Movies/TV Shows Where It Was Impossible To Root For The Main Character(s)

[numberthirty]

The film Truth or Consequences, N.M.

[Carabas]

Anything starring Mel Gibson.

[TheInvisibleMan]

Colony - both leads are terribly unlikable

[Jim Kelly]

A few years ago, I tried to watch the TV series PARENTHOOD--mainly because of Lauren Graham; however, try as I might, I just couldn't root for any of the characters. They all seemed horribly over-indulged upper middle class people who had no right to the comfortable lives they lived, yet seemed to think they were hard done by.

UNDER THE DOME was an amazing series, in how it could get progressively worse with each season. I can't believe I watched the whole thing! They kept shifting which character you were supposed to root for. It got impossible to care for any of them.

[Carabas]

I had a tough time rooting for Rey in The Force Awakens

Why was that?

[Totoro Man]

Bugs Bunny. The ultimate villain protagonist.

or Jerry from "Tom & Jerry". at LEAST Bugs would get humiliated every once in a long while.

the main character for "Profit"... because he was just a smug douche that never had to struggle for anything, got handed freebie wins every episode, and pretty much treated the universe and other people like his toilet paper. it just felt like bad writing. was it "daring" when it first came out? sure... but the concept has been done so much better since then that it looks laughably bad in retrospect.

really, any character where it feels like they've simply been hand-waved everything they need to succeed is going to be hard to care about. if every feat and victory feels unearned it starts to take a toll. I felt this way about Harry Potter and Rey when I was watching their respective films. I didn't actively dislike them... just found it hard to root for them because it seemed like they would inevitably get just about everything they wanted out of life. it's like there wasn't even the hint of possibility that they wouldn't get it.

[Jim Kelly]

As a kid, I hated the Road Runner cartoons. Whenever one of them came on THE BUGS BUNNY SHOW, I'd go out of the room. It was the fact that Road Runner never spoke and just made that awful beep that really bugged me and I wished that the Coyote would kill him/her/it. I only could sit through the cartoons when I was grown up--but even now the Road Runner is not a character that I like and I mainly watch to see the Coyote, who is genuinely funny. I also hate R2D2--in fact, most characters that can't articulate their emotions and just speak in unintelligible noises.

[Carabas]

As a kid, I hated the Road Runner cartoons. Whenever one of them came on THE BUGS BUNNY SHOW, I'd go out of the room. It was the fact that Road Runner never spoke and just made that awful beep that really bugged me and I wished that the Coyote would kill him/her/it. I only could sit through the cartoons when I was grown up--but even now the Road Runner is not a character that I like and I mainly watch to see the Coyote, who is genuinely funny.

I am fairly sure that you are supposed to root for the Coyote.

I also hate R2D2--in fact, most characters that can't articulate their emotions and just speak in unintelligible noises.

To me it's Threepio who is the insufferable one. He has one joke, and it wasn't that funny back in 1977.
Artoo is better at articulating his emotions than most of the humans.

[Jim Kelly]

To me it's Threepio who is the insufferable one. He has one joke, and it wasn't that funny back in 1977.
Artoo is better at articulating his emotions than most of the humans.

Oh I can't stands him, either. The STAR WARS movies are full of these one-note gags. With R2 and others the gag is that everyone in the movie can understand the random noises, but we can't. That might have seemed like a good joke at the time--but it's not a joke that can be sustained. I don't think (but millions would disagree).

[5Eyes]

Now I hated the Road Runner but I'm pretty sure the show was designed for you to root for him or is it it .. heck I'm not truly sure the gender..


Speaking about Star Wars, The Prequels - Now I'm those who are with the main stream, I hated it, now getting that off my chest, weren't we all just waiting for the big tragedy to happen to Anakin ..

[Gray Lensman]

I gave up watching Battlestar Galactica after the first season because I realized I didn't really care if any of the characters lived or died. I know, I'll turn in my Geek Card.

I felt like the show was running out of humans long before Robot Chicken made their 'dartboard' joke.

"Plot? I don't need plot! I just throw a dart at a list of cast members and then that one's a cylon!"

[Carabas]

Oh I can't stands him, either. The STAR WARS movies are full of these one-note gags. With R2 and others the gag is that everyone in the movie can understand the random noises, but we can't. That might have seemed like a good joke at the time--but it's not a joke that can be sustained. I don't think (but millions would disagree).

I do not think that was ever intended as a gag even once.

[Gray Lensman]

or Jerry from "Tom & Jerry". at LEAST Bugs would get humiliated every once in a long while.

the main character for "Profit"... because he was just a smug douche that never had to struggle for anything, got handed freebie wins every episode, and pretty much treated the universe and other people like his toilet paper. it just felt like bad writing. was it "daring" when it first came out? sure... but the concept has been done so much better since then that it looks laughably bad in retrospect.

really, any character where it feels like they've simply been hand-waved everything they need to succeed is going to be hard to care about. if every feat and victory feels unearned it starts to take a toll. I felt this way about Harry Potter and Rey when I was watching their respective films. I didn't actively dislike them... just found it hard to root for them because it seemed like they would inevitably get just about everything they wanted out of life. it's like there wasn't even the hint of possibility that they wouldn't get it.

Jerry fits the villain protagonist better than Bugs - at least with the latter most of the people he went up against were either trying to eat him, or were rather insufferable in their own way. The former often went out of his way to be as rotten as possible.

[Carabas]

Speaking about Star Wars, The Prequels - Now I'm those who are with the main stream, I hated it, now getting that off my chest, weren't we all just waiting for the big tragedy to happen to Anakin ..

And it never happened! He just randomly turned evil at one point.

The only real Anakin to me is animated Anakin. Completely different character.

[Spiritualcramp]

Arrow- I've literally wanted Ollie to die against every villain he's fought.