The Virtual Poster, or When Characters Suck

Alex over at Complications Ensue thinks that Meredith Grey is a drip.

He's got a point. Good old Ellen Pompeo was far more engaging in the lovely and underrated film Moonlight Mile. When it comes to characters on Grey's Anatomy, ex-lingerie model Izzie and Ottawa's own Sandra Oh's Christina Yang blow her off the map. Even the Prince of Darkness Alex has, of late, been more interesting. (But it's still weird to see that My Fat Obnoxious Fiance Dude behind the bar - but I digress.)

The truth is that you're taking a hell of a chance whenever you name a show after your main character. I've always thought the main reason why Ally McBeal flamed out so quickly was because, well, people kind of didn't like Ally McBeal. Where would The West Wing be right now if it was called "President Bartlet," or, God Forbid, if E.R. had been "That Cute and Soulful Dr. Ross."

The main thing driving Meredith Grey at the outset of Grey's Anatomy was the fact that she slept with a dude in a one night stand. Interesting. She later found out, by the rules of co-inky-dink that he was her boss. Very Interesting. Then at the end of the pilot, we found out that her Mom, a famous surgeon, was squirrelled away in a nursing home with early onset Alzheimers. Muy Bueno Interestingo!

But now -- Dr. McDreamy and Meredith's illicit affair is out, and over...and everyone knows about Mom. The things that made Meredith interesting were unsustainable. Now you're stuck with a main character -- a narrator, for godsakes, who is nowhere near as interesting as the other characters.

The amazing thing, of course, is that this is not an unusual problem in TV. TV is constantly putting up shows that are meant to be focused around one character, that fall quickly to the wacky or more interesting friend syndrome. I've always been of the opinion that the least interesting characters on Will & Grace were Will & Grace. As for this season's offerings, you see sitcoms like How I Met Your Mother and Out of Practice, where the bland leads make you almost want to dive for the remote.

You've got a special burden where you have a titular character. On Charlie Jade, we were constantly having to remind ourselves that the main character's name was in the title -- and no matter how you liked the bad guy or how cool that scene would be -- look at the title and bite it back.

There are examples from the current crop of TV where you can see them doing it right. No one, I think, would argue that My Name Is Earl's most compelling character is Mr. Hickey himself. Even Fox's Bones, a flawed show at the best of times, has a main character, name in title, who is the main reason to watch.

All of this means something when you're thinking about creating shows. The not-interesting main character is not as uncommon a problem as you think. I'm involved in two projects right now where that problem is being attacked in different ways.

In the first, the network exec's note came back that the main character wasn't interesting enough. To young or particularly frustrated writers, this is like getting a note that says, "raise the stakes" or "what does so and so want" -- it's enough to make you see that little spot of blood behind your eye. Yes, Virginia, that is an aneurism. Brace yourself...here comes Mr. Floor...

But the thing is, the note was right on the money. You can't just say that your main character is going to be the bedrock of the series. You have to earn that. You have to create a nuanced, probably flawed character who still has audience appeal.

When you figure out the magic bullet for that, please let me know.

The other project I'm doing, I originally conceived as starring a Young Female Protagonist. I worked through a series Bible and a Pilot with that in mind.

But the more that I worked through it, the more the notes came back not about my main character, but about the other characters, two of them in particular. I realized that I'd spent most of my time figuring out how this Main Character related to two other characters in the firm where she worked. (And I'm not telling you what kind of firm because it's just too frickin good.)

What happened was, the Virtual Poster was lying to me.

The Virtual Poster is how you imagine your series characters come promo time. You imagine a cast photo or a movie-like onesheet, or a DVD Box cover. How does it look? Is it a bunch of people all standing in a line? Ensemble show. Is it one person way out in front, with other people standing in the background? You have a lead.

What gradually evolved for me was the idea that in my virtual poster, there were three people out front. The woman whom I thought was my lead was in the centre, but the two people beside her were just as prominent. I had created a triangle. And once that conceptual divide was crossed, everything came easier.

I think the reason why the original Star Trek is still the most beloved (and the one that can be rerun forever without the ratings dropping below a certain level) is because the troika they put up there was interesting. Those three you wanted to watch. Not so much with the other ensembles.

By the way, the more studious among you may have noticed what I just did there. I punted on the issue of the main character.

Aint I a stinker?