Friday, February 10, 2012

Maybe Too Quick On The Draw

Last night, SI's media writer, Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) threw out a question on twitter: who are your "Top 5 Favorite TV Characters of All Time?" His list:



I was watching TV, and responded instantly, without thinking too much about it:



I like that list. A good mix of genre (drama, comedy, sci-fi) and gender, along with "old" and "new." But the instant I hit "send," I started actually considering my choices, and wanted to amend, correct, and add to my list. For fuck's sake, how could I have forgotten about:


Malcolm Reynolds
Veronica Mars
Wesley Wyndham Price
Jimmy McNulty
Adelle Dewitt
Omar Little
Tyrion Lannister
Coach Eric Taylor
Fox Mulder
Al Swearengen
Spike
Ron Swanson
Ben Linus
The Doctor (10 and 11, especially)
Thomas Magnum
Sawyer
Rupert Giles
Raylan Givens
Dean Winchester
Tim Bisley
Don Draper
Jean Luc Picard
7 of 9
Alice Morgan
Tami Taylor
Dana Scully
Gaius Baltar
Stringer Bell
Fred Burkle/Illyria
Abed Nadir
John Crichton
Bender
Charlie Kelly
Walter Bishop
Homer Simpson
Jim Rockford
Lorelai Gilmore
And on and on. You get the idea. That's why we love television, and spending time with characters. Still, if I had to make ONE change to my original, off the cuff list, I'd probably add Malcolm Reynolds to it (in place of Michael Bluth), seeing as that is my absolute favorite character of all time (and I can't believe he didn't pop into my head first). Shiny.



6 comments:

  1. Good choices, all. I would also add:

    Reginald Barclay
    Barney Miller
    Greg House (the early years)
    "Reverend" Jim Ignatowski
    Reginald "Bubbles" Cousins
    Ralph Wiggum
    Bobby Singer
    Bill McNeal
    David Brent
    Cindy "Mac" Mackenzie
    Batmanuel
    Richard Alpert
    Romo Lampkin
    Kaylee Frye
    Josh Lyman
    Dale Cooper
    G.O.B. Bluth
    Basil Fawly
    Tim Riggins
    Andy Taylor
    Kermit The Frog

    ... You're right. I could go on and on about this. I'll try to choose my top five:
    Wesley Wyndham Price (Dark Wesley only - cartoonishly inept Wesley not included)
    Omar Little
    G.O.B. Bluth
    Jean Luc Picard
    Bill McNeal

    This list is subject to change at any time according to my whim.

    ReplyDelete
  2. For the record - Barb insists I put her list on the record.

    Hugo "Hurley" Reyes
    Barney Stinson
    John "J.D." Dorian
    Wesley Wyndham Price
    Gregory House

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oooh, good choices. And I can't believe I didn't think of Greg House, Barney, Bill McNeal, G.O.B. or Barney Miller, among others. Picking top SHOWS of all time is hard enough, but characters are so numerous, and as you indicate, subject to fluctuations, it's an almost impossible task. But fun!

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  4. Some more for the canon:

    Kira Nerys
    Laura Roslin
    Hilary Booth
    Topher Brink
    Jimmy James
    Olive Snook/Emerson Cod

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I forgot Laura Roslin and Jimmy James (after The Cane, Super Karate Monkey Death Car is my favourite News Radio episode. Certainly in my top 40 of all time).
      We named our cat after Olive Snook.
      Good suggestions.

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  5. Excellent suggestions, Amanda. Originally, I didn't want to like Kira, because that was supposed to be Ro Laren (but Michelle Forbes didn't want to do the show), and I loved Ro. But Kira won me over and became one of my favorite Trek characters.

    ReplyDelete