We're in the midst of television premiere season, the Emmys aired recently, and, as always, I watch too much of the idiot box. Now, one of the reasons I love TV is that it allows characters to boil, simmer, and grow over time. Unfortunately, the nature of the medium frequently requires its characters to stay static, to only have the illusion of change, because networks don't want a character on a popular show to suddenly become unrecognizable. That said, there is a power in inviting your favorite people into your home each week, and that is the true power of television: familiarity.
So, I began to consider my current favorite television characters, and came up with a list of five. I had to develop some criteria; obviously, the show had to be currently on the air (sorry, Agent Dale Cooper). Also, no reality personalities (sorry, Coach) or people essentially playing themselves (sorry, Louis C.K.), and no character from a show that has been on the air for only one season (sorry, Tyrion Lannister). This ended up being the trickiest bit, only one character per show. As each selected character is part of a talented ensemble, this became a grueling internal debate. Yes, I am the sort of person who debates with himself over fictional characters on television. Anyway, despite some rough near-misses (sorry, Kenny Powers), here are....
MY FIVE FAVORITE CURRENT TELEVISION CHARACTERS
Boyd Crowder (Justified)
First, I will point to this blog's very first post. This one is pretty much a given, isn't it? I don't know that I have much to add, other than Walt Goggins continues to amaze, and even though Boyd seems back on the forking path of outlaw ways, I doubt it will be that easy for him. Sorry, Raylan Givens and Art Mullen.
Ron Swanson (Parks and Recreation)
I don't think anyone could have predicted that, out of this fantastic collective, Nick Offerman's Ron would be the guy who would raise the level of the show from good to great. Head of a governmental department yet staunchly anti-government, Ron is still quietly supportive of those around him. All he really wants is a nice variety of meats and breakfast fare, some woodworking equipment, and quiet. The Ron Swanson Pyramid of Greatness speaks for itself. Sorry, Leslie Knope, Tom Haverford, April Ludgate, and Andy Dwyer.
Walter Bishop (Fringe)
A wingnut scientist who fixates on snack foods and casually drops LSD could easily become a one-note joke, but John Noble absolutely infuses Walter Bishop with a humanizing sadness at the pit of his soul, and a man trying to correct his own youthful mistakes which have threatened the world around him is great dramatic fodder. I don't wish to spoil any of Fringe's rich surprises for the many people who have unfortunately not seen it, but I will say that Noble has had many opportunities to explore both the Walt we know and Walt as he may have been. I'm far from a sci-fi geek, but if all sci-fi were this grounded in creative, insightful writing and fully realized characters like Walter Bishop, I could be. Sorry, Olivia Dunham and Peter Bishop.
Walter White (Breaking Bad)
Obviously, characters named Walt are making out pretty well on this list. Walter White (aka Heisenberg) continues to bulldoze my expectations. Created by Vince Gilligan, one of my favorite writers in any medium, and brought to life by Bryan Cranston, Walter White is a study of a decent person doing absolutely the wrong thing for absolutely the right reasons and becoming both less and more of a man as his actions take a toll on himself and everyone around him. Breaking Bad is a fascinating take on the erosion of the middle class, a quorum on the nature of masculinity, and a lens into the nature of social contracts and the weight of the human soul. Touching all of those topics while also being a rip-snorting crime tale which shocks and surprises and astounds during almost every episode, well, adjectives fail. And this show wouldn't exist without Walter White, as central a central character as one will find in the medium. As an aside, had I started this blog a few weeks later, it might have been titled "The One Who Knocks," instead. Sorry, Jesse Pinkman, Skylar White, Saul Goodman, Hank Schrader, and Gus Fring.
Joan Holloway (Mad Men)
It would be easy to write this one off and dismiss my critical faculties. I mean, you can see a picture of Christina Hendricks just above, right? On one hand, 'nuff said. On the other, Joan is indeed my favorite character on the show, and not just because she's stunning/scorching/sexy. There are lots of attractive women on television, but few get to play a character this intriguing. Mad Men is rightly praised as one of the best shows on television because of the way it approaches its material, the change in American culture in the 1960's as filtered through a group of people who work in the advertising field. Although we care about the standard tropes of drama the show presents; relationships begun, ended, and challenged, triumphs and tragedies both personal and professional, and fun characters doing interesting things in a unique environment, the fact that these events are more novelistic than most shows and can be debated and analyzed simply elevates the entire program. Many would argue that Don Draper is the lead, but I tend to see it as more of a show about Peggy Olson, the young secretary whose creativity and desire soon have her working alongside, and even surpassing, the men. Joan Holloway is somewhat of a counterpoint character to Peggy, a woman who is no less driven and perhaps even more confident and capable who was probably born a few years too early and is therefore content to manage the office to within an inch of its life rather than possibly one day partnering in it. That analysis may make it seem that Joan is a tragic character, but she is anything but. I'm just curious what Joan Holloway might be like were she to have had her formative years in, say, the 1990's instead of the 1950's. She might well be the First Emperor of The World had that happened. Sorry, Don Draper, Peggy Olson, Roger Sterling, Pete Campbell, Bert Cooper, Harry Crane...well, pretty much most of the entire cast.
Obviously, I missed some great characters and some great shows, but this damn blog is nothing if not subjective. If any readers haven't yet seen the shows represented here, I hope they get a chance to enjoy them as much as I do.
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