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Radagast-Aiwendil
Gondor
Sep 27 2012, 6:42pm
Post #1 of 39
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Who is your favourite Wizard? (The Istari are NOT included)
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The question's in the title. Who is your favourite wizard? And why? (if you choose to comment).
Note: Obviously I left out the Istari to avoid favouritism (Otherwise Gandalf would rightly and undoubtedly win. He's my favourite as well  ).
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macfalk
Valinor
Sep 27 2012, 7:25pm
Post #3 of 39
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Or rather, Gandalf interpreted by Sir Ian McKellen. I love Tolkien's Gandalf, but honestly, I think I love Sir Ian's even a bit more!
Since Tolkien wizards are out of the picture for this poll, I'm going with Dumbledore (Richard Harris). His portrayal of Dumbledore was very good, and his absense really showed when he was replaced by Michael Gambon. A good actor, but not nearly as suited for the role as Harris. IMO - of course!
(This post was edited by macfalk on Sep 27 2012, 7:28pm)
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Radagast-Aiwendil
Gondor
Sep 27 2012, 7:26pm
Post #4 of 39
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Good choice. I suppose he could technically count as a wizard
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As he is certainly described as one by the natives of Tatooine. At worst, he fits into the category of "wise old man"
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DanielLB
Immortal
Sep 27 2012, 7:28pm
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AKA Mikey Mouse in Fantasia
One of my favourite cartoons as a child 
(This post was edited by DanielLB on Sep 27 2012, 7:36pm)
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macfalk
Valinor
Sep 27 2012, 7:29pm
Post #6 of 39
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I love Mickey Mouse, but is he really a wizard? 
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Radagast-Aiwendil
Gondor
Sep 27 2012, 7:30pm
Post #7 of 39
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Agreed about Harris' Dumbledore
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He brought a warm and reassuring presence not unlike Alec Guinness' Obi-Wan Kenobi. Compare this with the rest of his work (Harris had a reputation as quite the hell-raiser).
I liked Gambon's Dumbledore, if only because he reminded me of Ian's Gandalf, but preferred Harris.
On the Harry Potter subject, I forgot to add Snape...drat.
(This post was edited by Radagast-Aiwendil on Sep 27 2012, 7:31pm)
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DanielLB
Immortal
Sep 27 2012, 7:31pm
Post #8 of 39
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Link!
He has a wizard's hat!
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Escapist
Gondor
Sep 27 2012, 7:32pm
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http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0021197/quotes
I think the scene that convinced me was when he tried to use magic to break another more powerful magician's spell that locked animals up in cages ...
it didn't work ... but he was able to get the keys from the guard without using magic and got the job done anyway.
He does use magic later to great effect - but most of the time he relies on wits and a seemingly limitless knowledge-base. He just happens to know pretty much everything! How convenient.
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Magpie
Immortal
Sep 27 2012, 8:22pm
Post #10 of 39
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this is a male only club. we need to work on a female version //
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Radagast-Aiwendil
Gondor
Sep 27 2012, 8:23pm
Post #11 of 39
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I am going to do a female (witch version) as well
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But probably not until tomorrow.
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Sep 27 2012, 8:30pm
Post #12 of 39
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As portrayed by Ralph Richardson in Dragonslayer (1981).
Honorable mentions to Schmendrick (The Last Unicorn) and to Rincewind and the administrative staff of Unseen University (the Discworld series).
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Radagast-Aiwendil
Gondor
Sep 27 2012, 8:34pm
Post #13 of 39
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Nice choice, will have to try and watch that film
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Chiefly because Ralph Richardson was a great actor. Also will have to see "The Last Unicorn" as an earlier post gave the vote to Schmendrick.
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Magpie
Immortal
Sep 27 2012, 8:36pm
Post #14 of 39
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JWPlatt
Grey Havens
Sep 27 2012, 10:24pm
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Samantha Stevens
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Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal
Sep 27 2012, 11:05pm
Post #16 of 39
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The Great and Terrible Humbug, as Dorothy called him in the later books :-D
I don't know if he's really my favorite over Dumbledore, who I really love. But he was my first wizard ever, going back to 1960. And he looks like my father-in-law. <3
(This post was edited by Aunt Dora Baggins on Sep 27 2012, 11:11pm)
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sevilodorf
Tol Eressea
Sep 27 2012, 11:24pm
Post #17 of 39
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I'll go along with Schmendrick
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The Last Unicorn is a favorite.
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sevilodorf
Tol Eressea
Sep 27 2012, 11:25pm
Post #18 of 39
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I've only read one of the books but I'm adding it to my watch for these at the library and book sales list.
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Arwen's daughter
Half-elven
Sep 28 2012, 12:13am
Post #19 of 39
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I'm a huge fan of the Dresden books. I hope you enjoy them!
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Sep 28 2012, 12:43am
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I'll join sevilodorf on this one. I've got to love a wizard who never gives up, even when he's getting the seven hecks kicked out of him. (His survivability isn't helped by his wisecracks, which I also love him for.)
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Magpie
Immortal
Sep 28 2012, 12:53am
Post #21 of 39
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I like the tv version of Dresden a lot //
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Donry
Tol Eressea
Sep 28 2012, 1:20am
Post #22 of 39
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I like that old man....sad he's no longer with us...always had great stories on Letterman.
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Annael
Immortal
Sep 28 2012, 1:32am
Post #23 of 39
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For one thing he's far more powerful than any of the wizards you've listed, and he's just . . . cool.
Harry Dresden is a close second.
(This post was edited by Annael on Sep 28 2012, 1:34am)
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macfalk
Valinor
Sep 28 2012, 6:55am
Post #24 of 39
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Apart from the female sorcerers/wizards in the Harry Potter universe, I can barely think of any female wizard. Are there that few female wizards, or am I not up-to-date?
Enlighten me, somebody 
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DanielLB
Immortal
Sep 28 2012, 7:22am
Post #25 of 39
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Jadis (Narnia)
Good Witch of the North, Wicked Witch of the West (Wizard of Oz)
Ursula (The Little Mermaid ...)
Any females from Charmed and some from Buffy?
The Three Witches (Macbeth)
Witch-Queen (Stardust)
Xayide (The Nevereding Story)
Sabrina (The Teenage Witch)
I could go on and on
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macfalk
Valinor
Sep 28 2012, 7:31am
Post #26 of 39
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Because I havent seen any of those movies/tv-series, nor have I read Macbeth or the wizard of oz 
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DanielLB
Immortal
Sep 28 2012, 7:41am
Post #27 of 39
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Hmmm, wikipedia has quite a good list
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Link. You might know some there?
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macfalk
Valinor
Sep 28 2012, 7:45am
Post #28 of 39
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From the Donald Duck-comics! I like her.
Reading through this list also reminds me of that I should give The Wizard of Oz a go.Folks are keen to remind me that I havent watched it, so maybe it's time
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Magpie
Immortal
Sep 28 2012, 2:35pm
Post #29 of 39
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I hesitate entering into this territory because it can start to look political and I don't want to hijack the light hearted intentions of this poll or to create the basis for a potentially contentious discussion.
But, generally, the word wizard is used for men. The comparable word, in a way, for women is witch.
Whereas wizard often means someone wise and powerful, the name/label witch has - culturally and colloquially - a more sinister and ugly context on it.
There are a lot of reasons for this and it's complicated, but I think it's evidence of a long history of bias against women having power. Especially power that the average male might not have.
The list that DanielLB provided - I would wager (without checking them all) - are all/mostly witches. And there is a wikipedia page for lists of witches but not a comparable one of wizards that could let us check which female characters might be called a wizard.
If we asked people - quick - to name the first 5 wizards that came to mind, I bet all would be characters we would consider 'good'. If we asked people to do the same with witches, I'm not so sure we'd get 'good' characters.
I don't try to get too political with pop culture. Pop culture, for the most part, serves to entertain and we allow ourselves to set aside some standards to do that (otherwise, how could we 'enjoy' violent movies, for example).
But pop culture is rooted in history. Both in history that happened (like the Salem witch trials) and history of what what functioned as contemporary culture throughout different eras and ages.
And pop culture perpetuates stereotypes and beliefs and biases. The way we look at magical, powerful men is quite different from the way we look at magical, powerful women. If we call someone a witch, it's almost always a pejorative. One that is completely gender based.
So, I'm looking forward to voting on my favorite witch but I'm eager to see what list is presented and whether the characters are as likeable as the wizard list (I hope it's not a list of only HP characters). And I had a little moment of dismay when I realized that this poll would be male only. This is a list of intriguing and powerful and commanding people. But women couldn't be part of it. I don't take any offense at the poll in any manner. It's just a personal sigh moment.
It also made me think of four young women I used to teach. I'm going to call them young women even though they were in first grade. They were bright and quick and intelligent and humorous. I was reading books about pumpkins, and talked about jack o'lanterns. They, amongst themselves, started calling them jill o'lanterns. That just tickled me to no end. They took one of many gender specific titles and made it something they could relate to. :-)
and... just in case it looks like I was boycotting this poll, I wasn't, really. It's just that my favorite wizard is really the persona of Merlin. Not the depiction of Merlin but the actual root of who this person might have been. (since I've done some reading on this) I enjoy many depictions of him but my favorite would be the potential 'man' himself. My favorite depiction.. or perhaps the one of which I'm most fond... is the one that appears in the Mary Stewart books. I also like the whole Arthur/Merlin/etc stories as told in Mists of Avalon.
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Arwen's daughter
Half-elven
Sep 28 2012, 3:42pm
Post #30 of 39
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Where's my "I agree with Magpie" stamp?
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It took me a bit, but I can name a handful "good" female witches from the media I'm familiar with:
-Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
-The sisters Halliwell from Charmed
-The Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz
-Serafina Pekkala from the His Dark Materials trilogy
-Hermione Granger of Harry Potter
-Kiki of Kiki's Delivery Service
-Mary Poppins
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Magpie
Immortal
Sep 28 2012, 4:21pm
Post #31 of 39
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some versions of the Arthur stories
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put a kinder light on Morgan le Fay than others.
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JWPlatt
Grey Havens
Sep 28 2012, 6:02pm
Post #32 of 39
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What's wrong with Samantha Stevens, witch I already mentioned (see what I did there?).
I thought of Glinda too. But she needed the "good" prefix, witch kinda supports your point, but the "wicked" witch also had that prefix, so it was equal treatment.
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FaramirAndEowynMorningStar
Rohan
Sep 28 2012, 8:06pm
Post #33 of 39
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I can't decide- all of the above...
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but my all-time favourite is Rincewind (played by David Jason) in The Colour of Magic.
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Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal
Sep 28 2012, 8:30pm
Post #34 of 39
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which is really a very different thing from the movie. I love them both, but they're not at all the same.
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Misto
Lorien
Sep 29 2012, 9:20am
Post #35 of 39
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... because he's pretty much exactly how I pictured Dumbledore. But Disney's Merlin is pretty cool, too
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zarabia
Tol Eressea
Sep 30 2012, 2:04am
Post #36 of 39
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Excellent points. All sad but true...but also slowly changing (hopefully) //
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zarabia
Tol Eressea
Sep 30 2012, 2:13am
Post #37 of 39
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What would have been amazing...
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is if Ian McKellen could have done double duty as Gandalf and Dumbledore! He would have made the perfect Dumbledore with just the right blend of gravitas, wisdom, warmth, energy and power.
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Radagast-Aiwendil
Gondor
Sep 30 2012, 7:16am
Post #38 of 39
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In actual fact, Ian McKellen was offered the role of Dumbledore
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He turned it down for two reasons: 1. Because he had already played Gandalf and 2. Because one of the last things that Richard Harris did publicly was state what a dreadful actor he thought McKellen was, so Ian thought it inappropriate to take over his role.
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Annael
Immortal
Oct 1 2012, 3:40pm
Post #39 of 39
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she's the Morrigan, the Triple Goddess, and Gawain is her knight, the noblest in the land. Over about six centuries they both devolve, the Morrigan into a witch (although Morgan le Fey means "Morgan the Fairy") and Gawain into a drunken lout and rapist, who is replaced by the pure Christian Galahad who has nothing to do with women.
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