Favorite/Least Favorite Characters and Series

[The Santa of House Claus]

I do not want to limit this to just ASOIAF character, but list your top 3-5 favorite and least favorite/most hated fictional characters and series a crossed all medias and genres. I am curious to see where everyone ranks ASOIAF characters compared to others.

Also, where does ASOIAF rank against your other favorites.

Favorite characters:

1: Jack Ryan - The Jack Ryan Series by Tom Clancy - Spy/President/Bad Ass - As much as I love ASOIAF, the Jack Ryan Series is my all time favorite fictional series. He has a great moral center and is always trying to do the right thing, even if its the hard choice or unpopular choice. He is not nearly as simple a character as maybe people think upon a casual glance. RIP Tom Clancy

2: Mitch Rapp - The Mitch Rapp Series by Vince Flynn - Spy/Assassin - He is just the ultimate bad ass, I would take him over any other non-super powered character in a fight and he is not one dimensional. He has many flaws in his character and personality, but in the end he does what he does for the right reasons and in the "right way." RIP Vince Flynn

3: Aragorn (book version ONLY) - Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien - I mean, come on, he knows who he is and what he has to live up to, but does not shrink from it. Look at it this way, how bad ass do you have to be to only carry a broken sword while patrolling the northern wilds (at least when he met up with Frodo and Co.)

4: The 10th Doctor - Doctor Who - I am new to the Doctor Who but love the Doctor. To me, he is the Mitch Rapp of Sci-Fi. It sounds like a strange comparison, and well, it is. Mitch kills terrorists and does not apologize for his hard line views, the Doctor always try to save lives, even his enemies. But few characters, that do not have super powers, can stand up surrounded by enemies that want to destroy him and yell "Do you know who the F I am? Do you really want to piss me off?" and the enemies basically slink away, tail between their legs.

5: Robb Stark (book version) - duh - I know there are more complex and more interesting characters in this universe, but I was a huge Robb fan and stopped reading for at least a week after the Red Wedding, it really did catch me off guard, Ned I kinda was expecting, but not Robb. Again, like Jack Ryan, he has a good moral center and not as simple a character as maybe some people assume. And for me, you can kinda swap out Ned in the first book and Jon in the 4th and 5th books as the same type of character.

Honorable Mention - Show versions of Tyrion and Tywin Lannister, Frank Underwood (House of Cards), Hank Clark (Mitch Rapp Series), The Old Man from The Old Man and the Sea, and Merry Brandybuck

Least Favorite Characters

1: Joffery (Book version only)- duh - Lots of villains and bad guys are great characters, they are complicated, relatable, or fun. But Joffery is none of those, he really had no redeeming qualities and nothing is really revealed to make you feel sympathy for him. (The show version is different because Jack Gleeson does such an amazing job, he becomes a villain you love to hate, in the spirit of Loki, Darth Vader, and Hannibal Lector)

2: Aragorn (Movie version) - Lord of the Rings by Peter Jackson - He was a bad ass like the book version, and Vigo did a great job, but he was a totally different character, he did not want to be king, he ran away from his destiny until the very last possible moment.

3: Ed Kealty - Politician - Jack Ryan Series - Again, another bad guy that had no real redeeming qualities and was not a very complex character. He was the opposite of Ryan, basically just serving in the Senate and White House not for the people, but for himself. He was a major womanizer and was out for himself alone.

4: Elron (book version) - Lord of the Rings - What I hate about the LOTR book series is the elves. I found them almost useless. Yes they provided aid and counsel, but little else. Elron goes on about the power in some of the elves still at Rivendale and you even see how bad ass his sons and Glorfindale are, yet he does next to nothing. Elron could have sent a host of elves to Aragorn when the other Dunadain road to his aid. But for the most part, the elves ran away, save in Lothlorien.

5: The Malfoy family - Harry Potter - Father, Mother, and Son, all are just cowards and weak.

Favorite Series:

1: The Jack Ryan Series - Tom Clancy

2: ASOIAF - GRRM

3: Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

4: Mitch Rapp Series - Vince Flynn

5: Percy Jackson Series - Rick Riordan - This narrowly beats out Harry Potter series because it's second set of 5 books is just a fun series without any of the tedium of the early books dealing with such young characters.

I really do not have any "least favorite" series because anything I did not like I stopped watching/reading and do not remember off hand.

[The Santa of House Claus]

wow, I thought this would be a more popular topic. :dunno:

[Corvinus85]

If this is all about books, it should be in the Literature section.

[The Santa of House Claus]

If this is all about books, it should be in the Literature section.

It isn't, it is a crossed all forms of media, I specifically say that. I just happen to get more connected to book characters.

[Corvinus85]

It isn't, it is a crossed all forms of media, I specifically say that. I just happen to get more connected to book characters.

Failed to read the first paragraph. :P Boy, this will take some thinking.

And considering the multitude of characters across all media and genres, to have Robb Stark in your top 5 is quite something. The Red Wedding must have really devastated you.

[The Santa of House Claus]

Failed to read the first paragraph. :P Boy, this will take some thinking.

We have all done that :cheers: Yeah, it took me a while to think about. Mainly because I had to decide to exclude ALL Monty Python Characters, or else they would take the entire Favorites list.

[Corvinus85]

Favorite characters - too many to think of, here is a bunch in no particular order:

Matrim Cauthon - The Wheel of Time

Albus Dumbledore - as portrayed in the books

Darth Vader - from the original trilogy

The Joker - as portrayed by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

Batman - as generally portrayed, with a few exceptions (George Clooney, Adam West, Val Kilmer)

Conan the Barbarian - as written by Robert E. Howard and also Robert Jordan

Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson - as portrayed by Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks, respectively, in Stargate SG-1

Ellen Ripley - as portrayed by Sigourney Weaver in the Alien franchise

Duke Leto Atreides - as portrayed in the novel Dune

Jean Tannen - The Gentlemen's Bastards

Malcolm Reynolds - as portrayed by Nathan Fillion in Firefly and Serenity

As for ASOIAF characters, I like a bunch of them, but there isn't one for me that really stands out above the others, and I cannot include any among my favorite

Favorite series - this one is a bit easier

1. A Song of Ice and Fire

2. Stargate SG-1/Atlantis/Universe - SGU edges out the other two

3. The Wheel of Time

I can't really think of least favorite characters, while for series, there are few TV shows and book series that I stuck with for a while and then gave up. I can name:

The Tudors - gave up early in season 2

The Malazan Book of the Fallen - gave up after 3 books

[Theda Baratheon]

I fucking HATE VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN.

I hate Walter White.

They're the two characters I specifically remember my contempt for.

John Constantine is one of my all time favourite characters ever. Roy Batty in Blade Runner is a great character. I love plenty of ASOIAF characters, too many.

I love Ellen Ripley

Regina/the Evil Queen from Once Upon a Time is a personal favourite.

I LOVE JANE EYRE.

and yea ok he might have a lot of flaws but I love Mr. Rochester too.

It's easier for me to list characters I love because I love both villains and heroes in equal measure.

Ooh!! I HATE ACHILLES - he is SO annoying.

I used to hate apollo and athena as well but all the gods are complete shits.

I love Oedipus, poor Oedipus makes me sad. I love Antigone.

Spider Jerusalem and Death of the Endless are two big favourites of mine. Rust cohle.

But if I had to pick one chaaracter I hate and one I love the most it will ALWAYS be Victor Frankenstein and John Constantine.

[Nictarion]

Theda, I will be interested to see how you feel about Frankenstein in the first episode of Penny Dreadful.

[Theda Baratheon]

Theda, I will be interested to see how you feel about Frankenstein in the first episode of Penny Dreadful.

Me too. I will watch this show it looks great.

I dont mind Frankenstein in Once Upon A Time.

I just HATE Frankenstein from the novel SO MUCH.

[TheEvilKing]

Bit of a weird thread, it's all over the place. I'll give it a quick go anyway out of boredom. Don't expect explanations, and none of these are in any order.

Favourite characters:

Jaime Lannister (ASOIAF)

Mark Corrigan (Peep Show)

Raylan Givens (Justified)

David Brent (The Office)

Dennis Reynolds (Always Sunny)

Least favourite characters:

Penny the dwarf (ASOIAF)

Donna (Parks n Rec)

Riley (Buffy)

Hank's Dad (King of the Hill)

AJ Soprano

Favourite Series:

ASOIAF

The Wire

The Office (UK)

The Shield

Justified

Least favourite series:
Call of Duty

World of Warcraft

Big Bang Theory

Don't really have any others

[The Santa of House Claus]

Favorite characters - too many to think of, here is a bunch in no particular order:

Matrim Cauthon - The Wheel of Time

Albus Dumbledore - as portrayed in the books

Darth Vader - from the original trilogy

The Joker - as portrayed by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

Batman - as generally portrayed, with a few exceptions (George Clooney, Adam West, Val Kilmer)

Conan the Barbarian - as written by Robert E. Howard and also Robert Jordan

Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson - as portrayed by Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks, respectively, in Stargate SG-1

Ellen Ripley - as portrayed by Sigourney Weaver in the Alien franchise

Duke Leto Atreides - as portrayed in the novel Dune

Jean Tannen - The Gentlemen's Bastards

Malcolm Reynolds - as portrayed by Nathan Fillion in Firefly and Serenity

As for ASOIAF characters, I like a bunch of them, but there isn't one for me that really stands out above the others, and I cannot include any among my favorite

Favorite series - this one is a bit easier

1. A Song of Ice and Fire

2. Stargate SG-1/Atlantis/Universe - SGU edges out the other two

3. The Wheel of Time

I can't really think of least favorite characters, while for series, there are few TV shows and book series that I stuck with for a while and then gave up. I can name:

The Tudors - gave up early in season 2

The Malazan Book of the Fallen - gave up after 3 books

Interesting, I mean, I can't believe you did not like Clooney's or Kilmer's portrayal of Batman! hahaha.

I have heard lots of good things about the Wheel of Time Series, and started it as an audio book a while ago, but I found it rather boring, and the story to start just didn't grab me and hold me. I may have to give it another go though.

I was about to start watching The Tudors, why did you give up on in?

[Batman]

Will Graham/Red Dragon

Such an underrated book. Silence of the Lambs was clearly the better movie but Red Dragon was the better book. Genuinely unnerving and with a great lead character, who is also a little creepy and yet also sympathetic. Gets lost because of Hannibal Lecter. Dolarhyde was even better than Hannibal in that book.

Al Swearengen/Deadwood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2Q7YRDL90E

Walter White/Breaking Bad

I don't feel like there has ever been a better acting performance in any medium (that I have seen) than Cranston's effort in Breaking Bad.

Spike/Buffy and Angel

James Marsters has buckets of charisma and he steals nearly every scene that he is in. That is a fair effort given the rest of the cast is also excellent.

Superman

Christopher Reeve was excellent. Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, Bruce Timm, ect. There is 70 years of great stories in any number of mediums to choose from.

[Batman]

Interesting, I mean, I can't believe you did not like Clooney's or Kilmer's portrayal of Batman! hahaha.

I have heard lots of good things about the Wheel of Time Series, and started it as an audio book a while ago, but I found it rather boring, and the story to start just didn't grab me and hold me. I may have to give it another go though.

I was about to start watching The Tudors, why did you give up on in?

Give the Tudors a go. Its a little soapy and a little heavy on the sex (less than GOT) but Rhys-Myers, Sam Neill and Peter O'Toole were all excellent. Henry Cavill is also great once he gets the hang of it.

[Ramsay B.]

Theda, I will be interested to see how you feel about Frankenstein in the first episode of Penny Dreadful.

Was gonna say the same thing. I actually didn't like that little "surprise" but enjoyed the first episode besides that.

All-time favorite characters:

Dutch- Arnold in Predator

Darth Vader

Thanos

Major Winters- Band of Brothers

Arya Stark

Varys

Roland Deshain

Sawyer- Lost

Rust Cohle

A hate list is pretty hard but Penny, Littlefinger and Walder Frey would make it somewhere.

[Theda Baratheon]

Bit of a weird thread, it's all over the place. I'll give it a quick go anyway out of boredom. Don't expect explanations, and none of these are in any order.

Favourite characters:

Jaime Lannister (ASOIAF)

Mark Corrigan (Peep Show)

Raylan Givens (Justified)

David Brent (The Office)

Dennis Reynolds (Always Sunny)

Least favourite characters:

Penny the dwarf (ASOIAF)

Donna (Parks n Rec)

Riley (Buffy)

Hank's Dad (King of the Hill)

AJ Soprano

Favourite Series:

ASOIAF

The Wire

The Office (UK)

The Shield

Justified

Least favourite series:

Call of Duty

World of Warcraft

Big Bang Theory

Don't really have any others

omg, David Brent and Mark corrigan, yes!

Bernard black and fran

Daisy from spaced

[The Santa of House Claus]

I know I said hate, maybe I should not have, though you guys do not seem to be picking the bad guys, which is what I wanted to avoid. But that is why Walder Frey isn't on my list, right up there with Joffrey. The difference is that Walder is, at least, intereting, his back story and motivation are interesting. Certainly not sympothetic, but while I hate Walder Frey, I do not hate the character, if that makes sense.

I see a lot of dislike for Penny, and I can understand that, as an individual she is a rather bad character, but for me, she is rather like what Brienne was to Jaime, bringing out some of that long suppressed decency, making Tyrion a better person.

[Raksha 2014]

Favorite Characters:

1. Gandalf from (the books) Lord of the Rings (movie-Gandalf was almost as good, but I was appalled that he backed down from the Witch-King in the extended version of ROTK and Pippin stepped in to defend him - would never have happened)

2. Faramir from (the books, don't get me started on the movies' version) Lord of the Rings.

3. Dr. Leonard McCoy from the original Star Trek series and some of the movies. Just loved him.

4. Teal'c from Stargate SG-1. Loved his rich, deep voice and dignity and sense of honor.

5. Mowgli from (the stories, not the movies) Kipling's Jungle Book.

runners-up: Spike from Buffy: Vampire Slayer and Angel, Rodney McKay and John Sheppard from Stargate: Atlantis, Dr. Julian Bashir from Star Trek: DS9, Ned Stark from (book and TV series) A Game of Thrones, Sansa Stark and Oberyn Martell from ASoIaF (the books), Duke Leto Atreides from Dune (book and movie; since Jurgen Prochnow played him in the movie), Aiken Drum from Julian May's Saga of Pliocene Exile.

Least Favorite Characters:

1. Dumbledore from the Harry Potter books and movies - I find him a crashing bore; and Rowling's post-series announcement of his being gay did not make him more interesting.

2. Anubis in Stargate SG-1 - even more boring. (Apophis wasn't as smart, but he was more fun and much prettier)

3. King Uther Pendragon in the Merlin TV series - bigoted and over-controlling; didn't like him even though he was played .

4. Gregor "Mountain" Clegane in ASoIaF/Game of Thrones.

Favorite Series:

1. Star Trek - especially the original series, and Star Trek: DS:9, and many of the movies

2. Stargate SG-1/Atlantis/SGU

3. The Chronicles of Amber (first series), by Roger Zelazny (Nine Princes in Amber, The Guns of Avalon, Sign of the Unicorn, The Hand of Oberon, The Courts of Chaos)

4. The Lord of the Rings (books)

5. The Saga of Pliocene Exile, by Julian May (The Many-Colored Land, The Golden Torc, The Nonborn King, The Adversary)- a little-known SF treasure, with elements of fantasy and excellent characterization, as well as pageantry, drama, romance, time travel, and lots of other fun stuff.

I can't list any least favorite series; since if I didn't like a series, I did not watch or read much of it, and have forgotten them.

[The Santa of House Claus]

Favorite Characters:

1. Gandalf from (the books) Lord of the Rings (movie-Gandalf was almost as good, but I was appalled that he backed down from the Witch-King in the extended version of ROTK and Pippin stepped in to defend him - would never have happened)

2. Faramir from (the books, don't get me started on the movies' version) Lord of the Rings.

I love what you say about Gandalf and totally agree with you! On a side note, that is one of the scenes where I would want Sean Connery (who turned down the role) to play Gandalf. That and the Bridge scene. Only because I picture a Connery Gandalf more like Bond, just for those scenes. Like the Witch King confronts him with the "your time has past" line and Gandalf response "Do you expect me to step aside?" "No, Mr. Gandalf, I expect you to die."

Kinda like how I want there to be an outtake of Elron when Frodo is waking up in Rivendale and Elron says "Mr. Underhill, welcome back, we missed you."

[Raksha 2014]

I could see an older (post-Bond) Connery as Gandalf; he's got the eyebrows, and book-Gandalf had dark eyes, not blue. And Gandalf would totally defy the Witch-King! Gandalf took on a Balrog, he would never back down from Sauron's undead lackey.