Sometimes you see a performance and it is so good you can never get it out of your heart. Occasionally that role is occupied by someone so seemingly unqualified that people start using words like “range”. These are the roles that win awards or fan outraging sunbs. I don’t need to talk to you about the value of these roles.

Instead, let’s talk about the opposite of those roles. I will refer to them as the CWs. Now I am not picking on the CW. I eat it up. If I am looking for a decent story, some action (both types *winkwink*) but still want to be able to do things like clean or type out jaded blog entries that very few if any people will see and even less will read, that includes me, (I don’t like proofing.) then I run to these shows.

What do I mean by a CW? I mean a role that’s casting criteria probably reads like this: Good looking man, strong jaw line, very physically fit, can glower, decent voice over voice, strong grimacing face, believable as a man who pretends to live a life without trouble but really has a deep secret, must ooze sex. Sexy female, long hair, smirks well, can say the word “sorry” many ways to mean many things, can play a teenager even though she is almost 30. I decided on the term CWs because the CW is above average at finding these actors.

Now if you are casting something and you don’t have an actor in mind and the role can carry itself with the intended audience as long as you have someone camera ready doing it then why in the world would you not cast entirely on looks. If we have learned anything from the Disney channel it is that anything can be a TV show as long as you shoot it correctly and market it properly. This is especially true if you are really in the know with your target demographic.

Sometimes a great show gets cancelled (Firefly). Let’s be honest. At the cancellation level it doesn’t matter one bit if every actor in the cast is an 11 out of 10. But it might keep borderline shows alive long enough for some sort of fangirl base to grow. You don’t have to like the fangirls of your shows but they could totally be what is keeping the numbers and ratings up giving you a chance at some sort of meaningful conclusion.

This is why every single show and movie not so full of itself to believe that it is going to survive on writing and acting should cast every available role with someone good-looking. Granted, some characters need to be ugly for plot purposes. Some roles are filled by amazing talent. But there are a lot of one-episoders and supporting roles that could be filled by pretty much anyone. Those roles should be CWed.

I know that looks aren’t everything. But when I am judging whether to sign on for seasons with aching breaks of misery in between it isn’t the supporting character I don’t remember the name of that is going to make me click play, it is the abs and the piercing eyes. Whether we like it or not first impressions matter. That is why fangirls rank them 11, 10, and naw I don’t really have a third favorite.

These roles might be terrible for self-esteem but if we are willing to watch the stuff then you should probably just leave us be and pray the laptops on our laps kills our chances at kids.