Cougar Town – When a Character Doesn’t Ring True

Cortney Cox’s character is is poorly defined, cartoonish and utterly inauthentic. She acts like a thirty-year old Judd Apatow guy trapped in a one-note joke about being desperate but clumsy in the attempt to get laid.

Power of Conscience

These characters believe they are their brother’s keeper. They feel responsible for the greater good and for doing good. They wrestle with how far they should go in seeking justice and fairness for others, in exposing corruption and injustice or in standing up against evil or wrong-doing. They worry about with what is the higher duty and what exactly is required of them in response.

Power of Idealism

Personality Power of Idealism characters believe that life and love should involve a grand passion or an heroic destiny.  They see the world in terms of sweeping epic poetry or as a struggle of operatic proportions.  Intensity of feeling (good or bad) makes this character’s life worth living. Power of Idealism characters believe it is… Continue reading Power of Idealism

Power of Love

These characters see their own value reflected in the eyes of their love object. Their philosophy might be stated: “You’re nothing without me. (And I feel I am nothing without you.)”

Power of Will

These characters take what they want, fight for every inch of turf, refuse to show any weakness themselves and pounce decisively on the weakness of others. They have a kill or be killed framework for everything. They believe absolutely in the Law of the Jungle.

The Power of Ambition

These characters want the reassurance of the visible, tangible evidence of their outward success or status. The definition and meaning of “success” is at the heart of a Power of Ambition character’s story. Is success truly measured from the outside or from the inside?