The Scrappy/Live-Action TV: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
Examples of [[The Scrappy]] in [[Live-Action TV]] include:
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* Babe Carey Chandler from ''[[All My Children]]''. Oh my God, Babe. She started as the slutty gold digger playing two brothers, then the writers decided to make her a heroine, without actually changing her in any way. One of the worst things was when she knowingly kept Miranda, Bianca's daughter, away from her, letting everybody believe Miranda was dead. Oh, but she wasn't totally heartless, she let Bianca be Miranda's godmother! And she told Bianca at least once that Bianca was lucky to not be a mother because she had all this time for herself, while Bianca was grieving her daughter's death. And then, after Bianca got her daughter back, not thanks to Babe, and gave her a very deserving slap, the writers actual had Bianca said that everything Babe did was out of love, for others, with total sincerity... Yeah.
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** When Ellen DeGeneres was announced as the host that would replace Paula Abdul, she immediately gained Scrappy status, due to everyone complaining about how she's not even connected with the music industry and will likely be a [[Yes-Man]] just like Paula. However, those complaints have mostly subsided since she started hosting, thanks to her shocking knowledge of music and the fact that she's just hilarious.
** Sanjaya Malakar from season 6. He was regarded as the least talented singer from the top 12 and not even liked by the judges. His prolonged stay was widely suspected due to the Anti-Fandom site Votefortheworst and the fact that little girls seemed to like him.
** Of course Sanjaya is still a better singer than Phillip Phillips of Season 11. He was criticized for having a very limited range and being a [[Suspiciously SimulalarSimilar Substitute]] to Dave Matthews. He already won based on being [[Mr. Fanservice]]
* ''[[Angel]]'':
** Wesley started out like this on , but [[Character Development|he got better]]. Part of it was his replacing of Doyle, who was popular for the Irish accent and likable personality, only to be kill in the 9th episode "Hero" to ensure the show has an [[Anyone Can Die]] reputation.
*** That was actually Real Life Writes The Plot -- the actor who portrayed Doyle was revealed to have a drug addiction problem, and had to be let go. Wesley was an improvised replacement, and his catching on and becoming a mainstay of the show was in nobody's plan.
*** Ironically, Wesley's ''continued existence'' is an aversion of this trope -- he was originally planned to die several episodes into his tenure on season 3 of Buffy, but fans actually liked seeing him be the [[Chew Toy]] so the show writers kept him around to pratfall some more. So he only lived long enough to become a Scrappy because he wasn't originally a Scrappy, and then he grew out of being a Scrappy again in the exact opposite direction.
** Connor, during the fourth season of ''[[Angel]]''. Apart from actually behaving remarkably like Scrappy-Doo in battle, Connor was generally despised by fans for making Angel unhappy ([[Wangst|moreso]]). His personality boiled down to "hateful" and "gullible", and refused to see Angel as a good person and didn't question Cordelia's change in personality, culminating in a scene where he {{spoiler|helps Evil Cordelia murder an innocent girl, even after his dead mother told him not to.}} Connor was not universally hated, though, and his popularity has increased significantly since the publication of the Joss-blessed "Angel: After the Fall" comic, in which he [[Rescued Fromfrom the Scrappy Heap|straightens up a lot.]]
*** The differing fan opinions on Connor are largely a function of time. For most of season 3 and his appearances on season 5, fans generally liked him because he was mostly doing likeable things. The season 3 finale and season 4, on the other hand, had Connor being universally loathed because he was not only an unbelievable [[Jerkass]] during that plot arc but he actively betrayed the team.
*** Connor was not universally hated in season 3. In season 4, whoo boy!
* Any replacement for Mr. Grainger in ''[[Are You Being Served?]]'', although fan opinions differ as to exactly when the replacement characters became intolerable. Few would argue that the wooden and taciturn Mr. Grossman was anything but horrible. There's no question over Old Mr. Grace, though.
* While there are probably several characters in ''[[Babylon 5]]'' that are considered a Scrappy by some, the one who almost certainly falls into this trope is Byron. Introduced in the 5th season, which many fans consider]] to be [[Dork Age|inferior to the other four]], Byron is a rogue telepath {{spoiler|and former Psi-Cop}} who dreams of founding a colony of telepaths. He's broody, introspective, a devout pacifist, and managed to rub the fans in entirely the wrong way. He and his telepaths are just plain creepy, the way they dress like Anne Rice characters and never speak (one character [[Lampshadeslampshade]]s this by saying they look like a flock of crows). He also comes dangerously close at times to being a [[Mary Sue|Marty Stu]]. Most fans prefer to pretend that his brief character arc never occurred.
* Even among kiddie show characters, ''[[Barney and Friends|Barney]]'' is one of the most hated characters in television. So much, that there is an entire website dedicated to making fun as him known as the Jihad To Destroy Barney and that there are entire videos and fan fics depicting him being a [[Complete Monster]]. Many of the characters on his show are hated as well.
* ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'':
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* ''[[The Brady Bunch]]'''s [[Cousin Oliver]]. Nuff said.
* Skyler on ''[[Breaking Bad]]''. In a show filled with murderers, drug dealers, corrupt cops and lawyers. Her [[Moral Event Horizon]] is taking up smoking again, whilst pregnant. Even before that it was pretty obvious all she cared about was herself.
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''; to be honest, every character is a Scrappy to one subset of fans, even Buffy herself. Maybe ''especially'' Buffy herself, especially in later seasons. Those who stand out:
* With* Dawn. from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', theThe writers insisted on sticking her into various spin offs that take place before season 5 despite the fact that she didn't exist yet in-canon. Admittedly, since Dawn's creation in-setting was part of a big ball of wibbley-wobbley timey-wimey stuff, its possiblenot implausible to say that she retroactively existed in earlier years. Dawn's Scrappy status is also a bit of a [[Broken Base]], as while a strong plurality of fandom considers her this an equally strong plurality is adamant that she is [[The Woobie]].
** Willow's newpost-Tara girlfriend Kennedy is this, and not just because of her replacing [[Ensemble Darkhorse|Tara,]] although introducing a new love interest for Willow so soon after her death was questionable. Not only did she seem a major case of [[Token Minority Couple|tokenism]] - there ''had'' to be another lesbian on the show - but she came across as bratty, egotistical, selfish (she lied to get Willow to date her, never behaved sensitively re: the Tara issue, [[Shallow Love Interest|talked about nothing other than herself and being gay]], etc), and indirectly caused the suicide of one of the Potentials with her [[Drill Sergeant Nasty]] act (It was the [[Big Bad|First Evil]] that actually caused it, but Kennedy at least scores an assist). In the Season 8 comics, the writers finally wised up and had Willow break up with her as she just wasn't over Tara.
*** A characteristic snapshot of fan opinion re; Kennedy can be found in this line from the fanfic 'Idiots In Love':
{{quote|'''Dawn''': (writing in her diary) Willow broke up with Kennedy! I don't know how to write down a high pitched squeal of happiness, but imagine that's what I'm doing.}}
** Riley receives a good deal of hate from ''Buffy'' fans, whether they belong to the BuffyxAngel or BuffyxSpike camps. It's not too surprising - Riley was introduced during a season considered to be one of the show's weakest, never had much of an identity established, is the only boyfriend Buffy had who ever actually cheated on her<ref>While both of Buffy's famous vampire beaus have attempted to murder her repeatedly, that was when they were broken up or not dating yet, and also while their souls were not in their bodies. The infamous Parker, of course, is not even being counted as a 'boyfriend'.</ref>, and was an integral part of the loathed Initiative.
* ''[[Charmed]]'':
** An especially obvious example in its eighth and last season with Billie "[[Mary Sue|Sue]]" Jenkins, the main reason why the large majority of fans dislike the last season of the show.
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* ''[[Coronation Street]]'':
** Janice Battersby.
** Kevin Webster has been getting a hate campaign lately too, in the current ''War Of The Websters'' storyline, for his over the top [[Jerkass|Jerkassery]], [[Jerk Sue|constantly getting away with said jerkassery]], [[Miles Gloriosus|the fact that he only picks fights with harmless people]], or [[Designated Hero|characters who are several times more likable]], the fact that [[Never My Fault|he claims that his marragemarriage breaking up is everyone's fault but his]], and [[Complete Monster|trying to get Sally and the girls kicked out of their own home]].
* Olivia and Pam in ''[[The Cosby Show]]'s'' waning years.
* Netflix's live action adaptation of ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' has proven controversial for all sorts of reasons: casting, dialogue, visuals, its mere existence as an adaptation very few were asking for... so naturally, this would also apply to its characters, certain ones in particular.
** Faye Valentine is easily the show's most hated character. She acts nothing like the beloved [[Femme Fatale]] from the original anime, and comes off as a walking, talking, badly written "strong female character" cliché. She's a rude, foul-mouthed [[Ladette]] who speaks entirely in [[Joss Whedon|Whedonesque]] snark, and is responsible for a ''lot'' of the show's most cringeworthy dialogue. Her actress' hostile attitude towards fans of the original didn't exactly help with the character's reception, either.
** Vicious, for feeling less like a ruthless assassin and more like [[Harry Potter|Draco Malfoy]] with a sword. He's a smug, petulant manchild with a goofy wig and daddy issues... or in other words, ''nothing'' like the stone-cold, ''terrifying'' badass fans loved.
** Oddly, Radical Edward's reception is a complete reversal of Fay and Vicious'. The hate for her doesn't stem from being wildly different from her anime counterpart, but rather for being too ''similar''. Ed's eccentric and hyperactive behavior does ''not'' translate well into live action, resulting in her feeling like she stepped out of an annoying [[Totally Radical]] commercial from the nineties, or even a [[Nostalgia Critic]] skit. Her scene at the very end of the last episode was near-universally hated due to her energy and zaniness annoying viewers and scaring them off at the prospect of a second season ''heavily'' featuring her... before the show's sudden cancellation caused them to breathe a sigh of relief.
* ''[[Criminal Minds]]'':
** Elle Greenaway is fairly unpopular with most people, for varying reasons. David Rossi started out as an example of this (and probably is still counted as [[The Scrappy]] by some people) due to [[Replacement Scrappy|replacing]] Jason Gideon, and occasionally coming off as uptight ass.
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** Leia was also despised by many for [[Satellite Character|being useless]]. Thankfully the writers finally [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome|took the hint.]] Oddly enough, Blue was even more useless than Leia, but didn't garner such hate, thanks to being eye candy.
** Imogen Moreno is shaping up to be this way for Season 11. Most of the hate coming from Eclare fan girls, the fact that she's been shoved down our throats before she was even introduced formally on the show, and just generally annoying.
** KC, once he left Clare for [[All Guys Want Cheerleaders|Jenna]] the writers [[Took a Level In Dumbass|seemed to forget he was ever in the school’s gifted program]], then when Jenna gets pregnant he abandons her, then they get back together but after Tyson is born he leaves her at home with the full burden of raising the baby while he has at least an emotional affair with Marisol (coincidentally this made Jenna [[The Woobie|more sympathetic]] [[Rescued Fromfrom the Scrappy Heap|to some fans]]), then when Jenna realizes she can’t handle being a teen mom KC nearly sabotages Tyson’s adoption, not because he gives a crap about his son, but as a last ditch effort to stay with Jenna.
* Joseph Quinn of ''[[Dexter]]'' His appearance in season three smacked of "NEW SEASON NEW CHARACTERS" if not [[Remember the New Guy?]], his purpose from the beginning seemed to be to provide sexual tension with Debra (not fulfilled till season five,) and by season four he took hold of the Idiot Ball and refused to let go, between constantly leaking department information to his reporter girlfriend and constantly niceing up to Dex so he wouldn't rat on him for taking money from a crime scene.
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'':
** Adric. Apparently, the purpose was to create a character who reflected their prime fan base, so the production team came up with [[This Loser Is You|a snotty, pompous, whining, arrogant and almost entirely unbearable maths geek]], and then gave the part to a [[Promoted Fanboy]] who had only acted in television once and (to speak generously) failed to distinguish himself in the role. It doesn't help that, despite being incredibly arrogant about his intelligence, he has a tendency to either screw up the Doctor's plans or, as in one notable case, gets suckered into helping the bad guy's [[Evil Scheme]], despite it being very transparently evil, thus making his reported intelligence something of an [[Informed Ability]].
** To a lesser extent (in that no one appears to have [[Revenge Fic|written fiction actively killing her]]), Mel also suffered from this, largely due to perceived miscasting, as the actress playing the character (Bonnie Langford) was known primarily from on-stage pantomime and her acting style (and character) was seen as contrary to the show's strengths. It didn't help her case that the two seasons she appeared in are generally considered [[Seasonal Rot|the worst in the show's history]], either. To be fair though most fans agree that she was [[Rescued Fromfrom the Scrappy Heap]] in the recent Big Finish audio plays where her character received some much needed [[Character Development]].
** Donna especially got a lot of heat for being a scrappy at first. Her first appearance was composed of her mostly shouting and slapping the Doctor, and her abrasive personality was a major turn-off for a lot of people. She was also played by [[Catherine Tate]], and people who didn't like her comedy show felt they'd dislike her on principle. When she returned as the official companion in series 4, people were not happy. However, she soon became a crowning example of [[Rescued Fromfrom the Scrappy Heap]]; writers mellowed her personality, put her through some major character development, and Tate showed of her acting prowess, being both very emotional and also comedic gold with [[David Tennant]]. Also, her controversial fate of {{spoiler|having her memory wiped}} boosted her popularity magnificently.
** The Doctor himself hasn't escaped Scrappy-dom, either; the Sixth Doctor (as played by Colin Baker) is considered a Scrappy by certain parts of fandom. These fans find him to be obnoxious, abrasive, and an empty attempt by the producers to make the show [[Darker and Edgier]]... not to mention his costume. This mainly applies to his television portrayal, however, which debuted in a particularly difficult era of the show's history which affected the way he was introduced and presented. It's widely agreed that the various [[Expanded Universe]] media featuring Six (along with a less gaudy suit) has largely contributed to him being [[Rescued Fromfrom the Scrappy Heap]].
* ''[[Drake and Josh]]'':
** [[Bratty Half-Pint|Megan]] is hated by pretty much everyone. She's a [[Villain Sue]] in a show without any heroes, so all her schemes target her two brothers, Drake and [[Butt Monkey|Josh]]. Megan never gets caught, never gets punished, and there are quite a few examples of her benefiting from her schemes, just plain coming out on top in an episode she's barely in. The writers tried to balance this out by giving Drake and Josh a few [[Kick the Dog]] moments towards her, making her schemes more [[Disproportionate Retribution]] than anything, but by then Drake and Josh's pranks were seen as [[Pay Evil Unto Evil|justified revenge]] for everything she had done to them so far.
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** When Daphne's brother Simon and her mother started appearing quite frequently, the terms 'annoying', 'obnoxious' and, most critically, 'not very funny' began to be heard applied to them very quickly.
** Also, Lana's son Kirby was introduced as a young, everyman character and totally upset the show's character dynamic.
* ''[[Fresh Prince of Bel Air]]'': [[Cousin Oliver|Nicky]], who was a complete annoying idiot, even for a kid. Some fans also believe Carlton to be an example.
** [[Cousin Oliver|Nicky]], who was a complete annoying idiot, even for a kid.
** Some fans have this with Carlton.
* Michelle Tanner from ''[[Full House]]'', mainly in the later seasons when she is a mouthy, spoiled brat who faces no consequence whatsoever for her actions, is as definitive of a Scrappy as the trope namer himself. Fans of the series universally hate her and feel that she makes the later seasons all but unwatchable.
** This is reconigized by the writers of the series, who made one episodes subplot about D.J. and Stephanie trying to convince Danny to be tougher on Michelle, who they feel is given much more leniency then them.
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* ''[[Happy Days]]'':
** Chachi. He was popular when ''Happy Days'' was running; this is an example of [[Vindicated by History|hindsight]], given that Chachi used to regularly get the female audience screams upon entrance that the Fonz ''used'' to get.
** From the same show, Roger, as played by Ted [[Mc Ginley]]McGinley.
* ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'':
** Maya, the [[Too Dumb to Live]] plague-creating "heroine" who was introduced to us in Season 2 became [[The Scrappy]] of the show in record time. Her entire lengthy story was a [[Trapped by Mountain Lions]] plot and had fans begging for her death at the hands of Sylar even before the two characters met. Here's a hint for the writers: If a character dies and is [[Death Is Cheap|brought back to life almost immediately afterwards]], and the fandom is ''angry'' that the character is still alive... you know you've got a Scrappy on your hands.
** Another Scrappy on the show would not so much be a character but multiple characters played by the same actress. These would be the multitude of Ali Larter clone characters. Once the first character ran her course fans were happy to see her character's storyline come to a close and Ali Larter to be done on ''Heroes'', but WAIT ''Heroes'' fans were introduced to a concept that no matter how many characters played by Ali Larter die, there could always be another one in hiding. In the promos for season 4 it is shown that Ali Larter's many characters have become a [[Creator's Pet]] as the next season centers around her. Unless she is in a whipped cream bikini there really isn't a reason to keep her around, her acting is horrible. The only good thing about this Scrappy is you actually get to watch her die multiple times on the show and though each one is exciting for the fans, it is bittersweet because the fans know she'll always return as Gina, or Brenda, or Cookie, or Lanora, or any other name and random power you can put on her.
** To a lesser degree, Mohinder fits this bill as well. While he's always been a relatively useless character - not because of his lack of powers but because of his amazing ability to consistently trust the wrong people - he truly became [[Too Dumb to Live]] in Season 2 when ({{spoiler|he joined The Company to act as a deep-cover operative and help bring it down from the inside and ''then'' turned traitor on Noah Bennet despite having seen countless examples - both in Season 1 and Season 2 - of The Company being hopelessly corrupt and self-serving.}})Worse, Season 3 has paired Mohinder and Maya, which almost everyone can agree is a match made in Hell. EVEN WORSE, Mohinder suddenly gains Spider-Man like abilities and an inexplicable compulsion to steal people and encase them in cocoons. Maya missed an opportunity to [[Rescued Fromfrom the Scrappy Heap|pull herself out of the Scrappy heap]] when she found out about Mohinder's new "habit." She almost killed him with her ability but Mohinder ''somehow'' talked her out of it. [[What an Idiot!]]!
** Monica Dawson who appeared in the show's second season. Micah's cousin who was a Katrina victim with the power to imitate any movement she saw. Her storylines were considered some of the worst in the show's history and people are also upset that she lived while more popular characters died. She was written out after the season.
** Claire's flying boyfriend West was also not well liked.
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** You be hard pressed to find anyone who likes Bob Bishop. What he did to Elle before the series alone is enough reason to hate him.
* Both Richie and Tessa got this treatment from a portion of the ''[[Highlander (TV series)|Highlander]]'' fandom. It was a sort of [[Broken Base]] situation, with some fans liking them, but just as many giving them the Scrappy treatment.
** Richie arguably becomes [[Rescued Fromfrom the Scrappy Heap]] after his multiple [[Took a Level Inin Badass|badass leveling]], the same cannot be said about Michelle from ''Rite of Passage''. The typical whiny, spoiled teenage girl gets immortality. You can picture what happens next.
* ''[[Homicide: Life Onon the Street]]'':
** Detective Paul Falsone gets some of this treatment, with many finding him a bit smarmy and repellent. He wasn't helped by the fact that his character arc in the first season that he becomes a regular led to fan-favourite Detective Mike Kellerman's departure from the show. A [httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20070816033058/http://www.teevee.org/archive/1998/03/27/ 1998 essay] on TeeVee.org effectively summed up why this character was so disliked.
** Laura Ballard and Rene Sheppard also receive some of this treatment, both being seen as indicative of the production team's caving into [[Executive Meddling]] by putting two 'supermodels with guns' in the show, in contrast to the show's more down-to-earth depiction of women in the police force prior to their introductions.
* ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'':
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* Guido from ''[[My Parents Are Aliens]]'' who was introduced in Series 8 (the last series, perhaps not surprisingly).
* Marley And Lindsay on ''[[The New Adventures of Old Christine]]'' they're [[Rich Bitches]] who seemingly have no purpose other then to make jokes about how ignorant and "poor" Christine is, they're not the least bit funny, they're just incredibly irritating.
* Kirk DeVane on ''[[Newhart]]'' was a painfully unfunny [[Jerkass]] for the show's first 2 seasons. Midway through the second season, the writers desperately tried to [[Rescued Fromfrom the Scrappy Heap|save him]] by giving him a sweet, likeable girlfriiend. It only worked part way. She herself was quite likeable and appealing, but it was impossible to understand [[What Does She See in Him?|what the Hell she saw in Kirk.]] Fortunately, around the same time, a new, hilarious [[Jerkass]], Michael Harris, made his debut on the show. At the start of the third season, Kirk and his new wife were [[Put on a Bus]], Michael [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute|took his place on the show]], and ''Newhart'' [[Growing the Beard|grew the beard.]]
* Gina Russo from ''[[Nip Tuck]]''. She started as a minor foil for [[Chick Magnet|Christian Troy]] when he began attending [[Tropaholics Anonymous|SA Meetings]], but she quickly became a semi-regular, showing up at the most inopportune times to cause Christian and Sean grief, such as forcing Christian to wait on her hand and foot as she prepared to give birth to a baby she thought was his ([[ChocolateHer BabyChild, but Not His|It wasn't]])). She was annoying, verbally abusive ("asshole" being her favorite insult,) mildly psychotic, and manipulative, and thanks to Ryan Murphy's inability to let plots die, she [[Yo-Yo Plot Point|kept coming back.]]
* Nikki from ''[[Numb3rs]]''. She's got a 4 year degree from the streets of Compton, yo!
* A [[Vocal Minority]] of ''[[The OC]]'' fans loathed Marissa Cooper passionately, mostly because she tended to be a self-destructive drama magnet (and on a soap opera, that's ''saying something'') who became the center of attention of any scene she was in and tended to [[Jerkass|treat people like crap]]...but everyone around her continued to like her and put up with it. {{spoiler|The third season ends with her finally getting [[Killed Off for Real]].}}
** On the flipside, Malex fans hate her mother and [[Die for Our Ship|Ryan]] for getting in the way of the two girls relationship.
* ''[[Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue]]'':
** Carter Grayson. His preference for using blasters and [[Dull Surprise|having the personality of a wooden board]] were the major reasons why he was so hated. However, over the years and thanks to [[Atop the Fourth Wall|Linkara]]'s review of the season, he was [[Rescued Fromfrom the Scrappy Heap]] in hindsight thanks to his [[Badass]] attitude, tough demeanor and all around Awesomeness.
** Vypra, also from the same season, was not so lucky. The large reason why she was so hated was due to her portrayer's [[Narm|notoriously bad acting]], even ''[[Up to Eleven|worse]]'' than the typical ''[[Power Rangers]]'' fare.
* ''[[Power Rangers Operation Overdrive]]'':
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* Lana Lang from ''[[Smallville]]''. Many people who watch the show also consider her a [[Creator's Pet]], because the writers seem to refuse to do anything interesting with her character that contributes positively to the story.
* ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' had Ezri Dax, the seventh season's [[Replacement Scrappy]], who filled in after Jadzia was killed.
* ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'': Dr. Pulaski:
** First, the elephant in the room, Dr. Pulaski:
*** She replaced Wesley's mother as the ship's doctor for a single season before fan outcry got them to bring Dr. Crusher back. Not only was she a [[Replacement Scrappy]], but the writers made a major miscalculation in their attempt to make her a [[Distaff Counterpart]] of [[The McCoy|Dr. McCoy]] from the original series. Since McCoy's arguments with Spock were such a fan favorite aspect of the character, the writers tried to duplicate it by having Pulaski take a dislike to [[The Spock|Data]] and toss him similar insults about being so logical all the time. Unfortunately, unlike Spock (who routinely gave as good as he got, and seemed to actually enjoy the battle of wits as much as a Vulcan would allow themselves to enjoy anything), Data couldn't even really understand that he was being insulted and never responded in kind, so Pulaski came off as a bully who kept picking on Data because he couldn't fight back.
** Further, it's okay for McCoy to insult Spock because Vulcans have a high amount of political power and nobody would cite Spock's being a Vulcan as a reason to remove him from command. Data on the other hand goes through ''genuine'' prejudice over his status as an android, with officers questioning if Data can do things like make command decisions or care for small children. At the time in which Pulaski was on the ship, Data wasn't even being recognized as a sentient being, and thus had none of the rights that would entail. Keeping all this in mind, Pulaski's slamming of Data's cold logic making him inferior to humans just makes her look like a bigot.
*** Further, while it's still sorta rude (or, rather, it would be entirely rude ''if'' Spock ever actually chose to take offense) it's not ''horrible'' for McCoy to insult Spock because McCoy's seriously punching uphill here. Vulcans are the co-dominant species of the Federation, and for that matter helped ''found'' the Federation. Also, nobody would cite Spock's being a Vulcan as a reason to remove him from command given that Vulcans are the second-most common species in Starfleet after humans. And on an individual level, Spock outranks McCoy and Spock's father is Vulcan's ambassador to the Federation High Council, meaning Spock is in absolutely no fear of political or career consequences to anything. Data, on the other hand, is ''not'' the Enterprise's First Officer and so doesn't have seniority on the Chief Medical Officer. Furthermore, he has no influential relatives, routinely goes through ''genuine'' prejudice over his status as an android, and actually has officers questioning if Data can do things like make command decisions or care for small children. At the time in which Pulaski was on the ship, Data wasn't even being recognized as a sentient being, and thus had none of the rights that would entail. In short, the target of McCoy's jibes is not only entirely indifferent but is also in a position where the only person McCoy could get in trouble is himself. Pulaski, meanwhile, is dumping crap on someone in no position to defend themselves, and who arguably lacks the mental capacity to deal with it emotionally at all. Keeping all this in mind, Pulaski's slamming of Data's cold logic making him inferior to humans just makes her look like a bigot.
** [[Creator's Pet|Pulaski was also regularly cited by other characters as having a very kind and compassionate personality]]. Her treatment of Data says otherwise. On that note, it should be mentioned that she didn't only insult him directly; in her earlier appearances, she repeatedly talked about him in the third person while he was in the room and ran a scanner over him the same way one would run a scanner over an indistinct object, chemical, or other substance. [[It Is Dehumanizing|Oh, and she called him "it."]] This is basically the most rotten and degrading thing you can do to someone without actually resorting to physical violence; her implication was that she considered him to be no more worthy of respect than the matter replicator.
*** Making all of the above even worse is the fact that an elderly Admiral McCoy actually ''met'' Data briefly (in the TNG pilot, "Encounter at Farpoint")... and was entirely respectful and polite to him. Furthermore, in his conversation with Data he actually compares him to a Vulcan and in the process of doing so emphasizes that Spock was an honored and beloved friend 'even if he was damned annoying at times'. A more direct contrast to Pulaski's bullshit would be harder to imagine. That this was also DeForest Kelley's final appearance as McCoy, the note he chose to exit the series on, only underlines it yet again.
** Not even getting into the political status/power argument, Vulcans are ''capable'' of emotions, though they control/suppress them, and can be a bit haughty about it. ''Data,'' however, was ''physically incapable of feeling emotion'', and not only didn't have any issue with others feeling emotion, often wished that he ''could'' experience it himself. So Pulaski was basically ''tormenting a disabled person for her own amusement.'' Maybe she should have been on [[Villain Protagonist|Voyager]].
*** [[Creator's Pet|Pulaski was also regularly cited by other characters as having a very kind and compassionate personality]]. Her treatment of Data says otherwise. On that note, it should be mentioned that she didn't only insult him directly; in her earlier appearances, she repeatedly talked about him in the third person while he was in the room and ran a scanner over him the same way one would run a scanner over an indistinct object, chemical, or other substance. [["It" Is Dehumanizing|Oh, and she called him "it."]] This is basically the most rotten and degrading thing you can do to someone without actually resorting to physical violence; her implication was that she considered him to be no more worthy of respect than the matter replicator.
** And that's just her treatment of Data; she constantly interrupted everyone else, ''including'' the captain of the ship, threw her opinions out without thinking of the consequences, practically bullies the crew into doing what she wants, even at the risk to herself, them, and/or the ship...let's just say that if she isn't related to Janeway, in some capacity, it would be a profound shock.
*** Not even getting into the political status/power argument, Vulcans are ''capable'' of emotions, though they control/suppress them, and can be a bit haughty about it. ''Data,'' however, was ''physically incapable of feeling emotion'', and not only didn't have any issue with others feeling emotion, often wished that he ''could'' experience it himself. So Pulaski was basically ''tormenting a disabled person for her own amusement.'' Maybe she should have been on [[Villain Protagonist|Voyager]].
** A major problem with her portrayal was that the writers seemed to think that all you needed to make a TNG version of Dr. McCoy was to make the character abrasive. They missed the fact that Bones was also a very close friend of Kirk and Spock, was loved and respected by the entire crew, and had served with them for years. In other words, he'd ''earned'' the right to occasionally act like a jerk. No one would ever question his loyalty or respect for the crew, even if he was curt with them much of the time. Whereas Pulaski, as the newest member of the TNG crew, came off as an arrogant newcomer who had never proven herself yet expected others to instantly think the world of her.
*** And that's just her treatment of Data; she constantly interrupted everyone else, ''including'' the captain of the ship, threw her opinions out without thinking of the consequences, practically bullies the crew into doing what she wants, even at the risk to herself, them, and/or the ship...let's just say that if she isn't related to Janeway, in some capacity, it would be a profound shock.
** And, of course, there's Wesley Crusher. See the [[Creator's Pet]] page for more.
*** A major problem with her portrayal was that the writers seemed to think that all you needed to make a TNG version of Dr. McCoy was to make the character abrasive. They missed the fact that Bones was also a very close friend of Kirk and Spock, was loved and respected by the entire crew, and had served with them for years. In other words, he'd ''earned'' the right to occasionally act like a jerk. No one would ever question his loyalty or respect for the crew, even if he was curt with them much of the time. Whereas Pulaski, as the newest member of the TNG crew, came off as an arrogant newcomer who had never proven herself yet expected others to instantly think the world of her.
*** McCoy also leavened his moments of abrasiveness with moments of strong friendship and emotional support -- both to Kirk ''and'' to Spock. In McCoy's case, being compassionate and empathetic was not an [[Informed Attribute]]. In Pulaski's case... see above.
** Reginald Barclay was a character designed to be a [[Black Sheep]] who didn’t fit in with the rest of the crew. Unfortunately, the writers did that far too well. His character orchestrated a lot of great moments, mostly via the Holo-Deck (seeing the main cast as swashbuckling characters was a great scene) but in every great scene he was a part of, he only succeeded in making everyone else look great. Barclay himself was… lame. Still, he did much better on Voyager.
** And, of course, there's Wesley Crusher. See the [[Creator's Pet]] page for more. Interestingly, many fans have grown to like him ''because'' he's such a Scrappy.
** Lwaxana Troi has a few fans and had a few good moments, like the the episode “Dark Page”, but others like “The Muse”, “Manhunt”, and “Fascination” presented her as simply annoying. Most of the time she was simply Deanna’s [[Amazingly Embarrassing Parent|Amazingly Embarrassing Mother]] (often embarrassing Captain Picard in the process), and an [[Attention Whore]]. Overbearing and brash, loud to the point of obnoxious, with little concern for anyone but herself, there was little that made her appeal to fans.
* ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'':
** Neelix.
*** It's no surprise that {{spoiler|when Tuvok is struggling with homicidal impulses, his means of testing his self control is trying, (and failing), to keep himself from strangling Neelix-- sadly, it turned out to be a holodeck simulation}}. No jury in the world would've convicted him, either. Type in "Tuvok" into a Youtube search and let the auto-fill menu come up - the number one recommendation is {{spoiler|"Tuvok kills Neelix"}}
** Worst of all, when Kes left the crew, he really didn't have much to do, and while ''every'' member of the cast was overshadowed to some degree when Seven of Nine was introduced, Neelix was pretty much [[Demoted to Extra]].
*** A [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMHzOjggHoA youtube] clip on how Neelix should have been handled in the series.
** Oh, and speaking of Kes... Who in the world thought her up? This was a concept that might look good on paper, but… No, check that, this is a concept that doesn’t even look good on paper. This character couldn’t and ''shouldn’t'' work. A race of sapient and civilized aliens with only a ten-year lifespan pushes the [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]] (even for Trekkies) far enough as it is, explained through the eyes of a two-year old member of said species, who has two members of the crew competing for her affection, both of which are thirty years older, at least… ''She is a child'' in a somewhat [[Adorkable]] adult body, and no amount of “logical” analysis (from Tuvok or anyone else) nor character development is going to change that to viewers. While Jennifer Lien does get an A for effort in her attempts to sell Kes as believable and likable, but it was ultimately pointless. While she had a few pretty good episodes focusing on her (mostly "Before and After" and "Warlords") but far too many bad ones to make her a decent character. Her departure at the beginning of Season 4 was pretty much the only direction the writers could take for her.
** Seven of Nine, for the usual [[Die for Our Ship]] reasons and for being [[Ms. Fanservice]].
** Seven of Nine, for the usual [[Die for Our Ship]] reasons and for being [[Ms. Fanservice]]. Kate Mulgrew herself never liked the concept behind this character; her own character - Captain Janeway - was designed to be a [[Deconstruction]] of female characters in science fiction (''not'' a [[Ms. Fanservice]] and ''never'' a [[Damsel in Distress]], but a competent, intelligent leader) and ''it worked'', so she was very cold to the idea of the introduction of a character who clearly ''was'' introduced for sex appeal, so much that she and Jeri Ryan had a lot of trouble getting along on the set.
** Chakotay has this among American Indian Trekkies for [[Ethnic Scrappy]] [[Magical Native American|reasons]].
** The entire Kazon species basically constituted one of these on the first two seasons of ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]''; while nearly every other alien species on [[Star Trek]] gets some measure of character development, the Kazon were ''never'' depicted as anything other than [[Card-Carrying Villain|moustache-twirling badguys]]. And in spite of the fact that the entire species seemed to be rock-stupid and technologically backwards, ''Voyager'' somehow managed not only to keep running into them, but to keep running into the ''same'' ones. Later in the series, the writers themselves took shots at the Kazon by revealing that the Borg took a pass on assimilating them on the grounds that doing so would undermine their perfection. Their role as a major power in the Delta quadrant seems an [[Ass Pull]] as well. On the first episode they are shown, they are depicted as a small nomadic slave-trading tribe always on the move to find vital water supplies... but the minute Neelix pisses them off, out comes the armada of Voyager-level warships always on the Voyager's tail. It's almost like refusing change to a bum on the subway only to find you pissed off [[The Godfather|Don Corleone.]]
** [[Tagalong Kid|Naomi Wildman]] was a case of [[They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character]]. On the surface, Naomi was a chilling reminder of the situation the crew was in, and the possibility that, if the Voyager ever made it home, it would be the children or even grandchildren of the current crew who would be manning it. Sadly, that was really the only thing she did, other than occasionally say something to help a member of the main cast remember something they forgot. This was a case where the idea was sound, the execution of it was poor.
* Narissa from ''[[Star Trek: Picard]]''. It would be easy to call this character "the Evil Romulan Lady", but the trouble there is, that's the usual moniker given to the Romulan Commander from the OS episode "The Enterprise Incident", and ''she'' is a memorable, likeable, three-dimensional character, unlike whats-her-name from this series. Again the fault of the writers, as Peyton List tried hard trying to eek out a personality in a flat role that gave her nothing to work with. The Admonition storyline seemed to open her to some character development, but it came and went quickly. Even her death after a fight with Seven of Nine (who, ironically, was on her own way to being [[Rescued From the Scrappy Heap]] by then) seemed bland and anti-climatic. Still, ''Star Trek'' is often a series where [[Death Is a Slap on The Wrist]], so there ''might'' be some chance she'll return and improve as a character... maybe...
* ''[[Supernatural]]'':
** Here's a fun exercise: Go to a forum and casually mention that [[Rich Bitch|Bela]] may not be so bad. [[Hilarity Ensues|Hilarity Will Ensue]].
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* If [[YouTube]] comments are anything to go by, Tommy's first girlfriend August is really, really hated by fans of ''[[3rd Rock from the Sun]]''. Basically, it's because she is shallow and manipulative while acting like she is ''so'' far above that kind of thing. This is played for [[Hypocritical Humor]] and [[Comedic Sociopathy]], but it still makes her [[The Obstructive Love Interest]].
* ''[[Torchwood]]'':
** Owen, an apparent attempt to create a [[Ted Baxter|Jack-the-Lad]] type character that failed dismally. In the story world he's supposed to be some kind of [[Casanova|love god]], but the actor playing him is strangely froglike and charm-free. It doesn't help that when we first see him he's getting women to sleep with him by using a special spray he nicked from Torchwood supplies that made him irresistible (which more than a few fans saw as essentially Owen raping unwilling sexual partners). However, in the second series, the writers acknowledged all of this and early on took constant digs at him. [[Rescued Fromfrom the Scrappy Heap|His popularity increased]] with his character arc through the second season, only for {{spoiler|him to be [[Alas, Poor Scrappy|killed off]] in a [[Tear Jerker|heartbreaking]] final episode}}.
* Kim Bauer from ''[[24]]'', owed heavily to her [[Trapped by Mountain Lions|irrelevant plotlines]] that only [[Filler|take time away from the main story]] than anything she actually does. (Most viewers seriously wanted to see that mountain lion eat her.) Imagine Ashley from ''[[Resident Evil 4]]'' except her safety depends on someone the folks on your side of the Fourth Wall cannot control or influence. The only reason she got her job is [[Nepotism|because of her dad’s credentials]], as one character pointed out to her face. She’s whiny, rebellious, oblivious to danger, and many of her [[Damsel in Distress]] situations are her fault. Of course, in the early seasons, she was [[Too Dumb to Live]] too, to the point that she was the original [[Trope Namer]] for [[Damsel Scrappy]].
* ''[[Victorious]]'':
** Robbie can be considered this, as he is widely considered to be the most useless of the seven main characters, and sometimes annoying, known to butt into random situations in the weirdest ways possible. Sometimes his puppet Rex can be the source of his annoyance factor to others.
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* Joxer from ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'', at least between seasons 2 and 4 for hogging screentime. When the fans finally started to tolerate him around season 5, the writers killed him off.
* Despite being the main reviwers on the show, [[X-Play|Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb]] could qualify. Post-[[Seasonal Rot]], they suffered from massive [[Flanderization]] that made them seem to worship Microsoft, no matter how bad their games are, as well as massive backlash from the [[He Panned It, Now He Sucks]] train of thought (though to be fair, many of these are fueled by the fact that they have massive [[Bias Steamroller]] going in regards to certain genres of games, and in some cases, [[Did Not Do the Research]]).
** Ever since the G4/Tech TV merger, '''everyone''' seems to have become a scrappy. The exceptions seem to be Kevin Pereira (who [[Rescued Fromfrom the Scrappy Heap|saved himself]] by becoming a bit of a [[Large Ham]] and [[Shown Their Work|actually knowing his stuff]]), [[Genki Girl|Alison]] [[The Cutie|Haislip]], Blair Butler (who has shown that she really is [[One of Us]]) and [[Foreign Fanservice|Leyla Kayleigh]].
** No discussion of G4 TV scrappies is complete without Olivia Munn, who was clearly hired as [[Ms. Fanservice|eye-candy]] all the while she had little to no geeky knowledge.
*** Olivia may qualify for the [[Universal Scrappy]] title since despite being arguably as hot as the surface of the sun, her abysmal lack of talent makes her ill-suited for any role that requires speaking.
** Tommy Tallarico and Victor Lucas of "Judgment Day" deserve special mention as the former's credibility in being involved in game music was shot by basically being a frat boy, [[Kick the Dog|nixing ratings darlings like Psychonauts]] in favor of [[Distracted by the Sexy|DOA games and the like,]] Lucas ''never'' [[Its Pronounced Tropay|pronouncing Japanese game titles and characters' names right,]] a general knack for [[Did Not Do the Research|not doing their research]], using the 10 point rating scale [[X-Play]] is specifically ''against'' and [[They Just Didn't Care|shilling a game they previous deemed a failure.]] No surprise why [[X-Play]] still remains and they're gone.
 
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