I tend to be a minimum of 15 years late to all parties, and so it was with this one. TIME Magazine compiled their list of Top Characters of All Time, and as it goes with Lists That Proclaim the Top Anything, I hated it and questioned the intelligence of its creator and looked up his address so I might set his house on fire. Then I decided to create one of my own.
The following is the start of my List of Top Characters of All Time, just over 50 to start with here. They’re from both television and film. I’ll say right off the bat that you won’t find Lucy Ricardo or any of the characters from Seinfeld here, because I’d like to set myself on fire rather than watch either. You’ll also not find characters that I really felt were better housed on a List of Best Ensembles or some such thing (see the Bluths, the women of Sex and the City and Steel Magnolias). Also missing are those characters I’ve never seen or simply don’t remember due to not being born or extreme intoxication.
I found it difficult at times to separate character from the actor’s performance, but I’d guess in many cases we just don’t need to. I was going to think about it further so as to include only those characters that would have been rich independent of performance, but then I realized that no one was paying me to do this.
THE WINO’S LIST OF THE TOP 51 FILM AND TELEVISION CHARACTERS THAT SHE HOPES WON’T MAKE YOU WANT TO SET HER HOUSE ON FIRE
Alex P. Keaton, Family Ties
Anton Chigurh, No Country for Old Men
Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird
Aurora Greenway, Terms of Endearment
Babe, Babe
Benjamin Linus, Lost
Blanche Devereaux, the Golden Girls
Bridget Jones, Bridget Jones Series
Brooks Hatlen, The Shawshank Redemption
Celie Johnson, The Color Purple
Chuck Nolan, Cast Away
Clair Huxtable, The Cosby Show
Clarice Starling, Silence of the Lambs
Clark Griswold, National Lampoon’s Vacation
Constance, American Horror Story
Dan Fielding, Night Court
David Addison, Moonlighting
David Brent, The Office (UK)
Dexter Morgan, Dexter
Dick Loudon, Newhart
Don Draper, Mad Men
Dorothy Michaels, Tootsie
Doug Ross, ER
E.T., E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial
Eve Harrington, All About Eve
Gregory House, House
J.R. Ewing, Dallas
Jack Butler, Mr. Mom
Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock
Judy Benjamin, Private Benjamin
Julia Sugarbaker, Designing Women
Julian Wells, Less Than Zero
Kenny, South Park
Keyser Söze, The Usual Suspects
Maria von Trapp, The Sound of Music
Martha, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Marty McFly, Back to the Future
Marty, Beautiful Girls
Mona Robinson, Who’s the Boss?
Nellie Oleson, Little House on the Prairie
Niles Crane, Frasier
Patrick Bateman, American Psycho
Phoebe Buffay, Friends
Rudy Ruettiger, Rudy
The Grinch, How the Grinch Stole Christmas
WALL-E, WALL-E
Wicked Witch of the West, The Wizard of Oz
Will Freeman, About a Boy
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Amadeus
Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman (TV)
18 Comments
HAHAHAHAHA sooooo random and I love it.
I <3 brooks. get busy livin' or get busy dyin'
excellent post. any list that combines mad men, amadeus, shawshank, and american psycho is worthy of great praise.
Mona and Blanche? Amen, sister.
No Lloyd Dobbler, Say Anything? Does me saying that make you want to set fire to my house? Oh come on – “I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen.” Great character!
Still, an exceptional list. Well done!
Excellent and refreshing list.
You had me at Marty from Beautiful Girls. “Alas, poor Romeo, we can’t do diddly.”
HAVE NO FEAR, PEOPLE! Feel free to disagree!
Lloyd was right there in my mind, but I honestly couldn’t remember enough about him for him to make the cut. See also: time to watch Say Anything again.
E, you win the Interwebs for knowing a Marty quote by heart. #awesomesauce
great list – missing, for me, are Sam Seabourne & Josh Lyman
Julian’s funky mouth scouge through out the movie makes me delete his butt.
Patrick looks ubber hot running around naked with a chainsaw.
At least Mozart beat Wonder Woman.
No Lucy Ricardo? Shame.
Thought of you over the weekend – hope you had a Fabulous birthday!!! xoxo
I really, really love/agree with this list. So many from our growing up years!
Man, I loved Alex P. Keaton. Still do. I would add Watts or Duncan from Some Kind of Wonderful, Duckie from Pretty in Pink, and probably some others that aren’t coming to mind right now.
Loves it. And, of course, I am going to comment on the two that almost caused me to reach for my lighter”
Claire Huxtable- I hate her so much. I felt like she was so pompous and full of herself.
Blanche Deveraux- I had a roommate in college who watched the Golden Girls all the time. I couldn’t stand it! I also am grossed out by Blanche. When I was younger they seemed so old and I didn’t want to hear her talk about sex.
Can we still be e friends?
* should have been :
Oops!
Patrick Batemen represents the first time in my life I found a heinous murderer (albeit a fictional one) incredibly sexy. Like, for a brief moment, I understood those women who reached out to the non-monkey looking Menendez brother.
Oh, Lloyd Dobbler! Good catch.
I’m not sure I can forgive you for omitting Coach Taylor and/or Timmy Riggins in favor of Babe. Or WALL-E. Or Bridget Jones.
Making a consternation face. Emoticon translation?
I love small pets! As I even now recall the look from the little dog chappy once I first discovered him at the shop! No chance I possibly could have left him at a time…
You have forgotten the Bundy’s from “Married with Children”:
Al Bundy, Peg Bundy, Kelly Bundy, Bud Bundy, and their chicken neighbor Marcy and her Husband (Steve or Jeferson).
Merry Christmas.