Paid Members gmoney Posted January 10, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 10, 2019 I love a story with great journeys for its characters. The Wire is a high profile example of a show where you can trace long, interesting character arcs for a lot of the people on the show. They are effected by the events of the series. Another show that looked at the lives of a group of friends from the 1960s to the 1990s was Our Friends in the North. It looked at how the politics of the times impacted on them from their youth into adulthood, and it is fan-fucking-tastic. The cast includes a Doctor Who and a James Bond, and a million great character actors. What other series, long running or otherwise, have great character development? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 After choosing it for the subject of my podcast, there are a bunch in Oz, (cheap plug - http://insideozpodcast.podbean.com/, also on iTunes, Stitcher etc.) one of the most prominent ones being that of Tobias Beecher. You’re introduced to him as if he is going to be the main character for the series, before all the other stories branch off from one-another. I’m enjoyingrewatching the show and seeing Beecher change as a result of both his surroundings as well as his own naivety at times. He gets put through the ringer good & proper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 I think The Sopranos is one of the best series for this. With a lot of long-running series, the main characters don't actually CHANGE as much as experience stuff. So Buffy is the same at the end of the series as at the start; or Captain Picard, and so on. Tony Soprano himself is a bit of an enigma, but is definitely on a downward curve; but other characters like Christopher Moltisanti or Adriana certainly have a dramatic character arc. Let's be honest too, most character arcs in Sopranos end in death. Deadwood has some incredible arcs too - Ellsworth for instance, or Calamity Jane. Deadwood also pulls of the equally fantastic trick of having a character NOT change across a series but your perception of them does. So Al Swearengen starts as the villain and becomes the hero, but that's only because you don't understand his motivations at the start of the series. Another great series, which almost nobody has seen, is Brotherhood. Jason Clarke's character arc on that show is just really depressing in a brilliant way as all his idealism leeches out. It's definitely worth watching, only 3 seasons too so it's not vast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyattSheepMask Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Trivia note- The Sopranos pilot episode aired 20 years ago today Im also ashamed of myself as probably been one of the few people left to have never seen a single second of Deadwood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Dunno about Tony Soprano, he starts as a prick and ends as a prick. Great character, but like nearly everyone in The Sopranos, they weren't nice and were hard to root for, but because they were so nuanced that what made it good. Walter White probably counts for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W35ty Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Wesley from Buffy. Went from dorky loser watcher to bad ass demon fighter in Angel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members gmoney Posted January 10, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 10, 2019 4 minutes ago, W35ty said: Wesley from Buffy. Went from dorky loser watcher to bad ass demon fighter in Angel. I'm not sure children's shows count, their continuity is all over the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted January 10, 2019 Moderators Share Posted January 10, 2019 I dunno about that. Rigby's character arc in Regular Show is pretty impressive. He consistently grows and matures gradually through the show's run and they don't really ever do anything out of character with him to ruin that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted January 10, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 10, 2019 Wesley Crusher went from megadork weakling to getting off with Ashley Judd to dimension jumping traveller and all-powerful weird being. Not bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awards Moderator Onyx2 Posted January 10, 2019 Awards Moderator Share Posted January 10, 2019 2 hours ago, W35ty said: Wesley from Buffy. Went from dorky loser watcher to bad ass demon fighter in Angel. While Buffy changes a bit, Willow has the most forward motion. From uber dorky loser student to hardened wicca paragon. I nominate Leo McGarry in the West Wing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W35ty Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 2 hours ago, gmoney said: I'm not sure children's shows count, their continuity is all over the place. Buffy and Angel are not children's shows. They are teen shows which most of us were 20 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 I wasn’t a teen show 20 years ago, speak for yourself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Lion_of_the_Midlands Posted January 11, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 11, 2019 2 hours ago, Onyx2 said: While Buffy changes a bit, Willow has the most forward motion. From uber dorky loser student to hardened wicca paragon. I nominate Leo McGarry in the West Wing. The 2 characters who change the most in the West Wing are probably Donna and CJ, although most of the main characters have a pretty big story arc. The only one who doesn't really change is Josh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted January 11, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted January 11, 2019 I get the impression this thread is more to do with serious shows than sitcoms but the character development of each main character throughout the run of Always Sunny In Philadelphia is incredibly rewarding. From the first episode all four of the gang (prior to Frank's arrival) are, to say the least, a bit odd, but the devolution of each of them gradually into the worst versions imaginable of themselves is absolutely spectacular. Dennis is particular is an absolute joy to watch be fleshed out from "this guy's a borderline narcissist with some misogynistic tendancies" to "So..... I wonder how many people Dennis has killed?" and his eventual conclusion that he's God. Special mention too to Dee repeatedly barking at the therapist - "TELL ME I'M GOOD! TELL ME I'M GOOD! TELL ME I'M GOOD! TELL ME I'M GOOD!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Chest Rockwell Posted January 11, 2019 Moderators Share Posted January 11, 2019 You can't talk character development in Sunny without mentioning Cricket! The way his life gets ruined is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.