Most top 10 lists are generally difficult to compile due to the plethora of potential candidates or subjects, and this one was no exception. Which is why the title of this post ended up evolving into the 'Top 10 TV Characters of the Last Decade' rather than, 'Of All-Time' or even 'The Last 30 Years'. Not only was the last decade easier to narrow down, but I am not sure that I am qualified to rank characters from shows that I never really watched consistently. That being said, I have seen shows from before my time and in many cases, I have enjoyed them. Older shows and their memorable characters such as Arthur Fonzarelli, Gilligan, Captain Kirk, Alice Nelson from 'The Brady Bunch' , and even some of the more recent characters like Cliff Huxstable, Zack Morris, Steve Urkel , and Will Smith as 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' certainly deserve to be honored, but even with the criteria being narrowed down to the new millennium, my original list of five turned into ten because the honorable mentions list kept getting larger.
Some of these may seem like a stretch and I am certain that many people will take exception to some of the characters appearing on the list, but in my defense I have not yet consistently watched (or even seen at all) 'The Wire', 'Sons of Anarchy', 'Rescue Me', 'The Shield', 'Mad Men', 'How I Met Your Mother' or 'Two and a Half Men', (I know) among others. Because of this, I cannot include any characters from these shows in the list and I therefore understand why my television fandom may be called into question, but at least now you have a better idea as to why it was a slight struggle to come up with ten great characters once the list had grown past five.
I suppose I could have kept the list at five so that it would be a stronger list, but there are a few more than five that I just had to at least mention. Therefore, here's my top ten list of memorable television characters from the last decade:
10. (tie between) Gloria Delgado-Pritchard from 'Modern Family' & Julius from 'Everybody Hates Chris' - Okay, I know, these characters really have no business being on my list but at least they're number ten and they're tied! To be honest, I included these characters because they are underappreciated in my opinion, and I thought it would be nice to show them some love. Sophia Vergara is certainly appreciated by many and gets her share of attention for many reasons, but her character, Gloria, in 'Modern Family' is very underrated, and that could very well be because of her stunning appearance and unmistakable accent. What may go unnoticed is the fact that Gloria is intelligent and manipulative, yet kind-hearted. She is all about the love, well-being and protection of her family and when a woman that looks like that can also fire a weapon with deadly accuracy in the spur of a moment, how can she not win you over?
Here comes the real stretch, especially since I must admit, I've never actually watched a full episode of 'Everybody Hates Chris', but hear me out on this one and I promise the list gets better. Simply put, Terry Crews is amazing. I think that anything he does is gold and he doesn't even have to open his mouth to be hilarious. I can't be the only one to feel this way and frankly I am happy that he has found some success in television and film, since his NFL career was nothing to write home about. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that many of you didn't even know he had an NFL career. I'm just glad it didn't work out for him so that he was able to bring us the joys of characters such as President Camacho in the movie 'Idiocracy' and that guy who is gleefully singing in his car as he is stuck in traffic next to Adam Sandler's car in the movie 'Click'.
9. Louis CK from 'Louie' - Louie CK has become one of the most popular comedians on the stand-up scene as of the last few years. He has been around for a while, but he has gained a much larger fan base as of late, and many of those fans may have been turned on to his comedy because of his show 'Louie' that debuted on the FX network last year. Even though the character is based on himself, he still counts as a memorable character because it goes without saying that he is what makes that show tick. Louis CK is insightful, smart, and has a unique and hilarious perspective on the world we all share.
8. Larry David from 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' - Larry David finds himself just above Louie CK on this list because he is another comedian playing himself in a show based on his real life. Oh by the way, he also co-created 'Seinfeld' and was a large part of the inspiration of the George Costanza character by giving George some of his own personal perspectives and gripes. So if you've never seen 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' but you are familiar with George Costanza, you know a good deal about Larry David's character on 'Curb'. It may not always be easy to watch as Larry seems to sabotage himself and put himself into uncomfortable situations, but it is certainly memorable and almost always hilarious.
7. Sue Sylvester from 'Glee' - Although I have always been a fan of Jane Lynch, Sue almost didn't make it on to the list, yet finds herself at number seven above two hilarious people that I love even more than Jane Lynch. Why? Because Sue is an actual fictional television character and not a celebrity playing themselves in shows based on their lives. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but as an actor it's probably more comfortable to play yourself than a fabricated character that is nothing like your real life personality. Did I mention that Sue is hilarious as the mean-spirited, sarcastic and insulting cheer squad director? I've heard some of the best one-liners and comedy laced insults from this character, but what got her on to the list was ultimately the fact that her character has shown compassion and love in a couple of rare scenes, which gives the character depth and helps the believability of her being an actual human being who has had to go through some rough times in her life. But if it weren't for the fact that she is the most entertaining character to watch on that show, she wouldn't be on the list.
6. (curveball) Tina Fey - Sure Tina Fey has played many characters on television, and I suppose you could consider her a character playing herself when she anchored 'Weekend Update' on 'Saturday Night Live', but I have her on this list as Tina Fey instead of Liz Lemon from '30 Rock' because her brilliance goes far beyond the Liz Lemon character, whom by the way seems to be based largely on the real Tina Fey. Tina is one of the funniest women on the planet and puts comedy before her pride. No matter where you see her, she is always putting herself out there in a way that is almost like a character. When in reality I think that her genuine personality just comes across in a way that is as likeable and relatable as an extremely well developed fictional character. I know this isn't a list of memorable actors, but Tina has played and is responsible for so many memorable characters, that I'll let you pick your favorite. Does her impersonation of Sarah Palin count?
5. Dr. Perry Cox from 'Scrubs' - So we've hit the top 5, and what a way to enter the upper echelon. This would be the perfect place for a long-winded rant since Dr. Cox is the undisputed king of that, but he cracks the top 5 because of his depth as a character, coupled with his comedic presence. Perry is troubled and lonely at times, professional most of the time, but always caring for the well-being of the human race and being the most ethical doctor he can be at all times. And if a male doctor is referred to with a random woman's name while he saves a patient's life, so be it.
4. Michael Bluth from 'Arrested Development' - I have to admit that this was a bit of a struggle. You would think that by the time you are up to number four, there wouldn't be much pining or questioning over the selection. However, 'Arrested Development' was such an outstanding and revolutionary show, packed to the brim with all-star actors and characters, that it was difficult to choose which character made the list. All I knew for certain was that at least one character from this show would make the list. Michael might not be as funny as Gob, as naive and innocent as Buster, as confused and scared as George Michael or as drunk and mean as his mother, Lucille, but he is the glue and foundation for the entire dysfunctional family and even manages to treat his brother-in-law Tobias as a member of the family despite his strange behavior and sometimes irritating personality. As per the theme of the list thus far, Michael Bluth, played by Jason Bateman, is also a very funny character just done in a subtle way, which actually makes him the audience's most relatable character in the entire show. Damn you FOX for cancelling what can arguably be considered one of the best sit-coms of all time despite its short run of only three seasons.
3. Michael Scott from 'The Office' - Again, Michael Scott is a very funny character like most of the others on this list thus far. Even if you've never seen the show, you'd be able to tell that the character is hilarious based solely on the fact that he is played by Steve Carrel. However, what Michael Scott has in common with many of the other characters on this list is the fact that he is not a one trick pony. Sometimes when watching certain episodes or scenes involving Michael Scott, I wonder if his character is defined more by his heart and good intentions, rather than his comedic contribution. His ability to make you laugh is without question a major factor in the series' success, but he sits near the top of this list because of his caring nature, his ability to save the day (and the company) at just the right moment, and his ability to make you cry. Sure, he can make mistakes and uninformed decisions that will make you cringe too, but any character that can do all these things and still keep you rooting for him every step of the way is an extremely memorable character in my book. Not to mention, his office was inundated with promotional products so how can you go wrong?
2. Eric Theodore Cartman from 'South Park' - This may come as a surprise to anyone who has made it this far down on the list, but I stand behind it. In fact, Cartman was almost number one on the list, but I decided that he more appropriately fits in as runner-up because he does not have the depth of character that number one has. Let's be honest, anyone who is familiar with Eric Cartman knows that he is not deep at all. There have been too many 'South Park' episodes to count, and I think I have seen almost all of them, yet I don't recall seeing any evidence that Eric Cartman has a shred of goodness in him. So why, you may ask, is he so high on this prestigious list? Because simply put, ten year old Eric Cartman is the most evil, diabolical, calculated and cold-blooded villain of all time, in any show or film. Judging from that description, you wouldn't necessarily know that 'South Park' is classified as a comedy and most people would consider Cartman to be a comedic character. He certainly comes through with lines that will make you laugh, but most of the time it is because of what a terrible person he is. I'll be the first to admit that I enjoy the villain characters, but in all honesty, Cartman gets the number two spot on this list because when a character can arguably be known as the most evil villain of all time while only in fourth grade, that is worthy of something. Stewie from 'Family Guy' doesn't hold a candle to one Eric Cartman.
1. Benjamin Linus from 'LOST' - Let the eye-rolling begin. Not because Linus is undeserving of the coveted number one spot, not even because Michael Emerson has big beautiful (sometimes considered creepy or scary) eyes. No, I expect eye-rolling from some people because they could have predicted that I would place a character from 'LOST' in the top spot. For those that don't already know, I am still obsessed with 'LOST' even over a year after the series ended. But despite my obsessive fandom with the series, there is no character more deserving of the number one most memorable TV character of the last decade and he has an Emmy to prove it. Ben Linus was not even my personal favorite character on the show, though he was close, taking a back seat to only John Locke, Desmond Hume and Sayid Jarrah. But this isn't about those characters or even the series in general, it's about the complexity and depth of the Ben Linus character. Although commonly thought of as a villain (and rightfully so), Ben proved to be an extremely captivating character even before we began to learn about his past and the events that led to him becoming the man that we know now. I won't go into too much detail to spare you from several more pages of reading, but Ben embodied so many intriguing character traits and was so intertwined with the extremely complicated plot, that you missed him when he wasn't on screen. He was the bad man, but he was also the smart man that always had a plan. He had all the answers, until he didn't. He struggled through harsh times and conditions all while dealing with his own crippling insecurities and fears. Meanwhile, Benjamin Linus himself was feared by almost every character on the show at some point. He killed people, was responsible for people being killed and at times seemed to have no regard for any human life other than his own. Yet, surprisingly he did show compassion at times, he seemed fair and reasonable at times, he helped people and even advised people to do what was truly in their own best interest at times. Part of the beauty of his character is that you never knew if he was being genuine or calculated and devious. Though he always kept you guessing, he was almost always unsettling to say the least. All of that being said, I find it hard to believe that anyone who has watched the series from the beginning to the end, doesn't wind up rooting for him before it is all said and done. Did I mention that even during Ben's most evil or dramatic moments, he managed to sometimes slip in some comic relief? In a show full of 'candidates' I feel that Ben Linus was the perfect candidate to be the number one most memorable television character of the last decade.
These type of lists were created to be debated, so tell me what you think.