What Would Walter Bishop do?
I’ve been watching Fringe again, and as always happens when I rewatch Fringe, I’m reminded of how much Walter Bishop is my favorite all time character from television, movies, literature… everything. As a writer I long to write a character who is that much fun. So it got me thinking, why do I like that character so much, what traits does he have in common with other characters I like, and most importantly how would I go about creating a character like that: can it be done intentionally? Aren’t all characters character created with the intent of being a great character?
Taking the last question first, looking at the cast of characters in Fringe, it’s not like the others are bad characters. They’re all interesting, they all have their own internal and external problems to overcome. This is explored more so as they cross over to a parallell world and we get to meet other versions of themselves. The alternate version of Astrid and what makes her different from our world’s Astrid is a very interesting storyline, but even before we meet any of the doubles, all the characters are interesting. I would probably have watched Fringe all the way through even if Walter Bishop were not a character, but I doubt I would be watching the series through repeatedly every few years if it weren’t for that character.
So what makes Walter Bishop so interesting? And what are the traits that draw me to his character?
His drug use, particularly his love of hallucinogens, is an obvious trait that draws me to that character. In the very first episode, I went from “this is interesting, I’ll keep watching” to “Holy shit! This is the best show ever!” the moment Walter announced, “Excellent! Let’s make LSD!” The show pairs the drug use well with music, (Walter smokes his bong, puts on a Yes album, and starts conducting weird science experiments), and with art (Walter is tripping on LSD and has a vision of Monty Python style animation that gives him the answer he’s looking for). There’s also the comedy factor of him telling all these authority figures throughout the series that he’s on these illegal drugs, and the look on their faces because they need him, but they’d rather not know that he’s high.
We’re introduced to Walter in a mental hospital. I’ve always liked characters whose sanity is in doubt or at least is fluid, from Crazy Jane in Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol, to unreliable narrators in PK Dick stories to playing sanity impaired characters in the Call of Cthulhu RPG.
Walter is also a character tortured by his past, trying to do better, and unless helped, consumed by anxiety that his efforts will go the wrong way. While I have never endangered entire universes, I can certainly relate to regretting the way I’ve handled things and worried about failing in the future.
I thought at length about other characters I like in stories, and although there are a few exceptions, Agent Cooper in Twin Peaks for instance, one thing that stood out to me is that the characters I like the most are seldom the leads. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, my favorite characters are Spike and Giles. I didn’t think the Angel spinoff got good until we met Lorne and Fred, although in meeting those characters Wesley went from comedy side character to one of the greatest tragic characters of all time. And yes these are more TV shows, literature is a little different because we usually only get the point of view of a small set of characters, but I think the principle remains the same: I’m not sure it would work if a Walter Bishop like character was the lead or the point of view character. It could still make for a very good story, but it would be much darker in tone, and I’m not sure it would comforting to revisit.
The secondary character thing seems to be pretty prevalent. My favorite character in the Expanse books is Chrisjen Avasarala (yes she’s in the TV series as well (they made the smart decision to put her in the beginning whereas in the books she doesn’t come in until the second book if I remember correctly) but she is even more wonderful and sweary in the books). My favorite character on Archer isn’t the lead, it’s Pam, because Pam is a force of nature. My favorite X-Man was always Kitty Pryde, who was rarely the lead. But it’s hard to imagine an ensemble of secondary characters working without a lead. That lead doesn’t need to be unlikable, but it’s unlikely they’ll be as much fun as the best parts of the ensemble.
The closest I think I’ve gotten to writing a Walter Bishop level character was in my second novel, End Times at Ridgemont High. Writing the stoner surfer character Dean was the most enjoyable time I’ve ever had writing. The character would crack me up as I wrote him. Every chapter with him was easier to write than any of the others. And yet, even as his point of view bookends the novel, he is still more of a side character. If Dean had been an equal part of the main group, would his chapters have been as fun? I doubt it. I’m also not sure the book would have worked if Dean had an equal part to play. The main characters experienced more of the horror, they tried to fix things. Dean more sort of observed the horror from the sidelines, self medicating as best he could, which maybe is the best commentary I could make on modern life: do your best but at the end of the day you have to save yourself, whether that be with a bong or a surfboard. Sometimes it’s okay to admit the situation is lost and the only way to retain hope is to live another day.
After all that I’m not sure I’m any closer to creating a Walter Bishop level character. If anything I’m pretty sure that if I do it will have to remain a side character, and not the beautiful, sweet, gooey utopian lure of having a Walter Bishop level dopamine inducing character as the main POV of the book.
