Forget 3D, We Need Better Wig Technology

Watching this weeks Lost reminded just how bad Claire’s new wig is and how bad wigs on TV are in general. In light of this I made a little collection of some of the worst TV wigs in recent years, oddly all blonde women. Now read on as I try to sound like I know something about women’s hair.

Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars in Veronica Mars
Most episodes of the first season of Veronica Mars included a flashback featuring Veronica with longer hair. Sadly this hair was in the form of a horrible, flat, unconvincing wig that ruined my concentration. I think the biggest giveaway was the complete lack of styling given to the hair, it looked like the wig was just plonked on before the scene began with no real care. In later years when Bell grew out her hair it was even more obvious that that just wasn’t how Veronica Mars would look with long locks.

Hayden Panettiere as Claire in Heroes
In early Heroes episodes Claire’s hair was real but in later season she started donning a wig, presumably because Panettiere had dyed her hair and the show would lose even more viewers should the cheerleader stop being blonde. Sadly the wig was a weak illusion as it sat lifeless on her head with an odd amount of bulk at the back where her own lengthy hair was all bunched up.

Elizabeth Banks as Avery Jessup in 30 Rock
The oddest thing about this instance of wiggery is that as Banks is wearing a wig pretty much identical to her normal hair, the wig seems plain unnecessary. As with the other wigs it was a bulky failure, the hair looking all dry and straw like. This is not the glossy mane of a Hollywood star! Most other instances of wig have a reason but I just don’t see why Banks has to wear one. Madness.

Emilie De Ravin as Claire in Lost
Sadly this Claire is a double offender, having sported two equally obvious wigs during the series. The first, seen on the left, was for a flashback and was to save De Ravin from having to dye her hair. The picture way up top shows her latest wig which is a big crazed mess. This tangled wiggy masterpiece is possibly the least terrible of the lot as the surrounding layer of crazy slightly masks the giveaway bulkiness of the hair beneath the wig. If it’d been up to me I’d just back-comb her hair everyday.

The main problems with these wigs is the lack of styling, the straw-like texture of the hair and the inevitable heft of the actresses’ real barnet beneath the wig. Sort it out! Nothing can ruin the realism of a scene more than an obvious wig. Or I’m just weird. The upcoming Scott Pilgrim is also worrying me with the appearance of wiggery in the promo stills.

Now I’m off to wrestle a bear, or do something equally manly.