What Once Beloved TV Character Now Strikes You As Being Annoying? (1 Viewer)

[David_B_K]

To each his own concerning characters they find annoying, BUT i have to say that anyone who feels they know a show well enough to comment on the characters should at least know how to spell the name: DARRIN Stephens. Not DARREN. Not only was it written on the end credits of each episode for the first few seasons, it was also seen on his office door in just about every episode. Thank you for allowing me to vent. I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

I guess getting his name wrong makes many of us no better than Endora. A Darren is as good as a Durwood (or was she saying Durward?).

 

[Rob_Ray]

Maybe Dick York spelled it one way and Dick Sargent spelled it another. And then there's Tabatha vs. Tabitha.

 

[Professor Echo]

I guess I should retitle this thread WHAT DO YOU LOVE/HATE ABOUT BEWITCHED?

 

[Gary OS]

I guess I should retitle this thread WHAT DO YOU LOVE/HATE ABOUT BEWITCHED?

Gary "another classic from you, Glen" O.

 

[MatthewA]

I guess I should retitle this thread WHAT DO YOU LOVE/HATE ABOUT BEWITCHED?

This debate has been going on for 50 years. It'll go on for another 50.

 

[Professor Echo]

This debate has been going on for 50 years. It'll go on for another 50.

How to spell Darrin?

 

[Joe Lugoff]

To each his own concerning characters they find annoying, BUT i have to say that anyone who feels they know a show well enough to comment on the characters should at least know how to spell the name: DARRIN Stephens. Not DARREN. Not only was it written on the end credits of each episode for the first few seasons, it was also seen on his office door in just about every episode. Thank you for allowing me to vent. I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Yeah, see, I just quietly spelled it correctly without commenting on his misspelling, even taking the risk that people might think I was the one spelling it wrong.

For all we've discussed it, I do want to say for the record that on my list of concerns in life, anything concerning "Bewitched" comes in at number 52,612,419.

 

[Joe Lugoff]

*** The fact is that people who worked for such firms were people making a decent, honest living ***

You either work for one yourself or don't know much about them. There never has been anything decent or honest about advertising.

*** Except if he had a million dollars "conjured up every week" and then put that into circulation every week, you would also in the process destroy the economy of the country with runaway inflation that would in the process put a lot of people out of work in the process and cause prices to skyrocket. ***

Even back then a million dollars would be a drop in the bucket. Poor people could buy clothes for their children and maybe take them to a dentist or a doctor. It would have done nothing to the economy, much less destroy it.

 

[Jack P]

You either work for one yourself or don't know much about them. There never has been anything decent or honest about advertising.

I do know something about the suburban commuter lifestyle which too often was made out to be the lowliest form of existence in some social commentary piece in this era, and as someone who comes out of a family where my father had a long satisfying and productive life working for a large insurance company (another occupation that one will so often see run down as representing the "impersonal" thing that somehow renders one's life meaningless) I will plead guilty to being more than a little annoyed when I see another piece take the view that everyone should have been a bunch of On The Road Jack Kerouacs to find fulfillment in life instead.

And $50 million dollars a year of what is, one must remember *counterfeit* money introduced into the economy (since after all Sam sure wouldn't be making that on genuine plates and then there's the matter of serial numbers that wouldn't be genuine either) is not my idea of how the poor should be helped. In any other context, you'd go to jail for manufacturing magic money and then distributing it to the gullible.

 

[mrz7]

Well I thought this was an interesting thread. I like everyone's take on the different characters and everyone is entitled to their opinions. However, I could NEVER find Lucy (Lucille Ball) in all her reincarnations of her characters (Lucy Ricardo, Lucy Carmichael, or Lucy Carter) annoying. Now some of her later shows (in particular of "Here's Lucy"), some of the plots were alittle stale, but Lucy was always true to form (imo). She clearly was an icon (yes I am a die hard fan) and to find her annoying is like disowning your Grandma (again, imo).

I also feel this way towards Mr. Jackie Gleason (Ralph Kramden). Although Ralph could be hard on Alice, which would not stand up well in today's t.v., Alice (played wonderfully by Audrey Meadows), was a pretty strong woman for the 1950's to stand up to her husband. The warmth of "The Honeymooners" would always come to the point where Ralph realized he was wrong and tell Alice that she was "The Greatest".....and they truly BOTH were. Ralph would like to act like a bad-ass, but he had a heart of gold for his wife. So like my comparison with Lucy, finding Ralph (Jackie Gleason) annoying is like disowning your Grandpa. And the same goes for Don Knott's character Barney Fife (who can dislike Barney?!?!??!?!?!). Again imo.

I have a HUGE collection of classic T.V. shows and I rarely am disappointed or turned off by a character to the point where I don't like the DVD set and sell it on Ebay. However, there has only been two t.v. series where I just had to get rid of my DVD set because of an annoying character. The first one has to be the series "Maude". Now I thought when I bought the 1st season set, I would enjoy it cause I love Bea Arthur, and I love her in the "Golden Girls". But I was so disappointed in the series, because I found that Bea's character "Maude" was LOUD and obnoxious. When her character first appeared in "All In The Family", I thought the character was hysterical. But I really think, now, that it was because the back and forth arguements with Archie Bunker is what I liked. On "Maude", I found her obnoxious and a drama queen, to the point where I couldn't get through the whole series. I also found that Bea Arthur and Rue McClannahan (who played her neighbor/girlfriend on the show) looked a hell of alot older than they did in the "Golden Girls". Not that that makes a difference, just that in the controversal episode where Maude decides to have an abortion, I just thought she looked way too old to have a baby. The only thing I did love about "Maude", was the theme song "And then there's Maude......" LOL

The other DVD series that I had to get rid of because of an annoying character was the t.v. series "Family". I liked Kristy McNichol (Buddy) and Gary Frank (Willie) who played brother and sister....I thought their relationship on the show was very good and brought warmth to the show. But it was the mother on the show (played by Sada Thompson), I found to be very cold and distant. She always acted "spacey" to me. Just didn't like the character and unfortunately was disappointed in the series....I found it boring.

And for those of you who mentioned Alan Alda's character "Hawkeye Pierce", I would agree just because I never ever liked "MASH". I think Alan Alda is a great actor, but I never liked this show. I just never thought a show that took place in war scenario was funny. Same applies to "Hogan's Heroes". But again, imo.

Lastly, I was surprised to find that "Bewitched" was a hot topic in this thread. I liked the series, and I never really found any of the characters annoying. I even like BOTH Darrins......LOL

 

[Joe Lugoff]

It's amazing how you mentioned so many things I totally agree with. You brought back an old memory that I didn't like Sada Thompson on "Family" for the very reason you said. Like you, I never liked "M*A*S*H" or "Hogan's Heroes" because I can't find anything remotely funny about war. And I do agree that negative comments about Lucy, Jackie Gleason and Don Knotts as Barney Fife do cross a line here (although I still say that Lucille Ball's shows and performances deteriorated badly over the years, but she had the misfortune of always being compared to the very high standards for TV comedy that she set.)

 

[Jeff Willis]

I guess I should retitle this thread WHAT DO YOU LOVE/HATE ABOUT BEWITCHED?

Gary "another classic from you, Glen" O.

This debate has been going on for 50 years. It'll go on for another 50.

On this date, the tenth of May, in the year 2063 A.D., we declare this debate closed

How to spell Darrin?

I spell it "I Like Bewitched"

Bewitched Opening Themes

Glen:

 

[Gary OS]

I guess we all get shocked a bit when a character we've always enjoyed is mentioned by someone else as annoying to them. For me the only real shocking choice in this thread has been the mention of Barney Fife. For the life of me I just couldn't ever find him annoying. Why? Mainly because although he does and says some things that could be construed as annoying if analyzed in a vacuum, he's portrayed as having a good heart and basically a guy that, deep down, is aware of his limitations. That's why I could never view him as truly annoying. Plus, he's just a funny character that plays off Andy perfectly.

BTW, Jeff - did you see what I was talking about when you watched those first 4 episodes of Bewitched the other day? I'm specifically referencing the Darrin/Endora relationship.


Gary "I almost never watch the color episodes of TAGS for the simple reason that Don Knotts is no longer there" O.

 

[Jeff Willis]

I guess we all get shocked a bit when a character we've always enjoyed is mentioned by someone else as annoying to them. For me the only real shocking choice in this thread has been the mention of Barney Fife. For the life of me I just couldn't ever find him annoying. Why? Mainly because although he does and says some things that could be construed as annoying if analyzed in a vacuum, he's portrayed as having a good heart and basically a guy that, deep down, is aware of his limitations. That's why I could never view him as truly annoying. Plus, he's just a funny character that plays off Andy perfectly.

BTW, Jeff - did you see what I was talking about when you watched those first 4 episodes of Bewitched the other day? I'm specifically referencing the Darrin/Endora relationship.


Gary "I almost never watch the color episodes of TAGS for the simple reason that Don Knotts is no longer there" O.

BW: I did see that.

Andy Griffith Show: Put me in the "no issues with 'Barney' in that show" catagory. Works for me so far in this series. I'm in the first part of S3 viewing at present.

Thanks for getting me off that "to collect this one or not to collect" fence

 

[Rob_Ray]

I'm definitely in the pro-Barney camp. He made that show the classic that it is.

The Darrin/Endora relationship would have worked a lot better for me if there was just a hint that, deep down and unspoken, there was a grudging bit of respect for one another -- if Endora would somehow admit when Durwood wasn't within earshot, that he was indeed a superior mortal in some small ways, though she would never admit to either Sam or Darrin. Just a glance or perhaps a defense of Darrin to others when neither Sam nor Darrin were around. And something similar on Darrin's part toward her would have been nice.

My favorite scene between the two occurs in the episode where Tabitha is born. Endora and Darrin are in the waiting room, both crying happy tears. Endora asks Darrin, "Can you swim?" and he answers, "I can't swim a stroke!" Then she says, "Then we better use these." as she whips up a couple of handkerchiefs and they begin to weep in each other's arms. The show needed more scenes such as this one -- not on a regular basis -- but once in a while, to leaven the usual animosity.

 

[Professor Echo]

I can understand the problem some people have with the character of Barney Fife because it's hard for them to get past what seems like his inherent stupidity and the fact that he never seems to learn from his mistakes. If you are predisposed to disliking people who exhibit such trends in their personalities, and many of us are with good reason, it makes sense. But Barney is not Maxwell Smart, a one dimensional spoof that is certainly enjoyable and hilarious, but has no real depth (however appropriate it was for that series).

Like Gary said, Barney has a good heart and is ultimately well intentioned. but In many respects he is very sad. Here is a childlike, sometimes childish, man who is desperate to be "worldly," but is moored in a small town and a lack of sophisticated thinking which will always keep him so. Andy on the other hand, though reared in the same environment, understands the world and his place in it. He could thrive anywhere, doing most anything, but he chooses to be a beloved big fish in a small pond. Barney wants more, but has no real conception of how to get it nor really what MORE is, just fragments from movies, television and the Sunday magazine in the local newspaper that stick in his frustrated fantasies of what the world beyond Mayberry must really be. It is a complicated, beautifully written and acted character that perfectly relates to both kids who are anxious to explore the world around them and adults who sometimes feel trapped in their own little space, seeing in the character of Barney some small measure of reassurance that they are not the only ones.

The color episodes belong to a whole different ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, where the focus becomes more about the town itself and less about Andy's role in it. The color Barney episodes are painful for me because none of it rings true. Barney would never leave Mayberry or if he did he would be back in an instant once he saw that the world would never, could never, have Andy's patience for him. I've made my peace with the color version of the series and generally enjoy the direction they took through MAYBERRY RFD, but the only way to truly appreciate it is to separate it from the first five years and look at it as a spinoff show rather than as a continuation.

 

[Ejanss]

My favorite scene between the two occurs in the episode where Tabitha is born. Endora and Darrin are in the waiting room, both crying happy tears. Endora asks Darrin, "Can you swim?" and he answers, "I can't swim a stroke!" Then she says, "Then we better use these." as she whips up a couple of handkerchiefs and they begin to weep in each other's arms. The show needed more scenes such as this one -- not on a regular basis -- but once in a while, to leaven the usual animosity.

To answer David BK's question, I dimly remember one episode where Endora tried to test Darrin's personality by inflicting some magical indignity or other, she ended up going too far and in the wrong, and Samantha demanded she apologize. Endora grudgingly whipped up a written apology in mid-air. To "Durwood".

But since this is a thread for "Annoying" characters, and Hawkeye hate has already been explored in depth, I'll just throw a wrench to get off the Bewitched thread for a minute: Claire Huxtable from the Cosby Show.
Yes, the joke was that she was perfect and he wasn't, but HOW did the Most Lovable, Cuddly Doctor in the World stay married to a woman with slightly less humility than Oprah WInfrey?
(Bob & Emily Hartley, you could believe, but...)

 

[JohnMor]

Okay, I wasn't going to chime in with a character, but I will anyway: Gidget (the 1965 Sally Field incarnation.) I know all teenagers think they know it all, but she really took the cake. The cuteness compensates for some of it, but not enough IMO. And on the topic of Bewitched, I'll add Esmeralda, who I did like as a kid, but find completely unfunny and annoying now. And I have to include Maxwell Smart. It's not that I don't like Don Adams' performance, but I find the character more annoying and less funny now than I did as a kid. I just want to smack him for being so stupid instead of laughing along. Didn't expect that change, but there it is.

 

[Ethan Riley]

 

[John Hermes]

It's amazing how you mentioned so many things I totally agree with. You brought back an old memory that I didn't like Sada Thompson on "Family" for the very reason you said. Like you, I never liked "M*A*S*H" or "Hogan's Heroes" because I can't find anything remotely funny about war. And I do agree that negative comments about Lucy, Jackie Gleason and Don Knotts as Barney Fife do cross a line here (although I still say that Lucille Ball's shows and performances deteriorated badly over the years, but she had the misfortune of always being compared to the very high standards for TV comedy that she set.)

My Uncle Bob, a B-17 crew member during WWII, was shot down and remained a POW until the end of the war. He loved Hogan's Heroes. Go figure...