As writers we all know the cardinal rule of: " You're only as good as your villain" so when crafting an interesting story focus is always going to be on the bad guy. You never judge a story by saying the hero was so good, I loved it. One usually says the villain was weak. Maybe the hero was so good that the villain couldn't catch up? Sadly our brains don't work that way.
So I ponder the question, what is it to us humans that makes a bad person so fascinating?
I'm doing some research on a T.V. pilot I'm writing and like all pilots you go to the newest crop of features and see how they start a show, introduce premise and characters, etc. I started with the series " SONS OF ANARCHY", since I was looking for an outlaw type of story. It's about a fictional biker gang from northern California.
Now I start to watch the series, the premises are not too strong the characters are a bit weak and the dialogue is O.K. but I'm awestruck by the fact that I want to keep watching more in spite of it's shortcomings. Also, how do you walk around with an ARMY KNIFE strapped to your side and not get stopped? Maybe it's a NorCal thing.
The writers are trying to make these guys likable but they're just dirtbags. One
of the main guys is a good looking dirt bag but with a heart. There's a chief dirtbag, some small, thin and fat dirtbags, even some lady dirtbags. And it makes me wonder if I should just stop watching it because, in a way, I'm glorifying their criminal life. But you see the genius here? I'm torn and want to watch more, in spite that I don't like who they are and what they stand for... Maybe I want to continue to watch to see them go down in flames.
So I guess the series creator hit a great a mark here. It doesn't matter if the show is O.K. it doesn't need to be excellent just make the "dirtbags" BIG dirtbags and people will watch no matter what.
Why do women go for the bad guys? Why do people respect the hard ass at work and not the nice guys who helps everyone around? I do believe our genetic wiring hasn't evolved that much from the stone age, where protection was crucial and leadership was needed, since it seems we still fall for the "alpha" character.
I'm not new at this discovery. Hollywood, Scorsese and a many others from the Gangster movies from the 30's and 40's to the recent "Sopranos" have profited with our fascination with the underworld. And it comes down to one 
thing: people like to watch criminals!
But it doesn't end with that, we like it when a thief gets away, we're stuck to the screen when a serial killer acts or other forms of human on human violence occur. Maybe life has become so easy, mundane and boring that we choose to escape to these lives. Probably everybody has the thought, one time or another, what it would be like to be respected (or feared) by others, have tons of cash and women at your disposal or just plain power. Yeah, it can be addictive, but if you're not part of the most dangerous gang of all "old white money" (as one of the characters in SOA says) it's not in our cards. So, yeah, maybe people want to walk on the wild side without the risks of getting thrown in jail, hurt or killed. Or maybe it's just human nature, long before 9 to 5 and gridlock happened the romans loved seeing people gorged to death by wild animals or slaves with armor.
Of course that doesn't mean as a writer you can be sloppy. Bad ideas, and
bad premises always will kill any story no matter how fascinating your "bad boy" is. But one thing is clear, you'll get much more milage out of a lowlife than any other character, unless your writing a comedy. Combine both and you just might have box office gold.
My advice ? Stick to what you like and if your story is not for kids (big $$$ market) or a comedy ( Bearish $$$ market) make your next character a criminal.
Some people say crime doesn't pay... yeah, ask Michael Chase!
