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Your favorite television characters...and why!

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by GBNF, May 26, 2008.

  1. pa writer

    pa writer Member

    Agreed that NewsRadio really suffered after Hartman's death. Jon Lovitz was an embarrassment.
     
  2. pa writer

    pa writer Member

    Oh, and currently on television, I'd add John Locke from "Lost" to the conversation.
     
  3. ColbertNation

    ColbertNation Member

    I'm probably leaving a few out, but these were off the top of my head.

    Andy Sipowicz (Blue)
    Frank Pembleton (Homicide)
    Reverand Jim (Taxi)
    Les Nessman (WKRP)
    George Costanza (Seinfeld)
    Judge Henry Bone (Picket Fences)
    Perry Cox (Scrubs)
    ALF (ALF)
    Howlin' Mad Murdock (A-Team)
    Kwai Chang Caine (Kung Fu)
     
  4. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    Maynard G. Krebbs, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis - One of my favorite shows from the late 50s and 60s. And Bob Denver nailed the role.
     
  5. TheHacker

    TheHacker Member

    Jed Bartlett, The West Wing -- the president I wish we had.

    Mark Greene, ER -- everyone's favorite nice guy ... the glue that held the place together

    Robert Romano, ER -- angry, sarcastic, hilarious. Every scene he was in was entertaining.

    George Costanza, Seinfeld -- have you ever liked a "pear-shaped loser" so much?

    Archie Bunker, All In The Family -- bigoted and prejudiced, but in the end he usually ended up doing the right thing. And he was open to a good debate ... I always admired the fact that even though he was set in his beliefs, he didn't avoid arguing about them.
     
  6. John

    John Well-Known Member

    Garrity is probably my favorite. He makes me laugh out loud more than anybody else.
     
  7. Ronnie "Z-Man" Barzell

    Ronnie "Z-Man" Barzell Active Member

    G.O.B Bluth (Arrested Development) - the lame magic tricks, the graphic sexual harrasment speech, the unknowingly racist ventriloquist act, the tear away pants, "I fucked _____", the chicken dance, etc.

    Neil (The Young Ones) - lovable punching bag for the other three Young Ones

    Simon Adebisi (Oz) - A total badass.

    Creed Bratton (The Office) - possibly the weirdest sitcom character ever conceived.

    Butters/Professor Chaos (South Park) - Polite, normal kid who almost always manages to get stuck in some of the most awful/hilarious situations possible.

    Troy McClure/Lionel Hutz (The Simpsons) - The Simpsons have never been the same since Phil Hartman died.
     
  8. WriteThinking

    WriteThinking Well-Known Member

    A few of mine have already been mentioned, but I'll throw out a few more that I don't think have been brought up yet:

    Dr. Jeffrey Geiger (Mandy Patinkin), Chicago Hope: Intense, egotistical but caring heart surgeon always went to the mat for his patients. He was one of the most memorable characters I've ever seen on TV, and I'd take him as my doctor any day.

    Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), The Shield: Another intense character, this gritty role opened my eyes (and those of a lot of other people, too) to Chiklis as an actor. Simply amazing.

    Charlie Salinger (Matthew Fox), Party of Five: Oldest of the family of orphaned siblings and, as such, the father figure by default to his brothers and sisters, Charlie often fell short in the parental role. But he was a pretty complex and very human character. I think this is the role that really first brought the Lost actor into the public consciousness.

    Tim Taylor (Tim Allen), Home Improvement: For pure fun, who wouldn't want this guy as a dad? As might be expected of an accomplished stand-up comic, his timing and tone were perfect, and all I can say is, the guy made me laugh, almost every time he opened his mouth. Yet, he had a caring side, too, that usually also came through.

    Ray Barone (Ray Romano), Everybody Loves Raymond: See Tim Taylor (Tim Allen), Home Improvement. I have to also give a nod, though, to the great ensemble cast that supported Ray in a show that was hilarious most of the time.

    Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), Star Trek: Voyager; and T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), Star Trek: Enterprise: Yep, I'm a big Trek fan, and I'm lumping these two together as the top women's roles of the genre. While most characters in these shows were not overly deep, both of these were surprisingly complex and interesting, and they grew. Their development and evolution could be seen and followed over the course of the shows.
     
  9. a_rosenthal

    a_rosenthal Guest

    Maybe I missed it, but no mention of Brandon Walsh?

    Also:
    Ed (Ed): My favorite all-time show. It's a crying shame they can't get it released on DVD. The bets were top-notch.
    Barney (HIMYM): Legendary.
    Coolidge (White Shadow): Too bad he caught the clap.
    Paulie Walnuts (Sopranos): The episode where he and Moltisanti get lost in the woods was fantastic, and he carried those scenes.
     
  10. PopeDirkBenedict

    PopeDirkBenedict Active Member

    Leo McGarry, The West Wing
    Lennie Briscoe, Law and Order
    Ben Stone, Law and Order
    Kevin Malone, The Office
    Adrian Monk, Monk
    Barney Fife, The Andy Griffith Show
    Martin Crane, Frasier
    John Munch, Homicide/L&O SVU
    Hannibal Smith, The A-Team
     
  11. Killick

    Killick Well-Known Member

    Now, here's a couple where I'll be alone...

    Michael Wiseman (Eric Close) and Dr. Theodore Morris (Dennis Haysbert) from the short-lived show "Now and Again". Wiseman was a federal experiment, a middle-aged guy who is killed in a subway accident. His brain wasn't hurt, so they take it and put it in a synthetic body the doc has built. Super-strength, hearing, quick-healing... but the catch is he can never contact his wife and daughter, who believe he's dead. Of course, he can't help but try. The rest of the time, they keep him locked up in a brownstone somewhere. Both characters were done with the right amounts of humor, pathos. Show lasted about a season, and CBS pulled the plug. Mistake, IMHO.
     
  12. Precious Roy

    Precious Roy Active Member

    1) Leopold "Butters" Stotch: Everyone has to love Butters, the sweet kid that everyone picks on but gets you back in the end. His episodes with Cartman are gold, every one of them. His alter ego Professor Chaos is also one of the best.
    2) Lisa Simpson: Even though Lisa is a goody-goody, this is what I want my daughter to be. Genius, quick-witted and able to tune out all of life's crap, Lisa is what I want to be as well, damnit! Favorite scenes with Lisa are the times her and her brain understand that everything around them is stupid and they turn on classical music in her head.
    3) Eric Cartman: There's "bad boy" and then there is Eric. Who else would force you to eat your own parents then lick the "tears of unfathomable sadness"
    4) Benjamin Linus (Lost): All I have to say for those that have watched the show... "Take all the time you need."
    5) Detective Elliot Stabler, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit: Nobody "crosses the line" like Stabler. You get the feeling that if he were to interrogate himself, he'd likely kick his own ass.
    6)Gordon Ramsey: I know this has been a fictional grouping for most of the thread, but chef Ramsey gets a mention on my list. His anger are up there in my favorite moments on TV.
    Honorable mention: Homer Simpson, Krusty the Clown, Moe Sizlack, Kenny McCormick, John Locke, Makoto Nagano (Ninja Warrior). Oh and of course Precious Roy from the Sifl and Olly show.
     
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