Top 25 TV characters
25. Matt Foley from Saturday Night Live: My favourite recurring character of all-time, and the role that made Chris Farley (somewhat) famous. Nothing beats a washed-up, pathetic motivational speaker who motivates his listeners by showing them how screwed up his own life is (and it subtly gets worse each time he appears), then destroys the furniture.
Best moment: "My name is Matt Foley, I am thrice divorced. And I live... in a VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!"
24. Starscream from Transformers: As synecdoche pointed out, Starscream was the ultimate schemer and a complete lunatic. He taught children the value of betraying your betters in order to gain power.
Best moment: "Wait... I still function."
"Wanna bet?"
"Stttaaarrrrsssccrrreeeaaaammm..."
23. Kenny Shea from Rescue Me: A great, complex character, Kenny earns my respect both for falling for a supposedly-reforming hooker (only to have it blow up in his face... poor guy), and for screaming at Laura.
Best moment: Calling Laura a twat, and then refusing to apologize, leading to the whole firehouse taking a seminar on being politically correct.
22. Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons: Hehe, good ol' Bob. No matter how bad The Simpsons may get, a guest appearance by Kelsey Grammer is always good to stir the pot. Some of my favourite episodes feature Bob.
Best moment: Teaming up with Bart to thwart Cecil.
21. Zack from Saved by the Bell: Screw you! Screw alla you! Saved by the Bell was the best show back in the day, and Zack was the centerpiece of it. He always knew what to do, and was slicker than a greased-up baby seal in an oil slick.
Best moment: Not only calling a "time-out" and freezing things to speak directly to the audience, but actually taking advantage of the meta-ability to freeze others and using it to his advantage several times.
20. Rocko from Undergrads: Ah, drunken, surly, violent, drunken Rocko. The greatest of the four stereotypes on the classic animated series, Rocko always had the best one-liners, and embarrassed himself constantly.
Best moment: Revealing the secret of his non-urinating ways, thanks to Bobby Whiskey.
19. Elliott and Carla from Scrubs: Talented, beautiful, neurotic, Elliott is a great doctor and a terrible mess of a person. Carla, on the other hand, is self-assured, aggressive, and unappreciated. Part of the greatness of Scrubs is the fact that the entire cast just rocks so completely, hell, I could probably make a solid top 25 from that show alone.
Best moment: Elliott's is wiping out JD after he dumps her and says "You're not gonna cry, are you?" Carla's unleashed a number of rants, one of my favourites is when she shames the huge janitor like a seven-year-old boy.
18. Wash from Firefly: On a show filled with mercenaries and space cowboys, Wash stood out as the nice, level-headed guy of the bunch, with a wicked sense of humour. None of that undermined his courage and determination though.
Best moment: Screaming at Mal while both of them are trapped by Nisgaa.
17. Mankind from WWE television: Say what you will about wrestling, but Mick Foley is so damned entertaining that I kept tuned in long after the rest of the shows turned to shit. He edges out the Rock as my favourite because he really gave it his all to make sure that the fans saw something different every time.
Best moment: "I did it! Mrs. Foley's baby boy has won the title!"
16. Dr. Kelso from Scrubs: God, what a jerk. Almost to the point of being irrideemable, Dr. Kelso has got to be one of the biggest bastards on television, yet he's less two-dimensional than that, actually providing some moments of depth and insight. His motivations may be due to greed, but it's a fiscal sensibility that you can't completely dismiss either. Great character.
Best moment: Splashing Carla with his car while she waits for him to pick her up.
15. Bill McNeill from Newsradio: Another classic, Phil Hartman probably provided 70% of the laughs on that show, which is pretty damned good, as Newsradio was usually excellent.
Best moment: Too hard to choose.
14. Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace from Battlestar Galactica: Every show needs a macho, asskicking, fearless squad leader who can take you down either in the skies or on the ground. Battlestar Galactica's relaunch just so happened to make that character a woman. Starbuck rules all; take the biggest badasses you can find from nearly any show and she could probably give them a run for their money.
Best moment: Slugging out the lieutenant and getting tossed in the brig... in her first scene.
13. Cartman from South Park: I can't believe no one else has mentioned how evil this little bastard is. His irrational hatred of jews and love for money, power and fame, have all the makings for one of the most twisted characters of television for all-time.
Best moment: Doubtlessly the Scott Tenorman episode. "Did you like your chili, Scott?"
12. Fry from Futurama: Fry's a dolt, but he's a dolt with heart, and his constant longing to both fit in with the 31st century and to win Leela's heart is admirable. He also never fails to astound with his laziness and incompetence.
Best moment: Deciding that his dog Seymour is better left in the past. *sniff*
11. Dr. Gregory House from House: He's a surly, quick-witted genius who treats everyone around him with disdain and trusts no patient. House is a great show because of Hugh Laurie's performances.
Best moment: Revealing to a woman that she got pregnant because she'd been having "sleep-sex" in the middle of the night with her ex.
10. Mal from Firefly: Every time I watched this show and wanted something violent, or hell, excessively violent, to happen to the villains (or even heroes), Mal provided it. Just a badass merc who puts Han Solo to shame.
Best moment: The final battle against the Operative during Serenity. That sternum crusher move is sick.
9. David Fisher from Six Feet Under: The reason I loved watching Six Feet Under so much is that the characters grew and changed, yet remained true to the core the entire time. I think that David probably changed the most in some ways, but still found himself the same in many ways at the same time. Watching him overcome his own fears and self-doubt, and work through his relationship issues with his lover Keith was inspiring.
Best moment: Confronting his mugger in prison.
8. Georgia Lass from Dead Like Me: Nothing like a show about death to deliver a coming of age story. Georgia, like many of my favourite characters, is generally grouchy and has a quick mouth, but she also learns a lot in the two short seasons of the show. I like her because she thinks she knows everything, and then realizes she knows nothing, but keeps trucking along.
Best moment: Leaving Reggie her frog after JD the dog disappears.
7. Dr. Cox from Scrubs: Hehe, gruff mentors are the best. Perry Cox is so twisted that the few glimpses into his mind that we are given is probably enough to shatter the psyches of most sitcom characters. His relationships with the other characters really makes the show a must-see every single week.
Best moment: "Did you get that memo I sent you, Perry?"
"Yes, I sure did Bob. At first I just crumpled it up to throw it in the trash, but then I decided that that wouldn't be a grand enough gesture, so I took the memo, put it in a jacket, and placed in on an effigy of you, then had all the neighbourhood children dance around it while I burned it."
6. Kaylee from Firefly: She's tough, kind, and can get anything to work. She's also constantly longing for the doctor, but refuses to compromise who she is for him. So cool that I named my daughter after her (indirectly).
Best moment: "To hell with this, I wanna live!"
5. JD and Turk from Scrubs: The nerdy resident who's always lost in his head, and the cool, cocky, black surgeon, together as "best friends forever!" This duo makes up the backbone of the best show on television.
Best moment: Together? Escaping llamas in a ridiculous episode from last season.
4. Claire Fisher from Six Feet Under: I think that Six Feet Under eventually reveals that the show is actually not about Nate (who misses the list because he ends up becoming a douchebag near the finish), nor David, nor Ruth, but Claire, who starts off as the angsty teen baby sister, and grows into the show's best developed character.
Best moment: The closing scene of the show's finale.
3. Homer Simpson from The Simpsons: Who doesn't love Homer? They make him into a jerk for no reason at times, and he's become somewhat of a shell of what he used to be, but he's always fun, and usually funny.
Best moment: Don't Forget You're Here Forever.
2. Tommy Gavin from Rescue Me: Rescue Me rules, and Tommy is the fucked up protagonist who drives the show's raunchy action. He boozes, he screws around, basically screws himself over, and yet gets right back on top again. Damn, I can't wait to see season three.
Best moment: During season two, when he comes THIS close to drinking again after months of rehab, and then holds out at the last second. I was nearly in tears.
1. Al Bundy from Married... With Children: Who doesn't love Al? He taught us the value of hooters, tv violence, and introduced us to NO MAAM and the virtures of the nudie bar, all at the same time reminding us of how much his life sucks.
Best moment: The episode was lackluster for a finale, but choosing to save his family from Satan at the end shows us that he still loves his family, despite how annoying they are to him.