I have been pondering again (flee while you still can), and I have decided that the characters I most appreciate are not merely good people, they fulfill roles they were meant to play.
I have divided the process of creating a role filling character below, rough though it may be.
I. A gap is recognized.
Here, the AiO team either sees a gap in the character set needing to be filled, or they want to start a new ongoing plot or story. It is not obvious exactly how the gap should be filled. Maybe the gap doesn't exist, but the team sees a possible addition that would help improve the character set.
II. A plan to fill the gap.
The team brainstorms a way to fill the gap or make the addition. They finilize what needs filling. They devise a new character, making a personality and deciding who the character will interact with. The character will perform within certain categories of episodes based on its personality. For example, Lucy was serious and considerate; she appeared in more serious or thoughful episodes. The team tries to differentiate the character from other characters, defining it (for lack of a better term).
III. The character is introduced to the show.
In this step the work of the team from before is tested. It is in this step that the problems become visible. The character must be revealed slowly. This is often a difficult step. The team has put so much effort forward in making the character, now they must make it appealing to us and fit it into the rest of the character set. Without any previous background to the character, the team has to give us just enough information to help us get to know the character, and not too much or we are turned off.
IV. The character becomes a part of the set.
As we get to know and accept the character, it becomes a functional part of Odyssey, serving in its clearly defined place.
This is my basic (and ignorant) stab at guessing what the AiO team has to go through to add a character.
Here are some of the breakdowns that turn me off to the characters:
1. 'Floating'
2. 'Pushing' the character
3. Stuck character
4. Personal preference
Clearly, the writers can't do a thing about the last one, so I won't go into detail on that one.
By floating, I mean that the character doesn't stay in his role. It bobs from one place to another, never settling down or making a pattern. We never really get a clear understanding of the character since they aren't somewhat predictable (or predictable about being unpredictable). They mysteriously get a second personality overnight and switch on us. I am not referring to Jay. The writers did an excellent job portraying his different sides; we understood that he struggles inwardly and sways back and forth, depending on his surroundings and influences.
Pushing the character is one of the most exasperating things that I come across. Try to follow the below introduction.
Hi my name is Frank I am 14 years old and I moved from Wyoming is summer and I really liked it there and I miss it but we are here now so I should make the best of it but I really like swimming so I want to join a team here but I can't find one yet so I am looking and will you be my friend I like having people listen to me but I struggle with my emotions and I need to slow down but it's so hard, blah blah blah.
This isn't meant to critize anything or anybody. However, I have felt like this when being I am being introduced to a new character. Rather than being given time to know them personally, I find every detail about them thrust upon me. The character, with nothing left to offer, dies down because we already know everything about them and can't stand them anyway. We don't need a formal introduction, but some background is nice. Consider Oscar. I wasnt able to find the other episode I was looking for, but thus example should still work as before this episode we didnt know much about Oscar. We were given some background in the opening scene of 'The Greatest of These'. AiO proceeded to in depthly cover the conflict within Robyn and her struggle to show Christian love to Oscar. Because we were introduced with just the right amount of detail, we wre able to focus on the key messages in this episode. It only took a couple minutes to learn a good deal about Oscar and how everyone feels about him. If we only had this brilliantly simplistic introduction with more characters I should have little to complain about.
By stuck character I mean a character who has made little advance since they arrived. This is often seems due to improper introduction, but it can be caused by other things. An excellent example of this is Emly Jones. She, as a character, has made little to no change between episodes. She is often in repetitive detective episodes that do little other than confuse or bore. Emily seems to change most others rather then change herself.
A stuck character is most infuriating. They have potential, but with no new ideas or fresh twists, the character is either doomed to a slow decline or extreme dislike.
Overall, I find the characters of AiO as the most important part. I can listen to episode after episode with well developed and well played characters, but when they lack a clear definition or motion then I find them I credibly hard to listen to. As a quick summarization:
1. The team realizes they need a new character
2. They make its personality based on what gap there was
3. They execute their plan
