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From Rob, Scroll and some guy named Joss.
I've seen so much TV since its beginnings that I can't swear these are my actual 25 most favorite characters, but I think it would be fair to say they are certainly all in the top 100. By category rather than order of preference.
Westerns
1 The Lone Ranger. Definitely my all-time favorite TV character. Yeah, it's a kiddie show , but his cleverness, courtesy, compassion, and disdain for the lime-light ought to be models for everyone.
2. Cisco Kid. Coolest cowboy ever. Who else could ride hard all day across the California desert in a black suit, never shower, and still attract all the pretty ladies?
3. Sky King. Not a deep character, but still somebody to look up to.
4. Sgt. Preston. (Sergeant Preston of the Yukon). Dapper, honest, dependable, had a great dog and a great moustache, and was a Mountie. What more could you want?
5. Kitty Russell (Gunsmoke). There were at least three first class characters in the show, and a number of memorable side characters. I pick Miss Kitty because after all the years of putting up with Matt (a courtin' too slow) Dillion, a zillion outlaws and drunk cowboys, she stayed strong and loyal.
6 Brent Maverick. His oily side hasn't stood up very well over the years. But, he was without a doubt the most human hero on TV in the early 1960's.
7 Paladin. (Have Gun Will Travel) Wasn't always right. Didn't always win. But, he tried to do everything as intelligently as possible.
Comedy
8 Boss Hogg (Duke's of Hazzard) Made a show with a singularly stupid premise a lot of fun.
9 Jedd Clampett (Beverly Hillbillies) Another character who put some class in a very silly show.
10 Sgt. Schultz (Hogan's Heroes) The best mockery of 'a good soldier' since The Good Soldier Schwejk, who John Banner admitted he modeled the character after.
11 Brenda Morgenstern (Rhoda) Probably in the history of situation comedy the female character easiest to sympathize with, and one of the most lovable.
12 Lou Grant (Mary Tyler Moore Show) Slightly bitter, at times vindictive and begrudgingly sympathetic to the other characters, he always had a sensible reason for what he did, even if it wasn't nice or if he wasn't always in control of what he had to do. (Much better than the shmuck in the politically overblown Lou Grant)
Detective/ legal drama (all fine characters suited to the actor.)
13 Jim Rockford (The Rockford Files)
14 McCloud
15 Matlock
16 Beretta
General drama
17 Dr. Joe Gannon. (Medical Center) A lot more human and a lot less burdened with needless personal baggage than more recent docs on TV.
18. Buzz Murdock (Route 66) A classic kid from the wrong side of town, grown up and trying to do something different with his life.
19 David Banner (The Incredible Hulk) The Incredible Hulk was the absolute pits as far as comics when I was a kid; always the favorite of bullies and dumbbells. ("It's clobberin' time!") The fact that it was both a good show and that it belongs here in general drama rather than under sci-fi says a lot about the care the character was given.
Adventure
20 Emma Peel (The Avengers)
21 McGiver
Sci-fi and Fantasy
22 Worf (Star Trek:NG, Star Trek:DS9) Not the only interesting character in the Star Trek franchise, but certainly one with more depth than most.
23 Delenn (Babylon 5) She was one of the big reasons it was the first show of which I recorded all the episodes I could.
24 Buffy (BTVS)
25 Wash (Firefly) Probably the best goofy sidekick since Gabby Hayes in the movies.
plus one to grow on
26 Xena. The show over the years was uneven in quality, but she was a good character.
I've seen so much TV since its beginnings that I can't swear these are my actual 25 most favorite characters, but I think it would be fair to say they are certainly all in the top 100. By category rather than order of preference.
Westerns
1 The Lone Ranger. Definitely my all-time favorite TV character. Yeah, it's a kiddie show , but his cleverness, courtesy, compassion, and disdain for the lime-light ought to be models for everyone.
2. Cisco Kid. Coolest cowboy ever. Who else could ride hard all day across the California desert in a black suit, never shower, and still attract all the pretty ladies?
3. Sky King. Not a deep character, but still somebody to look up to.
4. Sgt. Preston. (Sergeant Preston of the Yukon). Dapper, honest, dependable, had a great dog and a great moustache, and was a Mountie. What more could you want?
5. Kitty Russell (Gunsmoke). There were at least three first class characters in the show, and a number of memorable side characters. I pick Miss Kitty because after all the years of putting up with Matt (a courtin' too slow) Dillion, a zillion outlaws and drunk cowboys, she stayed strong and loyal.
6 Brent Maverick. His oily side hasn't stood up very well over the years. But, he was without a doubt the most human hero on TV in the early 1960's.
7 Paladin. (Have Gun Will Travel) Wasn't always right. Didn't always win. But, he tried to do everything as intelligently as possible.
Comedy
8 Boss Hogg (Duke's of Hazzard) Made a show with a singularly stupid premise a lot of fun.
9 Jedd Clampett (Beverly Hillbillies) Another character who put some class in a very silly show.
10 Sgt. Schultz (Hogan's Heroes) The best mockery of 'a good soldier' since The Good Soldier Schwejk, who John Banner admitted he modeled the character after.
11 Brenda Morgenstern (Rhoda) Probably in the history of situation comedy the female character easiest to sympathize with, and one of the most lovable.
12 Lou Grant (Mary Tyler Moore Show) Slightly bitter, at times vindictive and begrudgingly sympathetic to the other characters, he always had a sensible reason for what he did, even if it wasn't nice or if he wasn't always in control of what he had to do. (Much better than the shmuck in the politically overblown Lou Grant)
Detective/ legal drama (all fine characters suited to the actor.)
13 Jim Rockford (The Rockford Files)
14 McCloud
15 Matlock
16 Beretta
General drama
17 Dr. Joe Gannon. (Medical Center) A lot more human and a lot less burdened with needless personal baggage than more recent docs on TV.
18. Buzz Murdock (Route 66) A classic kid from the wrong side of town, grown up and trying to do something different with his life.
19 David Banner (The Incredible Hulk) The Incredible Hulk was the absolute pits as far as comics when I was a kid; always the favorite of bullies and dumbbells. ("It's clobberin' time!") The fact that it was both a good show and that it belongs here in general drama rather than under sci-fi says a lot about the care the character was given.
Adventure
20 Emma Peel (The Avengers)
21 McGiver
Sci-fi and Fantasy
22 Worf (Star Trek:NG, Star Trek:DS9) Not the only interesting character in the Star Trek franchise, but certainly one with more depth than most.
23 Delenn (Babylon 5) She was one of the big reasons it was the first show of which I recorded all the episodes I could.
24 Buffy (BTVS)
25 Wash (Firefly) Probably the best goofy sidekick since Gabby Hayes in the movies.
plus one to grow on
26 Xena. The show over the years was uneven in quality, but she was a good character.
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From:
no subject
Sorry I confused the Thing and the Hulk, but I could swear there were a zillion T-shirts in the mid to late 60's that showed The Hulk with that quote. Probably, I just wasn't paying any attention!
What you mentioned was what bothered me about the Hulk. All kids wished they could just crush their problems away. But I wanted me-as-I-was to be able to do that. I wasn't afraid of my anger either. I had better luck outsmarting 'foes' as a kid, so losing control as a hidden/feared advantage just made no sense to me at all.
From:
no subject
I'm not sure I wanted to become other than as-I-was, at least not in the sense of "Hulk-ing out," & I didn't think of anger or loss of control as any kind of advantage. Mainly, I was afraid of my father's anger, which unfortunately I also learned from him. Rather than crush my problems or direct it against "foes," I mostly just trashed my room....