Most Annoying Character

[T.Q.]

Tran Quoc Jones. The kid seemed highly medicated, delivering his lines with even less emotion than a cult member or an electrolarynx. Tran Quoc gave off some seriously creepy vibes

[ConchRepublican]

The winner, however, is Carol Baldwin. This unwelcome character was shoehorned into the (secondary) supporting cast. Kathleen Lloyd must have had a brilliant agent for her to have imo unjustly received special guest star credit. I forget which episode, but there is an especially irritating scene in which Higgins agrees with Perfect Carol at Magnum’s expense. There’s also Carol’s unconvincing drunk scene, which was more annoying than actual drunks.

To be fair, though, I thought Lloyd was quite good as Bridget Archer in Almost Home, so perhaps it was the way the Carol character was written that annoys more than the actor. Maybe I would feel differently if Patty McCormack continued with the role, or maybe not.

I agree completely . . . Bridget Archer in one episode was a deeper and more complex and sympathetic character than Carol ever was IMO.

[eagle]

The winner, however, is Carol Baldwin. This unwelcome character was shoehorned into the (secondary) supporting cast. Kathleen Lloyd must have had a brilliant agent for her to have imo unjustly received special guest star credit. I forget which episode, but there is an especially irritating scene in which Higgins agrees with Perfect Carol at Magnum’s expense. There’s also Carol’s unconvincing drunk scene, which was more annoying than actual drunks.

Funny you should mention Carol's drunk scene -- I'm watching S4E13 ("No More Mr. Nice Guy") literally right now.

[Pahonu]

The winner, however, is Carol Baldwin. This unwelcome character was shoehorned into the (secondary) supporting cast. Kathleen Lloyd must have had a brilliant agent for her to have imo unjustly received special guest star credit. I forget which episode, but there is an especially irritating scene in which Higgins agrees with Perfect Carol at Magnum’s expense. There’s also Carol’s unconvincing drunk scene, which was more annoying than actual drunks.

Funny you should mention Carol's drunk scene -- I'm watching S4E13 ("No More Mr. Nice Guy") literally right now.

So Carol was bad at playing drunk. She was supposed to be faking it to get TM to stay, and how many attorneys are also good actors? Maybe more than we think…

[80s Big Hair]

The winner, however, is Carol Baldwin. This unwelcome character was shoehorned into the (secondary) supporting cast. Kathleen Lloyd must have had a brilliant agent for her to have imo unjustly received special guest star credit. I forget which episode, but there is an especially irritating scene in which Higgins agrees with Perfect Carol at Magnum’s expense. There’s also Carol’s unconvincing drunk scene, which was more annoying than actual drunks.

Funny you should mention Carol's drunk scene -- I'm watching S4E13 ("No More Mr. Nice Guy") literally right now.

So Carol was bad at playing drunk. She was supposed to be faking it to get TM to stay, and how many attorneys are also good actors? Maybe more than we think…

Trial lawyers are often actors in their free time. Presenting yourself in a convincing way is a huge part of being a trial lawyer.

[T.Q.]

I kinda like Carol Baldwin.

Also grew on me over the years.

[Styles Bitchley]

Trial lawyers are often actors in their free time. Presenting yourself in a convincing way is a huge part of being a trial lawyer.

A girl I went to high school with was super into drama. All the plays, clubs, etc. She's now a really successful trial lawyer with her own firm...

[Little Garwood]

So Carol was bad at playing drunk.

Exactly. It was another aspect of how annoying the character was, which is the topic of this thread.

[MagnumsLeftShoulder]

I kinda like Carol Baldwin.

Also grew on me over the years.

I like her, too. I'm surprised she's getting so many votes here.

[Styles Bitchley]

I think Carol is getting mentioned here because her character breaks the Magnum fantasy. She's practical, takes her job seriously (often overly so), and she has warmth of a schoolmarm. She's basically the opposite of Thomas...that was probably the point. She's almost like his mom hovering around. That said, I wouldn't call her character "annoying." I like her in a few episodes and find her tedious in others.

Now, if you really want to get down to brass tacks on annoying characters, let's talk about Detective Gordon Katsumoto! The Asian John Wayne thing may be good for a quick laugh on the Muppet Show, but an actual (recurring) character on a primetime mostly serious detective show?

[eagle]

I think Carol is getting mentioned here because her character breaks the Magnum fantasy. She's practical, takes her job seriously (often overly so), and she has warmth of a schoolmarm. She's basically the opposite of Thomas...that was probably the point. She's almost like his mom hovering around. That said, I wouldn't call her character "annoying." I like her in a few episodes and find her tedious in others.

Now, if you really want to get down to brass tacks on annoying characters, let's talk about Detective Gordon Katsumoto! The Asian John Wayne thing may be good for a quick laugh on the Muppet Show, but an actual (recurring) character on a primetime mostly serious detective show?

Agree with everything you wrote here, about Carol and about Katsumoto. Along with Luther Gillis, Katsumoto is at the bottom of my list.

[Little Garwood]

I think Carol is getting mentioned here because her character breaks the Magnum fantasy. She's practical, takes her job seriously (often overly so), and she has warmth of a schoolmarm. She's basically the opposite of Thomas...that was probably the point. She's almost like his mom hovering around. That said, I wouldn't call her character "annoying." I like her in a few episodes and find her tedious in others.

Even if Carol was created to conceptually undermine Thomas Magnum, and was intended to be those things you attribute to her, it’s the execution of said character that fails. Why MPI’s producers and writers wanted to crowbar a female character into a show whose lead was a female fantasy hero as well as forcing her into an already-airtight quartet is beyond me.

To be fair, Carol Baldwin doesn’t annoy like, say, Scrappy Doo, as Carol functioned quite ably as a secondary supporting character (along with Doc Ibold, Lt. Tanaka, and Mac), but it appeared Carol was intended to be more than that, which is part of what I dislike about her. Carol was like a back-door pilot in the form of a character.

…mostly serious detective show?

Yes…”mostly.”

[T.Q.]

Katsumoto was annoying but he was annoying on purpose.

He annoyed as much as the viewers.

Mission accomplished.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

…mostly serious detective show?

Yes…”mostly.”

Come on, Garwood! You've never seen someone this fat in real life? I have.

[Styles Bitchley]

Why MPI’s producers and writers wanted to crowbar a female character into a show whose lead was a female fantasy hero as well as forcing her into an already-airtight quartet is beyond me.

I never thought much about it before but my guess is that they were looking to increase female viewers. The magic of TM is that women wanted to sleep with him and men wanted to be him. Putting a relatable female into the show helps women see themselves in the stories. Think about it, they could have had a bikini bimbo character easily, but they went with a relatively normal professional and practical woman. These are exactly the women who were swooning over Selleck in the 80s.

This cover on People in the spring of 1982 followed by Carole first appearing in Foiled Again in November 1982. Coincidence?