#5.Mister.Ed
A
horse is a horse, of course of course, and no one can talk to a horse
of course unless that horse is the amazing Mr.Ed! Ok, I will be honest
and say I did not watch this show
religoulsy. It was obviously on way before my time. However, whenever I
have come across it I have found it to be pretty funny. Mr.Ed was a
talking horse who, of course, only talked to his owner named Wilbur
played by Alan Young. It was a silly show with a silly premise, and yet it worked. I guess it could be worst, they could have done a show
about a guy who finds out his mother is living in his car and it can
talk....oh, yeah. Sorry Jerry Van Dyke. Anyway Mr.Ed was a funny
character who of course caused trouble and misunderstandings. Isn't that
always the way? Unlike many animals from the old days of TV, Mr.Ed will
always be remembered. Isn't that right Arnold Ziffel?
#4.The Muppets (from Sesame Street)
I
have talked about Kermit and co. a few times before, but today I want
to discuss those other Henson creations. I loved Sesame Street as a kid,
who didn't? Big Bird was the best! He was a big tall yellow bird who
was just so innocent and lovable. Then there was Oscar The Grouch, who
was the opposite of Big Bird in that he was an angry grouch who hated
everything and everyone. Well, on the surface anyway. I loved Bert and
Ernie as a kid. These two got into silly situations and had a great
chemistry together. Grover was also a funny character, with his very
positive view of the world. He was just a nice mosnter! The Count was
good for a laugh and of course there was Cookie Monster...who couldn't
love this guy? COOKIES!!! There was Snuffy, who was a secret when I
watched. I even loved Barkley the dog! (is he still around?). Another
favorite was Prairie Dawn, who I kid you not was one of the better
characters on the show since she
was allowed to be more realistic. She was mature, took charge and
stressed out like a real person! Of course Kermit was here to, in fact
when most were loving him on The Muppet Show it was on Sesame Street I
got to know him. I could be here all day if I talked about every single
character. I loved Sesame Street, even visiting Sesame Street Place
once, and watched it till I was probably a bit to old to be watching it.
The muppets on this show taught, entertained, and made us laugh. Is it any wonder the show
is still on today? Not only is it on, but the characters have a
permament place in pop culture. By the way, I liked the adults too. I
could do a whole article just on this show, but for now this will do.
But wait...what about....
Elmo
came along after I stopped watching (man, I am old!) so I never really
became a fan of him. That doesn't mean I dont think he is adorable and
stuff, but when I watched Sesame Street he was no part of it. And I sure
didn't watch when Elmo's World all but took over Sesame Street as it
did over the years. While it's true Elmo is a bit overused, he is also a
great character and for kids one of the most relatable muppets on the
entire show.
#3.Vicky (Small Wonder)
Ah, that corny 80's show that everyone watched but no one will admit it! This show
was silly, goofy, and many other things. Heck, it makes Full House look
like a sophisticated comedy. I mean it's hard just to get past the
premise. A normal guy named Ted Lawson builds a sentient android. Ok.
The robot has no emotions but is strong, fast, and can do anything.
Right. Did I mention the robot was built to resemble a little girl?
Actually kind of creepy when you think about it. And yet, this show
survived for four years! Why? One of the big reasons has to be Vicky (as
she was called). V.I.C.I. stood for Voice Input Child Identicant (which
is one of the most forced acronyms I have ever heard) and when Ted
brings her home she becomes part of the family. Most of the gags
involved Vicky taking things to literally, or helping her "brother" out
of some trouble he has gotten into. And of course she has to be kept
hidden from everyone especially the stereotypical sitcom neighbors, the
Brindles. What sold this whole thing was Tiffany Brissette as Vicky. Her
dead pan delivery worked, and she was just a lot of fun to watch episode
after episode. Vicki has an access panel in her back, an electric
socket in her right armpit, and an RS-232 serial port under her left
armpit! You might think this show stole the idea for the android from
Data of TNG fame, except it premiered two years before TNG! Is it
possible TNG ripped off Small Wonder? Nah.
#2.ALF
About a decade before The Solomon's from 3rd Rock arrived, Alf crashed into the Tanner's garage after suriving the explosion of Melmac. However, Alf was not the same kind of show as 3rd Rock. 3rd Rock was a fish out of water show, as we saw the aliens try to figure out what it meant to be human. Alf was more like one of those sitcoms where a strange character shows the uptight family there is more to life. You know, like Mr.Belvedere or The Nanny. Alf was a smart alien, had a great sense of humor. His real name was Gordon Shumway, and The Tanner's grew to really care for him like a member of the family. Of course, there was one little problem. Alf was a tad...accident prone. Through the course of the series he blew up the kitchen, flooded the basement, and that's just to name two things! Oh sure he didn't understand things like manners, consideration of others, or subtely but he always meant well, in fact in some was he was like Steve Urkel several years before Urkel existed. Alf loved to eat cats, and anything else really. Of course, he had to be kept a secret from everybody including the neighbors the Ochmoneks. At least this time it made some sense, why Vicky had to be kept secret never really did. Wouldn't that have just made the Lawson's rich and famous? So why did Alf manage to survive on NBC for four years? It was funny. It seems like every decade has to do an alien show. In the 60's we have My Favorite Martian with Bill Bixby Ray Walston. In the 70's we had Mork & Mindy with Robin Williams. The 90's had 3rd Rock. This was the 80's show. It's always fun to look at our normal human lives from a the point of view of someone outside out world, and see just how werid we really are.
#1 K.I.T.T. (Knight Rider)
Hell
yeah! I loved Knight Rider as a kid and that was mostly due to the
Knight Industries Two Thousand. This car was freaking awesome! It could
do almost anything! Well, ok maybe I am getting carried away. But this
was the coolest car ever! He could make jumps with his turbo boost,
could drive himself, had scanners, video monitors, and a very strong
shell making it hard to damage him. Plus other really cool stuff! You
may be wondering, does he count as a character? I mean the Batmobile and
General Lee were cool cars but that was it. Well if you think KITT was
just a car that talked, Shame! KITT was as much of a character as anyone
else on Knight Rider. Let me cite one of my favorite episodes as an
exmple. "Junk Yard" has KITT thrown into an acid pit. First, the scene
where he is thrown in is one of the most emotional scenes I ever saw as a
kid. Watching KITT sink begging Michael for help while Michael stood
there helplessly. Then after he was rebuilt, we find KITT is nervous
about getting hurt again. He is unwilling to take a real chance. In
order to get KITT to feel better Michael shares his experience of having
to deal with the injuries that caused his initial injury (before he
became Michael Knight) and how he overcvame them. KITT draws on
Michael's experience to get the confidence back to really be KITT again.
He was deffinatelty more than just a talking car, he and Michael
respected and cared for each other. and the fact that William
Daniels did the voice sure helped. Yes, that William Daniels. To this
day when I see Mr.Feeney on Boy Meets World it reminds me of KITT. So
what about that revival they did a few years ago? They decided to take
all the fun out of KITT which took all the fun out of the series as
well. I watched the pilot but that was it. By the way, one of my
favorite toys growing up was a talking KITT car that I just adored!
So
there is my list. Honorable mentions include Mork from ork, The
Solomons from 3rd Rock, The robot from Lost in Space, The Simpsons,
Flipper, Dr.Who
Some other time I will talk about favorite non-human movie characters
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