I Need an Anti-Hero
Where have all the anti-heroes gone? I could have sworn they were here just a decade ago. This is not just idle talk about years gone by mind you, this kind of character is integral to ensemble drama storytelling. Every show needs a diverse group of characters with strong yet contrasting personalities. When personalities and balance between different characters change, so does the loyalty of viewers. Not just in daytime, but in primetime. It's why fans left Ally McBeal, ER, Ed, and NYPD Blue. There always has to be a middle ground in a series. Whether it is the star that is rough around the edges, the star's protagonist, or a slew of recurring characters, there must be varying personalities, and character flaws in the show, whether it is comedy or drama.
To miss anti-heroes, one has to have a firm grasp on what they are. I believe the definition tends to vary from fan to fan, but to me an anti-hero is someone who is not completely bad, but definitely is rarely good. Primetime television has certainly mastered the anti-hero format. We see them all over these days. There is Lex Luthor on Smallville, Nick Fallin on The Guardian, and probably one of the most famous ones was Doug Ross on ER. Primetime has discovered the value of having characters with a lack of good manners and morals with hearts of gold; it's good for drama. But daytime has deteriorated into shock value television. What will make the viewers gasp? What will make them ooh and ah? That leaves little room for preparation or even fully and continually developing a character. Instead every character has its little place and writing teams are treating their cast of characters like a football field. Each character's "stats" include family, friends, enemies, and whatever story they are going to force on them this month. And then there are the benchwarmers, usually characters that were on fifteen years before this current writing team and/or are over fifty years old. No one thinks in terms of the character anymore, just the story, which not only cripples the chances for good writing, but erases any hope of the anti-hero anymore.
Those with even a wisp of hope of being an anti-hero, like AMC's Leo (until today), were never fully realized. Leo's opportunities were vast, but then quickly bungled. With each change of the writing team Leo went from bad guy, to bad guy turned good, then back to bad guy, and then bad guy celebrated in Pine Valley. Leo never got a chance to properly wrestle with his propensity for scheming and taking shortcuts in life while trying to be a good person. Once and awhile you would see a glimmer of it here or there, but usually, Leo changed with the plot. That lack of real bite and depth plus Josh's incredible talent definitely helped usher him out the door as soon as his contract was up.
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