Oh…
Ed Norton
Oscar Madison
Sgt. Bilko
It’s a three way tie:
Al Bundy - Married with Children
Bill McNeal - News Radio
Granny - Beverly Hillbillies
Dick Loudon - Newhart
Mr. Belvedere - Mr. Belvedere
Jimmy James - NewsRadio
Dietrich, Frasier, and Dan Fielding, whose sense of humor is very close to my own.
Niles was a slow-burner who eclipsed his brother later in the show, although I thought he was already eminent when his eminence was merely imminent.
I grew up watching Arthur Fonzarelli, who introduced us to Mork.
Homer Simpson made all well-meaning dads look a bit better and all well-meaning puritans look a bit dumber.
- Sir Humphrey Appleby (Yes (Prime) Minister)
- Ron Swanson (Parks and Recreation)
- Del Boy (Only Fools and Horses)
Niles Crane - Frasier
Edmund Blackadder - the Blackadder saga
Eddie Hitler - Bottom
It’s so hard to choose! If I had to go purely on who gets the biggest laughs, my list of three would have to be Niles Crane (Frasier), Richard Richard (Bottom) and Dick Solomon (3rd Rock from the Sun). The first of these is already on a lot of people’s lists here; the latter two amuse me to no end with their over-the-top freak-out behaviour.
Runner-up: While she was more of a straight man character, I’ll always have a soft spot for That '70s Show’s Donna Pinciotti, who I think would be a great friend to hang out with in real life.
Damn, reading all the previous entries makes it hard for me to narrow my field down to 3.
I’ll go with ones that haven’t been mentioned yet, just to give them a thumbs up.
- Raji Koothrapali (however it’s spelled) from Big Bang Theory - He cracks me up with the way he can be so spiteful and passive-aggressive but sound so jolly about it.
- April Ludgate from Parks and Recreation - She’s just so fatally apathetic.
- Pierce from Community - Chevy Chase had such contempt for the show and was unintentionally funny because of it.
Homer Simpson
Tina Belcher
Judge Harry Stone
Also Ron Swanson
Omitting animated shows, which would make this even harder:
- Darlene Conner (Roseanne), the girl I wish I had known in high school
- Eric Foreman (That 70s Show), pretty much who I was in high school, except I could rarely score pot
- Edmund Blackadder (Blackadder I-IV), who always has the perfect comeback
- Buddy Sorrell (The Dick Van Dyke Show)
- Barney Fife (The Andy Griffith Show)
- Maxwell Smart (Get Smart)
Sheldon Cooper, Big Bang Theory
Les Nessman, WKRP in Cincinnatti
Chandler Bing, Friends
Larry David/Curb
Bret & Jemaine/Conchords
- Ensign Parker - McHale’s Navy
2, Pete - December Bride (and Pete and Gladys)
- Lew Grant - Mary Tyler More Show
This is hard for me to narrow down, but I’ll give it a shot:
- Gilligan - Gilligan’s Island - The star of THE sitcom of my childhood summers. I watched every episode at least 50 times and I still never get tired of it. Really a brilliant show.
(paraphrasing from memory)
Professor: During the making of this movie, we experienced some technical issues.
Gilligan: He means me.
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Arnold Jackson - Diff’rent Strokes - “Wha’ ‘chu talkin’ bout Willis?” Need I say more?
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tie: Woody Boyd from Cheers and Susie Greene from Curb Your Enthusiasm.
As much as I loved Coach, Woody made the best sitcom ever even better.
Woody: Hey, Dr. Crane. Mrs. Dr. Crane. You guys are here on your night off, huh?
Lilith: You have a marvelous grasp of the obvious.
Woody: Well, that’s what comes from working with your hands
And at times when CYE got a little slow, a Susie quote would quickly revive the episode:
Susie: Fuck you, you car-wash cunt. I had a dental appointment!
I can’t do this sort of list thing, but I’m sure George Costanza would be on there somewhere.
Tim Conway - just watch his timing as he completely wipes out the rest of the cast, you can see them trying desperately to keep it together, probably the very best sketch in the history of comedy tv
Alan Brady (Dick Van Dyke Show)
Buddy Sorrell (Dick Van Dyke Show)
Lisa Douglas (Green Acres, dahling)