History HistoricalVillainUpgrade / LiveActionTV

** It has been claimed that all the law enforcement characters get this, as there was more reason to think at first that the 5 were in fact guilty. In particular, Lisa Fairstein is not known to have made openly racist statements which would indicate immediate bias against them.

* ''Series/{{Sanctuary}}'' has UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper as a {{time travel}}ling [[{{Teleportation}} teleporter]], and UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla as a [[ShockAndAwe electrokinetic]] [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampire]].

** Livia, the wife of UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}}, is characterized as an EvilMatriarch who carefully eliminates all of Augustus's potential successors, and finally Augustus himself, so that her son Tiberius could become Emperor. While it is true that Livia was politically savvy and one of Augustus' most trusted advisors, and that she did lobby for Augustus to name Tiberius as his successor, even Suetonius[[note]]Who's notorious among historians for being a gossip-monger.[[/note]] admits that there is no real proof that she was behind the deaths of any of Augustus's adopted heirs. The circumstances of Gaius and Lucius's deaths, while quite sudden and shocking given their age, are also much less suspicious than the series lets on.[[note]]Death from disease (or an infected battle wound, as was Lucius' cause of death according to some accounts) was far from uncommon during this period.[[/note]] The accusation that she was behind Augustus's death in particular seems flimsy when taking into account that he was ''seventy-five'' when he died and had a history of life-threatening illnesses that left his contemporaries astonished that he even made it to that age.

** Livia, the wife of UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}}, is characterized as an EvilMatriarch who carefully eliminates all of Augustus's potential successors, and finally Augustus himself, so that her son Tiberius could become Emperor. While it is true that Livia was politically savvy and one of Augustus' most trusted advisors, and that she did lobby for Augustus to name Tiberius as his successor, even Suetonius[[note]]Who's notorious among historians for being a gossip-monger.[[/note]] admits that there is no real proof that she was behind the deaths of any of Augustus's adopted heirs. The circumstances of Gaius and Lucius's deaths, while quite sudden and shocking given their age, are also much less suspicious than the series lets on.[[note]]Death from disease (or an infected battle wound, as was Lucius' cause of death according to some accounts) was far from uncommon during this period.[[/note]] The accusation that she was behind Augustus's death in particular seems flimsy when taking into account that he was ''seventy-five'' when he died, and had a history of life-threatening illnesses that made his contemporaries wonder how he could even live to that age.

** Victory Bryukhanov, the plant director, advocates against evacuating Pripyat because that would make it obvious that the accident is actually serious and he's trying to convince everyone higher up that it's minor. The real Bryukhanov was in favor of evacuating Pripyat, but the source for this account wasn't translated into English until after filming began--the writer said that he would have written the scene differently if he'd known.

* Played for laughs in ''Series/{{Blackadder}} II'', where Queen Elizabeth (called "Queenie" by fans) is a ludicrously exaggerated version of UsefulNotes/ElizabethI, using the extremes of anti-Elizabethan propaganda to produce a [[PsychopathicManchild Psychopathic Womanchild]] who orders executions on a whim and never does any actual governing.

* The ''Series/MastersOfHorror'' episode "The Washingtonians" depicts UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington, of all people, as a [[ImAHumanitarian monstrous cannibal]].

* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': Played with in "Abaddon". Virgil Nygard was a religious fanatic who had a commune above the Columbia River in 2142. The official history of the North American Corporation, otherwise known as the Company, states that Nygard started a war against it and butchered one million people in the process. When he is found in stasis by the crew of the interplanetary hauling vehicle ''Pequod'' in 2298, he claims that the Company turned people against him as they wanted access to the mineral deposits on the commune's property. Nygard admits that he and his followers did kill people but only to defend themselves. The death count was allegedly closer to 10,000 and most of the dead were Nygard's own followers. However, the possibility is raised that Nygard is lying and that the Company's version of history is the correct one. No definite answers are given, other than the fact that the Company lied about having him executed.

* ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}'' depicts Dyatlov, the chief engineer who was largely responsible for the disaster, as a pretty relentless HateSink with a NeverMyFault attitude. Though it is true, by all accounts, that he was a BadBoss and pretty much perfectly created the conditions for the reactor to blow itself apart, the real Dyatlov never attempted to blame his subordinates for what happened. In fact, he actually defended them when they were nearly scapegoated for the disaster, and consistently blamed the reactor's design flaws. He also tried to stay behind and help, which the series skipped over; in fact, the radiation poisoning he suffered was sustained from nearly being splashed by radioactive water.

** The ''Series/ThreesCompany'' TV movie likewise depicted Creator/SuzanneSommers (Chrissy) as a stupid and self-centered diva with no regard for anyone. This one was even more blatant in its intentions, for who was ''always'' the biggest victim of Sommers's schemes? Why, Joyce [=DeWitt=], who played Janet. And who co-produced the movie, as it happens. Even ''Creator/JohnRitter'' was depicted as having spurned [=DeWitt=] (by passing her over for the short-lived spinoff, ''Three's A Crowd'', as if that was ''his'' decision) and being 100% in the wrong for it.

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''. In season 4, [[spoiler: Ted's fiancée, Stella, leaves him at the altar to get back together with her ex, Tony.]] Then, at the end of season 5 Tony, who has become a successful screenwriter, makes a movie called "The Wedding Bride" which is the same basic story but takes Ted's douche qualities UpToEleven with the catchphrase "No can do's-ville, baby doll."

** Livia, the wife of UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}}, is characterized as a manipulative, scheming EvilMatriarch who carefully eliminates all of Augustus's potential successors, and finally, Augustus himself, so that her son Tiberius would become Emperor. While it is true that Livia was politically savvy and one of Augustus' most trusted advisors, and that she did lobby for Augustus to name Tiberius as his successor, even Suetonius[[note]]Who's notorious among historians for being a gossip-monger.[[/note]] admits that there is no real proof that she was behind any of the deaths of Augustus's adopted heirs. The circumstances of Gaius and Lucius's deaths, while quite sudden and shocking given their age, are also much less suspicious than most let on.[[note]]In ancient times, death from disease (or an infected battle wound, as was Lucius' cause of death according to some accounts) was far from uncommon.[[/note]] The accusation that she was behind Augustus's death seems especially flimsy when taking into account that he was ''seventy-five'' when he died, and had a history of sickliness that made his contemporaries wonder how he could even live to that age.