TV show characters

[Oznogrd]

So i remember once in a futurama thread we got on a tangent about our favorite television cartoon characters. I got to thinking about what i've been doing lately (watching alot of shows) and decided to talk about some characters that i may be a little late on but i consider as legendary (or soon to be). This is no particular order for me. Im automatically excluding all animated things since we already had that discussion

Dr Cox (Scrubs)
Scrubs has been around awhile, so you would think John C. McGinleys narccistic portrayal of Dr. Cox wouldnt be funny after this many years but it still is. You never quite know what the rant will be about, and you never quite know what will set it off. Everytime he is on screen, the audience is waiting for his line and ignoring everyone else. Few others besides maybe Bart Simpson and Eric Cartman have pulled off that feat for me.

Hank Moody (Californication)
Only 1 season to work with but I find Duchovny's Hank Moody to be another fascinating character that you watch and say "who does this prick think he is?" and then wind up pulling for him all the same. From his honest conversations with his daughter to his utter disdain for Bill and Mia; Hank to me is the one character on television that seems not to be "written" for me. Sure some of the stuff on the show gets a little farfetched, but Hank seems to be the exact result of his background story that you would see in real life.

Malcom Reynolds (Firefly)
Firefly is officially going down as my favorite show to be prematurely cancelled. On top of that, Nathan Fillion's lead captain of the ship is so sarcastic, so badass, and so human all at the same time. For every 1 scene where Mal whups some ass, theres another where he gets his ass kicked. By making the captain not always "heroic", he becomes easily relatable and exciting to watch. My props go to Joss Whedon for some great premises, its just too bad Fox had their heads up their asses for those years

Jack Donaghy (30 Rock)
The CEO of the fake branch of GE that owns NBC on 30 Rock is well played by Alec Baldwin. From the cockiness, the dog eat dog attitude, and the overall dismissal of anything outside of his field of vision; Jack Donaghy is every rich asshole you've ever known. Yet you catch yourself liking him in spite of it all. I get many more laughs from Donaghy than i do the rest of the cast combined (tina fey included). This character is pretty much the reason I even watch the show.

Jim Halpert (The Office)
It's very hard to not like the office. Its even harder to not like Jim. I know his part is written to like him but on top of the pranks and his interactions with dwight, Krasinski makes the character an everyman that you catch yourself rooting for even when he actually pulls a prick move once in a blue moon. I'll admit I like this character from relating a little too well but still, I cant be the only one

Tony Soprano (The Sopranos go figure...)
This is most likely the deepest character on my list (maybe because he had 6 seasons on HBO rather than major networks where censors matter) but the overall portrayal of tony as a monster, a friend, a gangster, and a family man, and the tortures he is put through from the stress the combo causes..Gandolfini makes the character so real on top of the already stellar idea.

Earl Hickey (My Name Is Earl)
This show's fantastic premise is made a good show by Jason Lee's portrayal of a redneck who comes into some money trying to right some wrongs. The sitcom kinda has a "moral to every story" idea behind it but it seems to fit the overall idea of the show and makes it that much more relatable. Without Jason Lee's Earl; this show would just be the same shit different day blue collar tv shit. You almost feel as if Earl lives in that trailer park about 10 minutes from your house.

[Jackal]

Entire Cast - The Wire:

This is probably the best written show to grace television. If you think Tony Soprano is well written, you must check out the depth of The Wire. Amazing. Simply amazing.

Tony Soprano - The Sopranos:

What a badass. You love him, you hate him and you just wanna hug him. The man's body language alone screams "powerful" (and disgusting).

Vic Mackey - The Shield:

A fellow cast member on the show described Vic Mackey the best he'll ever be described. Vic Mackey isn't a cop. He's Al Capone with a badge.

Dexter Morgan - Dexter:

The freakshow is too lovable. His quirckyness and the fact I saw him play a meek little gay guy on Six Feet Under just makes me love him all the more. Add to that he uses the alias Patrick Bateman to order tranquilizers.

Entire Cast excluding Brenda - Six Feet Under:

Another HBO show I fully own on DVD (along with The Sopranos & The Wire), Six Feet Under is a great story about a family coming together and dealing with various aspects of every day life. Drugs, sex, marriage, parenting, death, dreams, psychosis, individualism and gayness. It's also an extremely well written show. Gotta love HBO.

Michael Bluth - Arrested Development:

Haha, he's always trying his level best to save his family and his family in turn manages to screw him over...everytime. I can't wait for the movie.

Kelly Kapowski - Saved By The Bell/90210/Fastlane/Two Guys A Girl & A Pizza Place:

That girl gives me a boner. Always. I <3 Kelly/Tiffany.

[benji]

Entire Cast - The Wire

Fuck you. Now I can't pick off specific ones like Omar.

Michael Bluth - Arrested Development:

Haha, he's always trying his level best to save his family and his family in turn manages to screw him over...everytime. I can't wait for the movie.

The thing I love about him most, is that he's actually not any better than the rest of them.

[Joe']

I watch lots of TV shows, it's pretty much all I do on weekends and, whenever I have nothing to do, on weekdays too.

You already mentioned some of my favorite characters (Hank Moody, Dexter Morgan) but I can't believe none of you mentioned Dr. Gregory House. I mean, come on, even if he's a dick, he's awesome. And he wouldn't be as awesome if he wasn't a dick.

Other characters (I'll edit tomorrow, it's 6 AM):

- Morgan Grimes (Chuck)
- Nate Ford (Leverage, upcoming on TNT)
- Charlie Crews (Life)
- Bert Wysocki (Reaper)
- Dwight Schrute (The Office)
- Howard Wolowitz (The Big Bang Theory)
- Chandler Bing, Joey Tribbiani, Ross Geller (Friends)
- Dr. John Becker (Becker)

[Oznogrd]

Joe you officially lose for Friends, Becker, and Wolowitz....

[Andrew]

Joe you officially lose for Friends, Becker, and Wolowitz....

What's wrong with Friends? I know it's quite popular these days to say it sucks and hold shows like Arrested Development in high regard because it's quirky and doesn't have a laugh track but the only argument I ever seen against Friends is "It's shit", which basically translates to "I don't like it, therefore it can't be any good", which isn't a reasonable criticism unless you're talking about Shallow Hal. Ugh, that movie was terrible.

Anyway...

I have to agree on Dr Perry Cox. Beyond his one liners, tirades and quirks such as his nicknames for everyone and his ability to not only know someone is standing behind him but who is standing behind him, what makes the character so great is that he's not just a one dimensional jerk. It would have been really easy to write for the character that way but they don't, it's his method of teaching and he has his moments that let you know that when it comes down to it, he's a decent human being. Of course, he's also egotistical and narcissistic but in his case it makes the character funny and likeable rather than offputting.

Also agreed on Hank Moody, he's an anti-hero of sorts in that he's not exactly noble but he's not a bad guy either. The way he can be very forward while at the same time being sort of polite about it is very entertaining, as is his cool headed nature; few things seem to phase him and even when they do, he doesn't really flip out (his confrontation with Mia being about the closest he's come). David Duchovny plays the part fantastically.

Married...with Children is another show people love to hate these days because it's far from being the most intellectual show ever to grace the small screen but Al Bundy is definitely an icon as far as loveable losers go. In a genre where fathers are often portrayed as being the hardworking everyman who openly shows concern and affection for his kids and wife, Al Bundy is perhaps the ultimate rebel.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v83AwW0b4ec&feature=related[/youtube]

Any excuse to post that clip.

Frasier Crane is another character I'd rank up there, spanning two shows in Cheers and Frasier and garnering Kelsey Grammer multiple Emmy awards. It takes a pretty good character to carry a spinoff when so many fall short despite the popularity of their parent series and they certainly got some excellent mileage out of Frasier. As Krusty the Clown pointed out using Grammer's other famous character, it's funny when the sap's got dignity and Frasier's dignity, pompousity and indeed his ego made it much funnier when things started to fall apart.

Being a huge fan of M*A*S*H, I also have to mention Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, in some ways the Hank Moody of the 50s and a brilliant mix of humour, intellect and political ideology. That ideology no doubt alienated a lot of would be viewers and even diehard M*A*S*H fans at times but nevertheless, the characters's final appearance remains the highest rated television presentation to date, though Hawkeye admittedly can't take all the credit. Similar to Dr Cox, Hawkeye could have been a character conceived to be very shallow, a mere wisecracking surgeon in a MASH unit during the Korean War but he was much more than that and the series was better because of it.

[Patr1ck]

George Costanza - Seinfeld.

[Jackal]

Sure you can single out Omar, he was kickass but come on, the whole cast is equally kickass.

Friends rocks, I always laugh at Joey, see no reason why people don't like it.

[Oznogrd]

I think my problem with friends is everysingle person on it even with the multitude of seasons is pretty 2 dimensional. Maybe they are legends in their own right due to their stranglehold on pop culture but i never was surprised by friends. I laughed very rarely at it and found most of the plots to be unrealistic. I wont say the show is complete shit, but i just dont think that Friends was the same caliber as people make it out to be.

[Joe']

Joe you officially lose for Friends, Becker, and Wolowitz....

Friends is arguably the sitcom with the best quality-success ratio since The Odd Couple and MASH, I don't get the hating. Except for Arrested Development, I think every character of every sitcom is two-dimensional. People don't like complicated characters, that's why Arrested Development went on for three seasons and shows like MASH, Friends, Frasier and others had a much longer run. As for the laugh track, I think it's irrelevant. If you don't like a joke you're not gonna laugh, regardless of the people laughing in the background.

As for Becker, I don't know, I just think it's better than most of the shit people believe to be good (i.e. Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, etc).

Wolowitz, well, you can't look at the guy without laughing. Again, I think Big Bang Theory is a better show than, say 'Til Death or According to Jim, which, for god's sake, has been going on for seven seasons and they only canceled it now. I think Helberg is a great actor, and he certainly plays the Wolowitz character extraordinarily. I wouldn't imagine any other actor playing that role as well as he does.

[benji]

I don't see how what other people like has a bearing on my opinion of a show.

[Doobie]

Barney from How I Met Your Mother... Played by none other than Neil Patrick Harris.

ENOUGH SAID!

[Jackal]

Most of these shows are comedies. Cept for Sopranos, Firefly, Dexter, SFU & Wire.

TV sucks.

[Drex]

-Greg House (House MD)
-Seeley Booth & Temperance Brennan (Bones)
-Robert Chase (House MD)
-Dexter Morgan (Dexter)
-Michael Scofield (Prison Break)
-Al Bundy (Married...with Children)

[Oznogrd]

See I was shooting for mostly 2000's and after so things like "Married...With Children" or MASH I already feel like are legends. Al and Hawkeye I feel have established their legend status because their reruns and dvds are still extremely prevalent and easy to find (at least in the states).

Also just remembered about Joe' mentioning the laugh track part of Friends: I dont know how it is other places but I want you to go to a movie theatre. See a godawful comedy. Preferably one "Genre Movie!!!" written by those fuckers from Scary Movie that werent the Wayans'. Take away all 13 year olds (they laugh at anything). See if unfunny things are laughed at. Now pay close attention and watch people who perhaps "dont get it." People who are too old to understand the terribly out of place allusion to "you Got served". they hesitate, other laughter starts: then you see them laugh. Laughter around you makes a large percentage people of laugh: even when they dont get it or find it funny. A laugh track makes your jokes too obvious and too forced. Even good actors seem fake with a laugh track involved.

[benji]

I want you to go to a movie theatre. See a godawful comedy. Preferably one "Genre Movie!!!"

Viral Marketer Alert!

[Oznogrd]

shit i wish i got paid for that plug...just the most godawful movies i could think of

[Joe']

I never felt like the laugh track (which isn't a laugh track since Friends was filmed in front of a live studio audience, I believe) made me laugh, it was always the jokes.

I think everyone who's not 13 or brainless feels the same way about this. I mean, I've seen it happen, people laughing at jokes they don't get just because of other people laughing, just never happened to me or anyone with brains that I know of.

It's not logical, forcing yourself to laugh just for the sake of laughing. It's like dressing in a certain way just because everybody else does so, even if you don't get why they'd choose to dress like douches. It's something most people stop doing at a certain age.

[Andrew]

I think my problem with friends is everysingle person on it even with the multitude of seasons is pretty 2 dimensional. Maybe they are legends in their own right due to their stranglehold on pop culture but i never was surprised by friends. I laughed very rarely at it and found most of the plots to be unrealistic. I wont say the show is complete shit, but i just dont think that Friends was the same caliber as people make it out to be.

I wouldn't say the characters were any shallower than most sitcoms, the depth was about right for the tone of the show. I wouldn't say the plots were any more unrealistic than most other TV shows based in reality, though they did run the Ross and Rachel thing into the ground after the initial breakup. I guess if you're not laughing it doesn't really matter, humour is subjective so I can't really argue that one except to offer that I do have quite varied tastes when it comes to comedy that runs the gamut between high brow and low brow, with the style of humour on Friends being one that I enjoy (amongst others).

Also just remembered about Joe' mentioning the laugh track part of Friends: I dont know how it is other places but I want you to go to a movie theatre. See a godawful comedy. Preferably one "Genre Movie!!!" written by those fuckers from Scary Movie that werent the Wayans'. Take away all 13 year olds (they laugh at anything). See if unfunny things are laughed at. Now pay close attention and watch people who perhaps "dont get it." People who are too old to understand the terribly out of place allusion to "you Got served". they hesitate, other laughter starts: then you see them laugh. Laughter around you makes a large percentage people of laugh: even when they dont get it or find it funny. A laugh track makes your jokes too obvious and too forced. Even good actors seem fake with a laugh track involved.

I do see your point but I don't think that necessarily holds true for television because generally speaking, you're not watching TV shows in a big group and as you noted, you rarely laughed at Friends so it doesn't really have the same effect as being surrounded by an audience that is laughing at what's going on. Canned laughter comes across as cheesy but a live studio audience suits the atmosphere of some shows. I don't think it's definitely good or definitely bad; it works for some shows, others it doesn't.