Dr. Perry Cox. He’s complex…he tries to cover up his self-loathing with sarcasm and wit.
Four touchdowns. In one game.
George Costanza.
This is a rather extraordinary complaint.
is it your contention taht only through the lens of history can we possibly discern Great Characters? Or that no reasonable critic could believe that Rainn Wilson’s Dwight Shrute could be Great, no matter how many years go by?
I’m gonna back this one, if for no other reason than I find The Office to be boring and badly-acted, on all counts. YMMV, of course.
As a far greater man than I once said, “These kids today have the historical perspective of a ground squirrel.”
Perspective is needed to define “greatness.” And, I am not a “reasonable critic” by any definition.
Well, there’s some truth to the contention that Archie Bunker has aged well, when many of his contemporaries are forgotten. No one’s nominated Maude or George Jefferson to the list, after all. But it’s not particularly obvious to me that if we’d had a way to ask this question in the 70s the nominations for Beatrice Arthur or Sherm Hemsley would have been pouring in, either.
The Office has run for five seasons. I grant that history may render a more unfavorable verdict. But you know… history has its blind spots. I think everyone pipes up “Archie Bunker” because they remember Archie at home, trading barbs with Rob Meathead Reiner and shooting irritated glares at Edith Dingbat Bunker. Few would elevate Archie based on his interaction with Danielle Brisbois.
Someone please use this thread as the basis of a “Sitcom Character Madness” thread so we can solve this once and for all. 
Not the greatest, but my favorites:
The Larry Sander Show:
-Larry Sanders
-Hank Kingsley
-Arthur/Arty
The Office:
-Dwight Schrute
-Creed Bratton
-David Brent, (UK version)
South Park:
-Eric Cartman
-Chef
-Leopold “Butters” Stotch
-Timmy
Frasier:
-Niles Crane
-Martin Crane
Seinfeld:
-Cosmo Kramer
-Elaine Benes
Leave It to Beaver: (I very much dislike this show, but…)
-Edward ‘Eddie’ Haskell
EDIT: Goddamnit, didn’t read the thread and hoped I was the first to think of Eddie Haskell.
Charlie, from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Only sort of kidding! 
We mention Ralph Cramden but not Ed Norton? The Honeymooners is (I think) one of only three shows mentioned in this thread with two nominations.
Reading from instructions for golf:
“Address the ball.”
Looks down.
“Hello, ball.”
Oh my gosh, yes yes yes. Sir Humphrey has to be mentioned also.
Top Ten, in order:
DePalma
Bilko
Bunker
Flagg
Schrute
Arthur (Rip Torn)
Lt. Colonel Henry Blake
Ted (Mary Tyler Moore Show)
Maxwell Smart
Fife
Del Boy Trotter
Hancock
Basil Fawlty
Blackadder
Baldrick
In no particular order
I thought he was quite good as Charlie in Barton Fink, as well.
Basil Fawlty has to get props for being a great character, especially considering that only a dozen episodes were ever made of the show. Most of these other characters had a lot more opportunities to define themselves.
Objectively, I think the answer is Archie Bunker, but I personally I hated his character and disliked his show. It always puzzled me why anyone would willingly tune in to watch the antics of such a jerk, there being no shortage of such jerks in the real world to observe and interact with.
Other great characters I don’t think have been mentioned yet (with apologies if they have been):
Col. Wilhelm Klink
Oliver Wendell Douglas
Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzerelli
Yep, I think objectively the answer is Archie Bunker, but certainkly from a subjective point of view the one that probably sticks out for me is Hawkeye Pierce.
I’ll 50th O’Conner (Archie Bunker)…there is him…then everyone else.
Another vote for “thought of Archie Bunker upon seeing thread title”. Barney Fife must be up there as well.
Al Bundy
George Costanza
Homer Simpson
Eddie Haskell,
Mr. Carlin,
and Mr. Burns
are three.
I vote for Ralph Kramden- in part, because so many other memorable sitcom characters (including Archie Bunker) are inconceivable without him.