THE BEST TV CHARACTER EVER (IMHO)

Archie Bunker- He was a man of his time. He embodied the attitudes of the average working class man, at a time when the world was rapidly changing.

Has to be Lucille Ball............. No contest.

Now I introduce the fact that I'm a nerd.
Hands down my all time favorite is Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek the Next Generation.

number 1 he's very intelligent even for an intellectual.

number 2 he has(and sticks to) all the principles i wish I had.

number 3 he's a real warrior whose not afraid to fight physically or verbally for what he believes.

be back later

Off the top of my head, gotta agree here. Plus just a great show overall.

Book mark

member this is IMHO,so no fistfights will be tolerated.


Snother contender for me ws John Cleese as Basil Fawlty.
I never watched much of all in the Family but I understand that it was really ground breaking and Archie Bunker was pretty much a "compassionate bigot"

John Cleese definitely. But in a sense, Cleese transcends any character he plays.

Among the mortals, my favorite personality is Ed Asner, as an editor, both for a TV show (Mary Tyler Moore, and for a newspaper.

again a nerd
Jean-Luc could destroy your other TV characters in a fist fight.

after all he is a Captain.

I vood paint Jean LuUcs heead vis zee 'Appy Face! EE ees sew much , ow yewe zay, zeee pooossy. He ees too musch sayink "mek it zo"!

Theres another show I missed , the mary Tyler Moore sghow, there were whole multile tear periods when I didnt see much TV at all. I wish theyd have them in reruns, except , since MTM was in teh 70's Im sure everyone would be dressed in Barney Miller suits.

Let's not forget Sanford and Son. Loved it! and yes, All in the Family broke all the rules. Especially liked the Quincy Jones music behind Red Foxx's show.

Chrissakes, runnin one of these threads is like herding quail. Now who's the character you like, Sanford or Lamont?

I bet you never had a humble opinion in your life, farmer. (saw Big Fish again last night).

Well, Sanford then. I misread your subject.

That isw one show I always hadda see.

You know, farmer. It's hard to separate a cast from the main actor sometimes. There are others, but I will have to think.

I always had been told that the concept of "ensemble" casts began and grew with MASH for comedies and Gunsmoke for westerns

I have a list of characters I like:

I would have to put Archie Bunker at the top, for reasons already given by others.

Palladin was my favorite: Intellectual, sensitive, able to shoot it out with the best of them.

Hawkeye Pierce: started out out as a clown, but became a complex character, with a lot of heart. I particularly like the episode in which he prevails upon Radar O'Rielly to send a message to the president. "Dear Harry, Who's responsible?"

If we were discussing radio, I would list Marshall Matt Dillon, but, TV took the heart out of him.

The Sienfeld cast. I love those kooks dearly.

Lucille Ball, for her great comedy.

Amos McCoy, loveable, cantankerous old hillbilly. He could be exasperating, or wrench a tear out of me on occasion.
There are a few others, but that's enough for now.

edgar mentioned seinfeld, george costanza does it for me, can i be an architecht, i always thought i would've made a great architect, and i'll call myself art vanderlay

who hasn't wanted to do that, an everyman and a nobody all at the same time

Gotta agree with Phoenix and Slappy -- Archie Bunker not only defined a changing era, he innovated some unforgettable phrases that have become a part of the language. I still tell people to stifle themselves!