I LOVE Jane Horrocks! She’s wonderful in anything.
Its pretty common to have a show with an ensemble of weird and eccentric characters have a main character be more of a normal straight man so the audience has someone to relate to (I’ve heard the main character in these types of shows be called the “Kermit” after Kermit the Frog). Similarily Seinfeld was the most functional member of the Seinfeld cast, Michael Bluth was the only Bluth member with his act at least semi-togeather, Fleischamann was the most normal citizen of Sicily Alaska, Kermit was the ‘sane’ muppet, etc.
But this is by design, so I’m not sure they really count. They’re not supposed to be as funny or out-there as the other characters.
Brian and Stewie seem to have much more popularity than Peter.
Nay! Crabman!
The sexual tension between Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan was stronger than any on-screen couple I have ever seen.
(that said, I don’t know anyone who would have considered Stephanie Zimbalist the “star” of Remington Steele. If any single person was the star, it was clearly Pierce Brosnan)
Stephanie Zimbalist was an absolutely stunning woman though—One of the most classically beautiful women in television history…
My boyfriend has been watching Soap lately. I only sit through it for Benson and sometimes the guy with the dummy. God, I love Benson, though.
:smack: Of course.
Lots of people stopped giving a shit about what the boys on Entourage were up to, but Ari’s assistant Lloyd has always been worth tuning in for!
She’s got my vote. She doesn’t even need dialogue.
Family Ties was supposed to be about the parents. Meredith Baxter was reportedly furious when it became “The Michael J. Fox Show”
Supposedly, it was after the studio audience reaction to the 4th episode (where Alex loses his virginity) that Gary David Goldberg, the show’s creator, told Baxter, “If you want out now, I won’t blame you.”
Guinastasia:
I’ve always thought of Harry as the star of the show and the others his supporting cast, but I suppose YMMV.
I don’t know if Roseanne counts under the Star/Sidekick criteria but I always thought casting Laurie Metcalf (and John Goodman) alongside Roseanne was brilliant.
In the beginning when Metcalf really used her acting chops to add depth, quirkiness and neurosis to her role, I thought it was an excellent contrast to Roseanne’s brashness and being-herself acting (which I also loved). I don’t know if she “stole” the show, but I certainly looked forward to seeing her onscreen as much as I did the star.
There was real person there who you could see and appreciate, which was lost when they started turning her into a whiny, near-straitlaced and almost-psychotic caricature. I suppose that could also have been a product of the shows aging and jumping the shark but, given how impressed I was with how her character started out, still very dissapointing.
In *Everybody Loves Raymond, *just about all the cast members steal the show from Raymond . . . especially Marie.
The two of them were way more accomplished actors than Roseanne . . . who basically played herself.
Yeah, I think I said that.
Another vote for Christine Baransky as Cybyll Sheppard’s boozy and really sexy friend.
Will & Grace should have been renamed Will & Grace, Jack & Karen.
For all her reputation as an out-of-control prima donna (and by her own admission some of it was justified) Roseanne had astonishingly little problem letting supporting characters steal scenes and episodes. Her mom, Leon, his lover Scott (Fred Willard), Nancy (Sandra Bernhard), Darlene, etc., all walked off with scenes and episodes frequently, nor was Roseanne always the most level headed or likeable (ala Andy Griffith). About the only one who couldn’t steal scenes even when they were written around them were Lecy Goranson (Becky 1) and Michael Fishman (D.J.), though both of their characters dated characters/actors who did (the late Glenn Quinn and Heather Matarazzo respectively). This strange lack of ego is what made it a great show and implies for all the drama Roseanne really knew what she was doing when it didn’t involve Tom Arnold.
She also knew how to stack a deck with talent. There was at least one scene that had three Oscar winners in it: Shelley Winters (Roseanne’s grandmother), Estelle Parsons (her mother), and Red Buttons (her mom’s boyfriend), and several eps featured Ned Beatty who hasn’t won an Oscar but has been nominated.
I’ll add Sanford & Son. Redd Foxx wrapped up his contractual walkout really quick when Whitman Mayo (Grady) got even higher ratings as the father-figure than he (Redd) had gotten, and Mayo wasn’t the only sidekick to steal the spotlight: Aunt Esther seemed such a vital part of the show in retrospect it’s hard to believe she didn’t appear until season 3 and was then only a recurring character, and Bubba also had his moments. Of the entire extended cast older cast (i.e. older than Lamont and Julio) most were “Chitlin’ Belt” comics; only Mayo came from a theater background.
Harriet Sansom Harris (as his demonic agent) and the already mentioned Christine Baranski (as a Dr. Laura clone) both stole episodes of Frasier from the regulars and both walked away with other episodes and shows they were in, so it makes you wonder who would steal a scene they were in together in which they both play over-the-top characters, and strangely, the answer seems to be neither- they both hold their own.