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When I was very young, my favorite book was "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." In the book, Alexander decides he'll move to Australia after bad things happen to him (gum in his hair, missing out on the prize in the cereal box, going to the dentist) on one terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
While the folks on "Lost" have proven that a trip to Australia might not be the solution (unless you're fond of creepy black smoke and sudden death), I still think of that book when I have a bad day. Like last Wednesday when I learned that "The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll" had much better ratings than "Veronica Mars" in the same time slot. Ugh.
And we have quite a few TV characters having terrible days and behaving very badly lately and my question is have they gone too far? Sometimes a good character doing a bad thing works wonderfully (I still think Carrie's affair with Big was "Sex and the City's" strongest story line) but other times it takes a character to the point where the audience can no longer root for them (see Marissa on "The O.C.").
Let's take a look at some of the characters behaving badly this season:
Sarah on "Brothers & Sisters": Sarah told Rebecca that her mother had a long affair with William Walker and that William was her father. No matter what we all think of Holly (and I think she needs to cut her hair), that was not Sarah's story to tell. It was selfish, vengeful and took out her angry feelings on an innocent person. But I loved it. I found it so believable. Who hasn't been able to stop themselves from saying something they know they shouldn't? I'm still sympathetic to Sarah. How about you?
Jack on "24": Damnit, sweetheart, listen to me. Jack's torture techniques are completely out of control. He goes from zero to cutting off a finger in like 30 seconds. Can you imagine if you were in front of him with 15 items in a 12 items or less line at the grocery store? (Put back that can of soup or so help me I'll cut off your finger).I know that Jack is a man living on the edge of a nervous breakdown and I also know that "24" isn't exactly realistic, but the level of torture Jack is now engaging in is simply too much.
Michael on "The Office": A reader recently wrote me that she loved "The Office" but sometimes she couldn't watch it. I know exactly how she feels. Sometimes they take Michael too far. Getting mad at Phyllis's father for upstaging him at the wedding. Perfect. His toast at the wedding? Too much. I've talked about this before. It's a difficult and tricky balance to strike with Michael. How do you think the show is doing lately?
What characters do you think have taken it too far? Write me at amytvgal@zap2it.com and let me know.
Quotes of the Week
"And then I had this dream that my whole family was just cartoon characters and that our success had led to some crazy propaganda network called Fox News." Bart Simpson on "The Simpsons." Thanks to Josh for the quote.
"If anything happens, I love you both." Michael to Lincoln and Sara on "Prison Break."
"They're my kids and I love them, but I'm pretty relieved to be dead." Rex Van De Kamp as the narrator on "Desperate Housewives." Thanks to Barry for the quote.
"Who the hell are you?" Sawyer asking the question we all want to ask Nikki on "Lost." Thanks to Rod for the quote.
"I don't know how you're holding up, and in this lighting." Perry to Nicole on the season finale of "The Class."
Where Have I Seen Them Before?
Zack and Jasmine were the first to recognize Anna Chlumsky as the other Liz on "30 Rock." Chlumsky was Vada in "My Girl."
John Slattery is Gabrielle's new love interest Victor on "Desperate Housewives." He was Peter the headmaster on "Jack & Bobby," Dennis on "Ed" and Carrie's boyfriend Bill on "Sex and the City." By the way, he so deserves his own show.
Chastity Dotson was the babysitter of Elena's daughter on "Without a Trace." We've seen her this season as Nish on "Veronica Mars."
Brandi and Elisabeth were the first to be positively thrilled to see our old friend Ian Gomez, Javier on "Felicity," as the Linderman employee who summoned security on "Hiro." We saw Gomez earlier this season on "Lost" as a cellmate of Sawyer. He was also Adrian on "Jake in Progress" and Larry on "The Drew Carey Show."
While the folks on "Lost" have proven that a trip to Australia might not be the solution (unless you're fond of creepy black smoke and sudden death), I still think of that book when I have a bad day. Like last Wednesday when I learned that "The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll" had much better ratings than "Veronica Mars" in the same time slot. Ugh.
And we have quite a few TV characters having terrible days and behaving very badly lately and my question is have they gone too far? Sometimes a good character doing a bad thing works wonderfully (I still think Carrie's affair with Big was "Sex and the City's" strongest story line) but other times it takes a character to the point where the audience can no longer root for them (see Marissa on "The O.C.").
Let's take a look at some of the characters behaving badly this season:
What characters do you think have taken it too far? Write me at amytvgal@zap2it.com and let me know.
Quotes of the Week
"And then I had this dream that my whole family was just cartoon characters and that our success had led to some crazy propaganda network called Fox News." Bart Simpson on "The Simpsons." Thanks to Josh for the quote.
"If anything happens, I love you both." Michael to Lincoln and Sara on "Prison Break."
"They're my kids and I love them, but I'm pretty relieved to be dead." Rex Van De Kamp as the narrator on "Desperate Housewives." Thanks to Barry for the quote.
"Who the hell are you?" Sawyer asking the question we all want to ask Nikki on "Lost." Thanks to Rod for the quote.
"I don't know how you're holding up, and in this lighting." Perry to Nicole on the season finale of "The Class."
Where Have I Seen Them Before?
Zack and Jasmine were the first to recognize Anna Chlumsky as the other Liz on "30 Rock." Chlumsky was Vada in "My Girl."
John Slattery is Gabrielle's new love interest Victor on "Desperate Housewives." He was Peter the headmaster on "Jack & Bobby," Dennis on "Ed" and Carrie's boyfriend Bill on "Sex and the City." By the way, he so deserves his own show.
Chastity Dotson was the babysitter of Elena's daughter on "Without a Trace." We've seen her this season as Nish on "Veronica Mars."
Brandi and Elisabeth were the first to be positively thrilled to see our old friend Ian Gomez, Javier on "Felicity," as the Linderman employee who summoned security on "Hiro." We saw Gomez earlier this season on "Lost" as a cellmate of Sawyer. He was also Adrian on "Jake in Progress" and Larry on "The Drew Carey Show."
