Fair warning: this post is going to ramble a bit. But ever since I watched the premier of “White Collar,” a new hour long drama on the USA network, I’ve been thinking about characters…and their importance to story. (And yes, the title of my post is the little marketing blurb that the USA network uses to advertise not only its original series but also the shows from other networks that it reruns–”Characters Welcome.”)
I absolutley loved “White Collar.” So much so that I watched an immediate rerun on Saturday morning–and I’m on a mind-crunching deadline! The two main characters are an FBI agent assigned to white collar crime and a convicted forger who is released into his custody as a consultant. I found myself liking both men–even though I’ve been partial to art thieves as heroes ever since I first saw Cary Grant in Hitchcock’s “To Catch a Thief.” Instead of a hero and a sidekick, this series has two heroes. What more could a girl ask?
And the reason I was tempted to watch it again and that I will tune in next Friday night is because I really like all the characters–including the wife of the agent and his junior lesbian assistant. They’re all smart, they all intrigue me, and I want to see what they’ll do next.
That got me thinking about what other TV shows are on my “must see” list and why. It turns out that what seems to attract me to a TV show is always the characters–their quirks, their foibles, their flaws, and their complicated relationships with other characters, including their families.
The characters are certainly why I’ve been a fan of NCIS since it started. (Okay, I also think that Mark Harmon is serious eye candy. When he was a guest on “West Wing” and they killed him, I stopped watching that show. But I like all of the other characters on NCIS too–especially Ducky and Abby.) The characters and the way they develop over time are why I remained hooked on “Sex and the City” and “The Sopranos” until both series ended.
My current favorite TV show is “The Closer,” and that show is all about character. I’ll tune in for every episode, not because I’m interested in the case, but because I’m dying to know just how Brenda is going to solve it (and how the officers she works with will help her.) I love the way the writers have developed her relationship with her colleagues over four seasons. But I especially love the way the love story between Brenda and Fritzie has grown.
Okay–so characters are important to me when I select the TV shows I want to watch. That led me to consider what part they play in my writing. The answer to that is that they mean everything. I can’t even develop a good working premise until I figure out who the characters are. And in spite of the fact that Blazes are relatively short books, I love to create unique secondary characters.
I particularly enjoy creating older characters. In one of my Blazes I even ran a secondary love story between two characters in their sixties. (He was an ex-con and she was an art thief.) In the book I’m currently working on, the hero and heroine have to solve a murder that happened fifty-five years in the past. I’m dealing with the challenge of keeping the senior citizen killer smart, mobile, and able to kill again.
After musing about my fascination with characters (since my “White Collar” experience last Friday night), I’ve decided that one of the reasons “characters” are important to me is that I’ve grown up with a lot of them in my family. And my love of older characters probably stems from the fact that one of my great grandmothers had fourteen children, so I grew up with a lot of wonderfully unique aunts and uncles.
The one who comes to mind is my Aunt Ethel who lived into her nineties and to the very end loved Casino gambling, drank her martinis straight up, and always managed to look as though she’d just come from a cover shoot for Vogue Magazine.
And how did I get from “White Collar” to my beloved Aunt Ethel? I warned you I would ramble.
Are characters (including secondary ones) important to you?
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Cara, I’m right there with you — LOVED White Collar, and also a huge fan of The Closer for exactly these reasons. Would add Burn Notice, and Lie to Me to that list — Lie to Me in particular, I find fascinating, because the protag is kind of an ass at time — would definitely be difficult (impossible) to work for, and yet I think the attraction with a character like that is the superhero/genius factor of some sort — he’s the kind of guy you’d like on your side. And while he’s an ass a good portion of the time, he’s also right, and good at what he does — better than good. So you wait to find the chinks and the lapses in this hero who obviously has faults, but those faults are there for a reason, and the reasons are fascinating. Also, it’s a part that makes Tim Roth sexy — I have to admit, I never would have considered him on my “list” but his confidence, even his arrogance, is fantastic, and love his swagger.
I am completely into character — I dislike books, TV, whatever, when it’s only plot. If there’s no one to care about, root for, or figure out (or fantasize about), what’s the point? Though a strong plot helps, too (but, evidenced by shows like Castle, which are just really not about the plot, LOL, it’s all about character…).
My latest fictional addiction is Karen Marie Moning’s Fever books for exactly the same reasons…
Sam
Cara, I’m all about the characters. I’m not a big TV watcher, I tend to fall off the face of the earth in the last month of a deadline and miss too many episodes and by the time I catch up I’ve usually lost interest. But last year -thanks to Julie Leto – I ended up hooked on Castle and man, I’m hooked strong!!
What fabulous characters. I love the contrasts, the strengths and the relationship between Castle and Beckett, and seriously enjoy the secondaries and how well they showcase the conflicts of the main characters.
Hi Tawny,
I didn’t even see “Castle” last seasong until the very end. And it was love at first sight. I understand the first season is available on DVD, and I’m going to buy it.
I especially love his mother and his daughter.
I agree that the characters are great on that show!
Cara
Hi Sam!
I so totally agree about “Burn Notice.” I love Sharon Gless in that show and the way they’re developing and complicating her relationship with her son. And my oldest son, Kevin, turned me onto “Lie to Me” right near the end of the season. Now I never miss it.
Another show I really like is “In Plain Sight.” I love Marshall and Mary’s relationship with her mother and sister.
I guess I love action/adventure but I like to see what they have to go hom to at night.
Cara
I just wanted to add that I too loved White Collar! My favorite show is NCIS, plus its spinoff, then I love Hugh Laurie and “House” (but am not happy with the sudden changes in that show.) I couldn´t figure out why the mother in Burn Notice looked so familiar…..I never noticed that it is Sharon Gless!!!!!!!!! Thank you for mentioning that! I´m a “senior citizen” myself, and very busy…but these shows and others with “characters” make me very happy. Thank you Cara for your comments and your column (@)
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Elizabeth
Elizabeth,
Thank you for replying. I’m happy that I was able to let you know that Sharon Gless is on “Burn Notice.” I’ve admired her as an actress ever since her “Cagney and Lacey” days. And I love her as Michael’s mother.
Cara
My fave new TV show is CBS’ THE GOOD WIFE. I can’t imagine Juliana Margulies won’t be considered for an Emmy, she’s that good as her character, the wife whose political husband has been exposed as having an affair. Now, he’s in prison, & she’s returned to her former career, this time, as a junior attorney. I love how JM shows her character’s vulnerability & pain, yet is still open to being interested & becoming successful at her new job. I highly recommend this series if you appreciate good characters & acting.
With regard to characters in books, am loving NR’s new “Wedding Quartet” series, mainly, because of the 4 childhood friends who have started their own successful “wedding” business, which includes: the woman who runs (i) the floral end (ii) the photography end; (iii) the cake/desserts end; & (iv) the organized overseer of it all. While the romantic relationships are wonderful, for me, the best part is the interaction between the 4 friends & how they love & support each other, & how Nora shows the big difference in how women & men think & act. I can’t wait for book #3 due 4/10.
Patricia
I love characters as much as plots. They both havee to draw me in and hold my interest. I love NCIS, The Closer, In Plain Sight and Leverage. I’m also a big fan of CSI-Maimi, Vegas & New York, Criminal Minds, Ghost Whisper, and Numbers. In books, if the book focus’s only on the plot, I lose my interest. In a lot of books that I like the secondary characters are important and I find myself wanting them to have books of their own, then they do and the cycle continues.
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