I love a character in an ensemble cast that runs counter to the rest of the people around them.
Really, it's the best way to make a character stand out. The one who has some kind of contrast to everyone else, in terms of their priorities, or beliefs, or goals or general personality - that character has a good chance of becoming a fan favorite, even if they're not the nicest person (or maybe they become popular BECAUSE they're not so nice).
Having a character around who's not an all-out villain or enemy, but is more villainous than a regular old grump or antihero - this is great fuel for exciting character dynamics and conflict.
On a very old show in Canada, The Beachcombers, there was an old salt, a cranky, weaselly sailor named Relic who caused the other characters a lot of trouble. All these years later, it's Relic who I remember more than any other character on that show.
Quark, on Deep Space Nine, has his own agenda and his storylines are VERY different from the heroic Starfleet type adventures of the other characters.
On the Walking Dead, in the heyday of that show, the nasty Merle Dixon briefly joined the group of main characters. I wish he'd stayed longer because that dynamic would have been interesting to watch.
The 60's show, Lost in Space, had Dr. Smith, who was a villain. A silly villain of course, and like most of these character types, he generally failed in his schemes.
It's not the right fit for every story or series, but having a character who goes against the grain of the rest of the cast, can give some much needed spice and conflict to a story.
Excelsior!
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Against the Grain
Banes at 12:00AM, March 13, 2025
4 likes!
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takoyama at 4:13PM, March 17, 2025
in shows those characters are usually the most memorable ones. the fonz, lenny and squiggy, jugghead, festus....
Banes at 2:19PM, March 14, 2025
@Ozone - Relic was the jerk WITHOUT a heart of gold, I s'pose! xD
Ozoneocean at 8:19PM, March 13, 2025
Dr Smith was my HERO!!!!! He was the real star of that whole show. Quark is the greatest ever, I always loved him. His self interest was the perfect foil to Starfleet's selflessness. Relic was a huge prick... Such a grungy old prick hahaha! Team Rocket, Jessie and James were my fave characters.
Banes at 2:08PM, March 13, 2025
@KAM - haha! I was thinking of Reggie, too in my original idea for this post. A semi-villainous member of the cast who’s not an outright villain, but sort of a…friend villain-?
KAM at 11:17AM, March 13, 2025
I believe this is also called "The Outsider" the character with a different POV which questions the main characters POV. Spock on Star Trek, Garek on DS9, Worf on Next Gen, Reggie in Archie (no, wait, Reggie is just a dick) ;-)
Banes at 9:25AM, March 13, 2025
@PaulEberhardt - Oh yeah, Firefly had a nice range of characters. I guess Jayne was the "villainous teammate". x)
PaulEberhardt at 5:01AM, March 13, 2025
Totally agreed! I'd even say an ensemble cast isn't really complete without an odd one out character like that, simply because peace and harmony are great things to have yourself but quickly get old when you're trying to spin a yarn. Oh, I'm sure it has been known to work, but honestly, the fact that I can't remember any of them is telling. Voyager profited greatly from adding Seven of Nine for that reasons, and not the two big arguments that are frequently thought to be the main ones. ;) In Firefly, you've even got several of this type, which contributes a lot to its quirky charm and authenticity - if that's the right word for a SciFi show. Scooby-Doo wouldn't even have a titular character without this type. The plots would probably work most of the time, but without the comic relief and everything they'd lack a major reason to bother.