What a Character! Top TV Characters of All Time

What a Character! Top TV Characters of All Time by Roxanne McDonald

The other day I was referencing Kramer and Dr. Perry Cox as two of my most favorite TV characters with whom to do a criteria comparison for impersonators trying to nail their subjects [on “The Next Best Thing…”]. It then struck me as very important to get my opinion in on who the best TV characters of all time are….

To make this more than a myopic, or one-dimensional, or self-serving, task, I decided to check out what others think when it comes to the most supreme of TV characters. Some offer rationale. Some include “rules”. Some just name names…or…name names! [Ten absolutely irredeemable points for the one who can identify the top character who said that.]

Whitney Matheson’s

At “Pop Candy,” USA Today, Whitney Matheson names some of her favorites as follows

(which, she reminds us, are in no particular order).
Chloe O’Brian, “24″
Rupert Giles, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
Sonny Corinthos, “General Hospital”
Jesse McKenna, “Life Goes On”
Ed Chigliak, “Northern Exposure”
Florida Evans, “Good Times”
Bill Haverchuck, “Freaks and Geeks”
Leland Palmer, “Twin Peaks”
Theo Huxtable, “The Cosby Show”
Angela Chase, “My So-Called Life”

Joss Whedon and James Gunn’s

And based on references from Whitney, here are two more Tops lists, one from James Gunn (who has his own rules for making the list to begin with) and one from Joss Whedon (who takes off from Gunn’s idea and makes his own list on his own blog, “Whedonesque”):

1. Al Swearengen, Deadwood
2. Trixie, Deadwood
3. Fitz, “Cracker”
4. Gareth, “The Office”
5. Willow
6. Buffy
7. Spike
8. Basil Fawlty, “Fawlty Towers”
9. David Brent, “The Office”
10. Frank Pembleton, “Homicide”
11. Tubbs, “League of Gentlemen”
12. Vern Schillinger, “Oz”
13. Demelza Poldark, from the 70s Poldark miniseries
14. Arthur Fonzarelli
15. Tony Soprano
16. George Costanza, Seinfeld
17. Hank Kingsley, “Larry Sanders Show”
18. Artie, “Larry Sanders Show”
19. Harris, “Barney Miller”
20. Mary Richards, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”
21. Edith Bunker,“All in the Family”
22. Ralph Kramden, “The Honeymooners”
23. Dr Perry Cox, “Scrubs”
24. Veronica Mars
25. Gregory House

1) #6.
2) George Michael Bluth, “Arrested Development”
3) Jo Anderson’s “female Will Graham”, re-vamped “Beauty and the Beast”
4) Belzer, “Hill Street Blues”
5) Josh Lyman, “West Wing”
6) Ed Asner, in any show featuring Lou Grant
7) Mr Hudson the Butler, “Upstairs, Downstairs”
Phoebe, “Friends”
9) President Stands-With-A-Fist, “BSG”
10) Edward James Almos’s [character], “Miami Vice”
11) Rod Serling, Twilight Zone
12) Quincy M.D.
13) Logan, “V Mars”
14) Jim, [the American “The Office”]
15) Agent Dale Cooper
16) Finola Hughes, Anna Devane, “General Hospital”
17) Jonathan Banks, “Wiseguy”
18) Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer
19) Kristie MacNichol, “Family”
20) Columbo
21) Maude
22) Jerry Orbach, “Law and Order”
23) Dennis Farina, “Crime Story”
24) Dick Van Dyke, “Diagnosis: Murder”
25) House
* Joss’ rationales are funny as all hell. Better go check em out at his site/blog: Whedonesque. And to be fair (and legit, not poaching content, that is), James Gunn’s list is also annotated.

Peter David’s

At PeterDavid.net, he sticks to the top ten, though I doubt I will be able to be as good a do-bie:

Top Ten Best TV characters of all time
1) Lucy Ricardo
2) Archie Bunker
3) Ralph Kramden
4) Captain James T. Kirk
5) Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli
6) Homer Simpson
7) Lieutenant Columbo
Cosmo Kramer
9) J.R. Ewing
10) Captain Frank Furillo

My Top 10

I must preface my list with a disclaiming bitch-gripe—how utterly challenging work this is to name the best or only ten of the best characters on television (then or now).

Cosmo Kramer, though I need not say it: Seinfeld

Karen Walker, “Will and Grace”

Cole Turner, “Charmed”

Lt. Horatio Caine, “CSI: Miami”
Denny Crane and Alan Shore, “Boston Legal”–okay, I’m cheating, but they are an inseparable dynamic! The best buddy characters since Butch and the Kid.

Anthony Marantino, “Sex in the City” Forget the camp—when he takes Charlotte bridal gown shopping and the boutique owner insists on a selection that Charlotte is too polite to reject and he snipes, “HATEd it! Next!” I was forever on his side.

Monk, “Monk”

Lt. Columbo, “Columbo”

Dr. Gregory House, “House”

Maude, “Maude”

Even if we stick to one genre, say, comedy, it is hard to limit the list, but my favorites are difficult to name in isolation—when it comes to having to choose one from such a show as Seinfeld, for instance, where all four major and several minor characters vie for one spot—so bear with me if I do that “my absolute favorite…oh, and my other absolute favorite” thing, k?

Then there are the top 10 lists for one genre: the top 10 funniest, the top 10 dramatic, the top 10 reality TV “characters”, etc.. We could go to the Grammies for those lists, or, could spend eons doing separate top ten category lists. Hey, I think that is just what I will do. Well, I may not spend thousands of years compiling, but I will bring out another installment of “What a Character!”

Stay tuned….

For Top Ten Comic [only] Characters
For Top Ten Reality TV Characters
For Top Ten Dramatic Characters

For Top Ten Most Frightening Characters

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