Some TV characters are so great, you can see yourself watching them on different shows, in different situations. I always thought Cookie Monster would rule the Food Network, and who wouldn't have paid to see ALF in a wacky buddy-cop show?
I got together a list of characters that transcended their milieu and would be fascinating to watch in any situation. But first, a rather surprising omission:
- These characters were so fantastic I think many people thought they would be natural in any tableau.
However, the three side characters played themselves in spin-offs that didn't work, and I think it's because they were so good together that it pales when they are apart.
THE TOP TWELVE TV CHARACTERS I'D FOLLOW ANYWHERE
#12 Shepherd Book (Firefly) - Of all the colorful characters on this show, I'd follow Book anywhere, in any situation.
#11 Montgomery Burns and Waylon Smithers (SIMPSONS) - Tell me they couldn't get into wacky adventures doing almost anything.
#10 Bobby Hill (King of the Hill) - I love Hank Hill (and love to hate Peggy), but Bobby has so much natural charm. He'd be great trying to make it in New York of LA
#9 Chandler (Friends) - He proved too good an actor to stay with the character, but it's Chandler, not Joey, who could hold his own without the others.
#8 Grissom, Warrick, Greg (C.S.I.) - This is iffy, for I'm not sure if they could hold their own. I think Greg would be a good character wherever you put him, and Warrick has soul in those eyes. Grissom is really the only character I'd watch doing anything else.
#7 Lenny Briscoe (Law & Order) - Can't you see him carrying his own Private Eye show? Making those great one liners, his world-wear cynicism? Me too.
#6 Leo McGarry (West Wing) - I always thought he was the star of this ensemble drama, and that character (before they neutered him) could carry any show on any topic. In fact, before he died, I had plans to build an entire show around John Spencer. Sniff Sniff.
#5 Tommy Gavin (Rescue Me) - Denis Leary's self-destructive firefighter is cynically hilarious, just like Leary, and would be welcome as a cop, in a hospital, on a deserted island, or even in some Sitcom.
#4 Locke/Hurley (Lost) - I'm tempted to put Sawyer on here too, but I worry that he could get annoying without the right situation, but Hurley and Locke would bee welcome anywhere. Can't you see Hurley livening up any Sitcom? Even a drama would go well; think Hurley on CSI. Locke might not be that funny, but he adds depth, pathos and wisdom to any dramatic situation
you can think of.
#3 Tony Soprano - He's funny enough for a sitcom (imagine the rules for dating HIS teenage daughter), and of course the drama. Can you see him in the box with a suspect on Law & Order? I'd follow Tony Soprano anywhere.
#2 Greg House - Tell me this cranky doctor wouldn't be great in any situation! I'd love to see him yelling at Sara and Nick, or putting Marie and Frank in their place. It's true beneath House's brilliant cynical veneer is a self-loathing that might overwhelm some situations, but I bet even then he could make it work.
#1
Homer Simpson - Like there's any question. Homer would rule any given situation. Can you see him in the lab? Interrogating a suspect? On Wisteria Lane? Homer as a Private Eye? Commanding a ship? In the marines? Fighting ghosts? I defy you to come up with a situation that Homer wouldn't approve. You think Joey Tribiani came over a lot to eat out of Monica's
fridge? You think Kramer was an annoying neighbor? Homer would absolutely rule.
