50 greatest TV characters
The list - in no particular order - starts on the next slide.
The Huxtables
Cliff may be the first person on television who said what parents felt. In the pilot episode, he told Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) to get good grades or else: "I brought you into this world and I'll take you out."
Photo: "The Cosby Show" cast from left: Sabrina Le Beauf (Sandra), Tempestt Bledsoe (Vanessa), Bill Cosby (Cliff), Keshia Knight Pulliam (Rudy), Phylicia Rashad (Claire), Raven-Symone (Olivia) and Malcolm-Jamal Warner (Theo). Not pictured is Lisa Bonet as daughter Denise.
Mary Richards
Oh, and the show is really funny, too.
Photo: Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards in a scene from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."
Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli
Photo: Clockwise from left, "Happy Days" co-stars Ron Howard, Anson Williams, Henry Winkler as The Fonz, Al Molinari and Tom Bosley.
Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney
Laverne was the tougher one with a grim (for a sitcom) outlook on life and Shirley was the bright-eyed optimist who could always put a positive twist on any trouble the two of them got into.
Photo: Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall as Shirley Feeney and Laverne DeFazio from "Laverne & Shirley."
Lucy Ricardo
In one of Ball's most memorable performances as Lucy, she finagles a live commercial gig only to get drunk during rehearsals because the product, Vitameatavegamin, is 25 percent alcohol and she's required to try some on camera. She then wanders onto the set during the live broadcast and Ricky has to carry her off stage.
Photo: Visitors watch Lucille Ball in the "Vitameatavegamin" episode of "I Love Lucy" during an exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the show, July 13, 2001, at the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa, Calif.
Omar Little
Drug dealers feared him because he stole their wares, money and then killed them when it suited him. Cops mistrusted him because he interfered - directly or indirectly - with their investigations (and they could never seem to pin anything on him).
He played the game and feared nothing, which is what ultimately gets him killed.
Photo: Michael K. Williams as Omar Little, Baltimore's most-feared stickup artist, on the HBO cable television series, "The Wire."
Homer Simpson
And what makes it into the dictionary? The important stuff.
Photo: Homer Simpson.
Barney Stinson
Photo: Neil Patrick Harris poses in the press room at the 2006 Creative Arts Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium on Aug. 19, 2006, in Los Angeles.
Special Agent Dale Cooper
Plus, he really loved the coffee in Twin Peaks.
Photo: Kyle MacLachlan as Special Agent Dale Cooper
Clayton Bigsby
In a spoof of "Frontline," we meet Bigsby, a blind - and black - white supremacist. Because he's blind, he doesn't know he's black. Even after he learns he's black, he continues on with the cause. It was funny and also showed the insanity of racism, a subject Chappelle and "Chappelle's Show" returned to many times.
Photo: Dave Chappelle speaks with the press at the TCA Press Tour Cable at the Century Plaza Hotel on July 21, 2004, in Los Angeles.
The General Lee
Best part? The drivers, usually Bo and Luke Duke, never suffered for not wearing seat belts.
Photo: A 1969 Dodge Charger, dubbed "The General Lee" from the TV series "The Dukes of Hazzard," is displayed during the 37th Annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Cars auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., Jan. 16, 2008.
Brenda Walsh
Photo: "Beverly Hills, 90210" original cast: Brian Austin Green, Jennie Garth, Luke Perry, Shannen Doherty as Brenda, Jason Priestley, Tori Spelling, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris and Douglas Emerson, from left, Sept. 1, 1990.
Don Draper
But maybe that's what we like about Draper. There were two Americas back then, the "Leave it to Beaver" America that Draper and his cohorts sell in the ad world, and the "Mad Men" America, in which everyone drinks, smokes and screws their brains out.
Photo: Jon Hamm as Don Draper.
Tony Soprano
He dealt with typical gangster problems in an atypical way: therapy. And he also had a mundane existence that most people could identify with, regardless of the highs and lows of being a criminal.
Photo: James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano in the first season of "The Sopranos"
Edith Bunker
She didn't stand up to Archie often, but when she did, it was big - like the time she slapped him for placing bets behind her back.
Photo: Clockwise from left, Sally Struthers as Gloria, Rob Reiner as Michael, Jean Stapleton as Edith and Carroll O'Connor as Archie in "All in the Family."
Lester Freamon
He got into trouble when playing along with McNulty's crazier schemes but always managed to avoid terrible problems himself, probably because he'd been in so much trouble before the series begins. Even when he's forced into retirement, it's more or less on his owns terms.
Photo: Clarke Peters, left, as Lester Freamon and Dominic West as Jimmy McNulty on "The Wire."
Fox Mulder
Photo: David Duchovny as agent Fox Mulder from "The X-Files."
Eric Cartman
No, he doesn't have a good side.
Photo: From left, Kenny, Cartman, Kyle and Stan from "South Park."
Joe Friday
Created by its star, Jack Webb, as a radio show, "Dragnet" had several incarnations as TV series, a movie and an incredibly bad comedy film in the 1980s.
Friday's influence can be seen in every no-nonsense cop on TV and film since, from Lt. Castillo on "Miami Vice" to Horatio Caine on "CSI: Miami."
Photo: Jack Webb as Joe Friday from the TV series "Dragnet," Aug. 1, 1956.
Rose Nylund
Photo: From left, Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur and Betty White from "The Golden Girls."
Capt. James T. Kirk
Photo: William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk from "Stark Trek."
Spock
Photo: Leonard Nimoy as Spock from the TV series "Star Trek."
Bubbles
His struggle with addiction is heartbreaking - the guy wants to do what's right and struggles and fails over and over - but ultimately his story ends happily, one of the few on "The Wire" that does.
Photo: Andre Royo as Bubbles on HBO's "The Wire."
J.R. Ewing
Photo: Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing from "Dallas"
The cast of "Seinfeld"
Photo: The cast of "Seinfeld," Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards, from left.
Peggy Olsen
Though initially soft-spoken, she gains confidence with each career advancement and begins speaking out about the way women are treated poorly in business in the 1960s.
Her complicated relationships with Don Draper, Pete Campbell and Joan Holloway are another reason people want to watch Peggy week after week.
Photo: Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olsen in a scene from "Mad Men."
Alex P. Keaton
Alex P. Keaton as portrayed by Michael J. Fox wanted to be smarmy, underhanded and proud of it, but he always managed to do the right thing no matter what the political bent.
Photo: "Family Ties" cast members celebrate their seventh and final season. Scott Valentine, Meredith Baxter, Michael Gross, Brian Bonsall, Michael J. Fox, Justine Bateman and Courteney Cox, from left, May 1, 1989.
George Jefferson
George owned several successful dry cleaning stores in Manhattan, making him one of the first affluent black lead characters on television. And he was funny.
Photo: Isabel Sanford and Sherman Hemsly as Louise and George Jefferson in scene from "The Jeffersons," Sept. 24, 1977.
Stewie Griffin
Photo: Clockwise from left, Chris Griffin (Seth Green), Peter Griffin (Seth MacFarlane), Lois Griffin (Alex Borstein), Meg Griffin (Mila Kunis), Stewie Griffin (Seth MacFarlane) and Brian (Seth MacFarlane) of "Family Guy."
The cast of "Friends"
But you know what? You watched it every week. We all did. And when Rachel got off the plane, you know you were thrilled.
Photo: "Friends" cast: Matthew Perry as Chandler, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe, David Schwimmer as Ross, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel, Courteney Cox Arquette as Monica and Matt LeBlanc as Joey, left to right.
Thomas Magnum
Photo: Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum from "Magnum, P.I."
Lisa Simpson
That's why it's funny when she occasionally does break character, whether it's rebelling against authority or sneaking out to jam with her idol, "Bleeding Gums" Murphy. As voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa is also often the audience surrogate.
Photo: "The Simpsons," Bart, Lisa, Maggie, Marge and Homer, from left.
Gob Bluth
He used his Segway to get around (and knock people over) and actor Will Arnett used his husky voice to give Gob the appearance of menace he didn't actually possess. The guy was a (bad) magician after all.
Best moment? Anytime he did a chicken dance.
Photo: The cast of "Arrested Development": (l-r) Tony Hale, Alla Shawkat, Michael Cera, Jessica Walter, Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Portia de Rossi, David Cross, and Will Arnett (as Gob Bluth)
Frasier Crane
He was at his best when parrying with his brother, Niles, and the many women in his life.
Photo: Grammer - as Crane - pauses a moment after the director calls "cut" after Crane read his final broadcast message in the show's radio station set, March 23, 2004.
Niles Crane
Photo: David Hyde Pierce and Kelsey Grammer as Niles and Frasier Crane from "Frasier."
Kermit the Frog
The impossibly sunny frog and star of "Sesame Street" and "The Muppet Show" sometimes felt it wasn't so easy being green, but he found the silver lining in everything, even Miss Piggy's hot temper.
Photo: Kermit the Frog in New York, Nov. 11, 2008.
Doug Ross
Ross put his patients' well-being ahead of his own and he left County General after one of his many scandals. George Clooney portrayed him with such warmth and conviction that audiences cheered Doug on even when he was doing something that could get him and his colleagues in big trouble.
Photo: George Clooney stars in the fifth season of "ER" as Doug Ross.
Bob Hartley
The jokes were mostly character driven and witty, and Newhart seemed content to let his supporting cast have the biggest laughs. Plus, he brought Hartley out of retirement in a clever way: At the end of Newhart's next sitcom, "Newhart," it was revealed that entire show had been a dream of Bob Hartley's.
Photo: Bob Newhart as Dr. Bob Hartley and Peter Bonerz as Dr. Jerry Robinson on "The Bob Newhart Show," from left.
Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver
It's hard to believe anyone could be so wholesome - especially when shows such as "Mad Men" show the adult, working side of a similar time period - but this is a show from a kid's point of view. And things always got interesting when Beaver's brother, Wally, and Wally's friend Eddie Haskell were around to mix things up.
Photo: Jerry Mathers as Beaver from the series "Leave It To Beaver."
Carla Tortelli
Her own life was tough. Her kids were jerks, her ex-husband Nick was a deadbeat and her second husband, Eddie, was a bigamist. Still, she didn't let any of that stuff keep her down and she had a great one-liner for every occasion.
Photo: Rhea Pearlman played Carla on "Cheers."
Lennie Briscoe
When he made mistakes - the recovering alcoholic fell off the wagon and got an ADA killed because of it - he admitted it and he always tried to make it right. He was a grinder, working at a job that he needed as much as it needed him.
Photo: Jerry Orbach as Lennie Briscoe on "Law & Order."
Jimmy McNulty
This cop broke every rule because he was convinced he was more right than everyone else, and he didn't care about other cops, crime victims or the system - and it was even more apparent when he was drinking, which was often. McNulty's wounded ego is the starting point for many of the show's intricate plots.
Photo: Dominic West as Jimmy McNulty, left, on "The Wire"
David Addison
After David and Maddie slept together on the show and Shepherd took a break when she was pregnant with twins, "Moonlighting" often got by on David's charm alone. Plus, the "taming of the Shrew" episode is great.
Photo: Bruce Willis
Rowdy Yates
Photo: Clint Eastwood is shown as Rowdy Yates in the television series "Rawhide" in Hollywood, Ca., on July 30, 1959.
Stephen Colbert
But identity crises aside, Colbert via Colbert pokes fun at all politicians, advocates thinking instead of blindly following, and he's funny while doing it, too. And how many people can introduce a word - truthiness - into pop culture?
Photo: This photo shows U.S. Speedskating executive director Robert Crowley in the left foreground, Olympic gold medalist Dan Jansen and host Stephen Colbert on the set of "the Colbert Report," Nov. 2, 2009.
Murphy Brown
When the fictional character was criticized by the real life VP over her choice to be a single mother, "Murphy Brown" featured successful one-parent families on its news show, "FYI."
Photo: "Murphy Brown" cast, front l-r: Charles Kimbrough, Candice Bergen, Faith Ford; back l-r: Pat Corley, Robert Pastorelli, Joe Regalbuto and Grant Shaud
Doogie Howser
But he was still a kid that we could relate to, dealing with first girlfriends, parents and the growing pains of regular life. He just happened to be brilliant, too. Neil Patrick Harris played him as a guy who wasn't too smart to know he still had a lot to learn.
Photo: Neal Patrick Harris as Doogie Howser, M.D.
Rico Tubbs and Sonny Crockett
Oh, and as "Miami Vice" cops, they killed a lot of bad guys, too.
Photo: Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs and Don Johnson as "Sonny" Crocket.
Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce
With all his heavy drinking and practical jokes, he almost made life as a front line army surgeon look fun.
Photo: Alan Alda, sitting left, as Hawkeye, with Wayne Rogers, Gary Burghoff, Loretta Swit, Larry Linville and McLean Stevenson in "M*A*S*H."
Vic Mackey
Photo: Michael Chiklis and Glenn Close in a scene from "The Shield."