Friday, February 13, 2009

First 5 Friday-Laugh and the World Laughs With You

Comedy is maybe the toughest type of acting you can undertake. Timing is not something that you can learn, but it is something that is born in you. But, as important, is the character itself that you are portraying. In my humble opinion, there are certain characters that are...timeless. Their eccentricities, their accents, their incompetence, their impotence, their drinking, their...hell, etc, keep us in stitches and the show rolling.

So, without further adieu, here is the First 5 Best Characters in a Comedy

5. Sargeant Hans Shultz. "I know NOTHING...NOTHING!!" It has been often duplicated in my world. The great blob of incompetence that was Sargeant Shultz was a simple man put in a rediculous situation as a guardian of a prison full of 'special' prisoners who were manipulative and intelligent. They used him, abused him, and he took it. . He was the straight man and the comic relief. Most characters can't pull that off. Without loveable ol' Shultz, the show might not've flown.

4. Dr. Percival "Perry" Cox. "I reee---aaaa---llllllyyyyy..." think that this guy is the coolest. As a doctor with messiah issues, drinking issues, anger issues, ex-wife issues, and narcistic issues, he makes a good doctor. The fact that you are never totally sure that at some point he won't rip off JD's head and dunk it in the parking lot basketball goal makes him well worth a watch.

3. Homer Jay Simpson. "Doh" This guy is without a doubt the typical dad. Two kids...both of which are smarter than he is (yeah even Bart), a slight to major drinking problem, and a job that he hates. But, he has overcome. He has made it to the moon, been CEO of a major cooperation, and a lot of other things that I can't come up with right now.

2. Adrian Monk. Sad, obsessive, selfish, and funny as hell. A former cop who is fighting his demons in a daily battle. He is not a bad guy at all..in fact he is very loveable...but he is very self centered and needy. He is also a genius. Just a totally impressive character...Sherlock with phobias.

1. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce. He was a conscientious objector that objected to everything army related. Unfortunately, he was in the army. In a weird twist of fate, the television version of the story MASH was by far better than the movie. Hawkeye was the key. He was verbose, hurmorous, courageous (without fighting or anything silly like that), and totally human.


By the way, wishing you and yours a happy Valentines Day!!

3 comments:

heidi said...

Rob loves Monk, too. And obviously you picked Hawkeye - that's such a guy thing to do. I'm not sure why youguys think he is so funny - he's maybe MILDLY amusing, at best. Then again, I don't get the whole Three STooges thing, either.

Jill @ Sneaky Momma said...

With you all the way on #2 and #4. The others, um....not so much. Well, maybe if I actually paid attention when these shows were on, I'd see what you're talking about...
I hope you and yours have a Happy Valentine's Day, too. Love you, Hon! :)

CornFedMama said...

Seriously? You should write the "Cheers" section of the TV Guide with your First Fives! (do they even have that feature anymore???) But i mean it! Your reviews are always right on, and hillariously written!