Favorite Characters of All Time

[dragonflies]

Lois Lane

Clark Kent

Those two above are my all time favorite characters EVER

Danny Wheeler

Seeley Booth

Temperence Brennan

Eric Matthews

George Feeny

Dana Foster

Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce

Joe Hackett

Helen Chappel

Brian Hackett

Lowell Mather

and too many more to list lol

[allmc2008]

Dana Scully

All four gals from FOL along with Mrs. Garrett

Maude

Edith Bunker

Mrs. Naugatak

ALL the roles Gilda Radner did on SNL

[MrPrezident]

Cordelia Chase (Buffy, Angel)

Karen McCluskey (Desperate Housewives)

Edie Britt (Desperate Housewives)

Karen Walker (Will & Grace)

Callisto (Xena)

Darlene Connor (Roseanne)

Amanda Tanen (Ugly Betty)

Wilhelmina Slater (Ugly Betty)

Chris Keller (Oz)

Ruth Fisher (Six Feet Under)

Mary Cherry (Popular)

Phoebe Buffay (Friends)

Julie Dante (Models Inc.)

Kelly Taylor (90210)

Joan Holloway (Mad Men)

Summer Roberts (The O.C.)

Taylor Townsend (The O.C.)

[dragonflies]

I knew I'd forget some lol

Chandler Bing

Monica Gellar

[DRW50]

One of the things that few appreciate about Wiseguy is that once you peel back the machismo and the late '80s cocaine-laced camp haze, it's essentially a very long Archive of Our Own fic. The first and by far the best season of Wiseguy lays it all out - Vinnie Terranova is a Marty Stu in skintight jeans, always crying (and crying and crying...) as he tries to put various beautiful broken boys back together, even as he himself is a beautiful broken boy. And the show never established this better than Vinnie/Roger, Roger being probably one of the all time best realized version of the "he's mean on the outside because he's hurt on the inside" trope, if not the best. A man who wanted to serve his country, the way he'd always been taught, only to be forced to, for the "good" of America, become so corrupt and decrepit that there was barely anything left of him.

It took Vinnie's innate purity, loyalty, determination, and innate goodness (and being a hot piece of ass, but that was never made explicit in the text...well, not REALLY...) to wear him down and remind him of what he'd wanted to be. And underneath the sarcasm and the all-black ensembles and the bitterness was a man who still loved his country, still cared, even at great risk to his own life.

Roger was a tricky character and I don't think anyone but William Russ could have come close to playing him. He knew how to make sure Roger was never too bad or too good. He also, like Jonathan Brooks and Ray Sharkey, had incredible, multi-layered chemistry with Ken Wahl which infused the melodramatic pulp writing with sweeping grandeur and passion. Guza tried and tried to make Sonny and Jason his own version of Vinnie and Sonny, Vinnie and Roger, but it just never worked. It was one of a kind - on a show where women were often treated like space aliens briefly staggering out of the flying saucer before flying back home, the men would always play every role from friend to foe to lover to all time soulmate, and back again.

My favorite Roger episodes:

This trainwreck of an episode where Roger and Vinnie are ordered to kill kindly mountain folk, until Vinnie, through sincerity and more than a little homoeroticism, convinces Roger to listen to his heart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShnLRGz07zs&list=PLGk_7hqiGKjnL1TruB25AJ9lglmJuARj1&index=11

Roger is ordered to kill Vinnie, but before he is about to force himself to do so, comes face to face with his Marine past and is reminded of who he was and still should be. He refuses to kill Vinnie, and warns his superior (who brainwashed, threatened, and tortured him from an early age, I should point out) that if he touches Vinnie, he'll slowly dismember him.

(those scenes are at about 30 minutes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UHSN1pgXio&list=PLGk_7hqiGKjnL1TruB25AJ9lglmJuARj1&index=7

The episode where Vinnie digs and digs to get through to the "real" Roger that only he knows or sees, and darn it if it doesn't work. This episode ends in a horrific and degrading monologue as Roger unburdens himself to Vinnie over dying inside at age 17, learning to torture and be tortured, and exactly why he had a mute housekeeper ("Preet...forgive me, please...forgive me...forgive me...forgive me..."). William Russ underplays the agony in just the right ways. Ugh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45OMrNALmp8&index=2&list=PLGk_7hqiGKjnL1TruB25AJ9lglmJuARj1

Roger, because of Vinnie and Vinnie's belief in him and in America, turns against the puppetmasters, only to be "killed" and then smeared in the process. This is the last straw for Vinnie (who'd barely managed to stomach staying with the feds after the Sonny Steelgrave fiasco of the first half of season 1), who testifies in Roger's honor in front of Congress, and then quits. The whole thing ends in a beautiful, bittersweet little last scene that is the closest this show tended to get to a happy ending.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYZ8O8C-IKg&index=3&list=PLGk_7hqiGKjnL1TruB25AJ9lglmJuARj1

[DRW50]

Before China Beach mostly devolved into constant reminders about how terrible and miserable Vietnam was (since presumably this was up for debate...) and about how every man in a 5000 mile radius wanted to lay pipe in Dana Delaney, it was a program with a lot of heart, able to make you laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time. Nothing exemplifies this more than Laurette's last scene. Laurette, unlike every other character who departed, was never mentioned again after she left, perhaps because someone at the show seemed to look down on her era of the show. Well, that's their loss.

Please register in order to view this content

[Khan]

Can I just say that I absolutely LOVE reading your analyses, Carl? They alone make creating this (new) thread worth it.

[DRW50]

Thanks. I figure they probably chased everybody off, so I'm glad that wasn't the case. I could go on and on about most of the others but I think I've already worn out SON ears.

[All My Shadows]

I still can't bring myself to make a definitive list, but a few who have been begging me to mention them would be Lucas McCain (The Rifleman), Ida Morgenstern (Rhoda), and Mickey Milkovich (Shameless). Lucas is one of my faves because he's simply a honorable man. He fights for what he believes is right, even when that's not necessarily what society thinks is right. Sure, he may have been a bit of an anachronism, but the combination of progressive ideas of equality with the rugged Western man of the 1870s-1880s was a beautiful thing.

[Khan]

Here's my list:

Comedy -- Male

MSgt. Ernest G. Bilko (Phil Silvers, "You'll Never Get Rich"/"The Phil Silvers Show")

"Buffalo Bill" Bittinger (Dabney Coleman, "Buffalo Bill")

Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor, "All in the Family" and "Archie Bunker's Place")

Comedy -- Female

Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton, "All in the Family" and "Archie Bunker's Place")

Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Rhoda")

Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond, "Soap")

Drama -- Male

Det. Columbo (Peter Falk, "Columbo")

Robert McCall (Edward Woodward, "The Equalizer")

Jim Rockford (James Garner, "The Rockford Files")

Drama -- Female

Christine Cagney (Sharon Gless, "Cagney & Lacey")

Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury, "Murder, She Wrote")

Mary Beth Lacey (Tyne Daly, "Cagney & Lacey")

[Bright Eyes]

Favourite characters from "my" shows ...

Lilah Morgan (Stephanie Romanov) & Darla (Julie Benz) - ANGEL

Almost everyone who wasn't Nucky, but especially Gillian Darmody (Grethen Mol) and Richard Harrow (Jack Huston) - BOARDWALK EMPIRE

Tobias Funke (David Cross) - ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

Tamara Goldstein (Rachel Wilson) - BREAKER HIGH

Anthony Blanche (Nikolas Grace) - BRIDESHEAD REVISTED

Lauren Davis (Jessalyn Gilsig) -BOSTON PUBLIC

Anya (Emma Caulfied) - BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER

Daisy Adair (Laura Harris) - DEAD LIKE ME

Debra Morgan (Jennifer Carpetner) - DEXTER

Topher Brink (Fran Krantz) - DOLLHOUSE

Brad Williams (Damon Wayans, Jr.) - HAPPY ENDINGS

Gina (Dianne Wiest) - IN TREATMENT (Please watch this show, people)

Rayanne Graff (A.J. Langer) - MY SO CALLED LIFE

Gina Russo (Jessalyn Gilsig) - NIP/TUCK

Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo), Ryan O'Reilly (Dean Winters), Simon Adebisi (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) & Shirley Bellinger (Kathryn Erbe)

Joel Graham (Sam Jaeger) - PARENTHOOD

May Cherry (Leslie Grossman) - POPULAR

Michael Novotny (Hal Sparks) - QUEER AS FOLK

Maggie Gavin (Tatum O'Neal) & Sean Garrity (Steven Pasquale) - RESCUE ME

Jackie Harris (Laurie Metcalf) - ROSEANNE

Claire Fisher (Lauren Ambrose) - SIX FEET UNDER

Francesca 'Flash' Albright (Jessica Goldapple) and Grace Vasquez (Victoria Sanchez), STUDENT BODIES

Ja'mie King (Chris Lilley) - SUMMER HEIGHTS HIGH

Everyone - TELL ME YOU LOVE ME (F*cking brilliant masterpiece)

Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman) - THE KILLING

Janette Desautel (Kim Dickens) - TREME

Dana Ashbrook (Bobby Briggs) & Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn) - TWIN PEAKS

Kate Gregson (Brie Larson) - UNITED STATES OF TARA

Dick Casablancas (Ryan Hansen) - VERONICA MARS

Betty Anderson (Barbara Parkins) - PEYTON PLACE (I know it's a soap, but I only got into late last year so I couldn't help myself)

Favourite characters from current shows I watch ...

S1: Constance Langdon (Jessica Lange), S2: Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe), S3: Marie Leveau (Angela Bassett), S4: Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock) - AMERICAN HORROR STORY

Sybil Branson (Jessica Brown Findlay) - DOWNTON ABBEY

Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) - GAME OF THRONES

Marnie Michaels (Allison Williams) & Elijah Krantz (Andrew Rannells) - GIRLS

Nicholas Brody (Damien Lewis) - HOMELAND

Fitch 'Coop' Cooper (Peter Facinelli) & Zoey Barkow (Merritt Wever) - NURSE JACKIE

Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe) - REVENGE

Mickey Milkovich (Noel Fisher) & Veronica Fisher (Shanola Hampton) - SHAMELESS

Matt Donovan (Zach Roerig) - THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

There, now I feel better.

[Mr. Vixen]

I was hoping I'd find another Celia lover in here!

[slick jones]

Celia Hodes was absolutely hysterical. I loved that cee you next thursday! I liked Nancy Botwin almost as much the first few years, but then...Actually, I can't think of anyone from Weeds I didn't like.

[Skin]

Buffy Summers (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Felicity (Felicity), Joey Potter (Dawson's Creek) and Liz Parker (Roswell) were my defining heroines of the early 90's. Loved all of them, they were tough as nails and so strong. No matter what happened to them or what life put them threw, they still kept going and succeeded. To a lesser extent I also really admired Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars), Peyton Sawyer (One Tree Hill),Izzie Stevens (Grey's Anatomy), Piper Halliwell (Charmed), Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl) and Loreali Gilmore (Gilmore Girls).

[P.J.]

a couple just off the top of my head

Thomas Magnum ---Tom Selleck gets dismissed as hot piece of meat in short-shorts, but Magnum wasn't all about sun, beach volleyball and bikinis. There's a lot of depth to it, dealing with his Vietnam experiences. And the moment he asks "did you see the sun rise?" and then blows the Russian dude responsible for Mac's death away---that was probably one of the first really shocking tv moments I remember.

Tasha Yar ---ST:TNG

Sydney Bristow ---Alias

Sue Anne Nivens---MTM

Benson---Soap

Madeline Weston---Burn Notice

Felicity---Arrow

Abby---NCIS

Fornell---NCIS

Hurley---LOST

Mark Greene--ER