Creating Unforgettable Characters

by Linda Seger

  Constructing the barrier can be difficult. It needs to be weak enough so that a great deal of love and affection can flow back and forth, but strong enough so at least one character understands the value of not giving in. In "Who's the Boss?" both characters have that same value. They might be attracted to each other, but as long as they live in the same house with the children, they won't sleep together. In "Cheers," Diane (and later Rebecca) is doubly determined not to give in to Sam's amorous advances.

  In these series, the barrier is always toyed with. Usually the titillation comes from playing with these boundaries, although if there's too much toying with them, audiences might question the indecisiveness of the characters. On the other hand, if there is none, audiences might question why two attractive people are so uninterested in each other.

  Both "Moonlighting" and "Cheers" eventually crossed the line. David and Maddie, and Diane and Sam, eventually slept together.

  In 1985, in its third year, "Who's the Boss?" toyed with the boundary, and reaffirmed the balance:

  ANGELA

  Nothing's going to happen because we're both adults and because . . .

  TONY

  And because things are pretty good between us the way they are.

  ANGELA

  Right. Although things could probably be good between us the way they aren't.

  TONY They'd be great, Angela.

  ANGELA

  Yes, they would.

  TONY

  But they wouldn't be the same. And I don't want to take the chance of losing what we got.

  ANGELA

  Neither would I.

  Although the situation serves to keep characters apart, individual character traits also contribute. Angela's sense of propriety raises questions about how far to go with Tony. Diane's intellectualism and snobbishness lead to her belief that she's above falling for Sam's lines. Maddie's fear of involvement keeps her from giving in to David.

  CONTRAST IN CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS

  Contrast—more than any other quality—defines character duos. Opposites truly do attract and by contrasting two characters, the strongest character dynamics are achieved. Lethal Weapon, 48 HRS., The Odd Couple, Shoot to Kill, Someone to Watch Over Me—almost any relational story that comes to mind, whether a romance, a partnership, or a friendship, will probably contain contrasting characters.

  Contrast can reflect behavior and attitudes. In the film Midnight Run by George Gallo, the behavior and approach to life of Jack the bounty hunter and Jonathan the CPA seem diametrically opposed. Their contrasting qualities include choice of jobs, relationship to their spouses, moral choices— and even eating.

  JONATHAN Are you familiar with the word, arterial sclerosis? If you want, I'll outline a complete balanced diet for you. Why would you eat that?

  JACK

  Why? Because it tastes good!

  JONATHAN But it's not good for you.

  JACK

  I'm aware of it.

  JONATHAN Why would you do something that you know is not good for you?

  JACK

  'Cause I don't think about it.

  JONATHAN But that's living in denial.

  JACK

  I'm aware of that.

  JONATHAN So you're aware of your behavior, yet you continue to do things that aren't good for you. That sounds sort of foolish, don't you think so, Jack?

  JACK

  Stealing 15 million dollars from Jimmy Serrano sounds foolish . . .

  JONATHAN I didn't think I'd get caught.

  JACK

  Now that's living in denial.

  JONATHAN

  I'm aware of that.

  Sometimes the ethnic background, economic class, and methods for approaching problems are contrasted. Marty Cohan and Blake Hunter describe these dynamics: " 'Who's the Boss?' contains a number of role reversals—the blue collar and the white collar, the working woman and the housekeeper

  man as well as the contrasts of New York and Connecticut, the WASP and the Italian. Tony is very honest, straightforward, even blunt at times. He can be temperamental, and prone to bursts of anger. Tony might fly off the handle a little quicker than Angela, who tries to say 'Lets keep the peace.' Angela tends to gloss over things, bottle things up, be a little uptight in certain areas, while Tony just cuts through all the bull and gets right to the heart of the matter. Angela as the controlled businesswoman is going to try to keep her cool and not blow at the client or at the boss and Tony doesn't have this same context, he doesn't check himself like she does. Both are very family oriented and home oriented, but Angela, by her own admission, is a bit of a klutz in the kitchen, and probably struggling a little more to keep all the balls in the air with motherhood. Tony is direct, no-nonsense, he's strict with his children. Angela is more conservative, more uptight, more permissive with her children. She's more upwardly mobile, and ambitious for herself, whereas Tony is ambitious for his daughter. So there's contrast in ambition, in goals, in attitudes toward the children."

  Sometimes the contrast is psychological. In "Moonlighting," the contrast between Maddie and David can be described in terms of inner fears, as well as outer characteristics. Certainly on the surface they're very different.

  Carl Sautter: "She's ice, he's hot. Maddie is a bubble detached from her emotions, while David's emotions are very raw and on the surface. He's much more of a man of the moment. The thing they're most afraid of is falling in love with somebody—being exposed. But they deal with this differently. Maddie protects herself with the incredible way she looks and the coldness of her exterior. David protects himself with the fast-talking jive. So, immediately, what you've got are two characters who happen to have an enormous bond going on underneath and so you start to get that push-pull in their relationship.

  "Some of their contrasts are unexpected. We did a show where they got into a discussion about God. And the obvious choice, given the focus of those characters, is that Maddie would be very prim and proper in her belief in God and David would be very irreverent about it. Glenn Caron [the creator of the show] said, 'No, let's layer them by giving them exactly the opposite attitudes.' And he switched their attitudes and made David the one who is very religious and believes in God, and Maddie the one who is very skeptical. Which worked so much better than the other—because it's not the switch you expect in it.

  "You see differences in how they both react to a client. In one episode that Debra Frank and I wrote, this woman walks in and says she's a leprechaun. David instantly wants to believe her, and Maddie thinks she's nuts. They have different attitudes toward life. In this episode, Maddie says to David, 'You have no poetry in your soul. You're crass and illiterate'—and basically David's retort was, 'What you have is an artificial sense of poetry, art exhibits, and the formal side of it. Your sense of romance and poetry is an artificial one. You're the kind of person who wouldn't have clapped for Tinker Bell.' "

  Here the contrast extends to the psychology that drives them. It's an understanding of their emotional lives, their fears, their vulnerabilities that opens up these characters to audiences, helping them see past the persona to something— perhaps some hurt, some tenderness—underneath.

  Even in a short commercial, characters are often created through contrasts. Sometimes these contrasts are related to physicality and function. In the Bartles & Jaymes ads for wine coolers, created by Hal Riney, we see two homespun farmer-entrepreneurs, Ed and Frank. They are described through contrasts. Frank is a motor-mouth, Ed the silent sidekick. Ed is known as the true brains of the outfit. He's smarter than Frank (Ed uses the word platitude, which Frank admits he doesn't understand) and he's the experimental one. In one ad, "He engaged in a scientific program to determine which foods go well with wine coolers. So far, Ed has only found two foods which don't. Kohlrabi—which is a vegetable sort of like a turnip—and candy corn."1 Even physically they look different. Ed is tall and slim, while Frank is a stout man in suspenders and spectacles.

  These ads, which have won a Clio
Award, the ad industry's Oscar, made Bartles & Jaymes the top-selling wine cooler, and Frank and Ed two of the nation's most recognizable product spokesmen.

  WHERE DO YOU FIND CONFLICT?

  Conflict comes from the contrasts between characters. It can come from different ambitions, different motivations and backgrounds, different wants and goals, and attitudes and values that are diametrically opposed to each other.

  Sometimes these conflicts are psychological. The qualities that are the most infuriating to each character are the qualities that come from their "repressed" side (or even from their shadow). It is the opposite quality that both attracts and repels them.

  Sometimes the conflict occurs because of a lack of directness. Misunderstandings lead to conflict. In "Cheers," even the moment of Sam and Diane's first kiss is filled with conflict.

  SAM

  What is it you want, Diane?

  DIANE

  I want you to tell me what you want.

  SAM

  I'll tell you what I want. ... I want to know what you want.

  DIANE

  Don't you see, this is the problem we've had all along. Neither of us is able to come out and state the obvious.

  SAM

  You're right. So, let's state the obvious.

  DIANE

  O.K. You go first.

  SAM

  Why should I go first?

  DIANE

  We're doing it again.

  SAM

  Diane, just explain one thing to me. . . . Why aren't you with Derek?

  DIANE Because I like you better.

  SAM

  Really? Well, I like you better than Derek, too. DIANE

  Sam . . .

  SAM

  All the jealousy I ever felt for my brother is nothing to what I've felt in the last five minutes.

  DIANE

  Oh, Sam. I think we're about to start something that might be kind of great, huh?

  SAM

  Yeah. Yeah. You're right. I guess we oughta like . . . kiss, huh?

  And because nothing is direct with Sam and Diane, the kiss still takes another seven pages of discussion and arguing before it finally happens.

  HOW DO CHARACTERS CHANGE EACH OTHER?

  It's not unusual to hear an executive or producer ask, "Does the character change and grow?" Some of the strongest stories show the impact that one character can have on another.

  Carl Sautter says, "The icy Maddie allows herself to be spontaneous because of the influence of David. He teaches her something about warmth, and she teaches him something about discipline. Maddie makes David less shallow, more adult. David gives Maddie a sense of humor. "

  In "Who's the Boss?" Angela has come off her high horse as a result of Tony's influence, and Tony has gained more confidence as a result of Angela's support. According to the show's creators, "Tony, at the beginning of this year, went to college. That would have never happened if he hadn't met Angela. I think Angela has loosened up a little. She's learned how to kick her heels up. She's learned how to relax a little, and she's a warmer person."

  In a television series, if the characters were totally transformed, the dynamic of the series would be destroyed. As a result, changes are minimal. In films or novels, conflicts can be resolved and transformations can be completed by the end of the story.

  Rain Man is a story about two characters who change each other. Since Raymond was so very limited emotionally, the challenge in creating the characters was to figure out how much of a transformation could realistically happen in this kind of a story. The film uses all of the elements we've mentioned in this chapter—attraction, conflict, contrast, and transforma-

  tion. Barry Morrow explains: "One of the choices was making them brothers. That holds them together. And the relationship they both have to Raymond's inheritance binds them. Virtually every other way you can think of they repel one another. Age, height, intelligence, the way they walk and talk, every part of their being wants to go in opposite directions. I think attraction and repulsion are the two dynamics going on and contrast is a direct result of creating that. The transformation happens because Charlie gets worn down. . . . There was six days in the car, about two days more than he could handle, and those two days are what made him human.

  "A curious thing happens across the arc of the movie. Raymond, in his own inimitable fashion, begins to wear down Charlie's ugly side—even through something as simple as language. In the beginning of the picture, Charlie is swearing a lot. But Charlie becomes civilized by being forced to care, and by the surprises he encounters. He gets rid of a lot of rough edges and becomes sensitive."

  EXERCISE: Think through your relationships with friends, lovers, spouses, relatives. In what ways do your relationships fit these criteria of attraction, conflict, contrast, and transformation? Do you have a relationship with anyone in which the dynamic between the two of you is so strong that it could be the basis for the creation of a story?

  CREATING CHARACTERS USING THESE ELEMENTS

  You can apply these elements—attraction, conflict, contrast, and transformation—to love affairs, friendships, partnerships, any kind of character relationships.

  In "Cagney and Lacey," the many contrasts between the characters added to the life of the series. Some come from the broad strokes of their characters:

  Notice, through these examples of conflicts and contrast, how many story possibilities come about because the dynamic of the characters is clear and strong. Just by looking at this list you can see potential for stories about the interplay of characters as they confront the bombing of an abortion clinic, pornography, child abuse, and so on.

  In starting to create a character who needs to dynamically relate to another character, one approach is to brainstorm the four elements. This is workable for any kind of story (novel, play, film, or television), but can be particularly important in a television series that depends on getting enough material from these character relationships to keep creating new stories week after week. Brainstorming can also be helpful in the creation of supporting characters, since they often interact with the lead characters.

  We used this brainstorming technique when I was asked to give a seminar for the producing and writing staff of the series "MacGyver." Part of our objective for the day was to expand upon a character who had been on the show once before and seemed to have the strength and interest for the expansion of his role. The producers felt that this character would add another dimension to the character of MacGyver, particularly since the latter easily could become a character who was too much alone, too nonrelational.

  The character we brainstormed was Colton—the bounty hunter. The plan was to make Colton a foil for MacGyver, as well as to develop a friendship between them over the course of a number of episodes. The actor playing Colton (Richard Lawson) joined us.

  Using the same concepts discussed in this chapter, we decided to brainstorm the contrasts and conflicts between the two characters. Our list looked like this:

  As we continued to discuss the characters, it became important to understand Colton's backstory. Some of it was modeled on Richard's own experience, which was comfortable to everyone in the group. Colton had been a Marine medic in Vietnam, as had Richard. Richard described how men in war often feel closer to the medic who cares for their wounds than to anyone else, turning to him for advice, sharing fears, or just wanting to talk. When Colton left Vietnam, he decided he never wanted to be depended upon again, and chose to become insular, a loner.

  We expanded on some of the ideas on our list. Colton would

  not like MacGyver's houseboat. It's not on solid ground and he would feel out of control. He would have trouble with MacGyver's sense of responsibility, questioning why he allows himself to get saddled with people's problems. He is particularly hostile to an ugly dog that MacGyver inherited when a friend died.

  Although Mac does not particularly like the dog, he's sympathetic to it. The discussion of the dog led us to a discussion of the tr
ansformational arc of both characters. As we analyzed the effect each character has upon the other, our new list included four major entries:

  1. Mac learns that sometimes it is better to follow his heart and instincts, rather than his head.

  2. Colton learns patience, to wait before shooting, to sometimes think before acting.

  3. Mac receives romantic advice from Colton. Some of it is good.

  4. Colton learns to trust again. He learns teamwork, that sometimes there are things that can't be done without help.

  As we worked with the character of Colton, our understanding of the character of MacGyver began to deepen. His attitudes, vulnerabilities, and backstory all became clearer when contrasted with those of the other man. The ideas we brain-stormed certainly were only beginning steps for the further development that the writers would do together. However, we discovered that focusing on the supporting character served as an impetus for new ideas about the protagonist and the relationship between the two that could expand the show as a whole.

  The stronger the dynamic between the characters, the more successful the show can be and the more possibility there is that it will remain on the air for many years.

  CREATING THE TRIANGLE

  Usually two characters form a relationship. Occasionally a threesome—the triangle—is the focus. Such relationships are dynamic, sometimes frightening, and usually very difficult to work out. They follow many of the concepts already discussed with the addition of certain other elements.

  Fatal Attraction and Broadcast News both revolve around a threesome. By analyzing these films, it is possible to gain some insights into how to work with these relationships.

  The relationships in both of these films are built on contrasts.

  In Fatal Attraction, Beth and Alex are contrasting characters—one lighthearted, one depressed; one a caring wife, one a manipulative mistress; one involved with family, one single; one optimistic about her life, one desperate and pessimistic about the direction her life is taking.