Characters 101 - Terri Madison

Each month this blog will feature a character from one of the SFF productions.  This month I’m going to talk about the hazard-friendly fangirl – Terri from Eidolon, played by the fantastic and hilarious Jen Weber.

Theresa Madison, known as Terri, appears to be a shy, sweet student and easy target for villains.  However, we – and she – discovers over course of the show that although she is kind hearted and can be sweet, she isn’t really shy and isn’t as easy a target as she once was, being more than willing to fight back with whatever handy including a crutch.   When the show starts she is 23 and working on a graduate degree in Cultural Anthropology specializing in spiritual similarities between cultures and religions with an emphasis in rituals of death and dying.  She has two bachelor’s degrees, one in Anthropology and the other in Creative Writing.  She is hoping to become a fantasy author, a professor, or both.

History

Terri is the only child of Gerald and Alissa Madison, both are from wealthy New England families, and Alissa can trace her ancestry back to Plymouth Rock.  She was a high society socialite and he was filthy rich with a prestigious lineage going back to the Robber Barons of the late 19^th century.  “Terri is…the daughter of two very wealthy and neglectful parents,” says Jen Weber. 

They decided to have a child because it’s what all of their friends were doing, but it wasn’t all they thought it would be so they just throw money at the “problem” – the problem of course being Terri.  So she grew up in boarding schools, being stressed about having to get good grades and be as perfect as possible.  She tried hard to be perfect to get her parents attention, but it didn’t work.  When she gets shot in the leg and ends up in the hospital they send some flowers to her apartment with a note that says, We’re having a great time in Europe.  Get well soon.

 As soon as she turns 18 and graduates high school, she basically does whatever she wants and ignores her parents.  They give her a ridiculous annual allowance to stay away and not get into trouble – trouble being drugs, jail, or a second-hand car.  She also has a college fund and a trust fund.  Terri uses what she needs but lives like a regular person, not a trust fund brat.  The only place she really spends her money is in buying toys, decorations, and clothing and costumes from her favorite show – Sorcerer.  She’s a total fangirl and not ashamed to admit it.

 She also sees ghosts and has all her life, which has made her naturally different then the other people in her parents’ world and separated her from the ‘norm’.  Her one saving grace is that her grandmother on her father’s side – Iliana – was more like Terri including having the ability to see spirits.  She kept that a secret from her husband and only shared it with Terri when Terri started seeing them too. When Terri went home for the holidays it was to her grandmother’s house.  Her grandparents had a sort of Cinderella romance after meeting while he was on vacation in Greece, and Terri gets her determination, inner strength, kind heart and free spirit from Iliana, or Grana as she used to call her. 

Grana died when Terri was seventeen, but keeps in contact with her from the other side, calling her once a month to make sure she uses up all her free minutes (don’t waste money just because you have it) even though Terri keeps trying to tell her that minutes from the other side don’t count.  The only reason Terri turned out as well grounded as she did is because of her grandmother.  Grana also told her how to make the ghosts go away by helping them settle their business in this world so they can move on to the next.  So Terri did.  She helped the souls who came to her, but they never stopped coming.  So eventually she got too frustrated and annoyed and stopped replying to them.  Once she stopped helping and started ignoring them, they got the idea and stayed away – until Zelda that is.

Appearance

Terri is tall and willowy, with delicate bone structure, a beautiful face and a graceful body.  She has long blonde hair that she wears up or down depending on her mood, and bright blue eyes.  She could look like a super model if she wanted to, but prefers sandals and jeans to stilettos and short skirts.  She dresses up when she feels like it, but usually wears a pair of jeans and one of her many Sorcerer themed t-shirts.

Personality

The best word to describe her is probably unlucky.  She was born into great wealth, but to parents who barely notice her.  She can see ghosts and isn’t scared of them, just annoyed because they won’t leave her alone.  She’s a hopeless romantic and is very flirtatious.  To quote Teen Girl Squad she “has a crush on every boy!”  Her notable crushes include Skyler  and Mordecai.  But, since she’s unlucky, both boys have a crush on her teacher, Maria, and neither are interested in her.  “All that money and she can’t get a man,” Jen Weber commented.

The biggest way, of course, in which she is unlucky is the fact that she’s hazard-friendly.  She’s like a big walking target and if anyone shoots a gun anywhere near her – no matter how many people are there she will be the only who gets shot. 

She taken as a hostage multiple times and no one seems to see her as a threat.  However, she gets tired of taking all the hits with none of the rewards and starts fighting back with a vengeance.  The only reason she is helping Maria and Zelda is out of the goodness of her heart.  The fact that bullets seem to be attracted her becomes a running joke and at one point Skyler and Zelda tape a paper target on her back.

Here's a quick montage of clips that shows just how rough Terri's life gets when she starts helping Maria and Zelda:

Despite all the tragedies of her life, she is usually upbeat, out-going once she gets to know people, saucy, sassy, brave, and very funny.  She is intelligent, down-to-earth, and has a great sense of humor which allows her to deal with and push through all the weird crazy stuff in her life.  However, she her biggest flaw is probably her temper – which can be good when standing up to bad guys who’ve taken her hostage for the tenth time, but not so good when she loses it and chases away someone she’s supposed to be watching out for.  She can get annoyed and frustrated easily.  And once she gets obsessed with something she goes all out.

Although she is down-to-earth and practical when she needs to be, she is a day dreamer and loves fantasy and magic which is why she is such a huge fan of Sorcerer.  Pure escapism is what she loves best.  When Terri, Maria, Skyler, and Mordecai all get stuck in a drug-induced shared dream, Terri's dream involves looking like a fairy and inviting mythical creatures to a tea party.  That alone says a lot about her.

Abilities

Her obvious ability is seeing ghosts.  She can hear them and talk to them so they won’t leave her alone – like Zelda.   She is very creative and very funny.  And she can take down a demon-possessed-opponent while brandishing her crutch and hoping on one foot.  Now that takes talent!  Most of all, she is open minded

Relationships - Allies & Enemies

Zelda Graves is the one who pulls her into the crazy world of the show.  Once Zelda figures out that Terri can see ghosts, she hunts her down and annoys the crap out of her, refusing to leave her side until she agrees to talk to Maria.  Terri finally agrees and ends up as a translator between the two.  That’s how she ends up at the burial mound with them and gets shot and kidnapped for the first time.  She is taken to a farm and is almost killed and cut up for spare parts when one of her captors has a change of heart and helps Maria save her. 

After that she turns her back on Zelda, letting her get her ass kicked by another ghost, then agrees to help Maria as a research assistant out of guilt.  Zelda and Terri don’t get along very well at first and argue almost constantly, but over time and fighting for the same goals they form a bond that leads to friendship, and Terri finds true friends who accept her exactly as she is for the first time in her life.

Maria Sanchez is Terri’s favorite teach who understands that science and spirituality don’t have to always be separate.  Little does Terri know about the real life of her intelligent, bold, and compassionate professor – that Maria is really a Dream Chaser who hunts demons in her spare time and is the pseudo adopted/sort of daughter of the God of Dreams and is friends with Terri’s favorite actor who turns how to actually be a sorcerer.  It just makes Maria that much cooler, and although Terri is annoyed that all the boys she likes seem to have a crush on Maria, she really can’t blame them.  Maria is cool. 

She respects and looks up to her teacher, seeing her as a sort of big sister or mother figure as they become closer through their adventures.  Terri is the one who knocks out Maria when she is possessed by a demon and helps her be captured so the demon can be driven out.  She is also the one who helps Maria and cares for her after Maria has a mental breakdown.  They become best friends and Terri is one of the bridesmaids at her wedding.

Mordecai/Michael Marino is the smoking hot actor who plays her favorite character in her favorite show.  When she finds out that not only does Maria know him, but that he is actually named Mordecai and that he actually is a thousand-year-old sorcerer and the real character he plays is Michael Marino the actor.  That blows her mind for a few minutes, but not long enough to stop her from asking for his autograph and blatantly hitting on him.  Meeting Mordecai is a dream come true at first, but then she gets to know him and he loses the larger-than-life star appeal he had.  In they end they become close friends and eventually he hands over creative control of the show to her, so she becomes the executive producer of her favorite TV Show. 

Skyler Jackson is one of the boys she has a crush on.  They are in a lot of the same classes since he’s also going for a Cultural Anthropology degree.  She thinks she stands a chance with him because he’s nice to her.  They borrow each other’s home work and are in the same study group.  He even brings her flowers when she’s in the hospital.  Eventually she learns that he’s really in love with Maria and was only nice to her because he suspected that they had something in common – being able to see ghosts. 

However, his darker side is revealed when goes after Zelda and they discover he is a Ghost Hunter.  He’s very manipulative and uses Terri as a way to get close to Maria and capture Zelda.  Once she discovers this she gets really pissed off and they have several arguments and confrontations.  By that point she’s not taking anything from anyone and verbally strong-arms him into helping them. 

 As with Zelda they eventually become close friends through all the trials and trouble they go through together and with Zelda the three of them become an odd sort of trio of best friends, making fun of each other, laughing together, and protecting each other. 

Morpheus is the God of Dreams and is sort of like Maria’s father, definitely filling a paternal gap in her life.  Terri respects that and sort of seems him in that light as well.  They have one big thing in common – they both adore Maria and want to help her.  That common bond leads to mutual trust and allows a friendship to form.  They’re acquaintance is brief but memorable for Terri, who once again had to cross another crush off her list.

Namtaru is a bastard.  I mean he’s a bastard.  Did I mention he’s a bastard?  She has no direct communication with him, and since he can’t cross over to the Mortal World and she refuses to go into the Dream World they never actually meet.  However, she finds out who he is and has no desire to meet him.  He barely notices her and is one of the only bad guys who doesn’t take her as a hostage.  I guess someone warned him about the terror of her crutches.

Atropos is the Goddess of Death and they only actually meet at Maria’s wedding.  However, Terri impresses Atropos with her free-spirited friendliness, yet down-to-earth personality, her bravery and her great sense of humor.  Terri even manages to steal her black Reaper robes (a leather coat) during the wedding reception. If Atropos had more time to hang out with people she would definitely show up for game night at Terri’s house.

Madame Genna is the niece of a psychic store owner named Madame Maggie.  Genna runs the store when Maggie is away, and although her aunt does actually have some psychic abilities, Genna doesn't.  Although Terri doesn't recognize Genna when they come face to face in Episode 9 (when Genna is possessed), she clearly knows about the psychic shop because she mentions it to Zelda in Episode 1.  Terri obviously believes in psychics, since she herself can see ghosts, and being a romantic and fangirl of fantasy and magic she loves the idea of getting her fortune told.  Although, considering what happens with Genna in that episode Terri might start looking for a different fortune teller.