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Iconic and Memorable Roles: TV, part I
Your Name, The Show
Sometimes a show will be named after the principal character. Although the show will have many cast members, the focus of the show is the title character.
 2111  7.3  8.9 Jerry Seinfeld as Jerry
 Julia-Louis Dreyfus as Elaine Baines  Michael Richards as Kramer  Jason Alexander as George Costanza  People seem to either love or hate 'Seinfeld.' Either way, the show is memorable, and the characters iconic. Joseph Grey's rating:
 
485 7.1 8.3 Lucille Ball as Lucy
 Desi Arnaz as Ricky Ricardo  I Love Lucy featured a very experienced Lucille Ball as a offbeat housewife. In the late 30's and early 40's, Lucille Ball was an accomplished movie actress, acting alongside some great movie actors.  Joseph Grey's rating:
 
933 6.5 7.5 Richard Dean Anderson as MacGuyver
What a fun show! Every week he'd thwart the evil plans of criminals and crooked businessmen using common household items. This guy was my hero.  Joseph Grey's rating:
 
2703 8.2 9 Micheal C. Hall as Dexter Morgan
 This guy must really be likable. It's one of the only times you see fans rooting for a serial killer. 
3794 8 8.6 Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House
 Hugh Laurie plays a character that is anything but likable. Yet somehow, his surliness has its own appeal. 
61 6.6 7.1 Jack Klugman as Dr. R. Quincy, M.E.
 Robert Ito as Sam Fujiyama  Dr. Quincy would have to piece together the circumstances of death as a medical examiner. Jack Klugman played a very passionate Dr. Quincy as a man who cared very much for life, and tried to help surviving family members along the way. Joseph Grey's rating:
1293 6.5 7.9 Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Fasier Crane
 Kelsey Grammer reprised his role from Cheers as Frasier Crane. He played a radio psychologist in 'Fraiser,' often being faced with his own personal and emotional limitations. Joseph Grey's rating:
121 8.2 8.6 Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes
 David Burke as Dr. Watson  I absolutely love this series. Jeremy Brett is a perfect Sherlock Holmes, the best that I have seen.  Joseph Grey's rating:
 
23 7.8 7.9 Hal Linden as Barney Miller
 Abe Vigoda as Det. Phil Fish  Jack Soo as Nick Yemana  Ron Glass as Ron Harris  Steve Landesberg as Arthur Dietrich  Max Gail as Stan Wojciehowicz  Barney Miller was a great show with an ensemble cast. I hope all of you have watched it before. If not, give it a try.  Joseph Grey's rating:
 
118 6.3 8.2 Dick Van Dyke as Bob Petrie
 Mary Tyler Moore as Laura Petrie  Who can forget the opening of the show where Dick Van Dyke falls over the foot rest? I used to watch re-runs as a kid.  Joseph Grey's rating:
54 7.2 7.9 Raymond Burr as Perry Mason
 Perry Mason is one of the few lawyers we're allowed to like. A really well organized and enjoyable show. The show returned in the eighties, and continued until Raymond Burr's death in 1993. Joseph Grey's rating:
1876 7.1 8.5 Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean
 A show that seems to have no middle ground when it comes to opinions. With very little dialogue, Mr. Bean highlights the trivialities of life we take for granted, as he struggles through the simplest of everyday tasks. Joseph Grey's rating:
27 7.3 7.2 Larry 'Buster' Crabbe as Flash Gordon
 This guy made even brave dudes look like wimps. His heroism was so over the top he seemed suicidal at times, as he continually risked his life to save Dale Arden and the planet Earth from the evil Ming The Merciless.  Joseph Grey's rating:
2529 6.9 7.9 Will Smith as Will, The Fresh Prince
 Before Will Smith was getting accolades for being a serious actor, he did a great job playing The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. A fun show, with a good ensemble cast. Joseph Grey's rating:
31 7 6.7 Martin Lawrence as Martin Payne
 Martin Lawrence had his own show in the 90's. It was more grown up than the above listed "Fresh Prince," and between the two of them, I liked this one better. And, his girlfriend Gina was very pretty.  Joseph Grey's rating:
81 6.8 7.9 James Garner as Jim Rockford
 James Garner sprinkled his usual charm all over the PI character Jim Rockford. Joseph Grey's rating:
144 7.2 7.4 Peter Falk as Detective Columbo
 Peter Falk is the perfect choice for Columbo. Unassuming, but very effective, Columbo always stops himself as he's about to stop harassing a suspect, saying "There's just one thing that bothers me..." That's when you know he's gonna nail the killer to the wall. Joseph Grey's rating:
175 6.6 7.9 Andy Griffith as Sheriff Andy Taylor
 Don Knotts as Deputy Barney Fife  Joseph Grey's rating:
180 6 6.8 Andy Griffith as Ben Matlock
 Sadly, Andy Griffith died just a short time ago. I watched this show pretty often, and have seen many of the episodes. It was a good courtroom drama, and added a lighthearted element that wasn't seen in the Perry Mason courtroom dramas. Joseph Grey's rating:
169 6.3 7.7 Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman
 I loved this show. It stretched the imagination with its total insanity. Joseph Grey's rating:
274 5.9 7.3 Tom Selleck as Magnum
 Likable Tom Selleck was responsible for keeping mustaches prevalent through the 80's. Joseph Grey's rating:
32 6.1 6.5  A dog gets top billing in a show. I wonder how the human actors felt about that. Joseph Grey's rating:
58 5.3 7 Mister Ed as Himself
 Would playing second fiddle to a horse be worse than being a dog's sidekick?  Joseph Grey's rating:
558 6.6 7.3 Barbara Eden as Jeannie
 This show basically never changed. There's a Jeannie, the man she torments, and an arrangement of neighbors and associates that can't handle her eccentricities. And yet, the show was still fun. Also, Barbara Eden was beautiful. Joseph Grey's rating:
304 7.4 8.2 William Hartnell as The Doctor(1)
 John Pertwee as The Doctor(3)  Tom Baker as The Doctor(4)  Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor(9)  David Tennant as The Doctor(10)  People have their favorites among the 11 or so Doctors that have played the role. I watched many of the episodes with Tom Baker, on re-runs. There have been many Doctors, and I won't list them all. However, I can link you to a list where you'll find all of them. http://www.listal.com/list/dcotor-who-actors Joseph Grey's rating:
684 7.9 8.9 John Cleese as Basil Fawlty
 Basil Fawlty is trying to run a Hotel. Surrounded by incompetence, he has long since lost his mind. Joseph Grey's rating:
657 5.8 6.2 Kevin Sorbo as Hercules
 Many movie versions of Hercules were a bit two dimensional. Kevin Sorbo helped to make the character Hercules accessible and likable as a person. Joseph Grey's rating:
56 7.5 7.8 John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse
 Kevin Whately as Seargant Lewis  A very good murder mystery show starring veteran actor John Thaw. Joseph Grey's rating:
Join the Team
Some shows followed a group or team of characters as they worked together to accomplish common goals. Be they explorers, soldiers, cops, or lawyers, they had to pool their efforts to succeed, or survive.
171 6.9 7.9 Peter Graves as Mr. Phelps
 Greg Morris as Barney Collier  Barbara Bain as Cinnamon Carter  Martin Landau as Rollin Hand  Peter Lupus as Willy Armitage  Leonard Nimoy as Paris  This show had a great opening, and every episode featured a con or heist. The cast changed over the years, so I didn't include every single cast member across the seasons. Joseph Grey's rating:
669 6.5 7.4 George Peppard as John 'Hannibal' Smith
 Dirk Benedict as Templeton 'Faceman' Peck  Dwight Schultz as 'Howling Mad' Murdock  Mr. T as B.A. Baracus  80's fun starring George Peppard as leader/babysitter to a bunch of gung-ho mercenaries. I watched this show in the 80's but I only remember the action and not the plot. Joseph Grey's rating:
946 7.2 8.3 William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk
 Leonard Nimoy as Chief Science Officer Mr. Spock  Deforest Kelley as Dr. 'Bones' McCoy  Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura  James Doohan as Chief Engineer Scott  George Takei as Sulu  Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov  What can I say about Star Trek that hasn't already been said? A great cast, and a great show. Joseph Grey's rating:
14 8.5 7.8 Vic Morrow as Sgt. Saunders
 Rick Jason as Lt. Hanley  Pierre Jalbert as Pvt. Caje  Jack Hogan as Pvt. Kirby  Dick Peabody and Tom Lowell as Pvt. Little John and Pvt. Billy Nelson  Conlan Carter as Doc  An iconic and gritty show. I loved this show as a kid, and still do.  Joseph Grey's rating:
87 6.5 7.3 Jack Lord as Det. Steve McGarrett
 James MacArthur as Danny Williams  Zulu as Kono  Kam Fong as Chin Ho  Joseph Grey's rating:
161 6.5 7.1 Dennis Franz as Det. Andy Sipowicz
 Gordon Clapp as Det. Greg Medavoy  Jimmy Smits as Det. Bobby Simone  Kim Delaney as Det. Diane Russel  Nicholas Turturro as Det. James Martinez  James McDaniel as Lt. Arthur Fancy  David Caruso as Det. John Kelly  This was a good show overall, and I liked many of the characters. Like many shows that last for more than 8 seasons, there are too many characters to try include them all. Joseph Grey's rating:
540 7.1 7.4 Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy
 S. Epatha Merkerson as Lt. Anita Van Buren  Jerry Orbach as Det. Lennie Briscoe  Steven Hill as D.A. Adam Schiff  Jill Hennessey as A.D.A Claire Kincaid  Chris Noth as Det. Mike Logan  Another long running show with a revolving door cast. I could only pick some of the many memorable players on the show, otherwise I'd have to make a whole list just out of this show. Joseph Grey's rating:
464 7.5 8.3 Chris Barrie as Arnold J. Rimmer
 Craig Charles as Dave Lister  Danny John-Jules as Cat  Robert Llewellyn as Kryten  One of my all time favorite comedy shows. I love these characters. Joseph Grey's rating:
1357 7.7 8.7 Jamie Bamber and Edward James Olmos as
Capt. Lee Adama and Admiral William Adama  Michael Hogan as Colonel Saul Tigh  Katee Sackhoff as Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace  Tricia Helfer as Cylon Model Six  Mary McDonnell as Laura Roslin  Grace Park as Lt. Sharon Valerii  James Callis as Dr. Gaius Baltar  An excellent new vision of a 70's sci-fi show that may be better than the original. Joseph Grey's rating:
865 6.9 8.3 Richard Dean Anderson as Colonel Jack O'Neill
 Michael Shanks as Dr. Daniel Jackson  Amanda Tapping as Major Samantha Carter  Christopher Judge as Teal'c  A long running show with more than one incarnation of the SG-1 team. I chose to show this group because it was the season 1 team. Joseph Grey's rating:
2352 7.2 7.8 William Peterson as Gil Grissom
 Marg Helgenberger as Catherine Willows  Paul Guilfoyle as Captain Jim Brass  Gary Dourdan as Warrick Brown  George Eads as Nick Stokes  Joseph Grey's rating:
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@skontch1: I used to watch Combat! on the Nostalgia channel as a child. Years later I rented the dvds and was able to have a full appreciation of what a great show it was as an adult.
I see its a part one so can I suggest some for part 2 if i may, you can choose whatever you may wanna add or not. :)
for full cast, I'd like to suggest arrested development,
big bang theory, community, Game of thrones, breaking bad, the IT crowd and for single ones, black adder, keeping up appearances and Father Ted. These are the only ones that came into my mind now. :)