Author Topic: Favorite character in SFF  (Read 13562 times)

Heradel

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on: November 23, 2009, 01:14:45 AM
I'm going to break this down into two parts, TV/Movies and Graphic Novels/Books.

For me, it's G'Kar from Babylon 5 and Death from Discworld (Though obviously he's now appeared in celluloid as well).

The slow arc of G'Kar from a murderous freedom fighter to prophet and general holy man is one of the better transformations. The character in Season Five, self-assured and dispensing with the religious pretense foisted upon him is nearly unrecognizable from the firebrand of Season One.

Whereas Death is such a human character, even as he tries to shed it and any other pretense of emotional attachment to sentients (I MAY HAVE ALLOWED MYSELF SOME FLICKER OF EMOTION IN THE RECENT PAST, said DEATH, BUT I CAN GIVE IT UP ANY TIME I LIKE.). We see him almost as a child, struggling through deep and dark things towards love and and a sense of maturity in an entity older than the turtle the world sails through the void on. His nature may try to require of him some true neutrality, but some passing human infected him with a conscience that fights against it.

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Reply #1 on: November 23, 2009, 03:55:43 AM
What an impossible pick!

G'Kar is a fine choice, I agree with all you said. I think it's hugely ironic Katsulas had to wear a mask to get a part that really showed his acting skill.

Alright, my fave screen character is Jean-Luc Picard. A man of steady surety, implacable principles, an inspiring leader. And a damn fine actor. There are some scenes in TNG that still, for me, cut right to the emotion of the situation because of Stewart's acting. I know Picard's a character but by god, I'd love to serve in his crew.

Now, a character from the page...

Probably Jack Havig, the protagonist of There Will Be Time by Poul Anderson. It's a book I frequently re-read because Havig is such a strongly-drawn and likeable character. He's a guy who learns early in life he can travel through time... and what does one do with such a gift? The choices Havig makes, through the situations, schemes and plots in which he finds himself embroiled, show a strength of character and purpose and moral certitude that I find very appealing. Wonderful stuff.


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Reply #2 on: November 23, 2009, 05:19:26 AM
Sometimes I have a hard time picking a favorite character from a single book or show, let alone out of all of them.

G'Kar and Death are both very, very high on my list (though I enjoy Londo more than G'Kar; Londo's arc is far more tragic, I think.  He makes mistakes, yes, but then he pays, and pay, and pays for them.)  I think Death is my actual favorite literary character of all time, but he has the triple-whammy of being funny, earnest, and playing with conceptual/concrete dynamics.  It's pretty much a rigged vote.

Gosh, this is hard!  Okay, okay.  Hmm.  All right, this is going to out me as a nerd among nerds, but...

---

Favorite TV Show Character: Vash the Stampede from "Trigun."  I love me a Don Quixote, and I'm particularly fond of how long Vash manages to keep up his smokescreen of "harmless goofball," if it even is a smokescreen.  (Another similar character - whose ultimate status as either genius or lunatic is never actually clarified - is the titular character of "The Irresponsible Captain Tyler," which is mostly also quite a lot of fun.)  More to the point, I very much understand and empathize with Vash's constant conundrum.  He wants the spider and the fly to live in peace, with neither dying, and the series as a whole reinforces the message that while such a world is impossible, striving for it is not in itself a bad thing.  (The biggest weakness, in my opinion, is that they let Vash get away with a little TOO much success on the basis of his ludicrous abilities.)

Runner Up - Uncle Eiroh from "Avatar: The Last Airbender."  Uncle Eiroh is a pimp.  That is all.  (Notice he's also a Secret Genius self-disguised as a lovable and mostly helpless goofball.  This is probably not a coincidence.)

---

Favorite Book/Story Character - Jack of Shadows from "Jack of Shadows" by Roger Zelazny.  Zelazny is hands-down my favorite author (yes, even more favorite than Pratchett).  Jack is a lot like Pratchett's Death, in some ways; looking for humanity without realizing it.  He's considerably more opaque, however; one of the things I like best about Zelazny is how rarely he lets us into his characters' heads.  I've read this book probably twenty or thirty times and I still couldn't say with absolute precision why Jack makes some of the decisions he does.  I regard that as a strength.

Runner Up - Captain Vimes.  If I can't have Death, I'll admit to also being fond of Pratchett's most obvious Mary-Sue despite the obvious Mary-Sue-ness of him.  "Fifth Elephant" is one of my favorite Discworld books, period.



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Reply #3 on: November 26, 2009, 10:14:43 AM
TV - Worf

Novels - Dame Honor Harrington. She could have beaten the Kobayashi Maru exercise without cheating.

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Alasdair5000

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Reply #4 on: November 26, 2009, 10:43:43 AM
TV-Wash Hoburne (Sorry, I know, Firefly always surfaces in conversations like this).  Wash is sufficiently close to me in personality that family members of mine were slightly traumatized by the ending of Serenity.  Alternately, it's Ford Prefect simply because his combination of total calm and slight mania is utterly charming:)

Or Rodney from Stargate Atlantis.

Books, I'll have to think about.



Talia

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Reply #5 on: November 26, 2009, 05:53:14 PM
TV/Movies:

Take your pick of Firefly characters. I loved them all. (and I wont apologize! ;)). And Serenity filled me with gallons of RAGE.

Second up, the Doctor from ST Voyager.

Books: I like too many to pick a clear favorite. I'm leaning towards Gaiman's Death from Sandman. Or maybe Morpheus. Or, maybe the Mercedes Lackey character from who I borrowed my screenname. Heh. :p
List goes on and on. Can't decide, too hard. :)




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Reply #6 on: November 26, 2009, 05:56:37 PM
Ooo the Doctor from Voyager!  Good choice:)

With regard to books I remain distinctly fond of The Stainless Steel Rat, also the Goon from Archer's Goon.



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Reply #7 on: November 26, 2009, 06:33:10 PM
And Serenity filled me with gallons of RAGE.

Whedon has a real hate-on for his own comic relief characters AND for happy relationships.  It was pretty much inevitable.



oddpod

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Reply #8 on: November 26, 2009, 09:02:02 PM
Jhon constantine (jamy dalanio/garth enis)

i am thinking the Joker (kiling joke/ arkhamasilum vershons)








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lowky

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Reply #9 on: November 27, 2009, 02:41:50 AM
Twiki  I haven't watched it since I was a child so it may not hold up well

for books again very hard to come up with just one

« Last Edit: November 28, 2009, 03:49:32 AM by Bdoomed »



Sandikal

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Reply #10 on: November 29, 2009, 05:14:23 AM
For fantasy, my favorite characters are Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden of The Dresden Files Series and Inquisitor Glokta from Joe Abercrombie's "The Blade Itself". (I haven't read the rest of the series. 

For science fiction, I have a hard time coming up with one.  Science fiction is my first love, but I really can't think of characters who have really gotten to me.  Maybe John Perry from Scalzi's "Old Man's War".



Poppydragon

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Reply #11 on: January 07, 2010, 07:58:29 PM
I'd probably go with Londo from Babylon 5 as well although although Beanpole from The Tripods was a childhood favourite.

Book wise, it would have to be Lazarus Long from Time Enough for Love or Michael Smith from Time Enough for Love

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Swamp

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Reply #12 on: January 07, 2010, 08:55:56 PM
Screen: Doc Brown from Back to the Future

Pages:  Sturm Brightblade from the original Dragonlance series (some of the first fantasy books I read, haven't read them in a long time, hmm...)

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Reply #13 on: January 07, 2010, 11:29:06 PM
Wow. Depends on the day, really.

TV: Fox Mulder.

Runners up: Mr. Eko from LOST - drug dealer turned faux priest turned honest-to-God-man-of-faith. I'm also partial to Desmond, Hurley, and Sawyer. Okay, really, I just want to be on that damn island.

Comics: I'm partial to Daredevil, particularly when he gets all angsty with his Catholic guilt and whatnot. But I also love Wolverine and Longshot.

Movies: Han Solo, so long as he shot first. Silent Bob would also be kind of cool too, I guess.

Books: Tough one! I always thought Uther Doul from China Mievielle's The Scar was very cool. I could aslo go with Lord tegus-Cromis from Viriconium or Severian from The Book of the New Sun. Huh. I guess as far as my literature aspirations go, I want to be a badass with a sword! If you twisted my arm, I might go with Lionel Essrog, the PI with Tourette's in Motherless Brooklyn.

Huh. I guess I have a really hard time picking just one, don't I?


Swamp

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Reply #14 on: January 07, 2010, 11:52:58 PM
Comics: ...Longshot.

Longshot FTW!  Yeah, I was trying to think of comic characters that really stood out, but at the time I was getting nothing.  I think the Longshot limited series (pre X-Men) was pretty much my favorite of all time.

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DKT

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Reply #15 on: January 08, 2010, 04:22:55 AM
 :D Oh, man. I'm still waiting for the next great Longshot story. I did like some of the X-Men stuff he was in, but yeah, I loved that miniseries to pieces.

I wonder if it'll ever happen...


gelee

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Reply #16 on: January 08, 2010, 05:02:01 PM
In print, Angus Thermopyle from Donaldson's "Gap" series.  Simultaneously despicable and pitiable.
Abercrombie's Inspector Glokta is a close second, and really cut from the same cloth.
Sandikal, by the way, the next two are even better than The Blade Itself.
That Stainless Steel Rat is also a great pick.  Harry Harrison is so overlooked these days.
There are countless others I could list, but I'll stick with these two.

TV?  Gotta go with James Kirk from TOS.  Honestly, I really despise most of the SF that shows up on TV.  I find hardly any of it watchable, and I loathe pretty much everything Joss Whedon has ever done.

Film: Tough one.  I've had this window open for twenty minutes, thinking about it.  Thulsa Doom from Conan the Barbarian.  James Earl Jones is friggin' brilliant.  "Contemplate this on the Tree of Woe.  Crucify him."

Sadly, most sci fi films don't seem to put much work into building interesting characters.



Talia

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Reply #17 on: January 08, 2010, 05:15:26 PM
I loathe pretty much everything Joss Whedon has ever done.

Does not compute.

'Firefly' was the mostest bestest evar, and I will beat you with a wet noodle if you disagree. ;)



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Reply #18 on: January 08, 2010, 05:19:40 PM
In print, Angus Thermopyle from Donaldson's "Gap" series.  Simultaneously despicable and pitiable.

Wow. That's a gutsy pick. I haven't read all those books (yet) but what I have read, I'm shocked by how Donaldson in general seems able to make pretty much everyone both despicable and pitiable, as you said. It truly is one incredibly messed up series of books (and I mean that as a compliment).


gelee

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Reply #19 on: January 08, 2010, 08:35:31 PM
I loathe pretty much everything Joss Whedon has ever done.

Does not compute.

'Firefly' was the mostest bestest evar, and I will beat you with a wet noodle if you disagree. ;)
Sorry:)  I know I'm in the minority, and I don't begrudge anyone their Whedon, but I can't handle his dramatic style.  Too many little things that just grate on my nerves.



gelee

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Reply #20 on: January 08, 2010, 08:40:25 PM
In print, Angus Thermopyle from Donaldson's "Gap" series.  Simultaneously despicable and pitiable.

Wow. That's a gutsy pick. I haven't read all those books (yet) but what I have read, I'm shocked by how Donaldson in general seems able to make pretty much everyone both despicable and pitiable, as you said. It truly is one incredibly messed up series of books (and I mean that as a compliment).
Keep reading.  Angus, and the books, keep getting better, right up until the end.  Probably the best collection of fiction Donaldson ever wrote.  Angus is able to evoke such a bizzare range of emotions from the reader, all while behaving consistantly according to the character he is.  He changes, but in ways that make sense.  I'm also fascinated by the idea that someone can be driven to superhuman feats of endurance, strength, and skill by nothing more than sheer terror. 
Mind you, I pick him as my favorite character to read about.  I sure as hell wouldn't want to meet him. 



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Reply #21 on: January 08, 2010, 08:55:34 PM
:D Oh, man. I'm still waiting for the next great Longshot story. I did like some of the X-Men stuff he was in, but yeah, I loved that miniseries to pieces.

I wonder if it'll ever happen...

Longshot is currently appearing in Peter David's X-Factor.  It's good stuff.  Based around Madrox's detective agency, it's managed to do superhero noir.  Longshot just joined the cast, it's not really clear how he'll fit in - but his always optimistic outlook seems to be providing a good foil for the cynical characters.  Well worth picking up.



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Reply #22 on: January 08, 2010, 09:19:46 PM
:D Oh, man. I'm still waiting for the next great Longshot story. I did like some of the X-Men stuff he was in, but yeah, I loved that miniseries to pieces.

I wonder if it'll ever happen...

Longshot is currently appearing in Peter David's X-Factor.  It's good stuff.  Based around Madrox's detective agency, it's managed to do superhero noir.  Longshot just joined the cast, it's not really clear how he'll fit in - but his always optimistic outlook seems to be providing a good foil for the cynical characters.  Well worth picking up.

Oh, wow. Thanks! I'll be on the lookout for it at my friendly neigborhood comic shop :)


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Reply #23 on: January 09, 2010, 03:14:50 AM
My vote is for the "2nd tier" characters on B5.  Garribaldi, Londo, G'Kar, etc.

Honor Harrington is another favorite.

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Reply #24 on: January 14, 2010, 03:28:05 PM
'Firefly' was the mostest bestest evar, and I will beat you with a wet noodle if you disagree. ;)

I disagree.  Bring it.  :-*

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