Entertainment Weekly:1. Homer Simpson
2. Harry Potter
3. Buffy
4. Tony Soprano
5. The Joker
6. Rachel (Friends t.v. show)
7. Edward Scissorhands
8. Hannibal Lecter
9. Carrie (Sex and the City)
10. Spongebob Squarepants
11. Kramer (Seinfeld)
12. Mulder + Scully (X-Files)
13. Jack Sparrow
14. The Dude (Big Lebowski)
15. Shrek
16. Bridget Jones
17. Lara Croft (Video game)
18. Sue Sylvester (Glee t.v. show)
19. Morpheus
20. Ally McBeal
21. Roseanne
22. Cartman (Southpark)
23. Austin Powers
24. Felicity (Felicity t.v. show)
25. Woody (Toy Story)
26. Kavalier and Clay (Book)
27. Frasier
28. Madea (Tyler Perry's comedy series)
29. Vincent + Jules (Pulp Fiction)
30. Stephen Colbert (Colbert Report t.v. show)
31. Forrest Gump
32. Beavis and Butt-Head
33. Sarah Connor (Terminator 2)
34. Cher (Clueless)
35. Dexter
36. Gollum (Lord of the Rings)
37. Keyser Soze (Usual Suspects)
38. Elmo
39. Gob (Arrested Development t.v. show)
40. Ron Burgundy
41. Harold and Kumar
42. Sydney (Alias t.v. show)
43. Cal Stephanides (Book)
44. Jack Bauer
45. Stewie Griffin
46. Jerry Maguire
47. Corky St. Clair (Waiting for Guffman)
48. Red (Shawshank's Redemption)
49. Vivian (Pretty Woman)
50. Pearl (The Landlord)
51. Omar Little (HBO's The Wire)
52. Annie Wilkes (Misery)
53. Edward (Twilight)
54. Juno
55. Tracy Jordan (30 Rock)
56. Barney (How I Met Your Mother)
57. Clayton Bigsby (Dave Chappelle)
58. Thelma + Louise
59. Master Chief (Video Game)
60. Mary Jones (Precious)
61. Vic (The Shield)
62. Jimmy Corrigan (Book)
63. John Locke (LOST t.v. show)
64. Maximus (Gladiator)
65. Lorelai + Rory (Gilmore Girls)
66. Allie + Noah (The Notebook)
67. Borat
68. Effie White (Dreamgirls)
69. Miranda (The Devil Wears Prada)
70. Marry (Saturday Night Live - Superstar)
71. Alonzo (Training Day)
72. Kara "Starbuck" (Battlestar Galactica)
73. Catherine (Basic Instinct)
74. Don Draper (Mad Men)
75. David Brent (U.K.'s The Office)
76. Tyler (Fight Club)
77. Mimi (RENT)
78. Patty (Damages)
79. Elphaba (Broadway Musical)
80. Gorillaz (Animated characters from the band)
81. Amanda (Melrose Place)
82. Tracy (Election)
83. Jen Yu (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)
84. Dr. Gregory House (House)
85. Daniel Plainview (There Will be Blood)
86. Will + Grace
87. Tony Stark
88. Napoleon Dynamite
89. Wikus (District 9)
90. Marge (Fargo)
91. Hancock
92. Christopher Boone (Book)
93. Game Boys (3 Video Game characters)
94. Truman (Truman Show)
95. Wilhelmina (Ugly Betty)
96. Bernie Mac (Bernie Mac Show)
97. Violet (August: Osage County)
98. Lisbeth Salander (Book)
99. The Bride (Kill Bill)
100. Tim Riggins (Friday Night Lights)
This list is full of amazing negligence. When I saw some of these names, I didn't know who a lot of them were, and if one is going to make a case for being in the top 100 "greatest" list of the last 20 years, the chances of someone never having heard some of these names is remarkable. I would understand if it was a few that slipped by, but not as many as this just did. Another thing is that I feel they really jacked up the list, missing key players and adding sub-par ones in favor of popular actors or writers of the recent years, for example Hancock with Will Smith, why not just throw in the Fresh Prince? The Fresh Prince was way more effecting and popular than a lame film's character. When you look at the top 10, most of them make sense, as effective as these characters were on our culture throughout the years, but I might not agree with the arrangement, or even the presence on the top 10. I could sit here and keep arguing each character on the list, or I can just add my own to show where I feel there should have been differences. The magazine also broke some rules in my opinion, by adding some double characters in single slots when some should be singles, or adding characters which existed before 1990. Homer Simpson was created in 1989, but more effective in the years after, so I'll give it to them. Here is my list (50), counting down. (Note, I am note making a "greatest" list, but rather a biggest impact/most influential/and most iconic list as it appears to have been for Entertainment's list. Making a truly "greatest" list would take much more time to make.)
50. Juno49. Dr. Greene + Dr. Carter (E.R.)
48. Thelma and Louise (Film)
47. Tommy Callahan (Tommy Boy)
46. Vivian (Pretty Woman)
45. Jules (Pulp Fiction)
44. Buffy (Show)
43. Jen Yu (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)
42. Donnie Darko
41. Frasier (Show)
40. Mulder + Scully (X-Files)39. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars)
38. Peter Parker (Movie[Spider-Man]/Comic/Show/Game)
37. Nicky Santoro + Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci in Goodfellas + Casino)
36. Kramer (Seinfeld)
35. Roseanne (Show)
34. Morpheus + Neo (Matrix)
33. Ron Burgundy (Anchorman)
32. Tony Stark (Movie[Iron Man]/Comic/Show/Game)
31. Beavis and Butt-Head (Show)
30. Rachel (Friends)29. Edward Cullen (Twilight)
28. The Bride (Kill Bill)
27. Wolverine (Movie[X-Men]/Comic/Show/Game)
26. Mario (Game)
25. Napoleon Dynamite (Film)
24. James Bond (Movie/Game)
23. Cpt. Picard (Star Trek)
22. Jack + Rose (Titanic)
21. Ave Ventura (Film)
20. William Wallace (Braveheart)19. Kevin McCallister (Home Alone)
18. Lloyd Christmas (Dumb and Dumber)
17. Forrest Gump (Film)
16. Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean)
15. Gollum (Lord of the Rings)
14. Elmo (Sesame Street)
13. Edward Scissorhands (Film)
12. Jack Bauer (24)
11. Tony Soprano (Sopranos)
10. The Terminator (T2)9. Cartman (South Park)
8. Carrie (Sex and the City)
7. Harry Potter (Film/Book)
6. Buzz Lightyear (Pixar Film)
5. Spongebob (Show)
4. Shrek (Film)
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Show/Game/Movie)
2. George Bush (American Mascot)
1. Homer Simpson (The Simpsons)
It wasn't as hard to create a list as it was to put in order of "greatness". I am not sure how I like the order necessarily, but for the most part I think it is right. More important to note the names on the list that may not have been on the previous one. Maybe I missed some, maybe I didn't. I didn't want to add names to the list which I wasn't at ALL familiar with or heard of, like Battlestar Galactica. I know it was just one influential show for some people, but I never heard of it till just a couple years ago, and I don't have a single image that comes to mind when I hear the name. I wasn't excited about naming some names, especially in the order I did, and for the most part I don't care for most of the list but it was what i thought to be most iconic or influential. I will make a list sometime of the "greats" in MY last 20 years, but for now, this is it.
Till next time...
