My Favorite TV Characters

Since we have had plenty of time in this lockdown we are living in…I’ve revisited a lot of characters that I remembered from some great shows. Many times my favorite characters are not the stars of the shows…but a supporting character with a few exceptions…anyway…here they are and I hope you enjoy them. They are in no order.

 

Hank Kimball (Alvy Moore) – Green Acres – If I met Hank Kimball in real life… I would want to choke him but he is funny. I have never seen a character like him…he is the definition of short term memory loss.

Reverend Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd) – Taxi – His scenes are the scenes I look forward to in every episode of Taxi. A heart of gold but a history of being stoned and using his own unique logic.

Arthur Dietrich (Steve Landesberg) – Barney Miller – Arthur Dietrich was like a walking encyclopedia. He knew something it seemed about every subject…and a very dry sense of humor. He might be the least known on my list but again…a truly original character.

Spock (Leonard Nimoy) – Star Trek – What a character Spock was…like a few others on this list…totally original. He is the reason I started to like Star Trek in the first place. 

Columbo (Peter Falk) – Columbo – I went over Colombo yesterday. An untidy guy who appears to be a bumbling detective but will find the killer every time.

Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) – Life On Mars – American readers may not know this character but he is the most politically incorrect character that you could possibly have on a show. A 1973 Detective Chief Inspector that loves his city and don’t get in his way of trying to defend it. He is much like a movie sheriff in the old west. 

Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) – The Sopranos – Modern mobster… He is a murderer and a thief who preys on society and exploits the system…while having a family that he loves. You could teach a college class by studying his character traits. One of the truly great characters.

Gomez Addams (John Astin) – Addams Family – John Astin played him so well. Very irrelevant to whatever was going on around him…and he LOVED train crashes.

Homer Simpson – Simpsons – Role model? NO Smart? NO NO Father of the Year? NO NO NO but funny and he does love his family…and doughnuts.

Doctor Who – (Tom Baker, David Tennant, and Matt Smith) – Doctor Who is really a superhero in a lot of ways. Unlike Superman or other heros…he uses his brains more than anything to save someone or to save earth from destruction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

57 thoughts on “My Favorite TV Characters”

  1. Liked them all- except Gomez. I was a Munster’s fan. When the Addams Family came on I would usually get my baseball cards out or read. Dietrich was my favorite character on the show- oddly we share the same birthday and another character on the show has my name. I was afraid you were going to list another great character who I am writing about today- for tomorrow.. Spock was the key to Star Trek!

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    1. It was odd that the Munsters and Addams Family were on the air at the same time. I alternate watching them at times. The Pilot for the Munsters is odd…seeing it in color is so strange.

      My cousin knew grandpa off of the Munsters. It was somehow connected to the music business I believe.

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      3. I remember seeing a story years ago maybe in sports illustrated about his scouting… not sure about activism.

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  2. I’m no longer much of a TV person. Nowadays, I primarily watch the news, which I realize may not be such a good idea.

    I used to watch a lot more TV when I was growing up in Germany. Over there, we also had Star Trek and Columbo, and I dug both of these shows!

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    1. I’ve stopped watching news for a while. I just had to have a break from it…I did a lot more before all of this.
      If you notice…most of my tv watching is old.

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      1. When it comes to the news, I kinda feel like, damn if you follow, damn if you don’t! Given the enormous impact this bloody coronavirus has, I think it’s important to keep up with the news. On the other hand,

        Oh, fuck, I just saw Little Richard died!

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  3. So many good characters, hard to even know where to begin a list. Definitely Homer would be on my list too. Rev. Jim was probably the best part of Taxi .
    Too bad abou Little Richard. I was, to be honest, surprised he was still alive. A good long life but he will be missed, but not forgotten

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    1. Little Richard was the artist that my dad talked about the most from the fifties apart from Elvis…what a voice he had Dave.

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  4. Always liked Hogans Heroes and Gilligan’s Island growing up. Who would have thunk it that Gilligan was the first pothead on TV while Shaggy was the first pothead cartoon on Scooby Doo! Lot’s of action going on in the back of the Mystery Machine!

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    1. LOL you are right!
      Ok…you have to answer the question the Gilligan question….Ginger or Mary Ann? Which one you like better?

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      1. Ha. Mary Ann is my girl. I think she would do the nasty in the back of the Mystery Machine Van whereas Ginger would be out of my league! lol

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      2. Lol I like that dream man.
        Me too man she is the one…and you are going to be jealous…I met her when I was 10 years old! I shook her hand and hugged her…didn’t wash my hand for a week.
        But alas…no van

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      4. LOL…I was a happy boy…and no fool.

        And man…she was prettier in person dude. Tan as can be. She lived in Nashville in the 70s…and yes she had the shorts on. It was the MD Telethon.

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  5. Of all the Doctors, my favorites are still the first five (William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, and Peter Davison), especially Pertwee. I would have liked to have seen more of Paul McGann (the one from the TV movie). As for the others, I can take them or leave them, and usually leave them.

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    1. McGann had the right look for it for sure. The Doctors I grew up with were Baker and Davison. I have seen a few with Jon Pertwee and I like him and Sarah Jane…Patrick Troughton is the one I want to see more of.

      The two newer Doctors I mentioned are pretty good…they both have a lot of Baker in them.

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  6. You had me at Hank Kimball. 😀 I’m glad you picked him and not Mr. Haney. I discovered Life On Mars after the series was over. I’ve only seen a couple of episodes, but loved what I saw. I need to go back and watch from the start.

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    1. Oh I love Hank Kimball…no Mr. Haney is just too underhanded for me…he is persistent though. Mr Kimball would really get on your nerves but he means no harm.

      Life on Mars is maybe my favorite tv show from the 2000s…and it has a sequel about the 80s…it’s really good. Not up to Life On Mars but it’s good.

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      2. Yes…and tell me how you like it if you don’t mind. I found out about it during it’s last show. I have a BBC buddy at the time…around 2007 and caught up with it and then watched the last show. I love those programs because there are only 16 episodes…though I wanted more when it was done. I have watched it now 3 times…but I needed subtitles to get all of the slang. I learned so much about the 70s UK from that show.
        Some great music that I didn’t know about. Frankie Miller and Atomic Rooster…a whole bunch of stuff.

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      3. With all of the great music in it, I can’t believe I never knew about it at the time. I’ll definitely let you know after I’ve watched it. Did you ever see the US version of the show? Oddly I saw the last couple episodes of that and loved it too.

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      4. Yes I did see the American version and I liked it…. but what was hard to get use to was Gene Hunt. I love Harvey Keitel but he wasn’t as intimidating as his British counterpart. I don’t think American TV would let him get by with what the BBC let Glenister get by with.
        I had already watched the BBC version and it was burned into my mind…so to be honest that isn’t fair of me to judge it.

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      6. Get subtitles if you can…you may be better than me but some of the cockney slang is hard at times. I spent hours finding out about the different things from a certain beer in a can and a children’s 70s tv show that they mentioned.

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  7. Christopher Eccleston (#9). Captain Jack Harkness. Donna Noble. Frohike on The X-Files. Wash on Firefly. Data. Niles Crane. David Addison on Moonlighting. Al Calavicci from Quantum Leap. Johnny Fever. Jeff Bingham on Rules of Engagement. Kenny on South Park. Horshack. Jeffrey Murdock on Coupling. Crowley on Supernatural.

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  9. All good choices, except sorry, I didn’t like Green Acres or anyone on it except maybe Arnold. I couldn’t even begin to try to think of my favorite TV characters, so many of them. Have you ever seen Trailer Park Boys? Talk about a world class ensemble. Ricky, Julian, Bubbles, Mr. Leahy, Randy, and all the rest. Danged funny show, but it took awhile for my ears to get desensitized to the f-bombs.

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      2. Yes I saw that one! My favorite one is where Ricky and Julian are in the grocery store and Bubbles comes through the store PA… great show. I may watch some tonight lol

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      3. There’s a series of them with that plot line (Bubbles’ evil puppet, forgot his name.) What about the Patrick Swayze train set? I don’t remember Bubbles coming over the PA. I haven’t ever watched them from beginning to end so I’m sure there are some I missed. I think netflix has them all AND new ones.

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      4. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it. Now I do remember the Patrick Swayze mention.

        The scary part is I knew people just like them… except Bubbles when I was younger.

        It is funny though. They did appear live a few times with Bubbles playing and singing… it was a brilliant plot idea.

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      5. Oh I have known my fair share of Rickys, Julians, and Bubbles too, and some of them are family members! lol Imagine how boring life would be if everyone was the same. I know that they had taken the show on the road awhile back and I *almost* got tickets to one of the shows. Wish I had now.

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      6. It would be fun to see them live. Who were the guys that they always called to do something for them? Two teens that followed them.

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  10. Man, you got so many great ones, especially Kimble, Jim, Dietrich and Columbo. Also for me Archie Bunker, George Jefferson, Al Bundy, Fred G. Sanford, Alex P. Meat in, Adrian Monk, John Becker, Ron Harris, Edith Bunker, Aunt Esther, Louie Depalma and Dan Fielding.

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      1. LOL… I just watched around 4 seasons of Family Ties a month ago…he was a great character.

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    2. …yes and the list goes on. So many out there…Mr Haney, Louie, Rhoda, etc… my favorites would probably change depending on which one I was watching at the time…right now I’m rewatching the entire Barney Miller…I probably do that once every two years.

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      1. It’s funny I didn’t become a Barney fan until I started catching the reruns on Antenna. Now I’m catching them on FETV. One of the funniest and most intelligent sitcoms ever. People give Frasier all the credit as the smartest and most literate but Barney Miller was just as intelligent and literate imo.

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      2. I totally agree…I’m binge watching it at night right now. The little things they got perfect.

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