Fannish Five: Favorite Villains

[selenak]

So, the Ring- free day would be the one where around early afternoon, it starts to rain. Luckily, Beate & self did most of the scenery tour through Franconian Switzerland before that and simply went into museums for the rest. I do hope the rain today means it will be a bit cooler tomorrow in Bayreuth.

fannishfive meme spotted at penknife's: Who Are Your Five Favorite Villains (And Why)?

Oh dear. Only five?


Let's see. No particular order, and I could name more, though, k_julia, I must insist I love as many heroes.


1) Livia from I, Claudius. Both as written in the novel and as performed by Sian Philipps in the BBC version. She's brilliant, manipulative, patient, ruthless, with a cutting wit, and she somehow manages after decades in which we read/saw her ruin or otherwise destroy a good many characters we cared about to make us feel intensely sorry for her when she is about to die. Same with Claudius, whom she either ignored or humiliated on a regular basis - but when she says "I want to become a goddess" with that look and sound in her voice, after Caligula has ridiculed her, Claudius caves and promises she will be. Ah, Livia.

2) Arvin Sloane from Alias. Despite some, err, issues with certain points of the writing of later season 5, I think all in all he had the most interesting arc of the show. So, Arvin, man of (lethal) faith, at his best when pushed into a corner, threatened and/or faced with horrible odds, at his worst when actually given everything he wanted, doomed to destroy what he loves or to love what he destroys (depends on how you look at it), great strategist, accomplished liar who finds his lies all turning into truths. How can I not love him?

3) Darla from Angel: the Series (and BTVS, but her character did not get fleshed out - and flashback'd out - until her boy got his own show). From the moment she said "God doesn`t want you, but I still do" I was fascinated by hers and Angel's relationship, but it didn't take me long before it was Darla herself who became the core of my interest. She's a pragmatic, another manipulator who nonetheless isn't able to deal with her own emotions at times, cruel, clever, and the true power behind the Fanged Four.

4) Alfred Bester from Babylon 5. likeadeuce recently reacted to watching Dust to Dust for the first time by declaring Bester to be a magnificent son of a bitch. Which he is. He's also eminently quotable ("a freedom fighter, a force for good is a wonderful thing - looks good on the resume, you get to make your own hours - but the pay sucks"), utterly convinced he's doing the right thing for "his people" even when he's hunting them down (he and Magneto are soulmates, clearly), and very much into mindgames, and not just because he's a telepath.

5) Servalan from Blake's 7. One hell of an Evil Overlady. As opposed to three of the others named here, she's not in love with anyone, though she has great UST and great fun flirting with Avon. Great both when she's ruling empires and when backed into a corner (or against a wall, which happens), and trust me, I would rather be faced with Aeryn Sun pointing a gun at me than with Servalan in her typical outrageous dresses without any weapons at all. Servalan's retort to a deluded minor villain's attempt of blackmailing her into sex ("come on, a woman like you") works so well because of Jaqueline Pearce's wonderful delivery, but it's true anyway (and got stolen and copied by G.R.Martin): "There are no women like me. I am unique."

Comments

[altariel.livejournal.com]

No Garak?! *gasp!*

I suppose he's a patriot rather than a villain.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Oh, patriots can be villains.*g* But with the exception of Empok Nor and the mirror universe episodes where he's bad and dull, the show didn't use Garak as a villain, but rather as a trickster character who, though dark, is aiding our heroes. That's why he didn't make the cut. The others I listed might have temporary alliances with the good guys as well, but were used mainly as antagonists.

[ide-cyan.livejournal.com]

*Googles Servalan quote*

Sand. I really need to see S4...

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

It's very mixed, but Sand is fantastic. I recommend avoiding the second episode, Power, which will probably make you want to horribly mutilate any male person you encounter for the next twelve hours.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

No. You don't. It's like a whole other and much inferior series.

[ide-cyan.livejournal.com]

But I can I subsequently mock if if I don't see it? And anyways: Tanith Lee must prevail.

[ide-cyan.livejournal.com]

(strike first "I", replace with "how")

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

But I can I subsequently mock if if I don't see it?

Fair point! :-)

Tanith Lee must prevail.

I enjoy her books but I'm not that fond of her two B7 eps. But then I'm not keen on trippy symbolism or shipping. I acknowledge however that I seem to be in a minority.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I'm with KdS on that one. Mixed, but the good episodes are worth seeing, and Sand is definitely one of them. Others are "Assassin", "Orbit" and of course the finale, "Blake".

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Well, the only one I know is Livia, and I'm entirely with you on this.

(Am rereading the Compleat Masters of Rome by Colleen McCullough, and while the writing is merely serviceable, ye Gods the scope of the whole thing! I love her to bits.)

And Franconian Schweiz! Warm (in every sense of the word) memories of the tour with your father!!!

When do we see you in Paris???

[watervole.livejournal.com]

Ah, I love both Bester and Servalan. They have total conviction in what they are doing - that's what makes them work. And they also have STYLE!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

They do!

[spikeylover.livejournal.com]

Darla! I agree, she's the power behind the fanged four. I think she had the Master wrapped around her finger, too.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Very probable - I don't think he'd have reacted on anyone else walking out on him the same way.*g*

[spikeylover.livejournal.com]

Also, he grieved her dusting...

[wychwood]

I have to agree on Bester. I think he's probably my favourite fannish villain, for all the reasons you list. And also because he's so convincingly human, because he has a real, logical agenda (if you agree with his basic assumptions) - one almost feels sorry for him, because he is doing the best he knows how, most of the time. While also being a villain with a taste for torture and no sense of value for non-telepaths, of course *g*

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Very true. *makes note to watch Bester episodes again*

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

Yes! Livia is probably top of my list and I agree on Bester and Servalan (I don't know the other two). Have you read the Psi-Corps trilogy by J Gregory Keyes? Excellent Bester.

[luvarvinsloane.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm going to say Arvin! He was the most interesting character on Alias, always had you guessing about motives and his love. Even if you are someone who did hate or weren't fond of him, there were times you just couldn't help but feel for him. despite the wrong thing's he did.. No one on that show was a saint though, except probably Emily! Being able to get someone who hates you believe what your telling them and to do it, gain trust and place doubt in the firm beliefs they have of you being a evil man.... Yes in deed Arvin, you had them wrapped around what ever finger you desired. That's my boy!!! :) btw I agree with you on season 5!

Weird... Arvin senses the darkness coming. Well, it's pretty dark where he's at. Could he have been sensing his ruin also?? Yeah, he did have some pretty dark times in his life, none like this though... I was just noticing the similarity between him and Livia.. maybe not?

[luvarvinsloane.livejournal.com]

Oh I forgot... it's not too important.

Arvin Had TASTE and and a sense of STYLE... It just adds to the whole smooth villain image.. That goes for when he wasn't too!... He probably was the best dressed man on Alias. Even when was a villain, he had a tender side, on some level..

The fact that he keeps his voice the same level even when he looks like he could break someones neck... control, control!
He gets rid of the men or women who threaten or complicate his life... Really, that is just bad to blackmail Arvin Sloane to do as you ask, no time frame of course... then they hand over the magic death for Nadia. Then he loses her anyway ALL over again for good... I felt sooo bad for him, the hope he had all lost... Then he loses himself. He has the last laugh though, if you could call it that... Prophet 5 got what it deserved!!! Sydney would never have got rid of them herself, she isn't as ruthless.
There is too much to list what I like about him..

He's a villain but wasn't always... He did many terrible things, as he did good and great things as well... Arvin was also capable of great compassion and love, for a select few... This makes him special also.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Prophet 5 just should have asked the Alliance, Robert Lindsey or Elena Derevko. One thing that holds true through all seasons of Alias: if you blackmail Arvin Sloane, especially if you threaten the life of someone he cares about, you usually end up dead before the year is over. We knew they were toast the moment Gordon Dean first started giving Sloane his orders.

My issues with late s5 notwithstanding, though, I do see a lot of potential because given time - which he now has, ahem - I think Arvin will be able to find himself again, and he never was a static character; he always developed. Plus I do think Jack ended up landing in the Rambaldi immortality juice during the explosion as well, and the two will reconcile again, if later rather than sooner. After all, they now have eternity to work it out.

[luvarvinsloane.livejournal.com]

I suppose I did leave it vague on what I didn't like about season S5... sorry! I had a problem with it at after 30 seconds for sure... maybe even starting then?? I liked the the beginning, it was great. The end was... I think you already know!! It just didn't flow well with his charater.. The same thing with Irina. I think it would have been a better ending if Sydney opened the folder Dixion brought over and... Sloooane! I would have loved to have seen the look on her face, she would have known, their game goes on. He has ALL the time in the world.

Agreed, I think he will be able to find himself, he does have time! Yep, Jack is down there with him alive and well. I concur all around! Sorry for the ramble!

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've read it, and I actually prefer it to the Centauri Trilogy (because Peter David, while writing great Vir and Londo, cheated me out of G'Kar almost entirely, kept letting Centauri use baseball metaphors and didn't add to what we already got on screen about their culture, whereas Keyes used his trilogy to add so much to the telepath background).

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I loved both of them, and I think the baseball metaphors must have gone right over my head. :-P You're right though: we missed out on G'Kar almost totally (and G'Kar ties with Londo and Vir as my three favourites) plus it contradicted the Vir we see in the last ep too with the romantic subplot. It made me very happy though.