Board 8 > Scarlet Ranks His Top 108* TV Characters of All Time

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scarletspeed7
11/24/20 1:46:06 PM
#1:


It's strange that I became such a passionate devotee to the medium of television given that I began my life by-and-large committed to reading. Somewhere along the way, reading became this anchor in school, and the joy of it became a chore, and I guess in late high school, I began to find myself escaping away into the small screen and video games more and more often. In college, I spent most of my free time watching movies; however, at this stage of my life, television is my favorite hobby. I think we're just now exiting a golden age of television. For years and years, networks have been raising the bar and upping the ante when it comes to excellent, serialized storytelling. The bubble seems to be bursting as a glut of streaming services are desperate to convert existing properties into evergreen material for themselves, and as such, the pool is diluted with too much, and the quality across the board suffers.

Still, the history of television has churned out a host of excellent characters over time. In fact, this list really won't do the medium justice in the slightest. Really, this is a conglomeration of my personal favorite characters and nothing else. You'll see major names omitted, for example. Be prepared for a lack of Walter White and George Costanza, neither of which have ever really resonated with me (and in Costanza's case, was topped by a better version of the character a few years after the final episode of Seinfeld). Be prepared for bizarre niche picks that no one knows about, much less cares about. This list is indicative of only one thing, and that is what my personal viewing habits look like.

As to why we're ranking 108, the reason is simple: Suikoden taught me to believe that a list isn't complete without that auspicious 108th entry. So there we go. Blame Steiner, who gave me the idea.

Another minor note: this list does not include any animated shows. I feel like that could be another list, at another time, but for now, my focus is on live-action television.

In any event, before we get started tomorrow with the big list, here is a little bit of trivia. 86 shows are represented on this list, with 18 receiving two or more spots. Only two shows landed three or more characters on the list, and one of those shows sits head and shoulders above the rest with a massive five representatives. Feel free to make your guesses as to which shows are the multi-reps! I'll give you a hint: Big Bang Theory was snubbed.

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Leonhart4
11/24/20 1:47:06 PM
#2:


I'll put the over/under at 10 for number of characters on this list being from shows I've actually watched

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Anagram
11/24/20 1:55:26 PM
#3:


Tag

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Maniac64
11/24/20 1:56:35 PM
#4:


Tag!

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Jesse_Custer
11/24/20 1:57:42 PM
#5:


Tag
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NBIceman
11/24/20 1:58:36 PM
#6:


I think I remember you being a big Boston Legal fan. Maybe Friends as well? I'd be inclined to guess both of those for multiple reps, with maybe an outside chance at Firefly sneaking in there as well since I'm pretty sure I remember you at least like Jayne a lot.

Really looking forward to this!

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TheArkOfTurus
11/24/20 2:05:07 PM
#7:


tag

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scarletspeed7
11/24/20 2:07:42 PM
#8:


NBIceman posted...
I think I remember you being a big Boston Legal fan. Maybe Friends as well? I'd be inclined to guess both of those for multiple reps, with maybe an outside chance at Firefly sneaking in there as well since I'm pretty sure I remember you at least like Jayne a lot.

Really looking forward to this!
I do like a significant portion of that cast, but I've soured on Whedon shows recently, so they aren't as prevalent as they once would have been.

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Fastbreak
11/24/20 2:10:04 PM
#9:


In before Bobbi Bernstein

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PrinceKaro
11/24/20 2:19:51 PM
#10:


tag

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Inviso
11/24/20 2:23:57 PM
#11:


Tag!

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Inviso
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Xeybozn
11/24/20 2:35:33 PM
#12:


I'm pretty sure Scarlet's taste in TV shows is almost the exact opposite of mine, but I'm tagging anyway because he always has such good write-ups.
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Snake5555555555
11/24/20 2:38:12 PM
#13:


Hyped for the Larry David write-up

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scarletspeed7
11/24/20 2:38:13 PM
#14:


Xeybozn posted...
I'm pretty sure Scarlet's taste in TV shows is almost the exact opposite of mine, but I'm tagging anyway because he always has such good write-ups.
You watch Pawn Stars and hunting shows?

Edit: Or Real Housewives

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trdl23
11/24/20 2:39:23 PM
#15:


Tag

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TotallyNotMI
11/24/20 2:40:41 PM
#16:


I'm hoping for Sawyer on this list!

Tag

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TotallyNotMI
11/24/20 2:42:00 PM
#17:


scarletspeed7 posted...
As to why we're ranking 108, the reason is simple: Suikoden taught me to believe that a list isn't complete without that auspicious 108th entry. So there we go. Blame Steiner, who gave me the idea.
Wow giving Suikoden credit for 108 and not LOST.

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scarletspeed7
11/24/20 3:57:54 PM
#18:


TotallyNotMI posted...
Wow giving Suikoden credit for 108 and not LOST.
LOST stole everything from Suikoden. Luca Blight? Main bad guy? LB? Reverse that - BL. Ben Linus.

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Inviso
11/24/20 3:58:20 PM
#19:


Ben was an anti-hero.

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Inviso
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scarletspeed7
11/24/20 3:59:45 PM
#20:


Inviso posted...
Ben was an anti-hero.
Don't be the person to take a joke post seriously

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Aecioo
11/24/20 4:38:53 PM
#21:


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WickIebee
11/24/20 4:39:44 PM
#22:


scarletspeed7 posted...
18 receiving two or more spots. Only two shows landed three or more characters on the list, and one of those shows sits head and shoulders above the rest with a massive five representatives.

Okay, let's see how much I can guess within this.

I almost want to expect West Wing as a 3+ thing, but I'm definitely not gunning for the 5 reps and especially because I was watching an FE ranking recently have forgotten how much you take screentime into account to move some people up or off the list completely. It will have at least two though, I'm sure.

Boston Legal, Arrested Development, Penny Dreadful, Lost, Game of Thrones (maybe just since the sheer number, there's bound to be a couple that had Scarlet's interest)... I expected to be able to name more than 6, but I'm poking my mind around and really only settling on "that'd probably only have one character" sort of moments.

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Underleveled
11/24/20 4:55:13 PM
#23:


tag

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darkx
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Underleveled
11/24/20 4:57:17 PM
#24:


108 is actually a significant number in many things, dating back centuries.

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darkx
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Jesse_Custer
11/24/20 5:04:47 PM
#25:


If I had to guess a show that will get multiple characters on the list, Id say Parks and Rec. Oh yeah, and Star Trek: TNG will get at least 2, probably 3 characters.
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Whiskey_Nick
11/24/20 5:05:45 PM
#26:


Al Bundy

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NFUN
11/24/20 5:12:32 PM
#27:


Underleveled posted...
108 is actually a significant number in many things, dating back centuries.
yeah it has a lot of significance in Buddhism. It's like if some game popularized the number "613" and or even "666" and people forgot where it came from

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Johnbobb
11/24/20 5:41:32 PM
#28:


Tag

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scarletspeed7
11/24/20 6:06:26 PM
#29:


NFUN posted...
yeah it has a lot of significance in Buddhism. It's like if some game popularized the number "613" and or even "666" and people forgot where it came from
I'm aware of its significance to Buddhism, but it's only tangentially relevant to the reason I chose the number!

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bryans7
11/24/20 6:08:47 PM
#30:


I thought for a minute this was a ranking of the top 108" TV's of all time.

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Mega Mana
11/24/20 6:31:46 PM
#31:


Tag tag taggy tag

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Lopen
11/24/20 6:35:49 PM
#32:


Tag

Expect to have next to zero overlap here. I think we have vaguely similar tastes in a lot of things but this not so much

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Johnbobb
11/24/20 7:33:01 PM
#33:


predicting like 15 characters from The West Wing

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scarletspeed7
11/24/20 7:39:41 PM
#34:


Johnbobb posted...
predicting like 15 characters from The West Wing
scarletspeed7 posted...
86 shows are represented on this list, with 18 receiving two or more spots. Only two shows landed three or more characters on the list, and one of those shows sits head and shoulders above the rest with a massive five representatives.


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RaidenGarai
11/24/20 7:39:52 PM
#35:


Tag

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Epic Seven IGN ZeroThe13th
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Johnbobb
11/24/20 7:56:14 PM
#36:


my prediction stands

don't expect me to read things

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scarletspeed7
11/24/20 7:57:24 PM
#37:


Johnbobb posted...
my prediction stands

don't expect me to read things
West Wing has two representatives.

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NFUN
11/24/20 7:58:17 PM
#38:


toby is so cool he counts 11 times

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scarletspeed7
11/24/20 7:58:54 PM
#39:


NFUN posted...
toby is so cool he counts 11 times
Season 7 eliminates 11 of those counts.

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Johnbobb
11/24/20 7:59:00 PM
#40:


predicting at least one surprise rep from a TeenNick show

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NFUN
11/24/20 8:18:09 PM
#41:


scarletspeed7 posted...
Season 7 eliminates 11 of those counts.
was that the shuttle plotline? it's been a while

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scarletspeed7
11/24/20 8:19:58 PM
#42:


NFUN posted...
was that the shuttle plotline? it's been a while
Yes. I'll talk about it more on the list though!

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Johnbobb
11/24/20 8:19:58 PM
#43:


NFUN posted...
toby is so cool he counts 11 times

scarletspeed7 posted...
Season 7 eliminates 11 of those counts.

Yeah season 7 of the Office kinda sucked huh

don't know that I'd describe Toby as "so cool" though

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ScareChan
11/24/20 8:47:06 PM
#44:


Offical guesses

Denny Crane (Boston Legal)
Dan Rydell (Sportsnight)
Josh Lyman (West Wing)
Barry (Barry)

Darkhorse
Heather Wilmore (AP Bio)

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HanOfTheNekos
11/24/20 9:31:49 PM
#45:


Scarlet's ranking 108 tv characters and the Chief is just sick of it.

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MetalmindStats
11/24/20 11:03:21 PM
#46:


Yay, another scarlet ranking! You already know I'll be silently following along even though I don't know TV at all really.

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scarletspeed7
11/25/20 3:42:25 PM
#47:


It's almost time.... Hint for #108: We're starting out in the sunset years of Aaron Sorkin's television foray.

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Inviso
11/25/20 3:44:20 PM
#48:


I'm gonna guess McKenzie Morgan.

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Inviso
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HanOfTheNekos
11/25/20 4:44:09 PM
#49:


Jim Harper

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scarletspeed7
11/25/20 5:12:25 PM
#50:


#108 - Jack Rudolph
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC; 2006-2007)
22 Episodes (First Appearance: "Pilot", September 18th, 2006)

An embattled and embittered network executive, Jack is presented from the outset as the Studio 60's primary antagonist. In a world of idealistic optimists, as courtesy of Aaron Sorkin at his most Sorkinian, what Jack amounts to is the obstacle that must be overcome. Or, at least, that's how the show presents him at the start. But in a slow, subtle turn of perspective, the more of Jack we witness, the more it becomes clear that Jack is tired, haggard thanks to the unending diatribe of advertisers and shareholders he must keep happy while he tries to play interference for naive writers and stars who only see his actions as confrontational. No wonder he drinks in the middle of the day and starts conversations with non sequiturs. In Jack's mind, he's nothing but a sturdy linebacker, trying to provide the glancing blows necessary to divert the angry waters of a tidal river of opinion from flooding the pristine landscape of Studio 60 (the show in the show, not Studio 60, the show itself).

Something about a character being unapologetic in their unpopular decisions appeals to me, and what's more, once you recognize that Jack is begrudgingly on the side of the cast makes his more difficult decisions more sympathetic. It actually turns Matthew Perry's character, Matt Albie, into something of an anti-hero, a cloudy shade of gray who is just as much to blame for the problems of Studio 60 as anyone else. Bringing the rest of the cast and their flaws into stark contrast, Jack suddenly is this unlikely heroic figure that, by the end of the show, earns my respect. It surprised me.

Studio 60, of course, is the least popular Sorkin show by a mile, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention a host of other great characters on the show. The cast was filled with a murderer's row of talent: Harriet Hayes was played by Sarah Paulson, who has gone on to play about a hundred great characters across all sorts of American Blank Stories, Amanda Peet played new TV exec Jordan McDeere (a delightfully charming character), Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford starred together as the pairing of Danny and Matt, and all sorts of minor characters got the star treatment from everyone from Timothy Busfield to D.L. Hughley to Nate Corddry. Hell, even cameos from Sting and Allison Janney filled out this excellent little one season wonder.

Hint for #107: The star of a classic music/television hybrid.

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