Guest Author - Amy Ralston Young

What started as a simple idea has now consumed the last two weeks of my life and turned into so much more. I wanted to comprise a list of the best sitcom characters and write an article telling why my picks are the only way to go. However, I am a self-confessed TV junkie and picking just 10 or 20 characters was a hard task. Arranging them in order of greatness was near impossible for me.

So, in a moment of weakness I decided to break the list into a couple of categories and present them as different articles. How lucky for you! Now you have something to look forward to for the nest few weeks.

Without further ado, may I present the Top 5 Sitcom Ensembles:

1. “Will & Grace” This show was pure comedic genius. Who didn’t love Jack and Karen? Quite possibly the best characters of our time, their selfishness and down right cattiness kept us tuning in week after week. Although the show boasts an impressive list of guest stars, no one could hold a candle to the core group of four.

Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) An alcoholic with a slight dependence on prescription drugs, Karen is overly honest…well, actually she’s just mean. She is selfish, loud-mouthed, and really only has one true friend – Jack.

Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes) Materialistic, self-absorbed, and melodramatic to a fault, Jack is a struggling actor and Cher fan. He’s always involved in some crazy scheme with Karen, but that’s “Just Jack!”

Grace Adler (Debra Messing) Owns her own design firm in New York and has slept with Woody Harrelson and Harry Connick, Jr. You really don’t need any other qualifications for this list.

Will Truman (Eric McCormack) A lawyer with an obsessive compulsion for order and cleanliness. Boy did he pick the wrong group of friends.


2. “Seinfeld” Quite possibly the best show about nothing there ever was – wait, I think it was the only show with absolutely no deep, underlying issue. Anyway, where would we be without Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George?

Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld) A stand-up comedian with an aversion to commitment. He had a different girlfriend almost weekly, and a crazy reason to dump each one. Although rarely the cause of calamity, he often finds himself sucked into his friend’s chaos.

Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) Watch her dance. What more can I say.

Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) If we all had neighbors like this we wouldn’t need television. The crazy hair, the get rich quick schemes, the uncontrolled bursts through Jerry’s door…what a neighbor, what a character.

George Costanza (Jason Alexander) Self esteem was definitely not his strong point. George was also neurotic, paranoid, and cheap. Remember the episode where he was forced to buy a $90 book because he took it into the restroom with him? Classic.

3. “Cheers” Don’t we all long for a place where everybody knows our names? A place to go and unwind and just be yourself. It didn’t hurt that this particular bar had the most random group of regulars. You could find ex-jocks, politicos-in-training, ex-models, psychiatrists, mailmen, accountants, and just about everyone in between.

Sam Malone (Ted Danson) An ex-pitcher in the major league, Sam had charm, looks, and a problem with alcohol. After loosing out on his dream of baseball, Sam put down the glass and stepped behind the bar. It seemed as if Sam could have any girl he wanted – except for Diane, and later Rebecca.

Woody Boyd (Woody Harrelson) Part-time actor, part-time barkeep, at no time intelligent. What made Woody so lovable – and funny - was his innocence and naiveté.

Norm Peterson (George Wendt) “Norm!” What’s not to love about the accountant-turned-housepainter? He was the only character to receive a welcome each time he entered the bar. He was also the only character with a reserved seat.

Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger) The mailman who knew too much – or too little. Cliff still lived with his mom, and took great pride in his knowledge of trivial things. The most annoying, but still unforgettable.

Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) A snotty, better-than-the-average bar goer psychiatrist whose penchant for large words and analyzing other customers brought smiles to all of our faces.

Carla Tortelli (Rhea Pearlman) The feisty mother-of-eight waitress was a real straight shooter. She often had to leave work to sort out a problem with one of her eight children, all troublemakers. She was Sam’s voice of reason, and arch enemy to Diane and Rebecca. The bar – and the show- wouldn’t have been the same without her.

Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) A writer and grad student, she thought she was better than the other bar regulars, with the exception of Frasier. She stole Sam’s heart and left him at the alter, but left behind a lot of great memories.

Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) Long before she was a spokeswoman for Jenny Craig, she made us laugh as the manager of the bar. Although she was chased by Sam on a daily basis, she wouldn’t settle for anything less than Robin’s money…um, I mean love.

Lilith Sternin (Bebe Neuwirth) Frasier’s colleague, girlfriend, and eventual wife, she was the perfect pairing for the dry-humored, self-appreciating shrink.


5. “Friends” Put six attractive adults together in New York and watch them work their way through some of the funniest situations possible and there you have NBC’s hit show.

Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) Who else could bring you songs like “Smelly Cat” and carry twins for their brother as a surrogate? Not the most intelligent of the six, but definitely has some of the best one liners.

Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) Although after 10 years I am still not sure what he does for a living, I am positive the show wouldn’t have been the same without him. His wit was unmatched. Period.

Monica Gellar (Courtney Cox) The obsessive compulsive perfectionist of the group, Monica elicited our pity and our laughs.

Ross Gellar (David Schwimmer) “We were on a break!”

Rachel Green (Jennifer Anniston) Whiny and confused, yet unbelievably funny. Am I the only one who thought she should have ended up with Joey instead of Ross?

Joey Tribioni (Matt Le Blanc) The actor, and hand twin, who had it all – except a brain.


4. “Taxi” This cab company kept us coming back for more, week after week, season after season.

Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman) A crazy man, a crazy character. The best part of Latka was his bout with multiple persoalities. Arlo the cowboy was pretty good, but Vic Ferrari, the playboy, that was pure comedic genious.

Jim Ignatowski (Christopher Lloyd) Although his experimentations with drugs left his brain missing a few key parts. An ordained minister, Iggy was actually wiser than he ever let show.

Louie De Palma (Danny De Vito) The company’s dispatcher, and resident evil. Louie showed no love – or mercy- for any of the Sunshine Cab Company’s employees, yet we still love him.

Alex Reiger (Judd Hirsch) Alex is seemingly the only one who has no other aspirations than to be a cabbie. He’s possibly the smartest of the group, and most definitely the oldest.

Tony Banta (Tony Danza) An aspiring boxer, Tony probably suffered a few too many blows to the head.

Bobby (Jeff Conway) Bobby wants to be an actor, and he has the looks for it, just not the luck. He killed Tony’s two prized goldfish.

Tune in next week for the best sitcom duos.