jedibuttercup | Character Love Meme

Data (TNG)

There was always something really earnest and likeable about Data for me. I know they went to cliché places a lot of the time with his really wanting to be human and failing spectacularly at it, but that really worked for me when I started watching as a teenager, the fact that he was so brilliant but had no idea how to relate to the people around him and still ended up being more human than they were sometimes. (So speaks the genius kid who got held to her age level in school instead of advanced according to what she could actually do).

I hated, hated, hated how they dealt with the Data subplots in movies seven, nine, and ten-- I've only watched them once each and have no desire to again-- but on the other hand I did love the stuff with him initiating dream subroutines on the show, and the time Q allowed him to experience laughter before he found out about the emotion chip, and the episode where Picard was stuck on the Enterprise with terrorists during a baryon sweep while Data engaged in a small-talk marathon with the station commander that everybody else hated talking to, and the bit in movie eight where (IIRC) the borg Queen tempted him with a closer approximation of humanity than he could reach on his own and he was so tempted but didn't really give in, and so on.

I love Data. Movies seven, nine and ten had a lot of problems, never mind the Data subplots. Mind you, I saw Generations the other week - the only thing I managed to catch in the Star Trek week on sci-fi - and even though the Data stuff was bad... I still loved it 'cause it was Trek, which I haven't really seen any of in a while.

Do you mind if I ask another? Earlier I almost asked about Nick Stokes, so I was happy someone else did that. But I also wanted to ask about Greg Sanders. :D

Leggo my Greggo!

I think the first time Greg Sanders really made an impression on me was in that early episode where Grissom painted his feet with bacteria simply because his heritage is Norweigan, both because of the way he reacted to the whole thing and because I'm 25% Norweigan myself.

I actually liked him better while he was still a lab tech, when he still got to express all of his style, but everyone has to grow up sometime, and I've been enjoying his developing friendship/mentoring thing with Sara over the last couple of seasons, too. (Though I think we've seen less of his carefree friendship with Nick lately, something else I miss). He's still so earnest about his job, having to ask questions, being the intercessory character between audience and plot (the same role the Hobbits fill in LOTR).

I'm curious to see where they go with him in the newest season.

Nick Stokes.

Oooh, Nicky. I've always been fascinated by Gil and Sara on the show, as the two characters that I am actually most like, but Nicky's the one I've always wanted to wrap up and take home with me.

Not just because of his attractiveness, either, although, y'know, there is that. Actually, his looks and personality are an even blend, pretty much, of my Dad and one of my best guy-friends, both people I respect and platonically love, very much. And he has that Southern accent and charm that I spent my first ten years of life around and have missed ever since.

He's just-- decent, and honest, and caring, and dedicated to his job, and such a strong person even after all the crap life has dealt him over the years. But he's not a goody-two-shoes, either. I don't understand how anybody could not like him. =)

He's just-- decent, and honest, and caring, and dedicated to his job, and such a strong person even after all the crap life has dealt him over the years. But he's not a goody-two-shoes, either. I don't understand how anybody could not like him. =)

Word. To everything you said, though I don't find Nick quite as blindingly attractive as some people do. But he's probably the one person on CSI who would be great in a relationship--and he's not. Nicky needs a girlfriend (who's not a hooker, please).

I mean, what a waste. :-)

Gil Grisom

Captain Jack Sparrow

Gil Grissom (CSI Vegas)

In many ways, Gil-- and Sara, too-- remind me a lot of myself and the friends I was closest to in college. He's brilliant, but has difficulty interacting with other people; he's a bit of a geek about his hobbies; he's very private about his own fears; he's well-read; he's dedicated to his job. He strikes sparks off of other dominant personalities, but doesn't back down even an inch unless something more important requires it. And he has a vast loyalty to his team and a desire to protect them despite the fact that he has trouble expressing that to them sometimes. My favorite recent arc for him, that I can recall, was in Grave Danger when Nick had been kidnapped. It brought some of that possessiveness out in him, and resulted in the team being brought back together, too.

Captain Jack Sparrow (PotC)

Jack Sparrow is-- as you very well know!-- not my favorite character in Pirates of the Caribbean. Will Turner, as I've already expounded to you at length, holds that place in my heart. Still, I do like Jack, very much.

I think I actually like him better after the second movie, even though it shows him in a much poorer light than did the first, and am very curious to see how they'll portray him in the third. To me, Jack is a man with some kind of privilege and education in his upbringing, who fell afoul of the authorities and rather than letting it break him went flamboyantly off in pursuit of his own happiness. Aside from the loss of his Pearl for ten years, that's pretty much what he seems to have done over his entire career as a pirate-- and for the most part, he was successful. Ms. Swann has certainly admired the freedom apparent in that kind of lifestyle, which he seems to have embodied for her. But there are consequences for that kind of selfishness, which, after much wibbling around trying to escape it, he finally does own up to at the end of Movie 2: Elizabeth's actions, IMHO, while important to the progression of her character arc, were completely unnecessary for Jack's. He came back to face the consequences of his actions as stubbornly as ever he'd tried to flee them, and went into the maw of night like the best sort of hero: valiant and brave to the end.

He came back to face the consequences of his actions as stubbornly as ever he'd tried to flee them, and went into the maw of night like the best sort of hero: valiant and brave to the end.

You're right about that. I hadn't thought about it like that but it was true. He probably would have stayed anyway, but Elizabeth just insured it.

I know most of your opinions, I just like to give you a public forum to air them. *grin*

Dawn Summers

Lydia Bennett

Dawn Summers (B:tVS)

I was as "bwa?" about the appearance of Dawn as anyone, but I never disliked her like a lot of people did. With all her diary-keeping right at the beginning, she reminded me a lot of my early fascination with the "Harriet the Spy" books; that was a nostalgic point in her favor. And her relationship with Buffy reminded me a lot of the cat-and-dog behavior my brother and I indulged in before he got old enough that we actually had interests and beliefs in common that we could talk about.

Later on, she grew into an interesting character in her own right. I sympathized with her acting-out phase, because much as I love Buffy she would be difficult to live with, especially in season 6. And she had a lot of raw potential in the academic/magical fields that I'd have liked to see developed further-- too bad I've heard most of the novels are trash. And of course there's the dangling fact of her having been the Key, that has all kinds of hooks to write stories around. =)

Lydia Bennett (P&P)

You had to pick the brat of the bunch, didn't you? *grin* She's actually my third favorite of the Bennet girls, as she has more personality than Kitty and at least is able to live in the moment, something Mary never managed. Of course it was tragic that she got trapped into a marriage with an opportunistic rake-- but with her sunny disposition, maybe it won't matter and she'll still be happily blind to his misfortunes for years into the future. (Another side to Charlotte's not wanting to know too much about her spouse, I suppose!). And she's so young; even if she doesn't remain happy in her marriage, she's still got room to grow as a character (which is the fic-writer in me speaking).

Yes I had to pick the brat because I wanted to know what you would say. Very interesting explanations though.

Wesley Wyndam-Pryce

Oh, Wesley. How do I count the ways? =)

To simplify-- a lot-- I like Wesley best of all the Angel characters, because of all of them he grew the most during his time on both B:tVS and Angel. Cordelia in season 2 and early 3 I liked a lot, but they regressed her at the end in service to a really lame plot, and as for Angel himself... well, his development was really muddled. But Wesley! He starts off so earnest and convinced of his own abilities, only to get totally knocked around by life and proven wrong. But afterward, instead of slinking off somewhere with his tail tucked between his legs, he picked himself up and tried to find another means of pursuing what he saw as his calling. And every time life knocked him off his feet after that-- at least once a year, and only sometimes his fault-- he did it again. Every time. Blown up, shot, betrayed, betrayer, one girlfriend leaving him because of his job and two others dying in pursuit of it... to the very end, he was a survivor, and he never stopped trying to do what was right (except for that one small period when he was pretty much insane).

And then, of course, on a more shallow level: the accent. The looks. The brains! I still haven't forgiven Joss for killing him off in the very last episode.

I still haven't forgiven Joss for killing him off in the very last episode.

Yea, I'm in denial about that. I just love him, for every reason you've listed.

Zelenka.

Like this one. Will have to steal.

Steal away!

Ah, Radek. Successfully maintaining his position as second in command to the Great Ego McKay (who is arguably my favorite SGA character) means that Zelenka has to have quite a lot of backbone and personality of his own, which is always a recipe for me liking a character.

I laughed in "McKay and Mrs. Miller" when Jeannie was all disgruntled over Rodney not wanting her to push the button, and Zelenka leaned over to her all conspiratorial-like and said, "He likes to push the button." You just know he's the reason more of McKay's scientific staff haven't bailed on the Daedelus since they got back into contact with Earth; Zelenka knows how to manage him and mitigate his imperious by now. And McKay actually admits he's not a complete idiot, which says a lot about his scientific talent.

I loved his clip in "Letters from Pegasus" when he's going off in Czech and you just know he's talking about Atlantis even though he's not supposed to, and he's so animated about it. I adored the bit in that episode where he got foisted off on the planet of children and came back with rubberbands in his hair and paint on his face, and he was so indignant at Rodney.

He's one of those few TV-show characters that I think might actually be as fun to know in person as they are to watch.

Xander Harris

Jack O' Neill (two l's)

Xander Harris (B:tVS)

First and foremost, I will always love Xander because he stayed. He was just about the only guy in Buffy's life that did! I can forgive him for his participation in the kicking-out-of-Buffy scene in Season 7 because of his recent trauma and probable state of medication for it, but other than that, he was always there, despite his frequent and loudly expressed irritation at her choices.

He never stopped trying, even when the other Scoobies went through their occasional fits of trying to shoo him off somewhere safe. And even though he was very flawed-- he never could see straight on the subject of Buffy's boyfriends, and his actions in "Hell's Bells" were deeply selfish, among other things-- he was, at heart, a good, strong decent person who grew a lot over the course of the show and was frequently good for a pointed pep-talk exactly when it was needed most. People tend to remember Spike filling that role-- the whole "blood screaming in you to work its will" conversation, for one-- but Xander frequently did it, too, and not just with the yellow crayon speech. The whole one-who-sees conversation with Dawn about her turning out to not be a Potential was one of my favorite late-season moments for him, along with his conversation with Buffy in Season 6 just before she gets shot, and of course there are many more.

I liked him better when he was thinner and less bitter in the early seasons, but he was almost the Xander I loved again by the end only more mature, and I wished we could have seen what became of him after (and not the redundant useleness that ended up in the Nancy Holder book someone recced to me).

Jack O'Neill, two ll's (SG-1)

I freely admit that the entire Stargate universe revolves around Daniel for me, but I have much love for every member of both casts, and Jack ranks near the top. And for more than just his bond with Daniel (I do read slash, but I also like platonic friendship fics about the pair of them, because they both get under each other's skins and balance each other out in canon in ways that are fascinating and endearing to watch).

He's attractive, though generally a little older than I like my men; he's a smart and talented man, despite the dumb jock facade he puts up; he was very devoted to his job at the SGC and to his team in specific; he was willing to do whatever he had to do to protect his people, even when it got him in trouble. He had a fun sense of humor, and a reputation around the galaxy that Cameron Mitchell is never going to be able to live up to, much as I like the guy. He's been through hardship and tragedy and despite nearly breaking a couple of times, ended up even tougher and more polished in the end, like a diamond out of coal.

In conclusion, if I had to pick one TV character to have my six in a dangerous situation? It would always be Jack.

First and foremost, I will always love Xander because he stayed.

Exactly! I've always liked Xander, but I've begun to love him more and this is the biggest reason. Also the reason why I think he's good for Buffy and why my newest pairing obsession is B/X. *g* And yes, early season Xander is more fun, but later seasons (especially s7) you get the more mature, caring, grown up Xander.

Jack, oh what can I say about Jack? RDA is the only reason I started watching SG-1 in the first place and Jack is the reason I stayed (well Daniel too!). I love Jack for so many reasons and I can see both the J/D and the J/S relationship and squeed to no end when he showed up in 200. Jack I miss you! *sniff*

Oh, hope I'm not too late:

Emma (Austen's, the book)

Ah, Emma. Austen herself said that she loved Emma very much, but feared others wouldn't, because of all of her flaws. But none of Austen's heroines are terribly perfect; even the sweet ones like Jane and the longsuffering ones like Eleanor and Anne Elliott and Fanny Price get themselves in plenty of avoidable trouble. It's the journey to get past those flaws as much as the obstruction of outside circumstances that makes the happy endings so sweet.

Emma starts out the book higher in the instep than just about any other of Austen's heroines, privileged and spoiled both. Most of Austen's other heroines are like Georgiana Darcy, merely privileged, or Lydia Bennett, merely spoiled, or somewhere in between, with some money and some freedom of spirit but nothing like what Emma is allowed. That could have made her as ugly as one of the foil characters like Caroline Bingley, but she's saved by two things: her own basic kindness, which makes her want to do better when she's caused others hurt, and the responsible personages of her governess and Mr. Knightley, who let her know when she's caused that hurt in the first place.

She ends the book wiser than she began it, and vastly in love with an excellent role model who is vastly in love with her; they may not be as passionate as, say, the Darcys, but you can tell they will be as sickeningly sweet as the Bingleys.

And finally... well, Cher from Clueless *is* an updated version of Emma, and I was very, very fond of that movie during my college years. =)

Buffy Summers and Elizabeth Swann

Buffy Summers (B:tVS)

First and foremost, I will always love Buffy because she is a hero.

A damaged one, yes, by the end of the series. And not perfect; she makes bad decisions. But underneath everything, she is almost always trying to do the right thing; she feels her calling in a way that very few people in the Buffyverse do, and always comes back to do what she knows to be her duty even if once in a while she does pause to act out a little first.

She also has a quippy sense of humor, and is a smart girl even if circumstances never really lead her to develop that. In her younger years, she would have fit in perfectly with the Cordettes; but even at the beginning of her time in Sunnydale she can already see how shallow they are and chooses to hang out with the more out-cast crowd instead. She loves her mother, even when her mother hurts her, and her relationship with Dawn is a lot like my relationship with my brother was before he got old enough to be interesting to talk to.

Those aren't all the reasons, of course. And I think many of the reasons I love Buffy are in fact reasons that I love Wesley Wyndham-Price, too; they are each my favorite character on their respective shows, and all kinds of parallels can be drawn between them, which I won't get into here as I have neither the time or space to write an essay on the subject. But that kind of dedication, getting back up every time you get knocked down and coming back to the cause, really does it for me. I ended up yelling at the Scoobies a lot on the TV the sixth and seventh seasons for handling her in all the wrong ways and just making everything worse, and still she came through to save the day in the end.

That is, in fact, why I detested the few mentions we got of her in Angel's fifth season; there had to be a lot of story we weren't getting, because all her character growth would be totally undone if she just went to Rome to party and hook up with yet another ambiguously evil boyfriend, and that really annoyed me.

Elizabeth Swann (PotC)

I love Elizabeth Swann because even in an era where female freedoms were severely curtailed, she still has the guts to reach out and try to attain what she really wants-- and also, by the end of the second movie, she's learning where to stop, that a completely free life has consequences that she doesn't really want to face. The Elizabeth at the end of the first movie might have married Will, but I don't believe her wanderlust would have let her be happy with him for more than a few years; the Elizabeth at the end of the second movie has grown up enough, I think, to be capable of "happily ever after".

I don't see her love for Will being changed at all by the whole arc with Jack and the compass in the second movie; I think that was a side effect of her being plenty attracted to what he represents but not necessarily to him in particular. Kissing Jack as she chained him to the mast was kissing what he represents goodbye, as well as being a personal farewell; of course she regrets doing it afterward, since she isn't completely cold-hearted, but it was a turning point for her personal development.

Aside from all of that, she is tough, and resourceful, and fierce in defense of what she loves, and she is beloved of Will Turner, my favorite character in the movies.

Hmm. Explanation enough? =)

Character Love Meme

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Data (TNG)

Re: Data (TNG)

Greg Sanders (CSI)

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Nick Stokes (CSI Vegas)

Re: Nick Stokes (CSI Vegas)

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Gil (CSI) & Jack (PotC)

Re: Gil (CSI) & Jack (PotC)

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Dawn & Lydia

Re: Dawn & Lydia

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Radek Zelenka (SGA)

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Xander (B:tVS) & Jack (SG-1)

Re: Xander (B:tVS) & Jack (SG-1)

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Emma (Jane Austen)

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