Do we like Dominar Rygel XVI?
A character from Farscape (1999-2003)
Our score: 5 out of 10. Selfish, sneaky and rude, but he's funny and has a few good moments. We'd back him, though we'd keep a hand on our wallets and our snacks.
Rygel is the Dominar of the Hynerian Empire, a ruler of what he calls over 600 billion subjects. His cousin Bishan overthrew him, and he was framed for criminal activities and handed over to the Peacekeepers, who imprisoned him for many years. In the first episode he is one of the prisoners aboard the Leviathan ship Moya. He bribes a guard for the cell security codes and frees fellow prisoners Zhaan and D'Argo, and together they take control of the ship. They are soon joined by a stranded astronaut, John Crichton.
Day to day, Rygel is a small, spoiled, lazy king who gets around on a hovering throne. One fan bio calls him self centred, disloyal, greedy, flatulent and absolutely wonderful. He hoards food, brags about his old luxuries, and keeps dreaming of revenge on his cousin. He often tries to bargain with other parties for food and supplies, and it usually ends in disaster.
That's why he lands in the middle of the scale. He's a coward and a thief, and you wouldn't trust him with the last bowl of anything. But he's more than comic relief. One Farscape fan site argues that Rygel is a leader, and at times a good one, and that his worst traits come largely from years of exile and imprisonment. When the stakes are high, the regal side of him shows up, and that's why we'd still back him.