Disability Thinking: Disabled TV Character Face-Off

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Disabled TV Character Face-Off

Photo of an old-style TV set with the wheelchair symbol on the screen

As I promised in yesterday's Disability.TV podcast, here is an initial list of competitors for the esteemed title of "Best Disabled TV Character Of All Time". It's just a draft list though. Before creating the definitive bracket and getting on with the individual face-offs, I'd like to get a few ideas from you. Who are your favorite TV characters with disabilities? Who is missing from this list? Are there any on the list that don't belong on it?

I don't have any firm rules for what kinds of characters should be in this competition. However, I would tentatively suggest that we not count one-time guest characters, TV movies characters, or truly background characters without dialog or involvement in a show's ongoing plot. Minor characters are fine, as are recurring characters who appear on a TV show more than one or two times. The character must have either a known disability, or one that is obvious to us the viewers, even if it is not acknowledged by the other characters on the show.

So here is the draft list, in alphabetical order:

Addie Langdon - American Horror Story

Artie Abrams - Glee

Becky Jackson - Glee

Bran Stark - Game Of Thrones

Chief Robert Ironside - Ironside

Claudius - I, Claudius

Corky Sherwood - Life Goes On

Daniel "Lifeguard" Borroughs - Wiseguy

Derek - Derek

Detective Robert Ironside - Ironside

Dr. Kerry Weaver - ER