Characters we love to/and hate

I realized when someone said that the theme for this month should be "Characters we love or hate..." that I pretty much love TO hate characters. I like having an outlet for that emotion, because I don't exercise it in real life very much. I'm a pretty hardcore pacifist, really, and the core of that, for me, is remembering that people are people, even when they do/say/believe things that I don't. So hatred? I reserve it for fictional things. With that in mind, two characters I love to hate: Vernon Shillinger - from the TV show OZ. Racist, homophobic, and just an all-round guy I don't want to know or be around. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118421/ (warning: this show is so not suitable for work. Further warning: Luke Perry shows up naked in an episode. I still don't quite know how to feel about that...) Ivy - from the TV show Smash. I adore the actress, Megan Hilty, but her character makes me want to throw rotten tomatoes at her. And I love that about her. I love that the character has a 'tell' for when her smiles are fake v. real. I love that she's manipulative, and you-the-viewer know that. I love that she's not evil . She's just...not-nice. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825133/ It's funny that these two are my examples. Vern doesn't really have much redeeming him. oh, he's humanized, all right, but he's not ever going to be confused for a Nice Guy. Ivy, on the other hand, at least at the start of the season, had moments where she might be likeable. It was a very interesting moment, as a writer, to see two equal women vying for a role, and realizing I wasn't sure which one I wanted to win. Eventually, the writers made it easier on me...but it took me a long time to find the theme. Once I did, I was sort of surprised. The constant theme in the show SMASH is one of rewarding genuineness. Any time someone is real, any time they are true to themselves, they get some sort of reward. Any time they're not, things go awry. I'm pretty good with this, not just as a lesson for writers: how to make your good guy the good guy, even when your bad guy isn't evil... but also as a life lesson. Being true to yourself is always good.