# Your favorite TV characters of all time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641 "2012-03-03T15:07:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/41 "2012-03-03T19:20:26Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > I honestly don’t remember Cheyenne getting beat up by smaller guys, unless it was a gang of them. Of course, almost everybody was smaller than he was, so I guess he couldn’t win them all. Yes. Clint Walker was a big guy and I suppose it may have been his idea (or that of the show’s writers and producers) to have Cheyenne be vulnerable and not always come out on top in fights, as was always the case for the Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy types, so he would get jumped by a pipsqueak and have a hard time winning the fight after getting knocked around a lot. In one episode Clint Eastwood played a tough who confronted Cheyenne with something like, “Bodie, I accuse you of cow-ar-dise.” That was before Eastwood decame Rowdy Yates on _Rawhide_ (if my memory serves). In the process of trying to find that line on a YouTube clip, I ran across [Clint Walker arm wrestles Peter Graves](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7UzEx9_es) which might amuse _Mission: Impossible_ fans just a touch. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/42 "2012-03-03T19:20:57Z")
Rupert Giles Cordelia Chase Capt. Barney Miller Lorelai Gilmore Col. Robert Hogan ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/43 "2012-03-03T19:21:17Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Great choices. I’d like to add Bart Maverick. Jack Kelly was a better actor at this point in his career than James Garner was at the time he played Bret. > > Sue Ann Nivens played by Betty White. A joy to watch. > > Candy played by April Bowlby on Two and A Half Men. A complete joy to watch. A complete modern mastery of the Gracie Allen type character. The dumb bimbo doesn’t, in general, appeal to me. But April Bowlby made this character work. She is smokin’ hot of course, but for most of the show also sweet. I don’t know if, IRL, I would tolerate her (character) for long, but for most of her stint on the show, she was the highlight of the episodes she was in. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/44 "2012-03-03T19:33:44Z")
And there will always be a special place in my heart for Press Secretary C.J. Craig. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/45 "2012-03-03T20:18:37Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > The dumb bimbo doesn’t, in general, appeal to me. But April Bowlby made this character work. She is smokin’ hot of course, but for most of the show also sweet. I don’t know if, IRL, I would tolerate her (character) for long, but for most of her stint on the show, she was the highlight of the episodes she was in. I generally don’t care for stupid either. This really rocked because it is so difficult to make it work. I was hoping for a spin-off called “I like Candy”, but for some reason the producers didn’t see the gold. Oh, another one that really worked for me was Lisa Robin Kelly as Laurie Foreman on “That '70’s Show” as the evil slut. I understand that the actress was impossible to work with, but I swear back in the 70s I knew a few young women exactly like that. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/46 "2012-03-03T20:43:23Z")
Bret Maverick (Maverick) Number 6 (The Prisoner) Columbo (Columbo) Jim Ignatowski (Taxi) Gus McCrae (Lonesome Dove) Lennie Briscoe (Law & Order) Dr. Larry Fleinhardt (Numb3rs) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/47 "2012-03-03T20:50:04Z")
I’ve got to go with **The Doctor**. ---
**Author:** ![Mewl\_Dear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Mewl\_Dear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mewl_Dear)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/48 "2012-03-03T20:53:19Z")
Archie Bunker The Fonz Maxwell Smart ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/49 "2012-03-03T21:06:47Z")
Endora, Samantha’s mother on _Bewitched_. The Professor on _Gilligan’s Island_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/50 "2012-03-03T21:07:48Z")
Sterling Archer Eric Cartman Homer Simpson Brock Sampson Lieutenant Frank Columbo Louie DePalma Ted Baxter ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/51 "2012-03-03T21:10:17Z")
Andy Travis (WKRP) Niles Crane (Frasier) Dr. Luka and Dr. Abby (on ER) Dr. Gregory House (House) Capt. Dylan Hunt (Andromeda) Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper (MTM Show and Rhoda) The whole cast of Northern Exposure. There are others, but just off the top of my head, I enjoyed the above characters and remember the shows fondly. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/52 "2012-03-03T21:13:45Z")
Adding: Maynard G. Krebs Chuck Bartowski Dr. Johnny Fever Rupert Giles ---
**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:** [March 3, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/53 "2012-03-03T21:30:26Z")
Arthur Dietrich Frank Luger Archie Bunker Sherman Potter Felix Unger Barney Fife Creed Bratton Maxwell Smart and [Jamie Buchman](http://images.zap2it.com/images/tv-EP00036975/mad-about-you-helen-hunt-1.jpg) (ha-cha-cha) mmm ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/54 "2012-03-03T21:37:17Z")
Some others I have finally thought about: – [Kimball Cho](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1085727/) – [Hank Dolworth](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006610/) – [Britt Pollack](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1535423/) – [Jack Bauer](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000662/) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/55 "2012-03-03T21:51:50Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Also, did it strike you as odd that Cheyenne was always getting beat up by some much smaller bad guy? Six-foot-six and a 48" chest? It would be hard to find a bad guy who was bigger. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/56 "2012-03-03T22:03:51Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > Gus McCrae (Lonesome Dove) Thanks for the memory jog! Gus and [Woodrow F. Call](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000169/) are among the best Old West types to come along. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/57 "2012-03-03T22:13:28Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Six-foot-six and a 48" chest? It would be hard to find a bad guy who was bigger. No way to argue that point, but it’s fun looking over the [Full cast and crew for “Cheyenne” (1955)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047720/fullcredits#cast) to try to find such an individual. I was quite surprised to see that I must have missed the episode(s) where James Garner appeared as Bret! It’s also unsettling not to find Clint Eastwood’s credit there, or on his own page. I must have misremembered the thing with his delivery of that line I so associate with him. Must be another young actor just getting started on his way to bigger and better things. ---
**Author:** ![CALIBURN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@CALIBURN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CALIBURN)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/58 "2012-03-04T00:02:39Z")
-archie bunker -al bundy -homer simpson -dwight schrute -eric cartman -randy marsh -ron f’n swanson -sylar -kenny powers ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/59 "2012-03-04T01:10:51Z")
A quick list of initial thoughts: Homer Simpson Mal Reynolds Omar! Jack Donaghey (which I’m sure is spelled wrong) CM Punk (maybe not the kind of character you’re thinking of) ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/60 "2012-03-04T03:22:05Z")
Here’s one for _Davy Crockett_ played by Fess Parker. _Hank Hill_ on King of the Hill. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641.md?page=4)