In this week’s Issue of The Writers’ Lodge (due on Thursday) we’re going to be looking at characters. So, who are your favourite characters in literature? Or TV/film, for that matter?
TV: To name just one. I love the crime series, Professor T. The British spin-off is great. But my special fav is the Belgium original TV series with Koen De Bouw. His brilliant mind; his flaws. His mummy and daddy issues, his crassness and ineptitude interacting with people. His idiosyncrasies with the gloves-wearing, his tics, cleaning his desk with wipes, disenchantment for hospitals, germs, people in general. His razor wit with his students, the police, everyone. He doesn’t care about etiquette and social graces. He’s easy on the eye and looks gorgeous in a suit. I love how the backstory gradually feeds our understanding of what makes him tick and why. I like the gut-wrenching tragic-ness of him. His pristine office, the anteroom with the sofa and snazzy record-player. He has old-school values in a changing world. I like he likes routine. His love of being on the roof to ponder. I love the imaginary scenes, the teapots for instance.
Some of my favourite characters are: Inspector Gamache (Louise Penny), Rebus (Ian Rankin), Karen Pirie (Val McDermid), and Flavia Albia and Falco (Lindsey Davis). Growing up they were Darrell Rivers and the O'Sullivan Twins (Enid Blyton) and Lois and Lettuce (Joan Price Reeve). Even younger it would have been the Hollister kids, the Bobbsey Twins and Trixie Beldon
I have a couple of favourites: Jerry Renault from The Chocolate War - He's quiet but dares to disturb the universe, which is a trait I admire! Enid from Ghost World is another, but she's more tragic in the way she gets left behind by those around her. The world is there for her to mock but eventually life becomes unfunny and she has to move on.
I love Miles and Jack from Sideways, both book and film. Their relationship hasn't progressed much since their school years, and they're kind of tragic in their own failures and flaws, but they spark off each other nicely.
Rum Punch / Jackie Brown has a collection of brilliant characters, especially Max Cherry and Jackie Brown and their potential happiness together, what could be etc...
TV: Most recently, I loved High Fidelity, and how they turned Rob into a female character and made Rob less despicable (I don't have an issue with despicable, but I knew too many men who thought Rob Gordon as some sort of hero, which he certainly isn't!). I also loved how they updated Johnny Lawrence in Cobra Kai as some sort of meat-headed dinosaur.
Alan Partridge is a comedy favourite, as are Spinal Tap: Their dogged determination to keep going in the face of defeat is brilliant.
The cast of characters from 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet', 'The Wire' and 'Twin Peaks' are always good to revisit, too.
Film-wise, The Coen Brothers have created too many brilliant characters to list, J.D. and Veronica from Heathers are my favourite pairing, and Bill Paxton's characters were great (Hudson from Aliens, Dale Dixon from One False Move, Severen in Near Dark, Chet in Weird Science). John McClane in the first Die Hard was a relatable pain-in-the-neck hero, and the dependable Ripley in the first 3 Alien movies also comes to mind.
Reading this list back, the most common theme is tragedy. Their flaws and plight are what I invest in, what keeps me coming back.
Ove from A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. He appears as a curmudgeon, but his backstory reveals a man who loved deeply, who defends the vulnerable and who is honest and true, a reminder not to prejudge. Eleanor from Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. She is odd, awkward and unlikable in the beginning, but then the reader finds that Eleanor is all alone in the world until she finds a friend which makes all the difference. Kya from Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Abandoned and alone Kya immerses herself in nature and lives a solitary life until she is forced to prove her strength.
My favourite character of all time is called SHRUG, from a series of books written by Eileen Schuh, an incredible Canadian writer. As an avid reader and a freelance editor of 15 years, and having read thousands of books, I have never been so invested, moved, or completely floored by a character arc such as his.
TV: To name just one. I love the crime series, Professor T. The British spin-off is great. But my special fav is the Belgium original TV series with Koen De Bouw. His brilliant mind; his flaws. His mummy and daddy issues, his crassness and ineptitude interacting with people. His idiosyncrasies with the gloves-wearing, his tics, cleaning his desk with wipes, disenchantment for hospitals, germs, people in general. His razor wit with his students, the police, everyone. He doesn’t care about etiquette and social graces. He’s easy on the eye and looks gorgeous in a suit. I love how the backstory gradually feeds our understanding of what makes him tick and why. I like the gut-wrenching tragic-ness of him. His pristine office, the anteroom with the sofa and snazzy record-player. He has old-school values in a changing world. I like he likes routine. His love of being on the roof to ponder. I love the imaginary scenes, the teapots for instance.
He's wonderfully fleshed out. What’s not to love?
Some of my favourite characters are: Inspector Gamache (Louise Penny), Rebus (Ian Rankin), Karen Pirie (Val McDermid), and Flavia Albia and Falco (Lindsey Davis). Growing up they were Darrell Rivers and the O'Sullivan Twins (Enid Blyton) and Lois and Lettuce (Joan Price Reeve). Even younger it would have been the Hollister kids, the Bobbsey Twins and Trixie Beldon
I have a couple of favourites: Jerry Renault from The Chocolate War - He's quiet but dares to disturb the universe, which is a trait I admire! Enid from Ghost World is another, but she's more tragic in the way she gets left behind by those around her. The world is there for her to mock but eventually life becomes unfunny and she has to move on.
I love Miles and Jack from Sideways, both book and film. Their relationship hasn't progressed much since their school years, and they're kind of tragic in their own failures and flaws, but they spark off each other nicely.
Rum Punch / Jackie Brown has a collection of brilliant characters, especially Max Cherry and Jackie Brown and their potential happiness together, what could be etc...
TV: Most recently, I loved High Fidelity, and how they turned Rob into a female character and made Rob less despicable (I don't have an issue with despicable, but I knew too many men who thought Rob Gordon as some sort of hero, which he certainly isn't!). I also loved how they updated Johnny Lawrence in Cobra Kai as some sort of meat-headed dinosaur.
Alan Partridge is a comedy favourite, as are Spinal Tap: Their dogged determination to keep going in the face of defeat is brilliant.
The cast of characters from 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet', 'The Wire' and 'Twin Peaks' are always good to revisit, too.
Film-wise, The Coen Brothers have created too many brilliant characters to list, J.D. and Veronica from Heathers are my favourite pairing, and Bill Paxton's characters were great (Hudson from Aliens, Dale Dixon from One False Move, Severen in Near Dark, Chet in Weird Science). John McClane in the first Die Hard was a relatable pain-in-the-neck hero, and the dependable Ripley in the first 3 Alien movies also comes to mind.
Reading this list back, the most common theme is tragedy. Their flaws and plight are what I invest in, what keeps me coming back.
Ove from A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. He appears as a curmudgeon, but his backstory reveals a man who loved deeply, who defends the vulnerable and who is honest and true, a reminder not to prejudge. Eleanor from Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. She is odd, awkward and unlikable in the beginning, but then the reader finds that Eleanor is all alone in the world until she finds a friend which makes all the difference. Kya from Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Abandoned and alone Kya immerses herself in nature and lives a solitary life until she is forced to prove her strength.
My favourite character of all time is called SHRUG, from a series of books written by Eileen Schuh, an incredible Canadian writer. As an avid reader and a freelance editor of 15 years, and having read thousands of books, I have never been so invested, moved, or completely floored by a character arc such as his.