(no subject)

[tree_and_leaf]

Because I'm bored, I've borrowed the Character Love Meme from dolorous_ett

Name a character from one of my fandoms, and I will write no more than 100 words on why I love them.

Fot the purposes of this exercise, my fandoms are defined as Harry Potter, Tolkien, Doctor Who (but please bear in mind that I have never seen an episode of Six and my knowledge of Old Who is somewhat patchy), Patrick O'Brian, Dorothy L Sayers, Terry Prachett, and Star Trek (TOS and DS9).

Comments

[trude.livejournal.com]

Miss Climpson from Sayers. (Or, if you don't love her, Bunter. Or the Dowager Duchess.)

[tree_and_leaf]

I love Miss Climpson because she is, underneath all the melodramatic underlining, a distinctive mix of the clear-eyed realist and the hopeful. She seems to have had a rather tiresome life, but has undramatically made the best of it. And the whole episode where she masquerades as a spiritualist in 'Strong Poison' is just wonderful (especially the bit where she prays for moral guidance and hears Peter Wimsey's voice saying 'Go it, Miss Climpson') She has a comic side to her, but she's always taken basically seriously by both author and reader, because she's a good, resiliant woman who does her job extremely well.

Bunter is generally marvellous and omni-compentent and I wish I had one to run my life. And the Dowager Duchess' way with quotations, as well as her scattiness and odd bursts of insight, are unforgettable.

[trude.livejournal.com]

Thanks! (Runs off to re-read Strong Poison.)

[tree_and_leaf]

My work is done ;)

[themolesmother.livejournal.com]

Sam Gamgee.

MM

[tree_and_leaf]

Gosh, in only 100 words?

i don't see how one can not love Sam: he's such a loyal, brave, humble person, and so very romantic under his practical exterior. Not flawless by any means - a bit narrow and prejudiced - but always hopeful, always trying to do the best he can and usually managing it, always responsive to beauty.

Also, one of my ancestors was in Tolkien's regiment, as a private soldier, so I've always liked to think of him as a distant relative...

[mrs-wolf.livejournal.com]

Also, one of my ancestors was in Tolkien's regiment, as a private soldier, so I've always liked to think of him as a distant relative...

Wow! That's like being...royalty! Except without the paparazzi.

[tree_and_leaf]

Well, it's called 'having family from East Lancashire', really - they had a fairly high turnover of officers and men, poor lads.... But it was a fine regiment, and of course in one sense Sam is Tolkien's tribute to the (not so) ordinary British soldier.

[themolesmother.livejournal.com]

As a bright-eyed, bushy tailed (and somewhat shallow) teenager I ignored Sam in favour of more "glamorous" characters like Aragorn.

As a somewhat jaded, bashed about and (I hope) more enlightened forty-something I find I'm appreciating him more and more. I like to think of him, grown and changed in the wake of his adventures, coming into his inheritence of Bag End and becoming a formidable personage in his own right. He deserved it.

I don't normally read LOTR fanfic but The Kings Commission (http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterview.asp?sid=3077&cid=11934) by Larner has a wonderful take on Sam that shows him as the spiritual heart of the remaining Fellowship after Frodo's passing.

MM

[tree_and_leaf]

Oh, I love Aragorn, too :) ... Thanks for the fic rec - looks interesting.

[dolorous-ett.livejournal.com]

Preserved Killick, if you please!

[tree_and_leaf]

Which it would be for his distinctive approach to sentence construction, and the fact that he expresses affection and esteem by extreme shrewishness...

[sacred-sarcasm.livejournal.com]

If it's not 'cheating' to ask for a major character, Stephen Maturin.
If it is, then the Duke of Denver (Peter's brother).

[tree_and_leaf]

"Jack! You have debauched my sloth!" For that line alone, I'll always love Steven. But one might add his erudition and genuine passion for the natural world, his inability - to which he is more or less blind - to understand the Navy, and his very feeling heart.

As a bonus: Gerald is an excellent foil to Peter - and I like him because he is genuinely fond of his brother, even though he thinks he's utterly insane. And for his stubborn sense of honour.

[sacred-sarcasm.livejournal.com]

thanks! That's what I like about Gerald. He seems a rather decent sort of chap (if a bit dull) who is content to let other people live their lives in a way that makes them happy, even if he thinks it's insane.

[tree_and_leaf]

Yes - which is why he's much more likeable than Helen, even though he's almost as conventional.

[snorkackcatcher]

How about Garak?

[tree_and_leaf]

Ah, Garak. So cynical and ironic - not sparing himself from his own irony -, and not quite as ruthless as he thinks he is. In particular, I loved his relationship with Bashir, which could be summed up in ther following snatch of dialogue:

Bashir: What I want to know is, out of all the stories you told me which ones were true and which ones weren't?
Garak: My dear doctor...they're all true.
Bashir: Even the lies?
Garak: Especially the lies.

[prelud.livejournal.com]

Elrond. Or Galadriel.

[tree_and_leaf]

Elrond... takes his daughter's decision to go off and marry Aragorn extremely well, all things considered (although I think Movie!Elrond had some unresolved Freudian conflicts...) And he is kind-hearted enough to worry about Merry and Pippin going off on the Quest, even though he has so many more important matters to concern him.

Galadriel I love because of the scene in which she considers the temptation of the Ring, admits and imagines its attraction - and then refuses it with the wonderful line 'I will diminish, and go into the West - and remain Galadriel' (Again, I didn't think much of the way they did the scene in the film, but it would admittedly be difficult to stage.)

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Hermione Granger.

Sergeant Colon.

Harriet Vane.

[tree_and_leaf]

Hermione: I possibly overidentify with her, being similar in a lot of ways. I like her for her devotion to her books and her loyalty to her friends - and because of her flaws, too, which are entirely plausible. She's insecure, hence her over-reliance on rules and for that matter her jealousy in HBP - but she does keep on trying to do what she believes to be right. Also, I empathise with her hair problems.

Someone - McGonnagal, perhaps - needs to take her aside and explain that if you want to really excel academically, you need to be able to depart from the recieved wisdom and be willing to be controversial, thogh (mind you, she should know that, after her experiences with Slinkhard's useless defence text-book in OOTP)

Colon: for all his uselessness and borderline corruption, Colon's shrewder than he appears (perhaps despite himself). I loved the way when, in having been left in charge of the Watch in 'Fifth Elephant', for all he was getting drunk on power, there was a tiny part of him that still knew the truth about himself, even if it was only 'I'm out of my depth and Vimes is going to go spare.'

Harriet: as with Sam, I hardly know where to begin. But I think I chiefly love her for her intellectual honesty and sheer bloody-minded integrity, even in extremis. Also, I wish I was as good at punting.

[grondfic.livejournal.com]

Bill Rum (Strong Poison)

Gorbag

Blaise Zabini

Captain Jack

[tree_and_leaf]

Bill Rum - a tiny unregenerate part of me adores his appalling taste in tub-thumping hymns. I also like the fact that he still loves the craft of lock-picking, even though he's given it up. And Helen Denver's take on his presence at Peter's wedding is extremely funny: "Someone said he was a reformed burglar, but I can scarcely believe this, even of Peter."

Gorbag: I'm afraid I have problems remembering which of the orcs with speaking parts is which. But they give us a fascinating glimpse of the other side of the War of the Ring.

Blaise Zabini... er,well, he's a bit of a blank space. I was higly amused by the number of people who were upset to be told that Blaise was a boy. Though I was slightly sad to have to relinquish my fanon Blaise, who was Scottish-Italian and whose father ran a wizarding pizza-and-ice-cream parlour in wizarding Glasgow. I think the best thing about canon Blaise may be his mother.

Captain Jack: The line "Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks 'this could be more sonic?' " But only because he was subsequently forced to admit they were useful.

[tree_and_leaf]

And Captain Jack does make a great spiv. Like Walker from Dad's Army, only with an American accent. His first appearance, in particular, was a nice riff on the British perception of the Americans in the war (over-paid, over-sexed, over here...) Actually, I'm not a great fan, but...

Ah.

[wemyss.livejournal.com]

Mr Murbles.

The Hon Freddie Arbuthnot.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

Hagrid.

Minerva.

Ernie Macmillan.

Nanny Ogg.

The Shrewsbury SCR.

Gosh, you don't ask much!

[tree_and_leaf]

Murbles is an excellent example of DLS' craft as a writer: he's not on stage much, and appears almost entirely in his professional capacity. Yet he convinces as an individual. He sounds as if he would be a very agreeable person to have lunch with. And I love the scene with the over-aged port, though I can't for the life of me remember in which book it appears.

Freddie is quite simply charming. Aside from his instint for money, he is something of an idiot, but he is good-hearted, a good friend, a loyal lover in the face of family opposition, and there's something rather touching about his openess about how much his wife and children mean to him.

... I shall come back to the others later.

Of course, having complained about being bored, I suddenly had no time for such pursuits

[tree_and_leaf]

The Brigadier is exactly what one hopes British army officers are like: brave, decent, honourable, obedient, but not to the point of thinking 'Kavadergehorsamkeit' a virtue. He's surprisingly open-minded, and copes remarkably well with the Doctor's eccentricities. I like his dry, understated sense of humour - and the general attractiveness of Nicholas Courtney doesn't exactly hurt, either...

Hagrid is simply a genuinely kind, decent man. He may show poor judgement at times, and he has some unfortunate prejudices, but he is unfailingly friendly and welcoming to those who need a helping hand. He's not been embittered by the various injustices and losses he has suffered, which also says much for him. And I quite agree with him about the wonders of dragons, although keeping them in a wooden hut and giving them teddy bears is not the best possible way to deal with them...

Minerva - unfailingly decent, bracing without being callous, serious about her subject and - one gets the impression - a woman of great integrity, both politically and intellectually. She's brave, she has a dry wit ('If you're murdered, I will excuse you from handing in your homework') and we'll overlook the taste in hats... She also reminds me of the wonderful woman who taught me for Higher Maths, which was the only time I really enjoyed the subject, and as a result of whose all round brilliance and hard work (mind you, she expected hard work in return) I got an A pass. Which may be the exam result I'm most proud of, even yet.

Ernie: Percy, only more likable and with better moral sense. I loved the scene where he asserts that joining the DA may be more important than OWLs, with the apparently genuine belief that he is being daring and controversial. And he had the guts to apologise properly to Harry in Chamber of Secrets, unlike - apparently - most of the school. A thoroughly good egg, if a tiny bit pompous at times.

Nanny Ogg: well, how can you not love the author of the Lancre Witch's cookbook? Genial, rather vulgar, honest, always unabashedly herself. And though she's by no means as good a witch or as intelligent as Granny Weatherwax, Granny would be rather at a loss without her.

The Shrewsbury SCR: a fine company of scholars, linked, for all their differences and various failings, by a commitment to intellectual honesty and loyalty to their college. I think the Dean is wonderful, and when I grow up I want to be just like her, albeit preferably without having to deal with dishonest porters, attempted suicides in the student body. Some variation on Miss Hillyard Being Difficult is probably unavoidable in academia, though.

Re: Of course, having complained about being bored, I suddenly had no time for such pursuits

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

I think the Dean is wonderful, and when I grow up I want to be just like her, albeit preferably without having to deal with dishonest porters, attempted suicides in the student body.

The Dean is love. One of those rare fictional characters I'd really like to be friends with, much like Beatrice in Much Ado and Herbert Pocket in Great Expectations. (Not that I'd mind being non-platonic friends with Herbert, either.)

[aervir.livejournal.com]

Havelock Vetinari.

Diana Villiers.

Jackie Tyler.

Mickey Smith.

[tree_and_leaf]

I admire the Patrician in much the same way I admire Humphrey Appleby from 'Yes Minister' - so ruthlessly efficient. And while he doesn't exactly behave in a manner which would be admired in liberal democracies, he is interested not in advancing his own power or fortune, but in making the city work. His conversations with Leonard, and his shameless manipulation of Vimes are both wonderful. And he did wear the lilac.

Diana - well, I love her dash, her boldness, her clear-eyed determination to make her way in a more-or-less hostile world on her terms as far as possible, and her sheer style. A little like Becky Sharp, only without the spiteful streak, and more honest.

Jackie. Erm... I liked her Love and Monsters, much as I disliked that episode, particularly once we'd got away from her in seductive mode (Rusty can be a bit misogynistic, at times, can't he? At least where older and no longer pretty women are concerned). Maternal, tigerish Jackie was oddly heartwarming.

Mickey: well, in a way 'naught in life became him like the leaving of it', but there's still worse things that could be said about him. I started to warm to him when he suddenly realised 'I'm the tin dog!' (I felt Rose was treating him a bit badly before - she should have just broken off the relationship - but it didn't make me like him), and positively cheered when he went off to the mirror universe. Not because I hated him and wanted him gone, but because he'd finally taken a positive decision to do something meaningful with his life, to grow up. Unlike certain other characters we could mention...

[aervir.livejournal.com]

Errrm, maybe I should have told you that you were actually meant to pick and choose from the list... Not that I don't like reading what you have to say about these characters. I think you have pinpointed exactly what makes them all likeable or interesting in their own right. The comparison between Diana Villiers and Becky Sharp in particular appeals to me quite a lot.

[tree_and_leaf]

...yes, well, never underestimate the strength of my will to procrastinate from the Thesis of Doom. Even more when it's class preparation.... And it is quite interesting to consider the positive aspects of characters you're not particularly keen on. Jackie and Mickey, that is, as I do like Diana.

[harriet-wimsey.livejournal.com]

Let's see. How about Jerry (Pickled Gherkins) and Miss DeVine (who is, I suppose, rather covered by the Shrewsbury SCR above). And how about Mr. Jones of Jesus (I can't remember his real name at the moment)?

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

And how about Mr. Jones of Jesus (I can't remember his real name at the moment)?

Reggie Pomfret. (One of the perks of teaching a book is that this sort of thing gets indelibly etched upon one's memory.)

[harriet-wimsey.livejournal.com]

Yes! I was just thinking about him the other day, but for some reason he completely escaped my mind when it was time to comment.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

Reggie's wonderful - I love Harriet's mental description of responding to his proposal as like trying to say "Stop it, Rover!" to somebody else's over-enthusiastic young alsatian.

[harriet-wimsey.livejournal.com]

Yes, indeed. Reminds me a bit of a friend of mine, actually. Perhaps a different breed of dog, but still, I felt like I was kicking a puppy to refuse him.

[tree_and_leaf]

"Who are you calling a bloody Welshman?"

[tree_and_leaf]

Pickled Gherkins: so tactless, yet so essentially well-meaning. Charming, funny, reckless. Yes, he can be thoughtless in a somewhat selfish manner, but one can't help liking him. His taste in women is alarmingly poor, though.

Miss deVine is decidedly scary, but a woman of formidable integrity and pitilessly honest. Merciless but admirable: and I should think her tutorials would be quite something.

Young Reggie Pomfret: poor, poor, Reggie. His chivalrous devotion to Harriet, and the appallingly funny scene with the Proctors in St Giles are wonderful, although one feels sorry for the poor chap. I've always wondered whether he and Cattermole managed to make a go of it, and whether admiration for Harriet was a satisfactory basis for a relationship....

[sophysduckling.livejournal.com]

Peter Wimsey!

[tree_and_leaf]

Peter Wimsey is quite simply brilliant. Anyone who can be an expert on incunabula and a decent fencer gets my unconditional adoration. Especially if also in the habit of treating women as people, rather than aliens who may or may not be attractive.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

All the good ones are gone!

Prince Imrahil, the eternally omitted from adaptations.

Mortimer Wimsey (Peter, Mary, and Gerald’s father)

Sophy Williams

[tree_and_leaf]

Imrahil: I like his swan. And he seems a generally decent and rather stylish chap.

Mortimer Wimsey: um... well, his children are interesting, so he must have had something going for him....

Sophie: kind-hearted, loyal, mostly tolerant of Jack's myriad failings, and a good friend to Stephen. I also enjoy the ups and downs of her relationship with Diana.