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Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Jan 12, 2019 14:57:11 GMT -5
Had a long thought about this one and thought it an interesting point of discussion. I'm trying to avoid shows where the answer is far too obvious (How I met Your Mother, Scrubs) and also the ones I just don't have a good answer for (Seinfeld although I'm guessing the popular answer is Jerry) but which was the character on your favorite popular ensemble sitcom that brought down the average of the show for you? To get everyone started, listed chronologically my thoughts are:
Cheers: I'm not bypassing Diane/Rebecca as being too clear a front-runner but after them, Sam. I read once that before Frasier was pitched to fill the void after the show ended, NBC was pushing for a Norm spin-off, and I agree with the producers that while a great supporting character, he would not work as a feasible lead.
Newsradio: Only counting the Hartman-era, Catherine, but this was a tough one to pick. The fact that she was out for most of the fourth season and I didn't really miss her gives her the edge in this category.
The Office: Steve Carell era only. This one was a a little tougher too, because it's hard to decide who warranted being a big enough character to count amongst the large cast. I don't think I would have really noticed had Oscar or Phyllis been reduced to almost nothing on the show. Even then, my opinion is pretty firmly Erin.
Parks and Recreation: Seasons Three onward to make this interesting. As much as April grated on me as the show went on, Tom was probably the worst of the major characters but did absolutely have redeeming episodes.
Veep: Amy? It's a pretty strong cast so I having a harder picking one.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Gina.
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Post by Ben Grimm on Jan 12, 2019 22:09:23 GMT -5
Parks and Rec it's always Tom. He's probably my least favorite character ever on any show I've liked. I disagree about him having redeeming episodes. He's the reason I can't binge the show.
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Post by MrsLangdonAlger on Jan 12, 2019 23:28:20 GMT -5
HIMYM: THE MAIN FUCKING CHARACTER!
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Post by Prole Hole on Jan 17, 2019 5:19:35 GMT -5
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Andy Samberg. I love absolutely everything else about the show but find him insufferably awful. I could live with it if he were a background character (a la Hitchcock and Scully) but when he's front and centre I find the show very nearly unwatchable.
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Jan 17, 2019 7:04:26 GMT -5
Cheers: Diane is the best Cheer. Coach is the canonical worst Cheer. His entire gimmick is that it's funny that he's supposed to have dementia.
Parks and Rec: Definitely Tom. The guy whose entire fucking gimmick was to unironically enthuse about cool the worst parts of consumer culture are. Unless the constant unironic references to how cool and sexually desirable the ancient man Joseph Biden is supposed to be make him count as a character, in which case, Joe Biden is the worst character on Parks.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Definitely Charles in Season 1. Post Season 1: probably still Charles. Too much of his jokes are just how it's supposedly gross that he's enthusiastic about eating some thing that people in other cultures eat but that most of the show's American viewers wouldn't normally eat.
The Good Place: Jason.
HIMYM: Ted.
Community: If we're only talking original main cast, probably Shirley, since she was written as little more than a stereotype. If Chang counts though, then definitely him.
Arrested Development: Buster?
30 Rocks: Pete, probably? Don't really even remember what his whole deal was.
Simpsons: Principal Skinner. Shut up about your steamed hams already!
Bojack the Horse Man: That talking cat.
Seinfeld: I've never seen this show, nor do I particularly want to, but my least favorite character is definitely George Costanza.
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on Jan 25, 2019 17:18:12 GMT -5
It's a shame about Catherine on Newsradio because she was probably one of the better actors on the show, they just never had a good idea of what to do with her. I might throw out there that the correct answer is actually Beth?
On Frasier, as much as it would be a shame to throw off the gender balance of the show even more, Daphne's the clear weak link, right? Not only are the jokes specific frequently pretty lame, but her presence also made Niles' character worse.
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patbat
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Post by patbat on Jan 25, 2019 17:22:43 GMT -5
For Friends it's gotta be Phoebe, right? Ross sucks, but 90% of the plots directly center on him.
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Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on Jan 25, 2019 17:25:47 GMT -5
For Friends it's gotta be Phoebe, right? Ross sucks, but 90% of the plots directly center on him. I say that one is a tough call. Phoebe was probably the one who fit the least cleanly in with the rest of the ensemble (and was kind of a proto-Lily in terms of the show wanting you to think she was cute and right and wise when she was kind of being a shitty friend at times?). But Ross was objectively the worst character on the show. It's a tough call. |
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Post by Jean-Luc Lemur on Jan 25, 2019 17:55:52 GMT -5
Seinfeld: I've never seen this show, nor do I particularly want to, but my least favorite character is definitely George Costanza. George is the essence of Seinfeld and the best-ever depiction of American masculinity. If anyone’s inessential it’s Kramer, who’s often off in his own world anyway (he’s the only character to really have friends outside the group, after all). |
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repulsionist
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Post by repulsionist on Jan 25, 2019 23:31:47 GMT -5
Good Times - Buffman
The Jeffersons - Lionel
Three's Company - Larry
Gilligan's Island - The Island
My Three Sons - Chip
The Young Ones - Special Patrol Group
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Jan 26, 2019 3:43:34 GMT -5
Good Times - Buffman The Young Ones - Special Patrol Group These are the names of real sitcoms? Ugh. |
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Post by Prole Hole on Jan 28, 2019 11:38:26 GMT -5
Maude - Mrs Nagatuck. So crushingly unfunny.
In other news, though, Bea Arthur is simply brilliant in Maude. I'm watching it now for the very first time (I hadn't even heard of it until about three months ago) and she is a stunningly good comic actor. I'm genuinely in awe.
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