Greatest character created in the past 20 years (Title corrected)

[tyketime]

Entertainment Weekly just announced the results to determine the greatest character created in past 20 years. (Sorry for reference to TV and Film... that's what the first article stated. I only now see "source" list). Here are the Top 10:

1. Homer Simpson
2. Harry Potter
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4. Tony Soprano
5. Joker (The Dark Knight)
6. Rachel (from Friends)
7. Edward Scissorhands
8. Hannibal Lecter
9. Carrie Bradshaw (Sex & The City)
10. Spongebob Squarepants

Holy Crap. First, I have to give props to quite a diverse set of characters. I don't even have a problem with many in the Top 5. But 6,7,9 leave me scratching my head. Pretty interesting results though.

[ISiddiqui]

Why exactly do 6 and 9 leave you scratching your head? I mean 6 is obvious. Friends was a massively popular show and Rachel's impact was huge as I remember women all over the country trying to get Jennifer Aniston's haircut and the whole Ross & Rachel storyline was big deal.

9, well, SATC was (and is) massively popular among middle age women. You just aren't in the demographic that loved that show.

7 is a bit stranger, but a lot of people do love Edwards Scissorhands and I think Depp's resurgence of popularity have increased the love for it and the character he played there.

[DataKing]

Interesting list, but I would argue strongly that the Joker does not belong on this list. That's a character that has been around for a looooong time.

And I may be picking nits, but Lecter doesn't below on the list either. That character first showed up in Manhunter (not portrayed by Hopkins) in 1986.

[Matthean]

So they are just accepting the modern version of the Joker and ignoring that the character was created well before 20 years ago?

[johnnyshaka]

"Rachel" isn't even the best character on that show...I would say "Phoebe" is. I get it, Aniston is hot but there are plenty of hot chicks on TV/in movies that play far more interesting characters.

Curious who this poll was geared towards because it's all over the map.

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

I'm pretty sure they say explicitly that it's Ledger's Joker.

[Fidatelo]

This list feels very weak. Rachel from friends?? That show was good, and she was hot, but what exactly is the essence of Rachel's character? Terrible.

Homer, Tony Soprano, and Hannibal Lecter (notwithstanding the potential invalidity of his appearance), and perhaps Spongebob (never watched it) are the only ones that make sense to me.

[tyketime]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

7 is a bit stranger, but a lot of people do love Edwards Scissorhands and I think Depp's resurgence of popularity have increased the love for it and the character he played there.

I would have thought Captain Jack Sparrow would have been the better Depp pick...

[Subby]

Not to defend the choice, but Aniston's character transcended that show. She was a trendsetter on more than one occasion.

[bob]

#2 seems kinda dumb as well given that Harry Potter wasn't created for film or TV, but whatever.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I assume that this list is better explained in the magazine or on-line, because some of these characters in the Top were not "created for television and film". Harry Potter, Hannibal Lecter and the Joker, are three examples of the top ten.

Now, if you are ignoring the source material (which it looks like they are) and are merely focusing on the characters as they were presented on screen/TV, then I can see some of these.

Sure, the Joker has been around for ages, but Ledger in the "Dark Knight" took that character to another level completely. I've read plenty of Batman comics, watched the cartoon, the movies, the TV show and his Joker was definitely a step above. He was riveting on screen.

Same goes for Hopkins as Lecter in "Silence of the Lambs." Brian Cox was fine as Lecter in "Manhunter", but he was nothing close to Hopkins. Hannibal Lecter in "Silence" remains one of the best performances I've ever seen. I felt like I could hardly breathe whenever he was on screen when I first saw it in the theater.

I think "Edward Scissorhands" is a huge reach. I would figure Jack Sparrow would be higher than that character in terms of Depp's performances.

Homer Simpson, without a doubt, belongs at #1.

[thesloppy]

I totally get why Harry Potter is number two, by all sorts of metrics, but to me the film version of that character is made out of wet cardboard and the least appealing part of some decent-to-good movies.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by tyketime

Entertainment Weekly just announced the results of their poll

If it was an online poll, there's really nothing to argue about. Every online poll ends up with ridiculous results.

[Subby]

If Homer Simpson is 1., then George Costanza is 1a.

[Sun Tzu]

I wonder if they had a trout option.

[Lathum]

It amazes me no Seinfeld characters are on their. Maybe it is because the show began in the 80's, but you could make an argument for all 4 of them to be on this list.

as for the rest


1. Homer Simpson- obvious number one choice
2. Harry Potter- IMO doesn't belong here or anywhere on this list
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer- never watched to show so can't comment
4. Tony Soprano- no problems with him being here
5. Joker (The Dark Knight)- was a great character but again, IMO doesn't belong on this list
6. Rachel (from Friends)- hate the show personal but hard to dispute the cultural effect
7. Edward Scissorhands- no way belongs here
8. Hannibal Lecter- meh, probably better choices.
9. Carrie Bradshaw (Sex & The City)-she totally belongs on this list, like Issiquidi said, may not be our demographic but you can't deny the effect the show has.
10. Spongebob Squarepants-hate spongebob but hard to deny him his place.


IMO there are some omissions. I would have Dexter and House on there for sure. I probably would put Sylar on their as well, was there ever a better bad guy in a show then he was season 1? If they are going to put HP there I think Gandolf or Aragon could have a case made for them as well.

[Scoobz0202]

I just find it weird that the greatest characters in film in the past 20 years are Harry Potter, Joker, Edward Scissorhands, and Hannibal Lecter. Really?

[Sun Tzu]

Forrest Gump anyone?

[Dodgerchick]

What? How is Eric Cartman not on the list?

[Scoobz0202]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Forrest Gump anyone?

That was the first one that came to mind when I made my post.

[Sun Tzu]

Just goes to show that national public polls are a joke. This reminds me of the poll posted on ESPN.com a while back where Michael Vick was the unanimous choice as the greatest quarterback in NFL history.

[digamma]

Frasier Crane is a glaring omission. How many characters have we seen tv try to spin off and fail? Frasier worked for 11 years, and if you add in the last three years of Cheers, was on television for 14 of the 20 years we're examining.

I also think there's a pretty big distinction between television and movies. You should divide the two.

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

1. Homer Simpson - The Simpsons
2. Harry Potter
3. Buffy Summers - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4. Tony Soprano - The Sopranos
5. The Joker - The Dark Knight
6. Rachel Green - Friends
7. Edward Scissorhands
8. Hannibal Lecter - The Silence of the Lambs
9. Carrie Bradshaw - Sex and the City
10. Spongebob Squarepants

11. Cosmo Kramer - Seinfeld
12. Fox Mulder & Dana Scully - The X-Files
13. Jack Sparrow - Pirates of the Caribbean
14. Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski - The Big Lebowski
15. Shrek
16. Bridget Jones
17. Lara Croft
18. Sue Sylvester - Glee
19. Morpheus - The Matrix
20. Ally McBeal

21. Rosanne Conner
22. Cartman - South Park
23. Austin Powers
24. Felicity Porter
25. Woody - Toy Story
26. Kavalier & Clay
27. Frasier Crane
28. Madea
29. Vincent Vega & Jules Winnfield - Pulp Fiction
30. Stephen Colbert - The Colbert Report

31. Forrest Gump
32. Bevis and Butt-Head
33. Sarah Connor - Terminator 2
34. Cher - Clueless
35. Dexter Morgan - Dexter
36. Gollum - Lord of the Rings
37. Kyser Söze - The Usual Suspects
38. Elmo - Sesame Street
39. GOB Bluth - Arrested Development
40. Ron Burgundy - Anchorman

41. Harold and Kumar
42. Sydney Bristow - Alias
43. Cal Stephanides - Middlesex
44. Jack Bauer - 24
45. Stewie Griffin - Family Guy
46. Jerry Maguire
47. Corky St. Clair - Waiting for Guffman
48. Red - The Shawshank Redemption
49. Vivian Ward - Pretty Woman
50. Pearl the Landlord - Funny or Die video

51. Omar Little - The Wire
52. Annie Wilkes - Misery
53. Edward Cullen - Twilight
54. Juno
55. Tracy Jordan - 30 Rock
56. Barney Stinson - How I Met Your Mother
57. Clayton Bigsby (blind white supremacist) - Chappelle's Show
58. Thelma & Louise
59. Master Chief - Halo
60. Mary Jones - Precious

61. Vic Mackey - The Shield
62. Jimmy Corrigan - Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
63. John Locke - Lost
64. Maximus - Gladiator
65. Lorelai & Rory Gilmore - Gilmore Girls
66. Allie & Noah - The Notebook
67. Borat
68. (Jennifer Hudson's) Effie White - Dreamgirls
69. Miranda Priestly - The Devil Wears Prada

70. Mary Katherine Gallagher - SNL, Superstar
71. Det. Alonzo Harris - Training Day
72. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace - Battlestar Galactica
73. Catherine Tramell - Basic Instinct
74. Don Draper - Mad Men
75. David Brent - The Office
76. Tyler Durden - Fight Club
77. Mimi Marquez - Rent
78. Patty Hewes - Damages
79. Elphaba - Wicked

80. Gorillaz
81. Amanda Woodward - Melrose Place
82. Tracy Flick - Election
83. Jen Yu - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
84. House
85. Daniel Plainview - There Will Be Blood
86. Karen Walker & Jack McFarland - Will & Grace
87. Tony Stark - Iron Man
88. Napoleon Dynamite
89. Wilkus van de Merwe - District 9
90. Marge Gunderson - Fargo

91. Hancock
92. Christopher Boone - The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time
93. "Game Boys": Nathan Drake - Uncharted, Kratos - God of War, Niko Bellic - Grand Theft Auto IV
94. Truman - The Truman Show
95. Wilhelmina Slater - Ugly Betty
96. Bernie Mac - The Bernie Mac Show
97. Violet Weston - August: Osage County
98. Lisbeth Salander - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
99. The Bride - Kill Bill
100. Tim Riggins - Friday Night Lights

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

I also don't think this was a public poll, see Edward Scissorhands, Kavalier and Clay, etc.

Whatever, these polls are essentially the magazine/website version of a drive-by troll anyway.

[Scoobz0202]

or.. Vincent Vega, Jules Winfield, Henry Hill, Capt. John Miller, William Munny, Andy Dufresne, William Wallace, Woody from Toy Story??

This has to be an internet poll.

[Sun Tzu]

LARA CROFT??????????????????????????????????????????????????

Number 17? Really?

[Scoobz0202]

So this is from literature as well?

[DaddyTorgo]

Harry Potter wasn't created for film. List is therefore invalid as the writer is obviously a blithering idiot.

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Harry Potter wasn't created for film. List is therefore invalid as the writer is obviously a blithering idiot.

It's just 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years.

[Scoobz0202]

I didn't realize how popular The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay was. I'm reading that right now, but I was 14 when it won the Pulitzer so I guess that plays a large part.

[cartman]

So, two or more characters can be combined into one spot?

FAIL

[Scoobz0202]

Entertainment Weekly has to be visited by a bunch of chicks. I don't know why it caught my eye but Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights is not the greatest character on the show..

[DaddyTorgo]

and obviously by writer's I meant "the American public as represented by this poll"

[Neuqua]

Ari Gold?

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Ari Gold?

yes yes yes.

and Drama also

[RainMaker]

This is really a ranking they put together? I don't get how a side character like Mary Catherine Gallagher is higher than a character like House who is rather unique to what we've seen.

[Fidatelo]

I defy anyone to explain to me the 'character' that was Rachel. Is a hairstyle really enough to be one of the best characters of the past 20 years?

[Sun Tzu]

I don't even know half of these people.

[Fidatelo]

Lara Croft @17??? wtf?

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I defy anyone to explain to me the 'character' that was Rachel. Is a hairstyle really enough to be one of the best characters of the past 20 years?

I'll give it a shot. I think it was more about a character who was a young, urban, single, independent woman in the city.

[MikeVic]

So uhh, where's George Costanza... I see Kramer at #11. Is George really not one of the greatest 100 characters?

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

This is really a ranking they put together? I don't get how a side character like Mary Catherine Gallagher is higher than a character like House who is rather unique to what we've seen.

House is Dr. Cox with some tweaks, not unique.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs2

It's just 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years.

Thanx for that qualifier. Makes the list a little less maddening....and a little more worthless.

[Radii]

51. Omar Little - The Wire

somewhere between 40 and 50 spots too low.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Entertainment Weekly has to be visited by a bunch of chicks. I don't know why it caught my eye but Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights is not the greatest character on the show..

What are you crazy? Tim Riggins is damn well the greatest character on the show! Coach Taylor and Buddy are great characters, but Riggins is just awesome.

[Pumpy Tudors]

To nitpick on the thread title even more, this can't be characters created in the past 20 years. Homer Simpson's debut was 23 years ago.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Thanx for that qualifier. Makes the list a little less maddening....and a little more worthless.

As opposed to an equally poll that was intended the 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 100 Years. Becuase that random poll would be totally more worthwhile.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

What are you crazy? Tim Riggins is damn well the greatest character on the show! Coach Taylor and Buddy are great characters, but Riggins is just awesome.

Matt Saracen is the best character on the show.

[fantom1979]

To defend Rachel a bit here.... Her character started off as a spoiled brat who had to figure out how to survive "living in the real world". I am an unapologetic Friends watcher. My only problem with her being on the list is that you could have selected a couple of Friends characters there. Phoebie and Joey come to mind.

I am amazed to this day how The Simpsons basically reinvented itself a couple of years in. I still remember the days when Bart was the star. "Don't have a cow man", "Eat my shorts", and "Ay Caramba" were on TV shirts everywhere.

[tyketime]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

To nitpick on the thread title even more, this can't be characters created in the past 20 years. Homer Simpson's debut was 23 years ago.

You're killing me here, Pumpy... I think I need Gilda Radner to show up and go "Never mind".