Nobody's perfect

[Marion]

Sage said:

Even our favourite characters get flaws written in as standard.

That got me wondering as to what people recognise as the 'standard' faults in our perfect heros and heroines; that is ones that have cropped up - or been refered to - in more than one author's stories.
My thoughts naturally turn to Captain Blue who has developed an inability to sing to save his life and a reputation for snoring Oh - and he's allergic to shellfish, I seem to recall.

Any more any one can think of for him or other characters?
Or any ideas where those traits may have originated from? i.e. the TV shows or the 'official' publications.
For example - we get to hear Captain Blue singing Grand Opera in 'Flight 104' - but is it really that bad?

[Captain Indigo]

I remember several different authors mentioning that Scarlet is a very poor sailor, but nothing else springs immediately to mind. Perhaps it's just because Blue is in the limelight so much that his character is so much more developed than the others - foibles and all.

[Sage]

Not sure I meant the flaws themselves were standard per se, but that the way we approach writing the characters is to see/portray them in a balanced way; neither wholy positive nor totally negative.

I think it is for the most part a fanon thing, as the characters weren't really that well developed in the show. So one writer will have an idea then others follow suit, because it makes sense or is just amusing.

Some 'faults' that spring to mind ...
* Symphony being a bit of a madam, giving Blue a hard time and such.
* Ochre going to far with his jokes, getting distracted by his hobby[foul smelling glues and all].
* Magenta considering the rules 'helpful suggestions', think there was mention of him snoring too. Also his being over-eager which is canon but not sure it's really made the leap into fics, as it doesn't quite ring true.
* Grey's need for privacy getting him in trouble (so beautifully framed)
* Scarlet not liking snakes
* Destiny's allergy to fur, and not liking bugs.

[Marion]

I'm sure you're right, Sage, it is all part of the fanon - I was just interested to see if most, all, or indeed, any of it, was rooted in some slight suggestion made in the 'authorised' sources - however obliquely. For instance: when I wrote in one story that Captain Scarlet was a bad sailor, it was because it suited my plot at the time, and I'm not conscious that I had ever seen it suggested anywhere else. (I may have - I just don't remember ) I have since used that 'attribute' again - when it suited my story to do so
Captain Blue's singing, however, is a matter of record - he is heard singing in one episode. I readily admit to not being very musical, but I can usually tell when something's really bad. I'm assuming that someone took exception to that scene from 'Flight 104' and decided Blue couldn't sing? Since then it has become an almost accepted fact.
The physical attributes given to each person in a story are obviously dictated by the way the puppets looked, but the characters are much more open to individual interpretation; and that is what fascinates me - how other authors develop their individual take on each of the main characters - because in many ways those characters share certain foibles, quirks or attributes.

[Mary]

In "Tiny Terror" I did mention that Scarlet got a bit "spacesick" in the hopping Moonmobile once or twice, which was why he didn't recognize his sixth sense kicking in. Since this predates all your stories maybe I can lay claim to motion sickness?

I don't think I mentioned any character faults anywhere else though...

[Elentari]

I don't think Captain Blue's singing is all that bad actually - I've certainly heard worse. However....

Thinking about 'White as Snow' when Blue is acting CO, he does seem a bit pedantic (or maybe it's a power trip thing - I'm not sure). The Angels are clearly fed up with target practice (though interestingly they don't mind if the Colonel sends them off on the same task). And of course there's that planned lecture by Dr Fawn... That really makes me wonder - did Dr Fawn take the opportunity to seek approval from Blue to hold it (because he knew the Colonel would probably have said no?)

Just a thought!

[Marion]

Ever the apologist for the captain in blue - I wonder if he was being such a tyrant in order to keep people's mind off the danger to the colonel, and cover the fact that Scarlet had gone after him?
Of course, it might just as easily have been a power-trip on Blue's part - after all the only other captain we see sitting at the colonel's desk is Captain Scarlet. ( Well, 'sitting at' might be an exaggeration - he's definitely lounging at the desk, in my opinion!)

Interesting point - I wonder if Fawn did volunteer to give his lecture, or if he was coerced into it ?
It seems a funny topic for him to be lecturing on for a start, so maybe its his hobby and he's keen to share his enthusiasm?
Thinking about it, it seems a little rash of 'Acting Commander' Captain Blue, to send all the Angels off to target practise when Cloudbase has just been under threat.
Which is not to say that they don't need to practise

[Kambei]

Thinking about it, it seems a little rash of 'Acting Commander' Captain Blue, to send all the Angels off to target practise when Cloudbase has just been under threat.
Which is not to say that they don't need to practise

You could excuse this by theorising that the area Blue sent them for target practice was well within strike range of Colonel White if something should go wrong.

[chrisbishop]

Maybe... maybe not. As far as we were able to judge, only Green knew where Colonel White was. Until we learned that Scarlet pulled rank on him so he would tell him.

I suspect that Blue sought to distract attention on the fact that Scarlet was gone off-base. It seems impossible that, even without considering the earlier alert, Blue would not know that Scarlet - who before him had been considered as base commander during White's absence - would not be on base.

A point I'd like to raise within this discussion: as some of you already pointed out, many of those traits of character - good points or faults - were created by fanfic authors for the need of their stories. Which is not a bad thing and all, and is perfectly acceptable, considering that the show left a lot of room for characterisation in the first place and that while writing, you DO NEED to flesh out specific traits of each characters, in order to make them recognisable and unique. Or they will look exactly like each others (scary vision of Village of the Damned, here... ).

That said, although many of those specific traits created by as many authors are accepted and even adopted by other writers, it is worth noting that everything written that is not official is open to interpretation AND debate. Everyone is free to adapt his/her idea of a character without having to follow a canon (or a fanon, I believe someone said already?) established by another author.

Nobody will think any less of your story if you don't agree with the view of another author - and that, ESPECIALLY, if your story is so damned good and your characterisation works!

Within the boundaries of the official background, that is, and even that could be 'played around' when you consider "Multiverse" stories.

[Carrie]

Nice sentiments, Chris. I personally think it's fun to read other people's take on things.

[Matt Crowther]

I wouldn't say a flaw per se but I did have Magenta always cracking jokes, being a bit of a romantic but then I had him going out with Rhapsody and then Symphony...blast it.

[Prismatic Avatar]

It's always nice to see other people's takes on your favourite character, provided it's not character assassination, of course. (I have to be sooooo careful when I'm writing Symphony! ).

I usually take the actual programme as the basis for my characterisations and then improvise like crazy. We get quite a few clues and/or hints on Scarlet and Blue during the run of the series (I concentrate on OCS rather than NCS, for clarification), but the lesser characters get very short shrift. I tend to take Magenta's characterisation with a huge dollop of salt. Someone who rose to the top of the syndicate in New York had to have more nous than he shows. I put it down to a clever bit of camouflage, to lull people into underestimating him.

I even suspect the bios given in the annuals, since TV21 was dead set on linking all of the Anderson universes together. I choose what I want and discard the rest. I absolutely refuse to have Fireballs visiting alien worlds while we're still getting around to having a look at Mars!

Flaws are essential in a character, since a perfect person is not only boring (where's the suspense?) but also impossible to write about. They had to invent Kryptonite for Superman, because he was too perfect. This is the thing that some writers forget and we wind up with the dreaded Mary-Sue (or Marty-Sam or whatever he's called).