As years pass by, the TV series
environment has been significantly enriching fiction and pop culture. And from this rich (rich in quantity at
least, since though there are plenty of awesome TV series, but by average, TV
series don’t have first-rate quality) assortment of TV series came plenty of interesting
fictional characters who are played by very talented actors. Here, in this top 10, I list my favorites…
Oh, BTW, a Doctor (there are
plenty of reincarnations of the Doctor character) from the very successful and
long-lived TV series “Dr. Who” greatly deserves a spot in a list of TV series
characters. Unfortunately, “Dr. Who” was
a TV series I wasn’t able to follow. Heck,
I even haven’t watched a single episode of “Dr. Who” yet. Aside from the Doctor, there could be other
great characters that I haven’t encountered, so sorry for the snubs on this
list. Aside from that, I also did not
add characters from animated TV series.
Since if I did, they would probably occupy 6 to 7 spots in the
list.
Before we start with number 10,
let me first enumerate the honorable mentions: Hercules (from “Hercules: the
Legendary Journeys”), Xena, Lex Luthor (from “Smallville”), Dexter Morgan (a
very fascinating character, but my real exposure to him was through the books),
Nikita, Quark (from “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”), Scully & Mulder, Green
Hornet, Kato (amazingly played by Bruce Lee), Batman (the goofy, but still
awesome, version of the caped crusader as played by Adam West), Remington
Steele, Spock (my most favorite Star Trek character, actually, but I have not watched the original “Star Trek” TV series at all. Got to be fond of Spock through the movies and the books. That is why he never made the list, but, still, he is worth giving an honorable mention), John Crichton (from “Farscape”), Aeryn Sun (from “Farscape”), Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds (from “Firefly”), Duncan MaCleod (“The Highlander”), Spike
(from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Carlton Lassiter (from “Psych”), Shawn Spencer (main hero of “Psych”, number 11 in this list if this is a top 11 list, and one of the greatest detectives in fiction).
10.) MR. BEAN
Now, having watched episodes of
“Mr. Bean” countless times over, the show and character don’t give me even a
chuckle. However, it’s a different story during the first few times I’ve
watched the show back in the 90’s. I
can’t remember any other character that made me laugh so hard like Mr. Bean. His outrageousness, clumsiness, unique mix of
stupidity and ingenuity, and silly facial expressions and mannerisms were
effective elements on giving me the greatest laughs I’ve ever had in my TV
watching.
9.) KUMIKU “YANKUMI” YAMAGUCHI
The only character in this list
from a non-American TV show. The Yankumi
in the Gokusen anime wasn’t particularly striking. In the live action however, the Yankumi was hot! And through live action, the Yankumi
character is more perfectly portrayed by Yukie Nakama. Hidden behind the clumsy, cute, harmless
appearance is one badass girl. A fresh
university graduate hired to teach (or at least watch over) a section full of
delinquent and unruly high school seniors, she enthusiastically desires to
improve her students. And through her
unconventional ways of teaching, sincerity, and willingness to stand up and
fight for her students, she gains their trust and respect, encouraging them to
indeed improve with their studies and attitude.
She possesses great fighting skills, being secretly a yakuza family
leader. However, she would only display
her toughness and fighting skills when saving or protecting her dear students,
choosing to appear harmless and slow in normal circumstances in front of
others.
8.) FONZIE
His real name is Arthur Herbert
Fonzarelli. But that doesn’t matter.
Because to everyone, he’s “Fonzie” or “The Fonz” or just “Fonz”. That’s a kickass nickname. Fonz is the epitome of the suave, aloof way
of being kickass, badass. He’s a smooth
talker, tough fighter, street smart, and always successful with the ladies. He was a high school dropout (though he would
eventually graduate by taking night high classes) and has a background as a
delinquent, but still, he has his principles and is loyal to his friends. He always comes out on top on fight, beating
even if opponents are bigger or greatly outnumber him. More amusing is when he uses his smooth
talking in making opponents silly. He
was at first just a secondary character in the series “Happy Days”. But he’s just too awesome that he eventually became
the lead since he had become more popular than the main character, Richie. Fonzie is a TV icon, while I can’t even
remember the names and most of the faces of the rest of the characters in
“Happy Days” without looking them up (I had to look up Richie when I had to
mention the name earlier).
7.) ANGEL
Angel was Buffy’s running
boyfriend in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, and then they broke up, a spin-off
series was made for him, he moved to Los Angeles and started a private
investigation agency. Angel is one of
the best vampire characters out there. After
being cursed by gypsies by giving him a soul, Angel became unique from other
vampires, fighting evil instead of causing it (though, there are also times
where his evil persona, Angelus, would come out). Being a “vampire with a soul”, his humanity
gives him awkwardness and conscience. The
character has elements of the stereotypical redemption-seeking character, but
this factor greatly adds to his character.
Through the two TV series, he transitioned from a reluctant hero seeking
his purpose to a Batman-like altruistic crusader, as he struggles with his
inner demons, and finding equilibrium between his humanity and vampire nature. And as conclusion to this character analysis…
yes, though I also like Spike, I, however, think that Angel is a greatly better
character than Spike. There.
6.) ANGUS MACGYVER
I have to admit that when I’ve
written my top 10 list on fictional spooks, I forgot about MacGyver. If I didn’t, he would probably make it to number
5 in that list (and kicking Paul Sheperdson out of the list). MacGyver is one of the most iconic characters
in TV, and one of the most unique fictional characters I’ve encountered. MacGyver is extensively talented and
intelligent. He prefers non-violent
approach in solving conflicts, and refuses to use a gun. Rather, he prefers to carry a Swiss Army
knife and duct tape in his missions.
Being a scientist, his trademark skill is his quick thinking in
improvising plans and tools from the things he can get his hands on on a given
moment. Because of this, the term
“MacGyver” was included into colloquial American English lexicon, which means
creating a solution to a problem through simple yet extremely clever means
using available resources.
5.) NATHAN “NATE” FORD
Ford is the brains of the 5-man “Leverage”
team – made up of very talented thieves and con men – who steal from the rich
and powerful who commit injustice against ordinary people, sabotaging their
operations or/and getting them caught by the authorities along the way. Every member of the team is impressive with
his or her own specific skillset – from hacking to grifting – but Nate Ford
impresses me most. As the undisputed
leader (being the brains), Nate masterminds their operations. He is a brilliant strategist and
planner. He claims to have a Plan A to
Plan Z (I’m not sure if it was Z or some other letter) of everything. Seeing him at work – his plans working out in
the end – is quite enjoyable.
4.) THE ROCK
He is arguably the best wrestler
ever. He’s both incredibly entertaining
with the mic and inside the ring. He is definitely in a whole level on his own,
and has greatly contributed success to the sports entertainment industry (which
is, if you think about it, is just like a TV series). I already discussed his greatness in my top10 pro-wrestlers list.
3.) BUFFY SUMMERS
Being the Slayer, Buffy has superhuman
speed, agility, and strength, an enhanced intuition, and a healing factor. Also, through training, she is adept in
fighting and wielding weaponry. Buffy is
your typical hot, strong heroine skilled in combat, the proven formula for
success in making female characters outstanding and popular to (especially
male) audience. However, though Buffy
belongs to such cliche of female characters, she maintains a charm that makes
her stand out significantly. Aside from
the already mentioned fighting skills, Buffy also possesses a gift of gab,
which she uses in making fun or taunting her opponents, working to her
advantage. With the way she uses sarcasms
and puns in her fights, and the great confidence she displays when standing
against opponents – regardless of being more powerful than her or weaker – she
reminds me of the same attitude Spider-Man (being my most favorite comic bookcharacter) has when he fights, and this is probably one of the major reasons
why I started liking Buffy. Buffy, for
me, is the awesomest female character ever created in fiction.
2.) SHERLOCK HOLMES
In the TV show “Sherlock”, the
Victorian story of Sherlock Holmes is brought into a modern setting. The show perfectly reinterpreted how Holmes
would have behaved and fared in present times. So far, the only thing lacking with the
character is the proficiency in fighting.
Though there are some scenes where Sherlock fought, he won using his
wits rather than displaying some boxing and bartitisu skills which the original
character is known to have. Other than
that, this TV’s Sherlock Holmes is just perfect. The original literary Holmes being my choice
for the greatest detective in fiction, this modernized counterpart portrayed
for TV easily gets a high spot on this list.
Hmmm, in fact, the top spot goes to another Sherlock Holmes
re-interpretation…
1.) DR. GREGORY HOUSE
For any fan of Holmes and House,
it’s quite obvious that the House character is a reinvention of Sherlock
Holmes. Both of them are detached, intelligent,
logical, highly observant, and extremely rational. Both of them can “read” people and only take
cases that of interest to them (unusual and difficult). Both of them are talented musicians. Both of them struggled with drug abuse. Both of them have the same home address –
221B Baker Street. And their bestfriends
have J.W. as initials. House is Holmes
if Holmes has chosen to use his mental powers on tackling medical mysteries
instead of solving crime. Still, though
House’s character structure has Holmes as basis, but as a final product, House
is a one of kind fictional character. He
is described by his bestfriend Wilson as having a Rubik’s complex – having a
great obsession to solve a puzzle. Another
description Wilson has of House is being a “reality junkie”. House is very witty and sarcastic, and would nearly
always win any verbal sparring. His
knowledge of psychology, sharp observational skills, and quick logical mind allow
him to accurately decode people’s secrets and histories and determine their
personalities and motivations – which enable him to mock their weaknesses
or/and manipulate them to do something he wants them to do. He is very cynical and tactless, thus making
him at odds with almost every one. House
is also isn’t afraid to take risks, with no fear of consequences or
authority. He has a rich amount of
interests – from monster trucks to music – and talents, like speaking multiple
languages fluently. He also enjoys
betting against others (which he often wins) and playing practical jokes. Indeed, House is a very deep and interesting character,
not only because of his brilliant medical skills and genius mind, but also
because of his social and personal flaws.
Watching him on TV is a lot of fun.
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