I've had quite a bit of love for Shirley, the snarky nurse from ER who was always running around in the surgery wing, though I don't recall that they ever classified exactly what her job was supposed to consist of up there. - Smilla[/quote]
Soo true, I am a bit of a Shirley fan. I admit, I think she's supposed to be like a senior, managing Nurse of something, maybe even Nurse Manager in Trauma Surgery or something. She's always the Nurse they bring up for the really important surgeries for the big sweeps episodes or the 'important' stories like killing off Sandy Lopez and stuff. I loved how she had that mutual-loathing Romano comedy-double act thing with Corday.
E.R.'s bad for under-using its great supporting roles, Randi (I just love Kristen Minter in that part,) Jerry and the now extinct Amira the reception clerks, the Nurses Lydia, Haleh, Lily, Yosh. And Bob totally owns this!
West Wing's a good candidate for a bad show with its supporting cast as well - Mrs Landingham is a great choice of this thread as well, Kathryn Joosten's a really good actor who always brings a bittersweet humour to every part she plays. I think she stole 'Two Cathedrals' from underneath Martin Sheen's nose when she was communicating with him, either from beyond the grave or the President's haulcinating, which is quite disturbing. Especailly when she uses the word "prick." And the bit in 'Take Out The Trash-Day' when she offers to talk with him about the sex education report and he says "no, because I don't want to be in therapy for the rest of my life." Her response is just perfect. And she's terribly touching talking about her sons who were killed in Vietnam in 'In Excelis Deo.'
NiCole Robinson's great too as the irrepresable and always amusing Margaret, just how much she exasperates Leo is so funny, just the way he screams "MARGARET!" and in she comes, very knowingly, she's really the only woman who can handle him I think. Debbie Fiderer too, and Bonnie, and Ginger the Communications Department Staffers and the badly-spelling Carol, C.J.'s Assistant. And a special mention for regular castmember Dule Hill as Charlie, who has been underused FOREVER!
And what do these two show's have in-common I wonder? John Wells, um....
ETA - I loved Harriet Jones the MP from ‘Aliens Of London’/‘World War Three’ too. It was heart-warming to hear what her destiny was going to be. I'm glad she'll be returning in the new series. [/quote]
Marvellous character, accepted responsibility and leadership when she ordered the Doctor to fire that missile, standing up and saying as the only democratically elected person in that room she was automatically in-charge and grasped it with both hands but with a humbleness that suggested that this was somebody who actually gave a crap. It was just great to hear that she'd be P.M. in the 'Doctor Who' universe, because that's the sort of person we wish politicians were more like.
TiffanyNichelle
Aug 15, 2005 @ 11:10 am
Oh, Percy, my Percy. This is where I'm required to point out that Ethan Erickson was a college gymnast. He could've helped fight and done cool gymnast stuff. Sigh. That would've ruled. [/quote]
Oh man that would have been awesome!
Even though he only showed up for the one ep, I have to say that I love Owen the sensitive but action junkie guy from season 1 Buffy. To this day whenever I see Christopher Wiehl on something I still refer to him as Owen.
JakeyIsSusan
Aug 15, 2005 @ 2:16 pm
Even though he only showed up for the one ep, I have to say that I love Owen the sensitive but action junkie guy from season 1 Buffy. To this day whenever I see Christopher Wiehl on something I still refer to him as Owen. [/quote]
To me he'll always be J. Crew Guy.
Mr. Shanks
Aug 15, 2005 @ 5:31 pm
I think one of my favorite minor character has to be Larry Dallas from Three's Company.
I thought he was so funny.
Bobbalouie78
Aug 15, 2005 @ 11:51 pm
Ginny Weedon on Picket Fences, played by Zelda Rubinstein. She was a perfect fit with what the show was in the beginning. I bet if she had been around, it probably wouldn't have devolved into what it became in the end (atleast, i hope, not as quickly). To top it off, they killed her rather unceremoniously, though enjoyably repeated the manor of death with another minor char.
hoosier
Aug 16, 2005 @ 12:01 am
May I hear some love for Ted Raimi as Joxer in Xena: Warrior Princess?
Yah, I can hear you out there. I miss that show mainly because of that nutty character. Saturday afternoon just ain't the same anymore.
screamapiller
Aug 16, 2005 @ 10:35 am
I know a lot of fans didn't like her, but I was sorry that we didn't get a better storyline for Georgia Rae Mahoney, sister of Luther Mahoney, on Homicide: Life on the Streets.
Such a promising start to a character, and Hazelle Goodman rocked:
Georgia Rae Mahoney: Have we met?
Det. Mike Kellerman: No, but I once had the pleasure of shooting your brother.
GRM: Detective Kellerman.... [kicks Det. Kellerman right in the nads].
cal331
Aug 18, 2005 @ 9:23 pm
I have to give a mention to Magda, Patsy's straight-talking editor in Ab Fab, played by the magnificent Kathy Burke. She got some of the best lines, like when she and Pats are talking about models and Magda says ‘If models get any younger Pats, they'll be chucking foetuses down the catwalk!’ It's a shame Magda hasn't really appeared in the last couple of series of the show though, since Kathy seems to have retired from acting to direct.[/quote]
So much word! She was a great character - spitting out her deliciously hilarious lines like a machine gun. I also loved Edina's mum; she has a way with the sotto voce one-liners.
I also want to give props to Carol Cleveland on Monty Python. She was brought in when they needed a hot babe character, but she is funny and smart enough to hold her own with the rest of the troupe any time. Gabrielle Glaister ("Bob", "Driver Parkhurst") from Blackadder was sexy, saucy and very very funny. I don't envy her too very much for getting to make out with Season II Edmund. And my final funny Britcom Babes are Connie Booth and Prunella Scales from Fawlty Towers. The big, showy physical stuff went to John Cleese and Andrew Sachs as Basil and Manuel, but Booth (an American who also co-wrote the show) and Scales got some good lines in. Scales especially shone as what should have been an unsympathetic character but who was really a good acerbic foil to Cleese's manic silliness.
JuliJBG
Aug 27, 2005 @ 10:30 am
I just spent the morning finishing up watching my Mary Tyler Moore season 2 DVD, and I realized how much I wish Gordy the Weatherman had a bigger role. He was pretty funny, always had great lines and delivery, and was written like he knew what was going on more than we actually saw him.
As the series went on we got more into the persoanl lives of all the supporting cast, except for Gordy... I would love to have seen a Gordy-centered episode!
Santanico
Aug 27, 2005 @ 10:49 am
For my money, there will never be a cooler minor character than Tech Rat, late of the much-loved 1980s toon, Jem. Perhaps the single weirdest support villain ever to grace a children's cartoon, he was a geeky, semi-androgynous sound engineer who worked for the Misfits, despised all music, and, above all else, had a truly pathological fear of being touched (hence his immortal catchphrase: "DON'T TOUCH ME!!!"). I've said it before, and I'll say it again: that man was the Crispin Glover of 1980s cartoon villains.
blocked writer
Aug 27, 2005 @ 10:59 am
I loved Miles Dentrell (Drentell?) who appeared on both thirtysomething and Once and Again.
He was such a multi-layered villian, and David Clennon really did a great job of acting the part. He was riveting to watch.
Putli Bai
Aug 28, 2005 @ 9:52 pm
I just watched the repeat episode "Boomtown" from the newest season of Doctor Who, and am compelled to nominate Captain Jack Harkness for this thread. How can you not love a cheerful, confident, bisexual horndog like Captain Jack? And, as a bonus, there's all the pretty....
Save Captain Jack!
Albanyguy
Aug 28, 2005 @ 10:21 pm
From Will & Grace, just about all the guys that Will Truman dated once or twice and then dumped when he decided that they weren't good enough for him, especially the young kid who worked in the video store, the short guy he went bicycling with and Robert the ballet dancer. And, of course, Patrick Dempsey who got off to a great start and then was dumped in a totally contrived "he's in the closet" plotline.
Another minor Will & Grace character that was never given a chance was Will's brother Sam, played by John Slattery. A really cool and interesting guy who was in one two-part episode and then disappeared, never to be seen again.
Bobbalouie78
Aug 29, 2005 @ 2:31 am
I like that one guy from Will & Grace, who's one of their gay couple friends. I think his name is Larry, though I'm not sure. He's the one who ended up on a date with Will's dad's mistress. Not sure what it is, but he always seems so much funnier and nuanced than Jack.
Pooki
Aug 29, 2005 @ 6:08 am
I just watched the repeat episode "Boomtown" from the newest season of Doctor Who, and am compelled to nominate Captain Jack Harkness for this thread. How can you not love a cheerful, confident, bisexual horndog like Captain Jack? And, as a bonus, there's all the pretty....
Save Captain Jack! [/quote]
I'll second that! Jack's such a great character, and John Barrowman has charisma to spare. I saw JB being interviewed once, and he started speaking in a Scottish accent (he was born in Scotland), and I melted. I think it's fabulous that Russell T. Davies has introduced a character like Jack into the show with no real criticism of it at all. And I give thanks that JB's so willing to take his clothes off on screen!
Albanyguy
Aug 29, 2005 @ 7:47 am
I like that one guy from Will & Grace, who's one of their gay couple friends. I think his name is Larry, though I'm not sure. He's the one who ended up on a date with Will's dad's mistress. [/quote]
I think that the guy who went on the date with the mistress is Tim and his partner (who we don't see as much) is Larry. Tim's a riot. "Happy Moulin Rouge Out On DVD Day!"
giovannif7
Aug 29, 2005 @ 10:56 am
I think that the guy who went on the date with the mistress is Tim and his partner (who we don't see as much) is Larry. Tim's a riot. "Happy Moulin Rouge Out On DVD Day!"[/quote]
I'll have to dig out my DVD's to be sure, but I think Tina (the mistress) went on the date with Larry - I can still hear her calling him LAH-reeee... I'm with ya, I love those two, apart and as a couple. I remember being ticked off at their wedding, when the camera kept focusing on Will and Grace and their fight, instead of on the ceremony. And I was on the floor when they were trying to decide which was the bride, and then Larry said something completely irrational and needy, and then walked away, leaving Tim to whisper to Will "He's definitely the bride!" I hope they show back up in the final season.
Svenska Flicka
Aug 29, 2005 @ 11:38 am
My two favorite minor characters ever were David Puddy and J. Peterman. Peterman was just the perfect pompous boss, and they gave that character some awesome one-liners ("Oh, Elaine... that wasn't him talking! That was the yam yam!"). Puddy was just hilarious, and always had another quirk hidden away to pull out at odd moments, from face painting to wearing a man-fur to listening to Christian radio. Just hilarious.[/quote]
Oh, so much WORD to all of this! Absolutely. And I also loved that they had Arthur Carlson ("WKRP") as one of George's bosses, when George was pretending to be handicapped. Priceless. And, yes, Newman...ah, Newman...funny yet disgusting.
Jenn
Aug 29, 2005 @ 12:22 pm
Bob from E.R. Working in a fairly low level job at County, then we suddenly find out she was actually a cardiac surgeon in her home country - and then she disappeared off the face of the earth!
Shelwood
Aug 29, 2005 @ 12:23 pm
I think that the guy who went on the date with the mistress is Tim and his partner (who we don't see as much) is Larry. [/quote]
Larry is played by Tim Bagley. Larry is married to Joe. It was definitely Larry who went on the date with Will's father's mistress (he had to, he borrowed the coffee urn).
InsaneDuck
Aug 29, 2005 @ 12:29 pm
I also like Chloe O'Brien, played by Mary Lynn Rajskub, on 24. She is affectionately (but IMO unfairly) known as "Potato Face" on TWoP's 24 forums.[/quote]
Yup, we all know that the real potato face is Kiefer Sutherland. Heh.
I liked Gwen from Angel and Jenny Calendar from BtVS. And Arvin Clone from Alias had a lot of potential... until a new storyline came in and washed poor Cloane away. :(
giovannif7
Aug 29, 2005 @ 2:35 pm
Larry is played by Tim Bagley. Larry is married to Joe. It was definitely Larry who went on the date with Will's father's mistress (he had to, he borrowed the coffee urn).[/quote]
D'oh! Of course it's Joe and Larry, with daughter Hannah. I guess I keep blanking on Joe's name, because Larry is my secret TV husband. He had me at "She makes me VIOLENT!" during the "Let's dump Grace from the poker game" episode.
JakeyIsSusan
Aug 29, 2005 @ 8:14 pm
In the Will & Grace book I have, Tim Bagley says that the only time he's ever broken up during a taping was the episode when his character went out with Lesley Ann Warren.
kyriebelle
Aug 29, 2005 @ 8:24 pm
Tim Bagley is hilarious! He has also had a small but recurring role on Monk as Harold J. Krenshaw, another OCD patient of Monk's psychiatrist. It's absolutely histerical when he and Monk get into fights over who is the doctors favorite patient, and they are always trying to rearrange everything to the way THEY like it. That is another character that should get more screen time.
Videostar
Dec 3, 2005 @ 2:43 pm
Watching my Beavis & Butt-Head DVDs has made me realize how much I love Todd, the thug whom the duo admired even though he always kicked their asses.
roasty goodness
Dec 3, 2005 @ 3:10 pm
Lady Heather from CSI. The relationship between her and Grissom was just impossibly watchable.
Prof. Frink from The Simpsons. Actually pretty much any minor character from The Simpsons, they write them so well.
Groovy Chainsaw
Dec 3, 2005 @ 3:48 pm
Clark, one of Bobby Hill's classmates from King Of The Hill always makes me laugh. Not one of Bobby's friends, not a bully either ... He's the dull-sounding redhead who mocks his classmates by merely repeating the embarrassing situation they've found themself in ( i.e. Peggy is assigned to sub-teach Bobby's class, Clark's response: " Yur mom's are new teacher " )
Newman from Seinfeld goes above and beyond though. Such mystery ( why the antagonism with Jerry ? What's his first name ? ) ! He's such a classic character and the schtick with Jerry is so great that we named our pet after him. I'm not a "cat person" and my wife tried to get me to warm to the idea of owning a kitty by letting me name him. My ambivalence towards felines spawned the name " Newman " so that when I came in and was greeted by our cat I could respond with a Jerry-esque " Hellooo ... Newman ! "
p.s. - we both love our kitty
Xuewi
Dec 3, 2005 @ 5:28 pm
In Degrassi:TNG when Jimmy and Spinner went to the neighborhood market to buy condoms for Jimmy's implied first time with Ash, they had the snottiest and funniest clerk imaginable servicing them whose name was never mentioned! He was so good that the performers kept cracking up in the outtakes (as per the Season One DVD)- yet they never used the performer playing the clerk again!!
chunkyrice13
Dec 3, 2005 @ 6:29 pm
I second Arthur on Six Feet. Him and Ruth nuzzling is the oddest, sweetest thing. I hope the actor chose to leave because he was finding better things. Also there, I really liked the guy from choir David hooked up with. I thought he was a dear, and it really bugs me that he just disappeared.
I have a total geek crush on Harris from Freaks and Geeks. He's so laid back and nerd-suave.
I think Gunther on Friends is a fairly satisfying minor character. He's around just enough.
BlueSky83
Dec 3, 2005 @ 6:36 pm
Does Alex (Olivia Wilde) from The OC count? She was fun to watch. Hell, she even made Mischa Barton more tolerable.
And Lady Heather from CSI was awesome. One of my favorite TV characters.
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