# Who are the funniest sit-com characters on this list? (Multiple Choice) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 14, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675 "2010-09-14T01:58:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/1 "2010-09-14T01:58:09Z")
Note that I did not include a “you forgot…” option. I’m only interested in the rankings of those on my list. But if you _really_ feel the need, go ahead and tell me who you would have put on your top 25 list that I did not. Have fun, and HEY!..Let’s be careful out there. mmm ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/2 "2010-09-14T02:15:33Z")
Dr. Johnny Fever seems like an odd choice from WKRP – he was almost a straight man compared to Herb and Les! ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/3 "2010-09-14T02:35:08Z")
The Cranes, hands down. ---
**Author:** ![pinkyvee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6de8d8/32.png) [@pinkyvee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkyvee)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/4 "2010-09-14T02:49:17Z")
I voted Ed Norton ~~~ BECAUSE his character could make me laugh without saying anything. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/5 "2010-09-14T03:16:33Z")
Barney Fife was one of the funniest characters of all time. Why not Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies? Why not Carla or Woody from Cheers? Why not Bill McNeil from News Radio? Why not Lucy? ---
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/6 "2010-09-14T07:00:53Z")
Niles Crane is the only person on that list that strikes me as even mildly amusing. If you had told me this list was for a “most annoying characters in sitcoms” poll I wouldn’t have even blinked. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/7 "2010-09-14T08:56:10Z")
How bizarre - I think of myself as a big TV watched and I’ve only seen three of those shows (Frasier, Cheers and the Big Bang Theory), and only like one (Frasier). There are two I’ve never even heard of! Anyway, I vote for Niles, for the ironing scene even if the rest of the series hadn’t existed. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/8 "2010-09-14T09:03:07Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Barney Fife was one of the funniest characters of all time. > > Why not Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies? > Why not Carla or Woody from Cheers? > Why not Bill McNeil from News Radio? > Why not Lucy? Why no females at all, for that matter??:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/9 "2010-09-14T10:08:00Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > > [@TriPolar](#): > > > > Barney Fife was one of the funniest characters of all time. > > > > Why not Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies? > > Why not Carla or Woody from Cheers? > > Why not Bill McNeil from News Radio? > > Why not Lucy? > > Why no females at all, for that matter??:dubious: A legitimate question. Honestly, I could not think of a single female character that I thought was funny enough to be included. Close but no cigar: Diane from Cheers, Laura from Dick Van Dyke, Phoebe from Friends, Edith from All in the Family. Which would have been on your list, Maggie? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/10 "2010-09-14T10:09:14Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > How bizarre - I think of myself as a big TV watched and I’ve only seen three of those shows (Frasier, Cheers and the Big Bang Theory), and only like one (Frasier). There are two I’ve never even heard of! > > Anyway, I vote for Niles, for the ironing scene even if the rest of the series hadn’t existed. Your post is, to me, bizarre. Which two shows have you never heard of? mmm ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/11 "2010-09-14T10:16:47Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > [@scifisam2009](#): > > > > How bizarre - I think of myself as a big TV watched and I’ve only seen three of those shows (Frasier, Cheers and the Big Bang Theory), and only like one (Frasier). There are two I’ve never even heard of! > > > > Anyway, I vote for Niles, for the ironing scene even if the rest of the series hadn’t existed. > > Your post is, to me, bizarre. > > Which two shows have you never heard of? > mmm I think it’s just that a lot of them are older US shows which weren’t shown abroad that much. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have included them - I’m just surprised to see a list that’s so unfamiliar to me. If it was post-1990 it’d probably all be shows that I’ve heard of and most of them that I’ve watched. I’ve never heard of Modern Family or Gomer Pyle. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/12 "2010-09-14T11:27:32Z")
Wow. No Susie Greene, Jeff Greene, or Richard Lewis from **Curb Your Enthusiasm**? The American version of **The Office** is represented, but not the original, far superior British version? Anyway, I chose Archie Bunker, the **Frasier** characters, the **Taxi** characters, and Larry David. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/13 "2010-09-14T11:28:52Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Dr. Johnny Fever seems like an odd choice from WKRP – he was almost a straight man compared to Herb and Les! Yeah, Les Nessman made that show. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/14 "2010-09-14T11:31:03Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > > > Why no females at all, for that matter??:dubious: > > A legitimate question. > > Honestly, I could not think of a single female character that I thought was funny enough to be included. > > Close but no cigar: Diane from Cheers, Laura from Dick Van Dyke, Phoebe from Friends, Edith from All in the Family. > > Which would have been on your list, Maggie? > mmm Again: _Susie Greene_ from **Curb Your Enthusiasm**. Funniest female character I’ve probably ever seen in any sitcom, and one of the funniest characters, period. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/15 "2010-09-14T11:33:34Z")
Also: I find it beyond depressing (but not at all surprising) that a character from the execrable **Big Bang Theory** is in the top three on this poll. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/16 "2010-09-14T12:09:44Z")
To be honest, I didn’t even think of Susie Greene. She may have made it. And, in retrospect, I should have made the list longer and included the ladies I mentioned above (especially Edith Bunker). Looking over my list I notice something else that I will point out before someone else does: every one is a not only a male, but a Caucasian as well. Since realizing this I’ve tried to thing of a non-Caucasian I would add; so far, can’t think of one. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/17 "2010-09-14T12:13:27Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > Your post is, to me, bizarre. > > > > Which two shows have you never heard of? > > mmm > > I think it’s just that a lot of them are older US shows which weren’t shown abroad that much. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have included them - I’m just surprised to see a list that’s so unfamiliar to me. If it was post-1990 it’d probably all be shows that I’ve heard of and most of them that I’ve watched. > > I’ve never heard of Modern Family or Gomer Pyle. Ahh, I see. Gomer Pyle was a 1960’s show about a bumbling U.S. marine. Modern Family is a current sit-com. mmm ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/18 "2010-09-14T12:14:15Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > To be honest, I didn’t even think of Susie Greene. She may have made it. > > And, in retrospect, I should have made the list longer and included the ladies I mentioned above (especially Edith Bunker). > > Looking over my list I notice something else that I will point out before someone else does: every one is a not only a male, but a Caucasian as well. Since realizing this I’ve tried to thing of a non-Caucasian I would add; so far, can’t think of one. > mmm Not regular characters, to be sure, but I can think of two right off the top of my head: Leon Black and Krazee-Eyez Killa. Also: Fred Sandford? James “J.J.” Evans, Jr.? Freddie “Rerun” Stubbs? As for black women: Shirley Wilson? Aunt Esther Anderson? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/19 "2010-09-14T12:28:26Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > To be honest, I didn’t even think of Susie Greene. She may have made it. > > > > And, in retrospect, I should have made the list longer and included the ladies I mentioned above (especially Edith Bunker). > > > > Looking over my list I notice something else that I will point out before someone else does: every one is a not only a male, but a Caucasian as well. Since realizing this I’ve tried to thing of a non-Caucasian I would add; so far, can’t think of one. > > mmm > > Not regular characters, to be sure, but I can think of two right off the top of my head: Leon Black and Krazee-Eyez Killa. Also: Fred Sandford? James “J.J.” Evans, Jr.? Freddie “Rerun” Stubbs? > > As for black women: Shirley Wilson? Aunt Esther Anderson? The two ‘Curb’ characters mentioned are funny, but not quite funny enough (and way too minor to include). Of the others, aside from Fred, I find none of them remotely amusing. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675/20 "2010-09-14T12:28:45Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > To be honest, I didn’t even think of Susie Greene. She may have made it. > > > > And, in retrospect, I should have made the list longer and included the ladies I mentioned above (especially Edith Bunker). > > > > Looking over my list I notice something else that I will point out before someone else does: every one is a not only a male, but a Caucasian as well. Since realizing this I’ve tried to thing of a non-Caucasian I would add; so far, can’t think of one. > > mmm > > Not regular characters, to be sure, but I can think of two right off the top of my head: Leon Black and Krazee-Eyez Killa. Also: Fred Sandford? James “J.J.” Evans, Jr.? Freddie “Rerun” Stubbs? > > As for black women: Shirley Wilson? Aunt Esther Anderson? For non-caucasians I’d add Aped from Community, for woman Liz Lemon from 30 Rock. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-funniest-sit-com-characters-on-this-list-multiple-choice/553675.md?page=2)