MovieChat Forums > Lou Grant (1977) Discussion > Charlie

Charlie

posted 9 years ago by gary-64659
4 replies | jump to latest

Does anyone else find the character of Editor Charlie annoying? He's such a stereotype of the crusty, narrow-minded, boring old fart that I fail to see the entertainment value, or any enlightening facets of his character come to think of it. And Mrs Pynchon, carrying on her husband's legacy when she seems to show no idea of what it means -- like a dilettante, spends most of her time and energy at garden parties and schmoozing other rich people. Might be necessary to the balance of the picture (that self-defined smoothie of a deputy city editor is another one), but highly annoying.

[–] Owlwise 9 years ago

I don't think they had quite found the right portrayal of Charlie in the first few episodes, making him a bit more like the characterization you describe, perhaps for comic effect. But he became more serious & three-dimensional shortly after that.

As for Mrs. Pyncheon, that was certainly her outward persona -- but she was sharp, and used that dilettante persona to disarm others. More than once it was made clear that if you really challenged her, you were in for a fight.

[–] gary-64659 9 years ago

I worked for a family firm newspaper in the Nineties -- which happened to be the biggest newspaper in New Zealand -- and it all turned to crap when the family (that had owned the paper for over 130 years) had to sell up. Modern media managements all seem to take on that taint of the modern-day ruthless Disney empire. So I certainly appreciate Mrs Pyncheon's function in keeping the paper going in a vaguely humane way. Charlie -- who by the 1981 series still seems to be so conservative that I woldn't be surprised if he was a Nixon-Reagan campaigner -- and the deputy city editor smoothie -- I'm undecided about.

[–] tenderlovingtony 9 years ago

The Charlie character was written to be conservative to counterbalance the crusading Lou Grant. In the first episode, Charlie was shown to be especially deferential to Mrs. Pynchon, even making kissing faces when he was pleading for Lou's hire. During the series, he became less of a sycophant but he was always conservative when it came to investigative reporting.

The character profile written for Charlie mentioned his having many domestic expenses, and this was consistent with his conservative approach to things.

[–] gary-64659 9 years ago

Into the episodes first aired in spring 1981 now and in a couple of episodes even Lou Grant seems very conservative -- blinkered to the point of stupidity in an episode about illegal violence on the field in professional American Football: he's all for it. And moreover, can't even put two and two together when his lady friend of the moment (Tyne Daly, playing The Trib's movie reviewer) is enthralled with movie violence and he can't stand it. No analogous thinking from Lou here. I have a feeling the series was entering a phase of "Let's be nice to our new president, Ronnie Reagan" as Bette Davis and his other stablemates at Warners used to call him in the early Forties.