Worst Semi-Regular(s)/Worst Regular Character(s)

manfromoswestry said:
The two librarians from the first few series, Mr. Wainright and Miss Probert, I found rather annoying. A good thing they were short-lived on the show.
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Recently I have been watching the first series again and it is clear that Wainwright and Mrs Partridge are the early blueprint for Howard and Marina, although in keeping with the grittiness of those years the dialogue was more adult in nature. Wainwright was a difficult character to like as he was bossy and authoritarian, but also obsessed with Mrs Partridge in the kind of lecherous way that Howard, who looked more innocent, could later get away with but with Wainwright came across as if he was a predator. However there was one thing about him that was unique and stood out, he was a Marxist! The Daily Mail would be up in arms if any major comedy today had a Marxist character in it, especially as they like to accuse the BBC of being left wing.

Miss Probert was probably a character reflecting a time of radical feminism. I don't recall her being around for long.
 
I quite liked Toby as the golf club captain and the way Barry always seemed to upset him,as in Wesleys mobile drinks machine on the golf course.His later part was okay as Barries next door neighbour was played well and added an extra dimention to story lines.It was funny seeing him as the clothes shop owner when Compo needed a new jacket reminded me of Im Free!
 
I admit I do have a soft spot for Toby....I loved Mr Lucas from AYBS, so I liked watching him here! I also really liked Nelly, again I am a big fan of AB/FAB and just really liked that she was more intelligent in this!
 
On reflection I still do not like Hobbo I watched him yesterday and I just could not take to him he was so unbelievable.
 
Saw an episode with Hobbo for the first time and I agree the character is just not very believable, good comedy I think is in part an exaggeration of reality and something about Hobbo just doesn't ring true, which makes it hard to relate to him.
 
Norm said:
Saw an episode with Hobbo for the first time and I agree the character is just not very believable, good comedy I think is in part an exaggeration of reality and something about Hobbo just doesn't ring true, which makes it hard to relate to him.
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Mainstream comedy works well when characters do have something that is believable about them. For the most part LOTSW got this right. One can be picky and say that there are some instances in the series when the characters aren't believable, for example is it really possible that Howard and Marina could have had their relationship for that long and never once even kissed let alone have a fling?! This was of course part of the running joke and is accepted as such, although it is totally unrealistic. In the early series I think we are not left in much doubt that the librarian Wainwright is engaged in an affair of sorts with Mrs Partridge and then Miss Moody. They are like Howard and Marina, but it's clear there is more intensity there.

I mentioned before that I think Hobbo fails as a character because there is no back story for his claims that he was a spy. He was a milkman living next door to Clegg. One assumes that everyone knew he was a milkman. The trouble was that all his spy stories or flashbacks of transplanted memories suggested he was either mentally ill or a nutjob. His fantasy was totally different to what Foggy was doing, because at least Foggy had been a career military man. Compo however could catch him out every time by mentioning that he was a Corporal Signwriter, just as occasionally he would remind Blamire that he worked in the military stores. What could Alvin and Entwistle pull Hobbo up on? Nothing. All they could have said was that he was a nutter and that was inappropriate really.

I hate to say it, but I think Hobbo was the worst written main character in the history of LOTSW. Pity, as so much depended on getting that new character right as a new trio was being put together.
 
Foggy stayed a corporal for a long time perhaps it would have caused to many disasters if he had made sergeant! :)
 
Truly was sergeant when he arrived. ,Miss Davenport appeared to promote him to Inspector ;) ;D ;D
 
chris said:
Foggy stayed a corporal for a long time perhaps it would have caused to many disasters if he had made sergeant! :)
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Not sure that there was much of a career structure in sign writing.

Although one sign writer did progress and appeared in SW as a guest.
 
dick said:
Truly was sergeant when he arrived. ,Miss Davenport appeared to promote him to Inspector ;) ;D ;D
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His words in "There goes the groom" suggest he had to learn to drink hard before becoming a sergeant in CID. But they did not preclude his having advanced to inspector later. I am sure he referred to himself as ex-inspector but cannot recall specifically where.
 
Big Unc said:
dick said:
Truly was sergeant when he arrived. ,Miss Davenport appeared to promote him to Inspector ;) ;D ;D
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His words in "There goes the groom" suggest he had to learn to drink hard before becoming a sergeant in CID. But they did not preclude his having advanced to inspector later. I am sure he referred to himself as ex-inspector but cannot recall specifically where.
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You're not nit-picking again are you UNC?? ;) ???
 
dick said:
Big Unc said:
dick said:
Truly was sergeant when he arrived. ,Miss Davenport appeared to promote him to Inspector ;) ;D ;D
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His words in "There goes the groom" suggest he had to learn to drink hard before becoming a sergeant in CID. But they did not preclude his having advanced to inspector later. I am sure he referred to himself as ex-inspector but cannot recall specifically where.
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You're not nit-picking again are you UNC?? ;) ???
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I did not intend to be on this occasion. I seem to recall us deliberating this topic some months ago and am trying to recall the conclusion we reached. I do seem to recall Truly referring to himself as an inspector at retirement. But then again, I could be lying.

And weren't we quiet overnight. USA must have been asleep.
 
Big Unc said:
dick said:
Big Unc said:
dick said:
Truly was sergeant when he arrived. ,Miss Davenport appeared to promote him to Inspector ;) ;D ;D
Click to expand...

His words in "There goes the groom" suggest he had to learn to drink hard before becoming a sergeant in CID. But they did not preclude his having advanced to inspector later. I am sure he referred to himself as ex-inspector but cannot recall specifically where.
Click to expand...
You're not nit-picking again are you UNC?? ;) ???
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I did not intend to be on this occasion. I seem to recall us deliberating this topic some months ago and am trying to recall the conclusion we reached. I do seem to recall Truly referring to himself as an inspector at retirement. But then again, I could be lying.

And weren't we quiet overnight. USA must have been asleep.
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We do seem to go in circles at times don't we?? :)
 
A lot of this discussion went on when I was on hiatus. Other than some negative Hobbo talk, it is pretty clear that Babs is by far the least popular. I agree.

However, I may be one of the few fans here that really like the first Tom episodes, Here to Paternity, Waggoners Roll, and I Didn't Know Barry Could Play. I enjoyed Tom as the shady character. As for Babs, she clearly didn't work, but she was only a small part of these episodes. She did nolt ruin the episodes.

If I were to sum up Babs in just a few words, they would be bizarre, weird, indifferent. I just watched (and thoroughly enjoyed) I Didn't Know Barry Could Play" today. Why on Earth was Babs always dressed in those long dresses and wore that bizarre make up?

Why was the character so unpopular?

Was it that the character didn't fit into the script? Was the bizarre appearence too much? Was the role poorly played?

Maybe those were all answers to the why Babs didn't work.
 
codfanglers said:
If I were to sum up Babs in just a few words, they would be bizarre, weird, indifferent. I just watched (and thoroughly enjoyed) I Didn't Know Barry Could Play" today. Why on Earth was Babs always dressed in those long dresses and wore that bizarre make up?

Why was the character so unpopular?

Was it that the character didn't fit into the script? Was the bizarre appearance too much? Was the role poorly played?

Maybe those were all answers to the why Babs didn't work.
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I think the character just did not fit, although Cusher was very different and did fit in. Possibly the timing was not right - with Compo passing, the mood was not right for such a change. I think the appearance fitted the role, and I would not question the acting.
 
codfanglers said:
A lot of this discussion went on when I was on hiatus. Other than some negative Hobbo talk, it is pretty clear that Babs is by far the least popular. I agree.

However, I may be one of the few fans here that really like the first Tom episodes, Here to Paternity, Waggoners Roll, and I Didn't Know Barry Could Play. I enjoyed Tom as the shady character. As for Babs, she clearly didn't work, but she was only a small part of these episodes. She did nolt ruin the episodes.

If I were to sum up Babs in just a few words, they would be bizarre, weird, indifferent. I just watched (and thoroughly enjoyed) I Didn't Know Barry Could Play" today. Why on Earth was Babs always dressed in those long dresses and wore that bizarre make up?

Why was the character so unpopular?

Was it that the character didn't fit into the script? Was the bizarre appearence too much? Was the role poorly played?

Maybe those were all answers to the why Babs didn't work.
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Babs was a very stereotypical negative image of a young person. The makeup was goth/punk, but probably dated and didn't sit right a comedy like LOTSW. LOTSW has never been about the young, other than to have occasional jokes at their expense, the character was never going to be written as just an ordinary good girl. The intention might have been to present the new Tom family with Mrs Avery as being a bit of a modern problem family that you might expect a son of Compo to get involved with. The whole situation was just too much of a stereotype really.
 
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