Dr. Loveless

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (March 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Dr. Miguelito Quixote Loveless is a fictional character, a villain on the 1960s television series The Wild Wild West. He is a brilliant (though insane) dwarf portrayed by Michael Dunn. As a mad scientist and the arch-enemy of Secret Service agents James West and Artemus Gordon, Dr. Loveless was involved in numerous plots which were always foiled by West and Gordon. He was always prepared with an escape plan.

Loveless was introduced in the 1965 episode "The Night the Wizard Shook The Earth," which was the show's third televised episode (although it was produced sixth). In total, the character appeared in ten episodes. He was known as a technological genius, producing gadgets far ahead of his time. Loveless initially had two constant companions, the gigantic Voltaire, embodied by real-life giant Richard Kiel, and the beautiful songstress Antoinette, played by Dunn's nightclub-act singing partner Phoebe Dorin. He disappeared after the doctor's third encounter with the agents, she after the sixth. However, they each left such an indelible impression on fans that the 1990 comic book miniseries from Millennium Comics, a sequel to rather than an adaptation of the TV program scripted by Mark Ellis with art by Darryl Banks, included both characters.

According to the The Wild Wild West Revisited TV movie, in 1880 Loveless eventually died from anger and frustration at having his plans consistently ruined by West and Gordon, so his son (played by Paul Williams) subsequently seeks revenge on the agents.

[edit] Other versions

The character of Loveless was adapted for the 1999 feature film Wild Wild West as Dr. Arliss Loveless, played by Kenneth Branagh. Branagh's version is shown (using special effects) as an amputee who uses a wheelchair and similar contraptions. Branagh's Loveless speaks with a thick Southern accent.

The villainous character of Sindri from the Outlanders series is author Mark Ellis's homage to Miguelito Loveless.