100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years
 

Homer as number 1??? Harry as number 2????? I don't know. I guess Homer is very iconic. But great? I also take some umbrage to #5 since there's lots of Joker from the past 20 years, but it's more a performance of that one individual.

I've read the article that's is in the printed magazine and it's a much more in depth description of each character.

What do you think of this list? Agree with the top 5? top 10?

Do you have a favorite that didn't make the list? I thought Vic Mackey from The Shield should have made the list.

There's some interesting choices in the list. Homer is a worldwide icon, I'd keep him number 1. Bridget Jones is way too high. I'd put Forrest Gump in the top 10. Truman from the Truman Show should be higher as well, who else has a medical condition named after them?

They listened. ;)

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I think they should have included Mal and the crew from Firefly.

The fact that Al Swearingin from Deadwood is not on this list is a crime against humanity.

Amen!

Lots of bad choices, or at least, bad ordering. Vic Mackey has to be Top 5, with Swearingin.

I think Homer is obviously #1, I even guessed they'd pick him.

One thing I noticed early on is, as much as it states this is a "characters'-driven" listing, it's also much more of a pop cultural smörgåsbord, leaning heavily upon movies (not many films, tho, which I find odd) and television, with a bit of sprinking in of net culture (not much to warrant mention, I'll add). And they near-totally neglected music (save for the mention of Gorillaz, which to me, since 2004, have been more of an interactive/internet pet project of a band) and there have been quite a few characters and crazies involved in the music scene I would much rather seen included than some television dramas I've never heard of.

Which brings me to the second point, or more of an addendum to the first: in that there were no movies/series mentioned twice in the listing, (I don't even think they mentioned an actors' name more than once) and therefore, the editors' in charge of this list, I think, picked the most recognizable franchises and entertainment brands FIRST, and then decided to see which charcter within that universe personified it best, the 'poster-child', if you will, of whatever show or feature, in whatever # listing. Probably went with a similar process with the names (they chose inmate Freeman instead of President Freeman, or cop Freeman).

There's also more than few, but perhaps less than a dozen, characters and the shows from which they stemmed, which easily could have been let aside, but I'm guessing their were enough fanboys/fangirls in the EW's editors' conference room that liked 'em, (District 9, Melrose Place, Alias, and more..) opted for their own choice instead, and decided to not look up a more appropriate choice.

The one travesty is that there is not one single mention of Will Smith (nvrmnd, saw Hancock up there) ADAM SANDLER in the rundown; that guy practically owned the 90s, and has still been prolific enough during the 00s that I didn't immediately forget about him after Wild, Wild West Spanglish. Therefore, I submit Happy Gilmore (from Happy Gilmore).

But what, no Zordon (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)? No Denny Crane (Boston Legal)? No Bender (Futurama)? (not one single mention of a robot, either.) There's also not nary a single name of a wrester in there: Stone Cold Steve Austin (WWF), anyone? Who's currently in a band and has tons of personality? First choice off the top of the dome was Flavor Flav (Public Enemy) but he dropped off the planet for a while (15 years) and he's more of typified product of the 80s, I'd reckon.

And as much as I love/hate the guy and his snarky series, but you (we) have got to give some respect to Mister Tony Bourdain (No Reservations). He might not count, though, as I just re-read the caveat that all characters in the listing must be fictional. What say you about Lady Gaga? She's a character, I think we can all agree on that, and there's no way she acts like that around her parents and priest, so I say she is fictional.

Ah! Smooth write-in candidate: the Gecko (Geico).

Last call edit nomination: Staff Sergeant Sean Dignam (The Departed).

Asolutely!

And how did numbers 100 thru 95 (with the exception of Uma Thurman) get there? Especially 100?

I was looking for Jack Lord as Steve McGarret in Hawaii 5-0


"Book him Danno"

1: Rodney McKay from Stargate
2: Baltar or to go with the list's choice from BSG, Starbuck.
2: Willow from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Screw Buffy!
3: John Locke from Lost
4: Jayne Cobb, River, or Capt Mal or umm Saffron from Firefly
5: The Doctor
6: Codex from The Guild
7: Dr. Horrible
8: Monk


My list is sci-fi bias...

Atticus Finch - To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) (Gregory Peck)

In the same way that I can't seek to add Howard Stern (in that he is a radio personality, of which there is not a single mention of such characters from said industry, as well as him being a "real-live" person, and not fictional) I'm pretty sure that the restriction of EW's listing also cuts out any fictional characters stemming before the year 1990, therefore: no Steve McGarrett, or no Atticus Finch.

new write-in vote:
Tommy DeVito from Goodfellas

the above is hard to peg because the character was actually based on a real-life account of "Two-Gun Tommy", but then again, most everyone recognizes the tagline that describes the title: Goodfellas is a 1990 American semi-fictional (keyword) crime film directed by Martin Scorsese.

My new animated hero is Gru from "Despicable Me"! I just (finally!!) watched it and it was a great, funny, touching movie.

-- Now I can understand the Golden Globe nomination and I'm glad!

I'm sad at how few characters from literature are on the list. I've never seen a movie or TV show that could expand on a character the same way a savvy and intelligent author could.

Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin of China Miéville's Perdido Street Station is the quintessential archetype of the scientist in science fiction literature. He's driven, brilliant, and perhaps too curious about the workings of the universe for his own good. It's his lack of discipline and his limitless imagination without fear of consequence that lands him in trouble, but his brave, inquisitive and thoughtful nature could be his salvation. You'll have to turn off the TV and read Perdido Street Station.

Charles Lindbergh in Philip Roth's The Plot Against America is one of the most incredible and terrifying recreations of a historical figure in the genre of alternative history. The Plot Against America, some may know, is a novel speculation about an alternative history in which aviation legend and American national hero Charles Lindbergh defeats FDR in 1940 and, because of his isolationist ideologies, signs a peace pact with Japan and Germany. While the story is about a particular family living in this alternate reality, the most striking character in the novel by far has to be a man now regarded simply as a brave pioneer in the earlier days of manned flight who was actually—and this is supported by historical fact—a strict non-interventionist and anti-war advocate during World War 2, Charles Lindbergh. While not a protagonist, his character is truly fascinating.

Finally, there's Christopher John Francis Boone, protagonist of Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Christopher is a fifteen year old (likely) autistic boy who lives with his father, his mother having recently died, who discovers a dead dog which sets off a chain of events that change his life. The character of Christopher John Francis Boone hearkens back to Salinger's Holden Caulfield as a highly intelligent and troubled youth expertly written, someone who, despite having troubling characteristics, is incredibly relatable. Throughout the story, Christopher grows naturally as a character and going along for the ride is very enjoyable.

And of course there's Bill Adama of Battlestar Galactica and Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

There are a few Im scratching my head at, but this is an area based on opinion. Here are a couple I think should have made it somewhere on the list:

Lt. Cl Frank Slade- Scent of a Woman
Walter White- Breaking Bad
Draco- DragonHeart
William Wallace- BraveHeart
Capt. Jean Luke Picard- Star Trek
Gunnery Sgt Hartman- Full Metal Jacket
Simba- Lion King

Will, That's a great post you recently made... those books sound exciting and I'm off to find any one of them at my local library!

I agree that Top Heros in Literature is a good topic!!!

Master Chief?!? Seriously?

Actually a list of great literary characters of the last 20 years would be interesting.

Okay....there's now 2 of us that like the literary Heros Thread Idea.

Anyone up to launching this and feeding it well? I will if Will will. :)

I'm in! :thumbsup:

Cant believe no Larry David or Malcolm Tucker. Also ought to include Gene Hunt

Is there a single character on the list who isnt from an American show or film (other than Gorrilaz I guess)?

And Not sure if the Hancock is Tony Hancock (which would make another non American)... I dont know anyone else, but that isnt in the last 20 years

There's a distinct reason for this... it's the entire premise of the listing, in fact, as it was compiled by the folks and editors over at TVGuide.

It's a subjective-think-tank listing of "memorable characters" from film and television (and they also decided to add in just a few internet phenomena as well, for no reason as I can see) to be thought upon and discussed by those that would disagree with even thinking up the topic without (such-and-such name) included as well.

I still think that although TVGuide has nothing to do with radio, they should have included at least a couple from the "other (original) showbusiness", just to be multi-purposeful.

but do you only watch American shows in America?

No UK, Canadian or Aussie TV even?

Only a small percentage watch "foreign" TV shows, let alone foreign films. That's why the UK shows get redone, like The Office, Skins, Coupling, etc.

They remade Skins? I think its kind of sad

I mean, dont get me wrong - I like a lot of American shows, and Im not being nationalistic about it. But if you only ever watch something that is produced in your own country your missing out twice: missing out on some quality shows and also missing out on a different perspective of the world.

I guess thats why they made U-571 the way they did, although I think it was an unforgivable insult whyever they did it.

I have a hard time taking lists like these seriously, because they're so ambiguous. What makes for a great character, anyway? Depth of characterization? Popularity? Verisimilitude? How do you judge these things, to say that "character X is better than character U?"

the whole thing is meaningless.

First off, what he said ^^^^^.

Second of all, way too many pop movie and TV characters, not enough indie and cult characters, and WAY too few characters from books.

Third of all, ELMO?!! I hate that fuzzy little bastard! He is not a fucking great character! OMG, he needs to die so much!!! (My neice loves him).

My personal top 10 (based on the last 20 years or things reworked in the last 20 years) and my own view rather than my best guess at wider view.

10 - Pinkie (Brighton Rock)
9 - Harry Potter (Harry Potter)
8 - Donnie Darko (Donnie Darko)
7 - Hayley Stark (Hard Candy)
6 - Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy)
5 - Magneto (X Men)
4 - Aornis Hades (books...)
3 - Buffy Summers (BTVS)
2 - Albert Speer (Der Untergang)
1 - Sophie Hatter (Howls Moving Castle)

There's no real reason as to why I'm quoting you, specifically, levite, but the first thing I gathered from this list when I saw it half a year ago, is okay, I get it: a biased list of characters from tv series and movies. It's by the people who work in some faction at Entertainment Weekly, so not too surprising... is it so obscured to this many of you that, of course and if anything, their niche area isn't going to include celebrities, disc jockeys, or figments of some obscure author's imagination (some movies on the list did begin as novels though) sneaking in onto the listing.

Originally, I ranted about it as well, just to be included. I didn't care then, and I still realiy don't. There is a notice, however, that no listing is going to appease everybody, and in that, it comes to appease nobdy but the small group who started it. This is televised pop culture we're disssecting. If this many of you (us?) don't like the way this poll was conducted with whatever hidden rules & restrictions these TV guide-wannabe editors, writers & "experts" used to cull, critique and whittle down to the criterion of showcasing only the brightest characters from such-and-such screened universe, (television, cinema, web) then maybe the only viable last option we have is to create our poll and make sure we get a fair consensus to what defines a "greatest character" of whatever.

I can think of 12 off the top of my head that should be on the list:

Ray Barone from Everyone Loves Raymond

Crichton and D'Argo from Farscape

Quinn Mallory from Sliders

Hank Hill from King of the Hill

Jimmy James from NewsRadio

Sam Beckett from Quantum Leap

Pinhead from HellRaiser series

Jigsaw from the Saw movies

Melvin from Office Space

Adrian Monk from Monk

Mr. Wick from the Drew Carey Show