It's one thing to make a list of the characters on television that you consider useless and not worth anyone's time, the characters we probably wouldn't miss if they were to vanish from their shows. It's another thing, though, to name a child from a reality show on that list. That's what the New York Post's PopWrap blog does. This list of the top 10 most useless characters includes someone named Mady from Jon and Kate Plus 8, which is apparently a reality show. The blog calls this girl - who is a real person dragged on to the show by adults and not a character and not an actress - "selfish, egocentric, whiner, not a joiner - that parents would use genetic testing to eradicate if it were an option." Yowza, that's quite a statement. Other people on the list include Mohinder from Heroes (can't really argue with that after this season), Ignacio from Ugly Betty (that's a bad choice), Shane from Weeds, and Mike from Desperate Housewives.
It's not easy to pick useless TV characters, because even characters that are either lame or aren't utilized by the show's writers often serve an important purpose to the overall plot of the show. I think Tracy is pretty useless on Heroes (she makes me want Nikki to come back), and I'm sure soap fans could come up with two or three examples from their favorite daytime drama.
And if we're going to stretch this to include reality shows, how about the entire cast of Real Housewives of Orange County?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
12-23-2008 @ 1:23PM
MWM said...
Useless: the whole cast of Heroes.
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12-23-2008 @ 1:36PM
Brian said...
Shane Botwin does not deserve to be on this list. He was very important to every plot point in Weeds this season. The worst part about his inclusion is the writer thinks he's useless because they don't like him. They admit it in the write up. He's become a "bad guy," but that's the point. The entire show is about how a family is effected by their mom's corruption. Shane is the center piece as Silas was already bad.
He easily could be replaced by Astrid in Fringe. I don't get her purpose besides being forgotten by Walter.
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12-23-2008 @ 1:59PM
Ryan said...
I think he has annoying and useless confused.
Mohinder, definitely useless.
Alex Monroe on Sci-Fi's Invisible Man was so useless they stopped writing stuff her character even though she was in the opening credits. Pretty much no one noticed.
Maybe this is more expendable then useless, but pretty much everyone on House (aside from House, Cuddy and Wilson) can be replaced on a whim. They've proven that several times.
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12-23-2008 @ 2:12PM
Adam said...
I think Shane is integral to the Weeds storyline, the guy who compiled the list must be pretty dense for not getting it. Shane used to be the moral center of the show, even though he was 10. Now, after witnessing his family dealing pot, banging milfs, and human smuggling he's turned into a sick and twisted little brat. That's not useless, that's a demonstration that the Botwin clan's actions have consequences.
As for Mohinder, he's pretty useful because without him people wouldn't have a scapegoat to blame for Heroes turning from must watch TV to convoluted mess shown for an hour.
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12-23-2008 @ 2:21PM
Claire said...
were do they get off saying that about a 7 year old girl. that is not ok at all. say want you want about adults and fictional characters but it's not ok to say something like that about a little kid.
do they not have children or know people with children. children are selfish and annoying by nature because they're too young to understand the needs/wants of others yet.
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12-23-2008 @ 2:46PM
Tony said...
Since when is it blasphemy to criticize children? Has political correctness gone that far?
I agree 100% with Mohinder on the list, but I don't think Ignacio Suarez belongs on it. He's the father figure that Betty needs to keep her grounded.
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12-24-2008 @ 1:44AM
royce said...
I'm not sure that publicly criticizing a 1st grader was ever a cool thing to do. Political correctness or not.
12-23-2008 @ 2:50PM
tspack said...
Including Mady is kind of mean. Shame on them. She's a real person. Yes, she is a little brat, but she's 7; most 7-year-olds, by definition, are little brats.
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12-23-2008 @ 2:57PM
Laura said...
izzie/denny from grey's COMPLETELY USELESS - i fastforward through all their scenes...and sticking with the GA theme - George....don't understand how he still has a job
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12-23-2008 @ 3:49PM
Tony said...
Totally agree with George/Izzie/Denny. Those three should be booted off the show. While they're at it, take Meredith with them.
GA needs a new set of fresh and less irritating characters to centre the stories around.
12-23-2008 @ 3:08PM
khamel said...
vanessa from gossip girl - great catch. i forgot about her (fitting, i guess).
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12-23-2008 @ 4:01PM
Susan Burns said...
As a fan of Jon and Kate plus eight, Mady is the family's challenge child. She used to be one of 2, and not by choice, she became one of 8. No child in that family gets their parents undivided attention except when they plan (which they have to do) an outing with just one. Jon and Kate discipline Mady regularly, and even they have said their show has become Mady's second conscience.
Okay, I am off the soap box now, but seriously, if you have to include a misunderstood 7 year old, there must not be a lot of useless characters on tv. I am not shooting the messenger, but the original writer!
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12-24-2008 @ 8:32AM
Becky said...
And I wonder how others would feel if you had 7 other siblings, six of which can be pretty bratty and whiney most of the time.
12-23-2008 @ 4:04PM
MERVE-THE-PERVE said...
How about all the wives and kids on The Unit. I hate it when there action starts getting good and they switch over to the wives doing their same old boring stuff. They should have killed them all off in the season 1 finale when they had the chance.
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12-23-2008 @ 4:16PM
MWM said...
Yeah, Molly on the Unit is useless and annoying. She has issues with authority..count how many times she went up against Col. Ryan
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12-23-2008 @ 4:53PM
Jitaroo said...
After watching the whole third season of Dexter, I realized that Quinn was utterly useless. What was the point of him when they didn't reveal ANY thing about him.
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12-24-2008 @ 12:20AM
Morjana Coffman said...
Robin Tunney's character on The Mentalist. Yikes! Robin looks like she's sleepwalking through her role. She's annoying, whiny, boring, whiny, drab, whiny, bland, and did I mention whiny?
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12-24-2008 @ 1:46AM
bc said...
I'm sorry, but I can't think of a single scene in "The Mentalist" where Lisbon has done anything that could be even remotely described as whine. She's the boss and acts like it. Perhaps you're thinking of Van Pelt? But even she's not useless, she provides someone for Rigsby to pine for when he's not gazing adoringly at his man crush Jane.
12-24-2008 @ 7:27AM
Jimmy said...
I got a chuckle when I saw Sean McNamara on the list. Hilarious!
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12-24-2008 @ 8:22AM
KenMo said...
I consider 8 of the 10 shows listed as useless.
Of the 10, I have only watched Heroes and Weeds.
On Heroes I'd have to agree with Mohinder, but it's a close call against Claire. If Mohinder looked as good in a leather or cheerleader outfit, he'd be in the running. At least he can act.
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