THE TELE-FOLKS DIRECTORY

This past week, Bravo ran a five-night series which had a rundown of their picks for the top 100 TV characters for all time.



Surprisingly, for a list of this nature, I had not problems with their choices for the top ten. And I'm not going to get into nitpicking as to the standings in the list for other characters, although I think Ed Norton, Rob Petrie, Mr. Spock, Barney Fife, and Bret Maverick all should have been much higher on the list than where they ended up.



There were a handful of characters, however, whom I think should have been in the next group of twenty below 100. And I had some suggestions as to who would have replaced them in the top 100.



Here's the list as chosen by Bravo's panel of "experts":



Day 1

100. Xena

99. Monk

98. Steve Urkel

97. Dr. Smith

96. Artie

95. Doug Ross

94. Vic Mackey

93. Maynard G Krebs

92. Agent Dale Cooper

91. Caine

90. Herman Munster

89. Lt. Castillo

88. Jamie Somers

87. Gomez & Morticia

86. Maxwell Smart

85. Napoleon Solo/Illya Kuryakin

84. Bob Hartley

83. Vinnie Barbarino

82. Gil Grissom & Catherine Willow

81. Cast of Will & Grace



Day 2

80. Jack Tripper

79. Charles Ingalls

78. Rob & Laura Petrie

77. Dr. Craig

76. Eleanor Frutt

75. Ally McBeal

74. Beaver

73. Dr. Johnny Fever

72. Dick Soloman

71. Dan Fielding

70. Niles Crane

69. David Addison/Maddie Hayes

68. Benson

67. Jim Ignatowski

66. Carla Tortelli

65. John Boy

64. Jessica Fletcher

63. Andy Taylor

62. Francis Xavier Pembleton

61. Crockett & Tubbs



Day 3

60. Mork

59. Al & Peg Bundy

58. Barney Miller

57. Rhoda Morgenstern

56. Mick Belker

55. Capt. Picard

54. Rocky & Bullwinkle

53. Pres. Josiah Bartlett

52. Emma Peel

51. Murphy Brown

50. Sam & Diane

49. Maude Finley

48. Ted Baxter

47. Carmella Soprano

46. Cast of Friends

45. Marshall Matt Dillon

44. Cliff Huxtable

43. Thomas Magnum

42. Laverne & Shirley

41. The Barone Family



Day 4

40. Fred Sanford

39. Kojak

38. Sgt. Ernie Bilko

37. Marcus Welby

36. Barney Fife

35. Lou Grant

34. Kermit & Miss Piggy

33. Maverick

32. Scully & Mulder

31. Samantha Stephens

30. Det. Lenny Briscoe

29. Alex Keaton

28. Perry Mason

27. Ann Marie

26. Frasier Crane

25. Joe Friday

24. Louis DePalma

23. Andy Sipowicz

22. Richard Kimball

21. Mr. Spock



Day 5

20. Ed Norton

19. Eric Cartman

18. Roseanne

17. Jim Rockford

16. George Jefferson

15. J.R. Ewing

14. Hawkeye Pierce

13. Buffy

12. Edith Bunker

11. Carrie Bradshaw

10. Tony Soprano

9. Capt. James T. Kirk

8. Mary Richards

7. Lt. Columbo

6. Seinfeld Cast

5. Homer Simpson

4. The Fonz

3. Lucy Ricardo

2. Ralph Kramden

1. Archie Bunker



So. We know they allowed cartoon characters. They allowed puppets. They allowed characters from foreign TV shows. They allowed couples to be chosen as one. They allowed multiple choices when you couldn't choose one character over the others from a particular show; sort of an ensemble vote.



In the above list, you'll see there are several names in blue. Those are the characters whom I think should have been in the grouping for 100-120.



And here are my candidates for those characters who should have been included in the top 100:



The Lone Ranger/Tonto

Superman

Batman and Robin

Lassie

Hoss Cartwright/The Cartwrights

Mr. Ed

Big Bird

Captain Kangaroo

Number Six

Carl Kolchak



I even had two other choices who were merely recurring guest stars:



Uncle Tonoose

Dr. Miguelito Loveless (My personal all-time favorite TV character!)



But I won't press the issue on them.



Were daytime characters even considered? How could they then pass up the Captain? Or Big Bird?



What was so special about Charles Ingalls that he would be chosen rather than the more impressive Little Joe and the rest of his Cartwright family on the Ponderosa?



I think a choice like Doug Ross was more to honor the entire roster of a powerhouse show like 'ER'; or perhaps to make sure they got in good with an actor who's become a major movie star since then.



Why Jamie Sommers? Why not Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man? Because cybernetic chicks are hot? At least they didn't follow that line of thinking and choose April Dancer over Solo and Kuryakin!



The whole thrust of 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigators' has been to put the story ahead of the characters. There hasn't been enough about Grissom and Catherine to make them crack the top 100; it's been the outrageous nature of the crimes and their up-close forensics that have been more memorable.



And Lt. Castillo? One speech deriding the view of Hispanics by the upper echelons of the police department does not make for enough of a reason to be included.



I could go on, but I know you'd rather I'd stop.



At any rate, this is the whole nature of lists like this. They are created with the intention of sparking comments and dissent. So I'm hoping I'll be hearing from you about my opinions as well.



And then next week, we can move on to TV Land and their list of the Top 100 Greatest TV Moments.....



BCnU!

Tele-Toby