# And the most evil sitcom character ever is... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 15, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743 "2008-09-15T21:16:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/81 "2008-09-17T16:08:17Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > It’s the part where she asks you a question and then waits for you to answer, staring . . . at . . . you . . . and possibly fidgeting a bit. That deliberate breaking of the fourth wall and the sudden amusing but awkward self-awareness that arises in the audience as a result . . . **man** , don’t you _get_ it?! Ah, so you are telling me that Dora the Explorer is something of an animated, female Andy Kaufmann? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/82 "2008-09-17T16:16:22Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I’d also make a case for Basil Fawlty, although he considers himself the victim. He constantly lies, never admits to falsehood, and improvises lies on the spot to back up his previous lies. Sorry – Basil is just a puppet on a string, and the string is being pulled by Sybil Fawlty. Without Sybil, Basil would be just charmingly incompetent: she’s the one who drives him to the dark side. And talking of the dark side, I’m surprised that no one has mentioned Edmund Blackadder, who at least gets the prize for being evil over more periods in history than anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/83 "2008-09-17T16:17:34Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > Janitor (name unknown) - Scrubs Jan Itor. _Doctor_ Jan Itor. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/84 "2008-09-17T16:29:16Z")
Even Cartman can’t come close to Montgomery Burns. –a closetful of endangered species garments. –making lubricating oil from “recycled” whales and dolphins. –draining the blood of young childen to fend off his age issues. –refusing to eat Chinese because “those people all all gristle”. –“Release the hounds!” ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/85 "2008-09-17T16:44:19Z")
> [@Boyo Jim](#): > > Even Cartman can’t come close to Montgomery Burns. > > –a closetful of endangered species garments. > –making lubricating oil from “recycled” whales and dolphins. > –draining the blood of young childen to fend off his age issues. > –refusing to eat Chinese because “those people all all gristle”. > > –“Release the hounds!” –Blocking out the sun –Making bombs for the Nazis (but unlike Oscar Schindler, MINE WORKED DAMN IT!) Nitpick, but lubricating oil was just one of the uses of Lil’ Lisa Patented Animal Slurry. Among other things it could also be used as a high-protein feed for farm animals, insulation for low-income housing, a powerful explosive and a top-notch engine coolant. > [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I don’t think Janitor from Scrubs is really evil. He helps people out occasionally. He’s more like an agent of chaos, inclined to upset the natural order of things. I think he’s only evil to JD. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/86 "2008-09-17T17:10:01Z")
Hmmm… Cartman is number 1 as far as Evil Burns well he’s up there too But un nominated, from what I see and deserving of a nod is The Black Adder. A man so into his own comfort, safety and stature, he has: Turned in a woman he was in love with as a spy and let her be executed even though she wasn’t. Sent two actors to be tortured to death as traitors because they were rude to him. Accidentally brutally chopped off the constituent of a rotten borough’s head (While said person was shaving of course) to make sure that his money with the Prince was secured. Had another girl hung (she deserved it this time) because she spurned him. Used his dogsbody as a horse. Threw his house servant out to die in the streets over a girl named Bob. Allowed his Captain to be eaten by Cannibals Gave a bottle of Urine to Sir Walter Raliegh as wine betrayed England to both Spain and Germany. poisoned the Scarlet Pimpernell Ascended to the throne by assuming the identity of the Prince Regent, who was shot by Wellington. ETC ETC ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/87 "2008-09-17T17:27:34Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Sorry – Basil is just a puppet on a string, and the string is being pulled by Sybil Fawlty. Without Sybil, Basil would be just charmingly incompetent: she’s the one who drives him to the dark side. > > And talking of the dark side, I’m surprised that no one has mentioned Edmund Blackadder, who at least gets the prize for being evil over more periods in history than anyone else. Maybe, but he wasn’t evil in **Blackadder Goes Forth**. Sure, he did everything he could to avoid going “over the top” - but hell, who wouldn’t? World War 1 was a pointless, bloody mess - doing everything you can to keep breathing is simple good sense. Moreover, he usually tried to keep his unit out of harm’s way as well, even though this was only to save his own hide. ---
**Author:** ![thwartme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@thwartme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thwartme)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/88 "2008-09-17T18:11:18Z")
There was an animated series a couple of years ago called God, the Devil and Bob. I never actually watched, but I’d guess “The Devil” is a pretty evil character. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/89 "2008-09-17T18:21:48Z")
When determining who the most evil sitcom characters are shouldn’t we take into consideration their success rate? For example, Eric Cartman’s name has often come up in this thread but his malevolence is frequently undermined by his stupidity and incompetence. That’s one reason why the ending of the Scott Tenneman episode so shocking–for once his scheme didn’t backfire on him. In terms of scale and success of evil deeds, I agree with Boyo Jim’s assessment that Montgomery Burns has it completely over Cartman. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/90 "2008-09-17T18:24:19Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I don’t think Janitor from Scrubs is really evil. He helps people out occasionally. He’s more like an agent of chaos, inclined to upset the natural order of things. > > For sheer depraved indifference, Dr. Venture from the _Venture Brothers_ ranks tops in the evil category. He keeps his sons sheltered and considers them loud, annoying tools instead of children. He disciplines them with passive-aggressive snarks, keeps them naive and socially awkward, and mocks them whenever they show fear or weakness. **He also keeps cloned versions of them in storage in case they die** , so he doesn’t have to waste his time being a protective parent. They’ve effectively lost 3 years of their lives to reboots. (Bolding mine) Well, not so much anymore… Of course you’d also have to consider the “Swedish Murder Machine”, Brock Sampson, who’s solution to every problem seems to involve sticking his knife into something (or, more often, some_one_). ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/91 "2008-09-17T18:40:17Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > I don’t think Janitor from Scrubs is really evil. He helps people out occasionally. He’s more like an agent of chaos, inclined to upset the natural order of things. What we need in this list are some agents of _KAOS_, like Sigfried for example. “We don’t ‘shush’ here!” ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/92 "2008-09-17T20:45:57Z")
Mom, as in Mom’s Robot’s, from _Futurama_. She treats her sons like the Three Stooges, and built all of her robots with a hidden program to take over the Earth. And she _demands_ gifts and cards on Mother’s Day. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/93 "2008-09-17T20:50:26Z")
> [@Darwins\_Finch](#): > > Of course you’d also have to consider the “Swedish Murder Machine”, Brock Sampson, who’s solution to every problem seems to involve sticking his knife into something (or, more often, some_one_). Good nomination, but he does at least do a better job of taking care of the Venture boys than Dr. Venture does. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/94 "2008-09-17T22:50:08Z")
I don’t think either Kelso or the Janitor (from Scrubs) are evil. Admittedly, Bobbo was initially presented as such, but it’s become clear that he only pretends to be heartless towards poor patients to hide the fact that he has to make do with inadequate resources and which he cannot dispense as recklessly as Cox does. Of course, he’s genuinely cruel to his interns and residents, but so is Cox; fear is the tool they both use to teach. And I’ll agree that he’s generally lecherous, but that’s more, ah, tacky. As for the Janitor, he only INITATES evil against JD, and he thinks JD started it; certainly JD unintentionally escalated things several times. But Janitor clearly loves Eliot and likes Carla and his crew. ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/95 "2008-09-18T00:27:18Z")
It’s a toss-up between the two **Drysdales** on \*The Beverly Hillbillies \*-- **he’s** a greedy, petty, soul-dead little crook of a banker who’ll do anything no matter how abjectly humiliating or dishonest to keep the Clampets in the Hills and their money in his bank, while **she’s** a lying, conniving, vicious snob who wants those same filthy-rich hillbillies to just go away, for no reason other than that they’re different and she hates them for it, and considers them inferiors with no right to live where she does-- so she launches all sorts of devious, callous schemes to chase them off. What a bizzitch, huh? She’s the meaner of the two, as evidenced by the way she treats her spouse, but they’re both disgusting puke bags who ought to be taken out and shot in the head. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/96 "2008-09-18T01:54:32Z")
Your description of Mr. Drysdale is accurate only for the later episodes of the show. In the earlier episodes he was certainly money-oriented and did want to keep the Clampett fortune in his bank, but he also evidenced a genuine affection for the Clampetts. Actually, I don’t think that affection ever entirely disappears from the show. Your description of Mrs. Drysdale is dead accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Biers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Biers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biers)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2008, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743/97 "2008-09-18T03:31:13Z")
Joy from _My Name is Earl_? Married Earl when she was knocked up and he was too drunk to notice, gave birth to a half-black kid and named him Earl Jr., divorced Earl on his hospital bed, spent 3 episodes trying to kill Earl and get his lottery winnings. Damn. [Maybe Alec Baldwin was right](http://defamer.com/5045063/inside-alec-baldwin-a-nudist-a-homosexual-a-rock-music-aficionado-and-a-tormented-soul). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-most-evil-sitcom-character-ever-is/463743.md?page=4)