Top 20 memorable TV Characters

I have to say that like most of my generation is was babysat by a a television. Happy Days, Friends, I Love Lucy, The Vicar of Dibley. I sat through them all while eating an over sized bag of chips. Here is my list of memorable TV characters. This is just my opinion, i would very much like to hear yours in the comments.

20. Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) The Big Bang Theory.
Granted the show is relatively recent but honestly, when someone asks you your favourite TBBT moment it generally has something to do with Dr Sheldon Cooper, the tall lanky geek/physicist. Parsons has won much acclaim for his portrayal and is often cited as the best thing about the series.

19. Gomez & Morticia. (John Astin and Carolyn Jones) The Addams Family
They're creepy and they're kooky, mysterious and spooky, they're all together-ooky, The Addams Family. When my friends wanted their family to be just like the Weasleys (Harry Potter reference) i said i wanted mine to be like the Addams family. These two were a natural selection for me. I wasn't sure which to put (both were brilliant) so i put both. I could have included the whole cast if i wanted to. Particularly Uncle Fester (Jackie Coogan).



18. Janice (Maggie Wheeler) Friends
She was the nasal voiced on/off girlfriend of Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) during the early seasons and still showed up even when he married Monica (Courtney Cox). Did i spoil it for all the Friends virgins? Meh, i don't care. Anyway she was funny. She was so irritating that you could just watch the main casts reactions to her and get a laugh.

17. Jack Mcfarland and Karen Walker (Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally) Will and Grace.
Sure the show was named Will and Grace, and Eric McCormack and Debra Messing were good. But Jack and Karen were the showstoppers. So irreverently funny and off beat that in some (a lot) of the scenes it is obvious that those around them are trying to keep a straight face, the show wouldn't have lasted as long as it did (8 seasons) without these two.

16. Steve Urkel. (Jaleel White), Family Matters.
'Did i do that??' was the Urkmeister's catchphrase. And everyone uses it. It gets so irritating. Some can argue (quiet legitimately) that Urkel should be higher on the list. But i put him here because he gets less and less 'quirky cute' the more i see him. But there is no denying that he is memorable, if only because he was the only thing likeable about Family Matters. (To me anyway).

15. The Solomons and Mary (John Lithgow, Kristen Johnston, French Stewart, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jane Curtin), 3rd rock From the Sun.
Now THIS is funny. The Solomon's are aliens who have come to earth to study human life, but find it more difficult than they thought. The show ran for 6 seasons and remains one of my personal favourites. The cast just 'works' in a way that is just outstanding.
Dick (Lithgow) is the High Commander (and never lets anyone forget it), he is pompous, prone to looking in mirrors and shouting 'My god... i'm gorgeous!' and incredibly funny.
Sally (Johnston) is "The Woman." She starts off as an angry security officer (and i suppose ends as one as well), but along the way she becomes obsessed with shoes, Don Orville (Wayne Knight) and material goods.
Harry (Stewart) is the funny looking one (as Dick would put it). He has a nasally voice and once ate a picture of Martha Stewart. Women can't resist him.
Tommy (Gordon-Levitt) is the information officer and the teenager. And looking at young JGL reminds us all why we love him.
Mary (Curtin) was the straight woman throughout the whole series. Must have been very challenging.

14. Monk (Tony Shalhoub), Monk
This is a show that i wish i had watched during it's original run, nonetheless Shalhoub's OCD (obsessive compulsive detective) is a treat. Monk manages to be slightly creepy and off putting and yet endearing. We just love him.

13. Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) Seinfeld.
Trivia: Richards was in consideration for the role of Monk but eventually lost it to Shalhoub. Anyway:
What a character. I could have included all of the Seinfeld cast but none stick more in my mind than Kramer, so madcap and crazy that you can't help but want to know him (although he would eat all your food). Seinfeld enjoyed strong rating throughout it's run and has been held up as one of                                the best shows of all time.

12.  The main cast of Friends (Matthew Perry, Courtney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt Leblanc, Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow).
This is, was and always will be THE show of the 90s. OK, yeah Seinfeld is great but to those who don't get it? It's annoying. But Friends is universal. Granted none of the cast will ever break away from the 'Friends' mold. Although Aniston tries with those god-awful rom-coms. And Cox comes close with the Scream franchise. But these six people will the forever associated with their characters.
Chandler (Perry) sarcastic, funny one.
Monica (Cox) occasional straight woman but a bit of a loon
Rachel (Aniston) fashionsita, romantic interest of of Ross.
Ross (Schwimmer) The smart one who got married 3 times and said the wrong name at the second wedding.
Joey (Leblanc) the actor who almost played Al Pacino's butt.
Phoebe (Kudrow) the bubbly blonde who is... Bubbly.

11. Kermit The Frog (Jim Henson) The Muppet Show
My favourite muppet. Only Henson and Frank Oz (who voiced Fozzie, a close contender for this spot) could give puppets personalities. I remember growing  up watching TMS, i always preferred it to Sesame Street. I am quite psyched over Jason Segal's movie actually. I especially enjoyed the episode with Madeline Kahn, i re-watched it on youtube and it is certainly EPIC. Speaking of Sesame Street.....



10. Elmo (Kevin Clash) Sesame Street.
Elmo is an icon. Even if you haven't seen Sesame Street in your entire life you are still likely to recognize the faces of Elmo and Big Bird. This little red... erm, thingy has been his weird and wonderful self for years and years. I own an Elmo t-shirt and i really like it (i'm weird), which is one of the many reasons why he is on this list.

9. Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta) The Simpsons.
Before there was family guy, before there was American dad, there was The Simpsons. My parents didn't understand the adoration it received from myself and others my age. And they still don't. But that's their loss. It has declined in quality, but so has family guy and that's been going half as long. The Simpsons will never die, even if it gets cancelled it will live on. In this day and age, when things go out of date so quickly, if the first season of this show is still funny now it will never not be funny.

8. Buffy (Sarah Michele Gellar) Buffy The Vampire Slayer
This show tops the the 6+ hours of the Twilight Saga with it's first episode. It's  funnier, sexier, better acted and better written. It even had Angel (David Boreanaz -Booth in Bones) so what's not to like? Buffy was joined by her faithful companions Willow (Allison Hannigan), Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Giles (Anthony Head) (Boreanaz left to star in his own show) throughout the shows 6 season run. Charisma Carpenter was also in it as Cordelia Chase but joined Angel a bit later.




7. Captain Kirk (William Shatner) Star Trek.
He's been spoofed, he's been mimicked and he's been a younger hot shot. But Capt James T Kirk is still Shatner. The Starship Enterprise would be an unhappy place to visit without Kirk.



6. Fred Flintstone (Alan Reed) The Flintstones
Yabadaba doooooooo! Ah yes, Homer has 'Do'h!' Peter Griffin has that weird laugh but the grandaddy (literally) of all the cartoon husbands is Fred Flintstone. Who can honestly say they didn't watch this as a child. Who?

5.  Robot (Robot) Lost In Space
"Danger! Danger Will Robinson!" I have used this line so many times it's not even funny (well it is a little bit funny). Dr Smith also came close but Robot is just awesome. Lost in Space was also made into a movie starring Matt Leblanc, but don't see that. It's not very good.

4. Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) I Love Lucy.
From the very beginning of this list i knew that Lucy would have to be on here. The queen of comedy (sorry Tina Fey) is still hilarious even after 50 years. Lucy Ricardo was the main protagonist of sitcom I love Lucy which ran from 1951 to 1957. It also starred Desi Arnaz as Ricky (Her on and off the screen husband), William Frawley and Vivian Vance (as Fred and Ethel Mertz). I remember watching it on FOX classics in the mornings before school, oh how brilliant it was. Ball would take variations of Lucy through 3 more series' (The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and the little known Life With Lucy), but I Love Lucy still remains as the pioneer of the modern sitcom (closely followed by The Honeymooners).


3. Fonzie (Henry Winkler) Happy days.
Fonzie is the nickname of Arthur Fonzerelli- The Fonz. Just thought i'd clear that up. What began as a nostalgic trip back to the fifties with the Cunningham family became a star maker for Henry Winkler as Fonzie. The greaser with the leather jacket and the heart of gold (but don't tell anyone).

2. Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley) Absolutely Fabulous.
Okay, yes she beat The Fonz, but after just one episode of Ab Fab you will see just how memorable Patsy is.  She is the forever hungover best friend of Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders). Lumley is the best reason to watch Ab Fab.

1. Frasier and Niles Crane (Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce) Frasier
To say that this was a hard choice would be an understatement! I could have removed Janice to make way for Spock (Leonard Nimoy) but this is my opinion.  These two are so brilliantly crafted that time prohibits my naming all of the reasons why they are number one. But witty would be a good start. Frasier far surpasses it's parent show Cheers in terms of writing and entertainment value and it thoroughly deserves all of it's accolades, even this spot. Grammar and Hyde Pierce also voiced brothers Bob and Cecil Terwilliger in The Simpsons.

I missed out so many. But this is just MY opinion. But even i don't agree with number 1, but what more can i put there? I know that i missed out some great ones. So let me know what YOU think in the comments!