you, I double dare you, motherfucker. Say "what" one more goddamn time.
Brett : He's b-b-black...
Jules : Go on.
Brett : He's bald...
Jules : Does he look like a bitch?
Brett : What?
[Jules shoots Brett in shoulder]
Jules : DOES HE LOOK LIKE A BITCH?
Brett : No!
Jules : Then why you try to fuck him like a bitch, Brett?
Brett : I didn't.
Jules : Yes you did. Yes you did, Brett. You tried to fuck him. And Marcellus Wallace don't like to be fucked by anybody, except Mrs. Wallace.


Well, there's my five. Post your own or comment on mine as you like.

I have a lot of favorite characters, but I'm a bit too lazy to list all of them.

For now, my lot is cast for Cat from Red Dwarf. Cat's line from season one got the show on the air:

"This is mine, that's mine, all this is mine! Except that spot. I don't want that spot. But all the rest of this is mine! Hey, it's been a pretty good day! I've eaten five times, slept six times, and made a lot of stuff mine. Tomorrow, I'll see if I can't have sex with somethin'! Yeeeoowwww!!!"

Too lazy to explain why, but here's five.

5. Gul Dukat from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

4. Alia Atriedes from the Dune series.

3. Odysseus from the Iliad and the Odyssey.

2. Andy Dufrense(sp?) from The Shawshank Redemption.

1. John Crichton from Farscape

As you can see, I am a big sci-fi fan.

4. Alia Atriedes from the Dune series.


*shudder*
so creepy...

*shudder*
so creepy...

Yeah, that's why I like her so much. She's creepy in Dune and she just completely loses it by Children of Dune.

Al Bundy
Homer Simpson
The dad from Family Guy
Andy Kaufman (in that movie Man from the Moon, played by Jim Carey)
Oscar from Sesamestreet

Too lazy to explain why, but here's five.

5. Gul Dukat from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

4. Alia Atriedes from the Dune series.

3. Odysseus from the Iliad and the Odyssey.

2. Andy Dufrense(sp?) from The Shawshank Redemption

I can't really complain about a lack of explanation. If I didn't have insomnia, I'd never have started this thread (it's 2:51 am right now). Can't argue with Dukat; he was all kinds of badass. I certainly considered Odysseus as well as Ajax (I also thought about Diomedes), too. I didn't even think about Shawshank Redemption. That's a favourite movie of mine.

Dienekes, from the novel Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield

"But the most fearsome remains yet to be told, brothers," the Trachinian continued. "That same day, as our goalers marched us to supper, we passed the Persian archers in their practice. Not the Olympian gods themsleves could have assembled such myriads! I swear to you, mates, so numerous were the multitueds of bowmen that when they fired their volleys, the mass of arrows blocked out the sun!"

The rumormonger's eyes burned with pleasure. He turned to my master, as if to savor the flame of dread his tale ignited even in a Spartan. To his disappointment Dienekes regarded him with a cool, almost bored detachment.

"Good," he said. "Then we'll have our battle in the shade."

"Good," he said. "Then we'll have our battle in the shade."
Good line. Very good line.

Yeah, that's why I like her so much. She's creepy in Dune and she just completely loses it by Children of Dune.

Very true. I always post about Dune whenever I get the chance, so I went Red Dwarf for this post. Personally I'm a fan of Duke Leto. He's pretty much my vision of a perfect (but at the same time realistic) leader.

Can't argue with Dukat; he was all kinds of badass.

I like Dukat because he was a character more than a caricature. They took the time to develop him as a person throughout the whole 7 seasons, rather than the typical TOS and TNG bad guy who lasted one episode, or, at most, four or five. They developed his history and his personality so much that he might as well have been a main character. You saw him at his best and at his worst, and you saw him go through things that showed you he really was a person with emotions, rather than a cookie-cutter villian. Obviously you knew that at the end he was going to be evil, but it was amazing watching him develop into an actual character through the series. He's the best Star Trek bad guy in my opinion.

Very true. I always post about Dune whenever I get the chance, so I went Red Dwarf for this post. Personally I'm a fan of Duke Leto. He's pretty much my vision of a perfect (but at the same time realistic) leader.

I think Leto II was even worse than Alia. He was so messed up that I didn't like him.

I like Dukat because he was a character more than a caricature. They took the time to develop him as a person throughout the whole 7 seasons, rather than the typical TOS and TNG bad guy who lasted one episode, or, at most, four or five. They developed his history and his personality so much that he might as well have been a main character. You saw him at his best and at his worst, and you saw him go through things that showed you he really was a person with emotions, rather than a cookie-cutter villian. Obviously you knew that at the end he was going to be evil, but it was amazing watching him develop into an actual character through the series. He's the best Star Trek bad guy in my opinion.
Well, sometimes caricatures are good too. I refer you to the case of Q? Loved him.

I think Leto II was even worse than Alia. He was so messed up that I didn't like him.

I can see that. Remember, all characters in Dune have their flaws. A big theme of Dune was to destroy the reader's automatic "hero worship" syndrome. No easy answers, no perfect leader to hide behind.

I can see that. Remember, all characters in Dune have their flaws. A big theme of Dune was to destroy the reader's automatic "hero worship" syndrome. No easy answers, no perfect leader to hide behind.

Yeah, Herbert did a good job of not creating perfect characters. They all had their problems and issues and faults.

But Leto II in God-Emperor? Just the physical description made me ill.

I think Leto II was even worse than Alia. He was so messed up that I didn't like him.
Have you guys read the books of Brian Herbert & Kevin J Anderson too? (House Atreides, House Harkonnen, Machine Crusade etc.) What do you think of them? I think their OK but can NEVER live up to the orginal series.

Well, sometimes caricatures are good too. I refer you to the case of Q? Loved him.

Well, the did a mildly good job of making Q a more complex character than the generic villians.

I refer you to Tomalak or Duras.

Have you guys read the books of Brian Herbert & Kevin J Anderson too? (House Atreides, House Harkonnen, Machine Crusade etc.) What do you think of them? I think their OK but can NEVER live up to the orginal series.

I think they are awful. I particularly hated the Bulterian Jihad; totally made me disbelieve the reasons for the lack of AI in the future Dune world. They are, in my mind, to the Dune series what the latest Star Wars prequels are to the original trilogy.

Well, the did a mildly good job of making Q a more complex character than the generic villians.

I refer you to Tomalak or Duras.
I like Tomalak.... not the character, but the name. It's a nice name. Rolls off the tongu. Just say it to youself for a bit. "Tomalak", "tomalak".

Have you guys read the books of Brian Herbert & Kevin J Anderson too? (House Atreides, House Harkonnen, Machine Crusade etc.) What do you think of them? I think their OK but can NEVER live up to the orginal series.

I've read House Atreides. I loved it, and I know why everyone else hates it. Again, I'm partial to Duke Leto. I liked the book for two major reasons:

1. It isn't Frank Herbert. It's a totally different writing style, and I'm ok with that. A lot of people complain that it just isn't "Dune" enough. Of course not.

2. It's everything a prequel should be. It explains the context of the original novels, explores the past lives of the characters, and I don't think it contradicts the original story.

As an aside, I do think Brian Herbert should've written his own books first. He would have been respected a hell of a lot more.

In no particular order:

1) "Verbal" Kint/ Keyser Soze from the Usual Suspects

"How do you shoot the devil in the back? What if you miss?"

"The greatest trick the devil played on humans was making them believe he never existed."

The guy fooled everyone-- the cops, the viewer, his friends-- and he's probably the most bad ass bad guy ever.

2) Yossarian from Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

"And don't tell me God works in mysterious ways", Yossarian continued "There's nothing mysterious about it, He's not working at all. He's playing. Or else He's forgotten all about us. That's the kind of God you people talk about, a country bumpkin, a clumsy, bungling, brainless, conceited, uncouth hayseed. Good God, how much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in His divine system of Creation? What in the world was running through that warped, evil, scatalogical mind of His when He robbed old people of the power to control their bowel movements? Why in the world did He ever create pain?"

"The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he's on."

Guy got straight to the point: your enemy is whoever is trying to kill you, whether that's the Germans by shooting at you, or the military beauracracy by being incompetant in their planning.

3) Aureliano Buendia from One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Weird, yet believable hero to the masses of Columbia.

Ah! I knew I had another good one buried in my brain!

Jean Valjean from Les Mis. The musical's beautiful and wonderous. Everyone should see it sometime in their life. The most recent movie (with Uma Thurman I believe) isn't terribly good or accurate, but the major points of the story are conveyed very well. But the book is pure greatness in paper & ink format. I adore Jean Valjean because he's the perfect tragic hero. He lives his whole life helping others and thinking little of himself, but it's never a burden. By helping others he helps himself. His life is all about progression. He starts as almost a proto-human, barely thinking for himself. His life was nothing but survival. Then he rotten in prision for 19 years and became a wretched excuse of a man. Then he's released and has an experience with a kind old bisop. After that point, he becomes better and better as the story goes on. Purr. I loved every page of that book.

Well, hmm:

1. Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer) : I have the Evil-Overlord complex (it'll become more apparent as we go), and I have nothing but respect for (highly intelligent) people who can say "yes. I'm going to rob you blind. Because I can". Plus, well, he's highly intelligent, has a dry sense of humour, and blue eyes. The only reason I don't get highly 'distracted' when reading the Artemis Fowl series is because... well, he's twelve.

Bleah.

2. Havelock Vetinari (Discworld series by Terry Pratchett) : Any Discworld fans really shouldn't fail to see the reason behind this (knowing about my e-o complex). He's everything you could want in an overlord, but he's intelligent (he's the sort of character you'd get if you let a stereotyped overlord read eviloverlord.com). But he's not actually a bad guy in the series, so you get to see a lot more of him than the typical bad guy. Plus, again; highly intelligent, dry sense of humour, blue eyes.

Plus, I love the terror the threat of his sarcasm/irony illicits in other characters. And his random hatred of mimes. And his ability to juggle perfectly first time, and not understand how other people can't. Mmmm.

3. Greebo (Discworld again) : Not only do I love cats, but I love pirates. And I love the way he talks when human. And I love the fact that when he becomes human, he really acts just like a cat in human form. And ok, fine, I also like drooling over the pictures of him in the Illustrated Discworld. I also him when he's a cat, because, well, he's evil. Did I mention my love for all things evil?

4. Vimes (Discworld) : I don't know why. I just admire him a great deal. His cynism falls in line with mine, only moreso. His hatred of the upper classes AND the lower classes amuses me. Plus, while lines like 'everyone's guilty of something' get cliched and tiresome coming from most cop-characters, Vimes has enough character that it doesn't seem at all cliched coming from him.

5. Everyone's favourite DEATH (discworld, and also, to a lesser degree, Good Omens) : Highly intelligent, dry sense of humour, blue eyes... Wait, no, it's more that he's so totally innocent and naive but also intelligent. The black flowing robes and the scyth contrast so neatly with his childishness (Hogfather anyone?). I don't know, it's complicated. But just about everyone I know lists him as a favourite Discworld character, so I'm not alone.

6. DEATH's grand-daughter (discworld) : she doesn't patronise children, which I like, she has general disdain for people, which I like, she doesn't tolerate shit, which I like (she's also the first girl on this list! Woo)

7. Jonathen Creek (from the tv series of the same name) : English accent? Check. Highly intelligent? Check. Dry sense of humour? Check. Patronising git? Check. What's NOT to love?

8. Steerpike (Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake) : highly intelligent bastard + English accent (in the BBC production). Able to run rings around everyone around him. Self-centered git. Again, what's not to love?

9. Edgar and Ellen (Edgar and Ellen series by Charles Ogden) : They're out to be as evil as possible; they absentmindedly try to injure each other; spiteful, hateful, vicious. They run rings around the idiotic people in their town. They're creative in their spite. Mmm.

10. Schmendric (from The Last Unicorn movie) : a token good guy on this list - he's a magician who can't control magic (it only works when he tells it to 'do as it will'). He's realistic (insists that the last unicorn can't stay human to be with the prince because the world isn't about happy endings). He's a counter-balance to Molly's (and my own) hopelessly romantic nature.

Ok, I'll stop at ten. Phew, I have too much time on my hands :p