Favorite Characters from Movies, TV, and Literature
Submitted by professor on Sat, 04/10/2004 - 07:51
Tags:
- Achilles - from the book 'The Iliad' by Homer - totally awesome warrior.
- Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) - The West Wing. Funny/confused.
- Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) - Mary Poppins. Magical.
- Hobson (Sir John Gielgud) - Arthur. So funny.
- Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) - The Avengers. So cool!
- Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson) Remains Of The Day. Ditto
- Fitz (Robbie Coltrane) - Cracker. So uncool, but a genius !
- Steerpike - from the book Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake - a dark villain.
- Holden Caulfield - from the book Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger.
- David Selig - from the book Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg.
- Dallas Winston (Matt Dillon) - The Outsiders.
- Jesus (Robert Powell) - Jesus of Nazareth. Awesome and moving performance.
- Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) - third series.
- Carl Galton (Iain Glen) - The Fear (TV serial). Chilling character.
- Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) - NYPD Blue. A TV revelation.
- Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) - Homicide: Life On The Street. Intense.
- Sam Seeborn (Rob Lowe) - The West Wing. Clever and funny.
- Quincy (Jack Klugman) - Quincy. Champion of causes (thanks to 1922).
- Steven Crane/Derek Love (Clive Owen) - Chancer (TV serial). The 'Chancer' of the title.
- James Xavier Blake (Leslie Phillips) - Chancer (TV serial). Brilliant performance from an old-timer.
- Victoria Douglas (Lynsey Baxter) - Chancer (TV serial). So cool and beautiful.
- Joanna Franklyn (Susannah Harker) - Chancer (TV serial). So beautiful - an English rose.
- CHANCER - the first series was best, but the second series was also brilliant, and the apparition was an unexpectedly welcome and moving addition.
- See reviews of the   first series on DVD   or on   VHS .  
- See reviews of the   second series on DVD.
British TV at its very, very best.   Highly recommended.
Author Comments:
Most recent additions in blue text.
Hooray for Frank Pembleton/Andre Braugher. The best member of a fabulous ensemble cast.
I agree absolutely (that's why I listed him), but Bobby Simone/Jimmy Smits was even better - magnificent - an awesome performance.
I never really got into NYPD Blue (and never saw a Smits episode - all my sampling was from the Caruso era); perhaps I'll revisit it as part of this TV-on-DVD revolution we're enjoying.
I first thought that David Caruso would be irreplaceable, but Jimmy Smits did it virtually from his first episode (you'll have to see it to understand that comment).
Has anyone seen Chancer ?
Was it ever aired in the US ?
I watched Jesus of Nazareth again over the last few days, and Robert Powell is awesome in this.
I don't know if I should bring this up, but I will: I've never liked Holden Caulfield. I'm about the only person I know who isn't in love with him. I didn't enjoy the book either. I think maybe part of it is the whole deal with Mark Dacid Chapman and John Lennon and all, but I just detested the book. I found Holden very dislikeable and whiney, and I was even fifteen when I read it!
Not to just crap all over one of your favorites, but just thought I'd share. What made you like him so?
The book is brilliant, but not a book that one can 'enjoy' easily (other than on a lterary level), perhaps because it touches on a few uncomfortable truths of growing up. The association with Chapman and Lennon is most tragic, but art and litereature is at its best when it is challenging, and neither Sallinger nor Holden Caulfield are culpable for the actions of an angry and dissaffected fanatic. I like Holden Caulfield because he is a teenage rebel, which I can relate to from my own teenage years, and I was thirty when I first read it.
I'm now inspired to re-read The Catcher In The Rye - I'm reading it now.
The writing is very stylised.
Thanks Jake-O.