ABSTRACT
Historically, television characters have tended to display personalities defined by a few obvious traits, usually exaggerated, sometimes absurd. Some shows have characters that are easy to care about, such as Lucy in Brooklyn Sound. The key aspect of dramatic characters is that their basic nature limits the range of possible responses to the world around them. If a character's basic nature changes, so too will their dramatic function(s) – if a villain grows a heart, there's no one for the hero to combat; if a meek pushover grows a spine, there's no one for the bully to push around. Antagonist characters can help clarify what the main character is up against by personifying the forces ranged against him or her. A villain is a character who flat-out wants the main character to fail, usually with maximum humiliation and loss suffered. Another dramatic function of the mirror character is to teach main characters about themselves.
