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It's been a bit of a crazy week--when isn't it?--but I've finally got around to doing this meme.

1. Leave a comment to this post!
2. I will give you a letter.
3. Post the names of five fictional characters whose names begin with that letter, and your thoughts on each. The characters can be from books, movies, or TV shows.

draycevixen gave me the letter A.

Athos
Athos has always been my favourite of the musketeers, from my first encounter with both the '70s movie and the novel. He's smart and cynical, with a hidden tragedy in his past that comes back to haunt both him and his friends. As played by Oliver Reed in the Richard Lester movie, he had a brutish nobility that I found irresistible. I think it's probably Reed's finest role.

In last year's far more ridiculous Musketeers movie--which I may have seen as much for its Take That theme song as for my love of the musketeers--Matthew Macfadyen was Athos, and if the film itself bears only a passing resemblance to its source material, Macfadyen and his brooding looks and fantastic voice made a wonderful Athos.

Sherif Ali
Okay, Lawrence of Arabia is about a real person, but unlike Prince Feisel, Sherif Ali isn't based on anyone specific, so I'm calling him fictional for the purposes of this meme. As played by Omar Sharif, Ali is a perfect foil to Peter O'Toole's Lawrence. They meet as antagonists, when Ali shoots Lawrence's guide for taking water from the wrong well, but Ali becomes Lawrence's strongest ally, friend, and more.

If you want the full (love) story of Ali and Lawrence, I did a pic spam a little while ago.

Kerr Avon
When I first discovered fandom, Blake's 7 was the fandomI fell into first, and Kerr Avon was the character who pulled me headlong into it. I came upon the episode Powerplay on the local Madison PBS station while in grad school, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. But one thing I did know was that the arrogant dude with the gravelly voice was utterly fascinating. Avon is smart, ruthless, and sociopathic, and he's the most compelling character in the show, especially as played by a scenery chewing Paul Darrow.

April Dancer
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. is, let's be honest, not a great show. But I have a huge affection for the eponymous girl, April Dancer. She's not always well served by the show she was in, but April has huge potential as a character, and I've always enjoyed writing her, and her partner, Mark Slate, into UNCLE fanfic. If I ever get back to my long abandoned U.N.C.L.E. series, April and Mark are both going to play prominent roles.

April and one of her groovy hats. (I may have several hats just like it.)

And with Mark in U.N.C.L.E. headquarters.

Artemus Gordon
I started watching The Wild Wild West for Robert Conrad's Jim West. But what kept me watching, and writing fic for the show, was Ross Martin's Artemus Gordon. Artie is a master of disguise, and just a generally smart cookie overall. And he's as devoted to Jim West as Jim is to him, which just makes the show, as far as I'm concerned.