The 25 Funniest TV Characters of 2010
5. Roger Sterling (Mad Men)
There's a reason John Slattery's bastardly misogynist earned a book deal this year: He's a limitless reserve of idiocies and yuks. He also had sex with Ida Blankenship sometime before her sudden demise, which makes him a demigod.
4. Cameron Tucker (Modern Family)
Fizbo the Clown outdid himself this year with a bike-shorts snafu that riled both his partner and the Dunphy family. It's only right that Modern Family's best character combine the show's two biggest strengths: sensitivity and wisecracks.
3. Jenna Maroney (30 Rock)
As I've said before, Jane Krakowski is TV's best supporting actress since Laurie Metcalf -- and her interactions with boyfriend/doppelganger Paul have provided us with unbeatable moments of fun. Like when they contrived the following "couples Halloween costume" concept: "You dress as Natalie Portman from the movie Black Swan and I dress and former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and Pennsylvania gubernatorial nominee Lynn Swann! We're two black swans!"
2. Liz Lemon (30 Rock)
You will now be directed to Liz Lemon's Julia Roberts laugh.
1. Jack Donaghy (30 Rock)
Is it nerdy, anticlimactic, and a little lame to stack three 30 Rock characters at the top of our 2010 comedy list? Maybe. But it's also accurate: Out of all the ensemble comedies on TV today, 30 Rock's roles are the cleverest, wackiest, and most well-defined. Following three consecutive seasons of Emmy glory, Alec Baldwin still led the way in 2010 as CEO Jack Donaghy, who has the self-awareness to tell his girlfriend Avery, "Drive, Intelligence, Humility, Chaos. Or the acronym D.I.H.C. I'm looking for D.I.H.C., Avery, and I'm gonna take it wherever I can find it." Yes, that sounds like you think it does.
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Comments
I can't help but think you don't watch everything on television (and who could blame you), but, Martha Plimpton and, most definitely, Chloris Leachman, are stand outs on Raising Hope.
And Captain Awesome on Chuck deserves an honorable mention.
NO KENNY POWERS!? WTF MOVIELINE?
WHAT?? No Jay Leno??? Headlines, jaywalking, amazing monologues... Ugh I tried to get through typing this with a straight face but I think I've made myself sick.
No Kenny Posers or Larry David is a pretty bad oversight. But a great list overall. Glad to see Parks & Rec getting some love.
Was going to include Larry David until I realized there were no new Curb episodes in 2010. Next year he'll qualify, no doubt.
Tanya from Hung > all
Charlie Kelly is the funniest character on television and anyone who says differently is dead to me. The fact that he's not on this list is a complete travesty.
"WILD CARD, BITCHES!!!"
Let me guess Louis - you don't really watch much of ANYTHING on cable, do you? Because that's the only explanation for this laundry list of unfunny crap, punctuated occasionally by an actual funny character (usually from a cable show).
No Dan Stark???
You're about ten steps ahead of the game, because you already love your hobby.
It took me an entire week to watch that new Julia Roberts movie.I am not sure if i was really that busy, or i just did not care for it . My favorite Julia Roberts line is..." I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special".
If jim parsons deserves another emmy, why isnt he number 1