TV characters who are supposed to be hot but really are not

McDreamy owns this thread

I enjoyed [italic]the Duchess of Duke Street[/italic], but I never got Gemma Jones as a hottie. Maybe it's an English thing, but she seems goggle eyed to me.

And here's a photo of Gemma Jones in the series:

Stuart in the Uk Queer as Folk. Meant to be a super-stud but just looked greasy to me. Charlie Hunnam, on the other hand….

I think Patrick Dempsey falls into the Liam Neeson category of men straight women find hot but leave gay men unmussed.

Speaking of “Queer as Folk,” Gale Harold as Brian in the US version. He’d walk into a room and every man’s mouth would drop open.

Not really.

Lily Walsh, As the World Turns.

Donna Martin, 90210

Agree R6. Canadian actor Damon Runyan, who also auditioned for the role, is way hotter.

I think Brian was just supposed to be an extremely conventional hot guy. Everyone in the group represented a type. Michael was the non-threatening boy next door, Emmet was flamboyant, Ted was the straight-passing corporate gay and Brian was generically hot. I don't think Brian was supposed to be movie star gorgeous, just one of MANY hot guys in the club that night. I haven't watched the show since 2007 so I could be wrong.

Zendaya. I do not see the fascination with this creature.

I saw Patrick Dempsey recently in the horror flick called Thanksgiving which by the way is mildly tongue-in-cheek amusing. I forgot how small he is. Much of his appeal, and half of his weight, was always his hair.

Sarah Rush on Too Close for Comfort. It's streaming on Tubi and she's supposed to super hot but really, she just has big tits and nice hair.

Ginger Grant owns this thread. She always looked like a drag queen to me.

Scott Baio as “Chachi”.

Samantha, hold my beer…

Fonzie

Carrie, damnit! Slap, slap!

Peggy on Mad Men. Constantly referred to as “beautiful” when she was one of the only women on the show who was not,

R19 It's infinitely worse on Handmaid's Tale. EVERYONE is clammering to fuck ugly Elisabeth Moss. Totally bizarre.

I don't remember Peggy being referred to as beautiful.

On the British show Cucumber 🥒- That dumpy guy who looked ten years older than he was Henry Best who’s constantly drooling over the Freddie Fox character- who’s a total Ectomorph and now hot but on the show everyone is drooling 🤤 over him.

R21 watch it agin. The only character who insults her is Pete who later shows up at her house to fuck her

R6, Gale Harold was a classic example of a common thing: a guy who doesn't appeal to men but does to women. Every woman in the audience would have her mouth hanging open when he walked on, which was why the show had such a huge female fanbase. In the show, he's meant to be irresistible to both sexes.

By contrast, the fangirls were almost completely uninterested in Robert Gant, who was the DL fave.

Frasier. It is a key premise of the [original] show that attractive, sophisticated women will regularly fall for him.

As if.

The Fonz

[quote]Gale Harold was a classic example of a common thing: a guy who doesn't appeal to men but does to women.

I found him appealing AF. Definitely the hottest guy in QAF Pittsburgh. Surprised he disappeared.

Sam Malone. Women were really dropping their panties for him? I guess he falls under r5’s theory

Sam Malone (Ted Danson) on CHEERS -- we were constantly being told how gorgeous he is!

Blossom (Mayim Bialik) on BLOSSOM -- she was constantly being told how beautiful she is!

Nah. Ted Danson wasn't a sex symbol even at the time. Bruce Willis in Moonlighting was what women wanted.

When Ted Danson showed up at the Emmys one year without his bald spot rug, he lost any appeal he had.

Carrie Bradshaw owns this thread

Chris Noth as “Big”.

[quote]Chris Noth as “Big”.

Chris Noth when he was younger, circa Law and Order, was a very handsome guy. Add to that being a very rich investment banker and you're extremely hot.

By SATC timeline, he's a good looking guy who still has the BD swagger of a hot guy whose now a master of the universe.

[quote]Nah. Ted Danson wasn't a sex symbol even at the time. Bruce Willis in Moonlighting was what women wanted.

Former NFL player Fred Dryer was the runner-up for 'Sam Malone' and would have made a more convincing hot/sexy jock.

Julia Duffy was to be his 'Diane Chambers.'

But the powers that be preferred the chemistry between Ted Danson and Shelley Long, so they got the parts.

However, Dryer ended up getting the lead on HUNTER, which ran for 7 seasons.

And Duffy got NEWHART, which ran for 8 seasons. She also was Emmy-nominated several times.

[quote]However, Dryer ended up getting the lead on HUNTER, which ran for 7 seasons.

True, but he would have made millions more on Cheers which ran for longer and had higher ratings.

Fred was sexy as hell.

R19 and R23 - R21 us right. Yes, in the pilot she is being "stalked" by a brigade of guys, but it's made very clear it's a ritual every young woman with a pulse new to the firm was obliged to go through. And Joan is very business like when she tells her to go home, put a paper bag on her head and check herself in the mirror to see what physical attributed she might have to use. And for Pete' fucking her was less about finding her irresistible and more about her being the personal secretary of Don ( who humiliated Pete that day).

And later in the show, when they divide all women into Jackies and Marilyns, when Peggy asks the young guys to define her, they say Gertrude Stein (forcing Don to gallantly coming with an Irene Dunne analogy). So no, Peggy was never presented to us as supposedly gorgeous.

Mad Men was actually very clinically precise about the physical attributes of its characters, hence the actors playing them - at times almost cruelly so - Lane being described as ugly by a stans up comedian was a good example.

Mischa Barton on The OC

That is your judgment, R34.

Penny from Big Bang Theory

Archie from Riverdale

Juno Temple in Ted Lasso. I guess she was cute in the first season and I could see her being a ‘hot girl’, but by season 3 she looked like a 90lb mess ready to fall over from a strong breeze.

[quote] I enjoyed the Duchess of Duke Street, but I never got Gemma Jones as a hottie. Maybe it's an English thing, but she seems goggle eyed to me.

It’s an English thing. I was on a 90s subreddit reading a discussion of the hottest Spice Girl and Geri Halliwell was frequently described as exquisite.

[quote] I don't remember Peggy being referred to as beautiful.

I heard her looks being praised several times, which seemed to go against the heart of the character.

Miranda and Carrie. At least there was an episode where Miranda screams at a guy for not thinking she’s beautiful. Every time I see that scene I zero in on her snaggleteeth and orange men’s haircut and think “babe, you don’t even fit the “cute” category.”

And Carrie? Neeeeiiighhhhh.

[quote] Frasier. It is a key premise of the [original] show that attractive, sophisticated women will regularly fall for him.

Sure, Kelsey looks weird, what made Frasier appealing is his status as a celebrity doctor.

[quote]I found him appealing AF. Definitely the hottest guy in QAF Pittsburgh.

Robert Gant would like a word with you…

Ted Danson wasn’t un-hot. Was he as smoking as Fred the VPL king Dryer? No, but I wouldn’t have thrown him out of bed for eating crackers.

NPH as Barney on How I Met Your Mother

R8 Remember when she went to Paris to…model

I wonder whether Fred would have been allowed the enormous VPL bulges if he had done cheers or whether they would have forced some sort of you know, underwear, rather than obvious freeballing.

Ted Danson was handsome in a soap opera actor sort of way when Cheers first started. Dryer has much more of an edge than Danson and Duffy is definitely a bit more sharp and bitchy than Shelley Long, so I could see how the powers that be would think that Danson and Long were a 'safer' choice.

Ashton Kutcher.

When he replaced Charlie Sheen on "Two And A Half Men," the writers were tripping over themselves to come up with lines about how gorgeous he was. He's mediocre looking at best and his comedic and acting skills were even worse. Ashton Kutcher simply doesn't have the comedic chops that Charlie Sheen has.

R52 And his only comedic device is yelling and screaming. He thinks that is hilarious.

Marge Simpson - really? Just because she's slender and Homer's not? Her hair is hideous and so are her duck lips.

Elaine Benes on Seinfeld. We're supposed to believe she dates all these guys and can select which one of them is spongeworthy? And that she got Patrick Warburton?

Elaine getting hot guys is a helluva lot more believable than a major schlub like George Costanza getting hot babes the way he did.

Blanche Devereaux was never a beauty.

Elaine is pretty and put together.

Audrey Hepburn

JJ from GOOD TIMES.

Not TV but a movie.

Meryl Streep in "Sophie's Choice."

Everyone who meets her always remarks what an exquisite beauty she is.

She even gets a Nazi officer lusting after her in the concentration camp.

Darren Criss owns this thread.

Also Lea Michelle, closeted Matt Morrison, And Timothy “Chevrolet.”

Ryan Gosling.

[quote]JJ from GOOD TIMES.

Yeah, but just thinking about John Amos' hot body had me screaming Damn! Damn! Damn! every time he appeared on the screen.

James Van Der Beek.

Thought he was odd looking.

Chrissy from Three's Company

Loni Anderson on WKRP. There was too much going on.

Many straight guys I know who watched were in love with Jan Smithers as Bailey.

R25- Especially the GAY episode from 1994 when that good looking guy at the radio station was interested in Frasier.

AS IF

in real life that would happen

R66 - Jennifer and Bailey were the Ginger and Mary Ann of Cincinnati. Team Bailey here, and I was gay. Andy was really my jam anyway.

Elaine on Seinfeld was definitely pretty enough to get hot guys in New York. A NY 8 is a California 5.

Taste is subjective, but I don't think Julia Louis-Dreyfus was ever an "8" anywhere. Well, maybe for Toledo, OH. NYC is overflowing with models and actors, and while it doesn't have the same matinee-idol / soap opera beauty of Hollywood., it's far from an island of average shmoes. I'd put Julia closer to a 6/7 on a good day.

Timothee and Jacob Elordi. Both are sexless.

Blanche Devereux was never a beauty?

Sure - she looked like shit by 51, the first year of that show. Boy she aged badly. But she was quite the looker when she was younger.

The Elaine Benes character had a horrible, Gibson Girl-type hairdo to contend with for several seasons. She was often dressed in a frumpy manner even though JLD had a good figure.

JLD dressed really frumpy when she was pregnant.

Her Gibson Girl pouf was part of her character for the first several seasons.

Hawkeye on MASH.

Jaleel White when he was de-urkled.

Still meh.

Ok - for a young boy - I though Flo on Mel's Diner was the height of glamour. Polly fucking Holliday.

Oh and Jennifer Love Hewitt. She was cute - but damn was she oversold as some sort of sex symbol.

r59 No one ever said he was supposed to be hot.

Anyone from the 70s or 80s. They just hired the cheapest hack actors and sold them as hotties.

I have a friend who worked on the first season of the American version of Queer as Folk, and he told me the character of Brian was conceived of as the classic American gay superstud of the era (i.e. more muscular and square jawed than Aiden Gillen in the original British version in the corresponding role). But the executives at Showtime worried about attracting women viewers whom they desperately wanted, and so they insisted on casting Gale Harold, an actor much more androgynous-looking (and so less threatening to women) than the showrunners had imagined.

"Oh Blossom, you're so beautiful!"

Shane on The L Word. That mangy looking mutt. Looked like she needed a good scrubbing and a meal, yet they built storylines around how irresistible she was to women. That was pretty much the entire character. And the actress had a flat and lifeless monotone delivery, blank facial expressions. I think she was the worst cast character of the main five.

r82 - I fucking agree. I placed her in the "Kristy McNichol" pool. So unattractive, and not really sure what the appeal would be.

R83, they're supposed to be coming back in another series: L Word New York. The writers need to tone it down with the OTT adulation of this now middle-aged scarecrow.

She was also flat-chested but at least there was one plot where she was thought to be a boy.

David Cassidy and Shaun Cassidy looked MTF to me

I never found James Marsters very hot as Spike, although I liked him as an actor. He was too gaunt looking for me.

R85, yeah but even then, they had the Hollywood power types falling all over the new twink. Ridiculous.

Doc on the Love Boat.

Look, Kristy McNichol ANYWHERE. I don't get her wonky-assed eyes and why she was put forth as some girl in her prime that drew hot guys like Matt Dillon!! This was insane.

[quote]Taste is subjective, but I don't think Julia Louis-Dreyfus was ever an "8" anywhere. Well, maybe for Toledo, OH.

Have you ever been to the Midwest? It's teeming with hotties/beauties of both sexes.

[quote]NYC is overflowing with models and actors, and while it doesn't have the same matinee-idol / soap opera beauty of Hollywood., it's far from an island of average shmoes. I'd put Julia closer to a 6/7 on a good day.

The Northeast, in general, has a lot of fugs.

California got their hotties when many Midwesterners migrated en-masse to the Golden State during the Great Depression, seeking work and a new way of life.

The Midwest was hit the toughest by the Depression, plus they had to contend with the Dust Bowl, as well as violent gangsters like John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Bonnie & Clyde wreaking havoc in that region.

Parker Stevenson. He has beady eyes that are too close together.

Joe Manganiello. Great body but another beady eyed rat-face boy.

Benedict Cumberbatch. He looks like an alien.

Julianna Margulies. There's something about her that's so manly.

Katja Herbers has a very sweet, innocent face. Very pretty.

Elizabeth Moss is jolie laide. Yes her features are homely, but there is something compelling about them all the same.

Good call on Parker Stevenson, R93

Agree about Cumberbatch

r93, the thread is about [italic]TV characters[/italic] who are said to be attractive, not about actors in general.

California did not get its hotties from the midwest and the Dust Bowl.

The hotties are due to the movie industry and those chasing fame.

Scott Baio. Looks like a less masculine variant of Anal Clooney.

Defending Scott Baio in any manner in this current timeline troubles me, but if you were a wee bitty gayling in the late 70s (Happy Days) through mid 80s (Charles in Charge), you might be able to understand why he got so much attention. He had the look and attitude of someone who teen girls and young gaylings would plotz over.

Olivia Benson—no man or woman, straight or gay, is immune to her allure.

Need to catch a serial killer? Just put her on the street.

R24- I wasn’t attracted to any of the actors on QAF

I have never watching Killing Eve, but have heard Sandra Oh’s character is supposed to be hot. Sandra Oh is and has never been hot.

R86-Not that to me they just both seemed gay especially Shawn.

Can anyone name a hot Asian, male or female?

R104, But, thanks to Shirley, we know that the Cassidy boys were all well hung.

R80- He was not androgynous looking. He was totally slim and not at all muscular but he was certainly on the masculine side.

[quote]Can anyone name a hot Asian, male or female?

Daniel Dae Kim

John Cho, younger,Kaneshiro Takeshi, Joan Chen, Gong Li, Rick and Karl Yune

Tony Leung

[quote][R93], the thread is about TV characters who are said to be attractive, not about actors in general.

Parker Stevenson - The Hardy Boys, Baywatch

Joe Manganiello - True Blood, HIMYM

Benedict Cumberbatch - Sherlock

Julianna Margulies - ER, The Good Wife

[quote]Can anyone name a hot Asian, male or female?

Apolo Ohno

Yuji Okumoto in KK II

Russell Wong

Tamlyn Tomita

Joan Chen

Jennifer Tilly (half Asian)

Dean Cain (before MAGA)

I mean Scott Baio is older but still good looking. However, anyone who says he wasn't fucking hot as hell when he was younger is deranged.

I never questioned that Rue wasn't beautiful...U think that's a huge compliment to her acting. She played a southern beauty and sold it. But I also think, when we were younger watching it, we wouldn't have had much frame of reference to how an aged beauty should look...and im sure she looked better than most over 50s back then...and maybe we accepted she might be hot, but that age group weren't appealing to us regardless.

In what Blanche? Dog years?

[quote]Can anyone name a hot Asian, male or female?

Alex Landi

Daniel Henney

Godfrey Gao

Takeshi Kaneshiro

And, of course, the late great Toshiro Mifune

Simu Liu is HOT

Meredith Baxter in Family. Nancy was constantly described as a perfect 10 prom queen that had boys lined up around the block, but in reality she was a boring, bitter, thin-lipped shrew that looked 40 at 22 and seemed like she'd bite off the first dick that pointed itself in her direction.

Don't you start on our Nancy. You can call Buddy ugly all you want. I mean she was. But not our Nancy.

That is Doug posting at R120, I want no part of that post!

Mother please go make the coffee and change the baby. A nap is calling my name.

I always thought Meredith Baxter was very cute and had the whole girl next door look down pat. Hair commercials beckoned.

Greg Brady

You heard her Kate. Get to stepping.

Eve Whitney. I thought she looked and acted like a drag queen.

The UK, in general, has a peculiar definition of attractiveness. I realized that when I first read of the “heartbreakingly beautiful” young Elizabeth. She was many things, but not that.

Liz Taylor

Hazel Burke

[quote] Can anyone name a hot Asian, male or female?

That’s racist!

I can name hot Asians but only if they're bottoms.

Gemma Jones looked like an albino in a wig to me. She’s a nepo baby. Her OTT portrayal of Luisa was …over the top. Swinging her arms around, hands on hips, rolling up her sleeves, giving an “oomph” to get sentences by nodding her head and that very butch fake cockney accent…she looked like a deranged boxer spoiling for a fight

Jeanine on Abbott Elementary.

I hated the Brian character in “Queer as Folk”, US version. He didn’t have any redeeming qualities and had the sex appeal of an iceberg.

r`105 your attempt at stirring the pot sort of failed.

r134, is there an actor you wish had played Brian instead of Gale Harold?

Unlike most folks here, I always thought Parker Stevenson was hot as fuck, but I’ve always fallen for those some-what handsome, boy-next-door types.

Also, he’s always been a bit swishy, so attainable in my 12-yo mind.

"Look, Kristy McNichol ANYWHERE"

It's rare that child stars turn out to transition to adult roles. They are often hired because they look younger than their age, i.e. tiny and winsome. That doesn't translate to rom-com.

R138.

R137, Don’t forget “the big one”.

I really can't remember Peggy being praised as beautiful either. In fact the earlier episodes sort of made a point of subtly saying how unfuckable she was compared to women like Joan and Betty.

Maybe her boyfriends said she was beautiful from time to time but she wasn't being chased around by multiple men. There are other examples of this thread of not terribly attractive actors/characters being worshipped as if they're stunning.

Also, some of the examples listed here - Kristy McNichol, Baio, the Cassidy brothers....aside from them being from the 70s, they were also teenagers or young adults, which is where a certain androgynous look is sometimes praised as beauty (see under: Chalamet, Timothee).

R138 R139

that big hulking orangutan on that 70s show

Marge Simpson

Did you guys find Brian unattractive when you watched QaF 20 years ago or are you just being cunts?

Even as a gay man, I can see that Katja Herbers is poised, stylish, cultured (from a family of classical musicians), refined, and well educated. Combined with her good fashion sense and down-to-earth, easygoing Dutch personality, this makes her quite attractive, which is better than just plain "hot."

[quote]Shane on The L Word. That mangy looking mutt. Looked like she needed a good scrubbing and a meal, yet they built storylines around how irresistible she was to women. That was pretty much the entire character. And the actress had a flat and lifeless monotone delivery, blank facial expressions. I think she was the worst cast character of the main five.

I agree with you about the character Shane's lack of appeal, but the actress who played her (Kate Moennig) was a huge sex symbol for the entire run of the show, with many fans tuning in just to see her. There was even a whole "I'd go gay for Shane" trend among straight girls, countless fan tribute videos, fan art, etc. All of this made her "female lothario" status on the show rather more credible, even though she might not have been your or my cup of tea.

Moennig also played a trans woman in an episode of L&O: SVU.

Please marry me, R7!

Yes, Lily was THE best example.

Pig nosed little mall chick and the show pretended she was the siren for all ages. How many men went beserk for her? How many died? All that good cock for THAT?

So many morons don’t know the difference between characters and actors. R61 first and foremost.

There are SO many hot Asian performers, many noted above.

One of the hottest is Vincent Rodriguez, who played Josh Chan on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

I believe he’s also a really awesome human being as well.

There are so many gorgeous and hot Asian actors it is ridiculous. The poster above is racist.

Fred (Amy Acker) on Angel.

Neela (Parminder Nagra) on ER.

Every man that saw them fell desperately, head-over-heels in love with them. It was ridiculous.

R154, I respectfully disagree about Neela on ER. I can see why men fell for her.

[quote][R134], is there an actor you wish had played Brian instead of Gale Harold?

Not R144, but I concur with Damon Runyan (R9). He played a pervy coach in Degrassi The Next Gen. who lures a teen boy with beer and porn, and he had me wishing I was the boy. Coincidentally, another Degrassi alum, John Bregar, auditioned for the role of Justin and is infinitely hotter than Randy Harrison. The Brian/Justin sex scenes would have been scorching if they had been cast in the roles.

^*Not R134

I will never for the life of me understand why Rachel was considered so much hotter than Monica on Friends. They were equally attractive.

As a gayling, I never understood how the captain's daughter on "The Love Boat" was supposed to be portrayed as attractive, hot girl. I found the actress rather ugly.

YOU SEXIST PIG OP!

I SEE PRETTIER MEN EVERYDAY. HE'S NOT HOT! SEXY MAN. SEXY HANDSOME MAN. WHO SAYS THAT PIG

R147, there's no accounting for taste. Maybe she reminded the straight women of their teenybopper years when they crushed on pre-pubescent boys.

Courtney Cock was much prettier than Jen Aniston and Lisa Kudrow. She then went and ruined her face.

Laura Wright's Carly Spencer on General Hospital. She's written as this "incredible, irresistible" woman though in reality she's the very definition of a shrill harridan.

Good one r159. I thought she was downright U G L Y. And irritating. And she was on the original "Friends" (look it up)

Also like that girl on 7th Heaven whose face was once compared to the front end of a 1960 Plymouth Valiant.

R7 R150 Definitely, 100% agree, without a doubt. If anything she's a suburban soccer mom, at best- and not even one of the hot ones. She even dressed rather basic, yet she had all these gorgeous men tripping over her, from American men to foreign men, involved in countless love triangles where she was the object of their affection- absolutely ridiculous.

It was more believable when her long lost identical twin Rose D'Angelo showed up in Oakdale. Even her husband Holden complimented Rose on how much better the sex was with her, although unbeknownst to Holden, Rose was impersonating Lily when he made that observation.

R159 She's actually reminiscent of another legendary Victoria- a younger version of Erika Slezak's Victoria "Viki" Lord

Nancy on Stranger Things. She's a bag of bones.

Lou Ferrigno.

But I’d fuck his son into next week.

Serena on Bewitched.

Sophia on the Golden Girls

Lily Walsh didn't really have much competition in Oakdale, though. At least not during the early years. Who else was "nubile" and always hanging around those stables?

Monica in Friends was extremely uptight and high maintenance. Phoebe was extremely quirky. The three of them were all pretty, at least when the show started, but Rachel was relatively laid-back and otherwise ordinary, which is what a fairly pedestrian sitcom, and most young straight men, want.

I'm not sure NPH was meant to be wildly attractive on HIMYM. I know the character was always nailing women, but there was a bit of a joke undercurrent to the character's allure, as with Joey in Friends, who was no more a sex symbol than either of the others to the female viewing audience.

Courtney Cox was by far the prettiest of the three, however, having watched a few reruns recently I noticed that her hair was way too dark, like almost ink black. It was not a good look.

R171 Excuse us?

lol at R174. I’m assuming you mean the Melanie Smith version of Emily.

Laurie Partridge--long, stringy hair and gums.

Melanie Smith knew when to keep her mouth shut--and when to keep it open. She also looked like a call girl.

She's aged quite well, though. Here she is on Curb, playing a member of an incest survivor group:

lol good one R56

I disagree with those saying Gale Howard wasn’t hot.

Charlie Sheen in two and a half men didn’t fit the bill IMO. One of the reasons I couldn’t stand that show.

R175 of course! And the Jennifer Ashe version of Meg.

The OG bitches!

R52 is right. Ashton looked a mess with the long hair and shit. He hit a wall. But, r52 is dead wrong to pretend that Ashton in his 20s wasn’t hot. When that 70s show aired in the late 90s he was a hot piece of early-20s ass. Most of his OG time on the show was his peak in beauty. My goodness, you’d have to be blind to pretend Ashton wasn’t hot as hell, physically, between the late-90s and say 2008 or so.

Jennifer Ashe had the ultimate bitch-face (though her heart in the right place, apparently):

[quote]I disagree with those saying Gale Howard wasn’t hot.

I can only imagine they are going blind. I pray for them. He was scaldingly, sizzlingly hot. All I wanted was to be Sunshine in their opening scene.

We just had an entire thread devoted to it. Julie on One Day At A time. You'd add her mom but no one considered her to be hot.

Was Flo supposed to be hot? She was a lot lizard to be sure, but attractive? I think not.

Gale Harold was so not hot. He was ordinary beyond belief. There were guest stars on QAF who were hotter.

We need Queer Eye for the average looking gal

Vincent

[quote]Gale Harold was so not hot. He was ordinary beyond belief. There were guest stars on QAF who were hotter.

I always had the idea that Brian was supposed to be hot due to attitude and swagger and sufficiently hot in looks to get laid as often as he wanted.

There is a different sensibility to a character that is hot purely based on looks. The writers seemed to write him as someone making up for lost time from his messed up youth.

Nurse Jackie. And there is a British actress with a similar look who has been in several series where men are falling over themselves for her.

R118 = Simu Liu

[quote] The Midwest was hit the toughest by the Depression, plus they had to contend with the Dust Bowl, as well as violent gangsters like John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Bonnie & Clyde wreaking havoc in that region.

WTF, does any of this nonsense have to do with this thread?

[quote] Nurse Jackie.

Agreed.

Sam Winchester. Great body, monkey face.

[quote] Jennifer Ashe had the ultimate bitch-face

Who could blame her? Her scumbag husband was fucking and blackmailing half the town and poor Meg had to settle for having an affair with her sister’s rapist.

Boy, “ATWT” was one messed up show in the late 80s-early 90s.

Who thought old Tonio Reyes (Mr. Meg) was hot?

My siblings and I used to giggle at the mention of fictional banana republic "Montega" (his home country?) on ATWT. Even as young teenagers we were aware of how silly it sounded.

[quote] Who thought old Tonio Reyes (Mr. Meg) was hot?

With the vegetable growing on his face. Meanwhile, he fucked every hot piece of ass in Oakdale while telling each of them what slutty garbage they were in his deadpan delivery.

And that hair. Bizarre character.

I love Jennifer Ashe. Her Meg was delicious!

Remember when Lily’s best friend was Craig? Come on!

Remember when Brian Bloom’s Dusty would shake hands with any other male character he came in contact with?

[quote] Remember when Lily’s best friend was Craig? Come on!

Most 17-year-old girls are best friends with 30-something-year-old men…in Oakdale.

And don’t get me started on linebacker, MTF Betsy.

Nurse Jackie was NOT presented as hot, stop with your bullshit revisionism. She was an assertive woman who was not above cheating on her husband. Her main sex partner (the priest from The Sopranos) was totally average-looking. This thread is devolving into "TV characters I dislike".

Phoebe Wallingford.

Morticia Adams.

The witches on Charmed always seemed to score hot guys. Alyssa Milano I can believe but not Shannen and especially not Holly Marie.

agree r202

Sam Waterston on Law & Order. He was said to have affairs with all his female assistants but he does nothing for me.

r171 r174 I always wondered what Janie Cobb looked like.

[quote]Sam Waterston on Law & Order. He was said to have affairs with all his female assistants but he does nothing for me.

It’s because he was scorching in his day.

R150 - It has to tough for a soap actress when she's romantically paired with a man who's prettier than she is.

Cricket Blair on Young and the Restless.

That’s because Cricket is a nepo baby R208. Nina was a lot uglier and got hot guys. I haven’t watched since the 90’s btw

[quote] as with Joey in Friends, who was no more a sex symbol than either of the others to the female viewing audience.

Noooo, Matt LeBlanc was actually incredibly good looking, particularly in the early seasons.

Has anyone mentioned Frasier Crane yet ? I could never understand how he managed to consistently attract women who were clearly leagues above him, including, in some storylines, actual models?

I can only imagine that Kelsey Grammer had some input when it came to casting his love interests.

It's different for men, though - Frasier had wealth, was a minor local celebrity, and had social standing in the community as a respected psychiatrist. It doesn't seem that odd that he could have his pick of dates.

Benjamin Bratt on Law & Order. Repeated references to how hot he supposedly was and interviewees coming on to him. He looked like a turtle.

^you have zero taste.

Nurse Jackie was when Edie Falco started pinging hard.

[quote] That’s because Cricket is a nepo baby [R208]. Nina was a lot uglier and got hot guys. I haven’t watched since the 90’s btw

Ugh. Nina Webster on Y&R needed the following to complete her "look": Side ponytail and a crimping iron.

Well, I'm going to voice an unpopular opinion about Martha Byrne as Lily Walsh. Lily was SUPPOSED to be completely insecure about herself, never knowing, as a rich girl, whether she could ever trust ANYTHING anyone told her, and of course that insecurity got a million times worse after the maternity/paternity reveal. Holden eventually fell in love with her, yes, but in the beginning, it was made clear that his only interest was getting off that damn farm, raking in as much money as he possibly could, moving up in society, and "showing them all!"

Lily never, at any age, behaved like a woman who thought she was beautiful. She was always making self-deprecating comments. The character of Lily would not have worked with a Melanie Smith-type in the role, that's for sure. But millions of everyday women saw Byrne in the role, and thought, "That's ME, if I had tons of money."

I always thought Byrne was attractive in a Rosanna Arquette overbite sort of way...I would imagine straight guys might have too...

R217, that’s a really great assessment.

R211- I mentioned him earlier. The GAY episode from 1994- this good looking guy who works at the Radio station is attracted to Frasier which I thought was totally absurd that a young good looking guy in his early 30's would be so amorous towards Frasier.

R204- Yes, Sam Waterston is a PUSSYHOUND

like Richard Simmons .

Kelly Taylor. Jennie Garth was Helen of Troy compared to Tori but 90210 treated Kelly like she was the most gorgeous woman to ever live in Beverly Hills, especially in the later seasons.

Gay men think that straight people are as shallow as they are, and they really REALLY are not. A woman who is a 6 in looks could easily bag herself some majorly primo dick nightly if she's confident, witty, and sexy (bonus if she gives the impression she might be a little kinky). The same goes for a male 6 if he's well-dressed, funny, and charismatic (bonus if he gives her the impression he's got some money).

Point is, just because these characters are getting laid often, doesn't mean it's implied they're gorgeous.

R213 That's enough from you, Helen Keller.

When NYPD Blue was on the air the NYT once described Jimmy Smits in an article as

HANDSOME

Handsome?

He looked like a Monkey 🙊

[quote] Gay men think that straight people are as shallow as they are, and they really REALLY are not.

Um, from what I’ve seen straight guys can be far worse than gay guys that way. The way they treat and objectify women can be grotesque so don’t kid yourself.

R226 they may want 10’s, but they will fuck or have girlfriends and wives who are far below that

Who is this racist person against Latin men referring to them as turtles and monkeys?

I also found Jimmy Smits quite hot. Haven’t seen him lately though

[quote] Ted was the straight-passing corporate gay QaF US

You've got to be joking.

The Fonz.

Chrissy from Three's Company. Ugly, bleached-blonde, clueless bimbo whose makeup was garish and harsh, and yet all guys were absolutely gaga over her. I realize it was because she had tits, ass and long legs, but I really never found her hot.

More on Benjamin Bratt on Law & Order. I just saw an episode where it was mentioned that he was transferred out of the Organized Crime Control Bureau to get away from a female boss who was sexually harassing him. Oh please.