This month's list: Top 50 TV Icons

[DrBear]

TV Land and Entertainment Weekly have compiled their list of the top 50 TV icons for a Friday night special. I've bolded some of the ones of interest here...
50. Larry Hagman
49. Calista Flockhart
48. Jimmy Smits
47. Simon Cowell
46. Lassie
45. Sarah Michelle Gellar
44. Susan Lucci
43. Flip Wilson
42. James Gandolfini
41. Jon Stewart
40. Sally Field
39. Jennifer Aniston
38. Bea Arthur
37. George Clooney (or as he's called around here, Nick's kid)
36. Diahann Carroll
35. Michael J. Fox
34. Bob Barker
33. Ellen DeGeneres
32. Henry Winkler (ex-HS2 producer)

31. Sarah Jessica Parker
30. Alan Alda
29. John Ritter
28. Howard Cosell
27. Regis Philbin
26. Farrah Fawcett
25. Heather Locklear
24. Michael Landon
23. Barbara Walters
22. Milton Berle (for Jackpot Bowling)
21. Kermit
20. Carroll O'Connor
19. Andy Griffith
18. William Shatner
17. Bob Newhart
16. David Letterman
15. "Not Ready for Primetime Players"
14. Ed Sullivan
13. Jackie Gleason (for You're In The Picture)
12. Dick Van Dyke
11. Roseanne
10. Dick Clark
9. Homer Simpson
8. Jerry Seinfeld
7. Mary Tyler Moore
6. Carol Burnett (noted Password player, hung around with Garry Moore)
5. Walter Cronkite
4. Bill Cosby (ex-You Bet Your Life host ... and why isn't Groucho on this list? Or Lorne Greene or James Arness?)
3. Oprah Winfrey
2. Lucille Ball
1. Johnny Carson (one wonders how many people even know he was on as many game shows as he was?)

[weaklink75]

The top 50 is for the TV special, but they actually came up with a top 100 list...here's the bottom 50:

100. Marcia Cross
99. Delta Burke
98. Meredith Baxter
97. In Living Color cast
96. Shannen Doherty
95. Richard Dawson
94. Melissa Gilbert
93. Neil Patrick Harris
92. Judge Judy
91. Dennis Franz
90. John Stamos
89. Robert Guillaume
88. Gavin MacLeod
87. Phil Hartman
86. Jerry Mathers
85. Rod Serling (he did host a game show remember)
84. Cartman from "South Park"
83. Isabel Sanford
82. Ted Knight
81. Dick Cavett
80. Adam West
79. Angela Landsbury
78. Art Carney
77. James Garner
76. Candice Bergen
75. Peter Falk
74. Joan Rivers (the 80's center square)
73. Tony Danza
72. Cher
71. Rosie O'Donnell
70. Bob Denver
69. Barbara Eden
68. Don Cornelius
67. Tom Selleck
66. Kelsey Grammer
65. Pamela Anderson
64. Phil Donahue
63. Ed Asner
62. Redd Foxx
61. Pee Wee Herman
60. Merv Griffin
59. Ted Danson
58. Don Knotts
57. Charlie Brown
56. Betty White
55. Fred Rogers
54. Florence Henderson
53. Ed McMahon
52. Ron Howard
51. Bob Hope

(and you have to rember the voters were probably born in the 60's or later-I'm suprised there are as many 50's-era people on the list as it is)

[Joe Mello]

[quote name=\'weaklink75\' post=\'169428\' date=\'Nov 13 2007, 05:09 PM\']81. Dick Cavett [/quote]
Didn't he host one of those College Bowl thingies?

[Matt Ottinger]

The two flimsiest TV resumes in the top 50 would seem to belong to James Gandolfini and Sarah Jessica Parker, who share an obvious connection.  I've never completely understood the entertainment industry's slavish adoration of HBO originals. I'm almost surprised the list didn't include Robert Wuhl and Brian Benben.  

They're fine actors on fine shows (Gandolfini and Parker, that is), but neither made even a hundred episodes, and while their characters were certainly modern cultural touchstones, I have a hard time considering the actors who played them iconic.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'169434\' date=\'Nov 13 2007, 05:43 PM\']
[quote name=\'weaklink75\' post=\'169428\' date=\'Nov 13 2007, 05:09 PM\']81. Dick Cavett [/quote]
Didn't he host one of those College Bowl thingies?
[/quote]

1988 on Disney Channel, when it was still premium and kids during the day, grownups who didn't want sex-and-violence but wanted something intelligent at night.

In addition, number 18 hosted the show with the blonde from "Dancing With the Stars" on it, number 16 did a few pilots, number 12 hosted "Laugh Lines," number 5 hosted "Who Said That?" and (doubling back) number 61 in another persona hosted "You Don't Know Jack."

[MTCesquire]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'169435\' date=\'Nov 13 2007, 06:43 PM\']
The two flimsiest TV resumes in the top 50 would seem to belong to James Gandolfini and Sarah Jessica Parker, who share an obvious connection.  I've never completely understood the entertainment industry's slavish adoration of HBO originals. I'm almost surprised the list didn't include Robert Wuhl and Brian Benben.  

They're fine actors on fine shows (Gandolfini and Parker, that is), but neither made even a hundred episodes, and while their characters were certainly modern cultural touchstones, I have a hard time considering the actors who played them iconic.
[/quote]

I feel like the same case could be made for Calista Flockhart.  What, besides "Ally McBeal", has she done that makes her so iconic?  Also, Carrie Whoeverthehell from "Sex and the City" has made more of a cultural impact than Ally McBeal, who seems all but forgotten IMO.

Plus, how does Isabel Sanford make the list while Sherman Hemsley is MIA?  He starred in not one, but two hit TV shows (one being a classic, the other...making a nice companion show for "227" on Saturday nights back in the day) and is more synonymous with his classic show than she is.  I don't get it.

ObGS: Sherman Hemsley appeared on the Classic TV Stars edition of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" during the reign of Regis.

[BrandonFG]

Like with most of these "lists", this one just seems to look like random celebrities who made one big breakout role, that turned into more of a signature role for them. It's more of a "Hey, remember such-and-such from that show from 1989? Yeah, let's put him/her on the list...that'll make a fun childhood memory!" I fail to see anything iconic about Uncle Jesse from Full House. You include John Stamos and not the Olsen twins? Not that I'm a fan, but it just screams bass-ackwards to me.

/Not even his hair

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'MTCesquire\' post=\'169552\' date=\'Nov 14 2007, 02:43 PM\']
What, besides "Ally McBeal", has she done that makes her so iconic?[/quote]
Bulimic purging.
[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'169554\' date=\'Nov 14 2007, 03:15 PM\']
I fail to see anything iconic about Uncle Jesse from Full House.[/quote]
John Stamos? No. His older brother Richard? Yes.

/still can't hit the high note in "Loving You"

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'MTCesquire\' post=\'169552\' date=\'Nov 14 2007, 05:43 PM\']
I feel like the same case could be made for Calista Flockhart.  What, besides "Ally McBeal", has she done that makes her so iconic?  Also, Carrie Whoeverthehell from "Sex and the City" has made more of a cultural impact than Ally McBeal, who seems all but forgotten IMO.

Plus, how does Isabel Sanford make the list while Sherman Hemsley is MIA?  [/quote]
I agree with both your points.  Naturally, as others rightly point out, these lists are just designed to start discussions and arguments, and no good will come of taking them seriously.  If it really is a list of people as opposed to characters (Kermit and Homer notwithstanding), you'd seem to want to give the nod to people who either had one amazing run or at least two decent ones.  And Hemsley would definitely be in the latter camp instead of Weezie.  (Of the two, though, she's the one with an Emmy.)

There are exceptions (youngsters, Farrah was iconic), and anything outside the top 50 really isn't worth arguing.  Still, overall, I think they did a pretty decent job of representing all eras and genres.

[TLEberle]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'169554\' date=\'Nov 14 2007, 03:15 PM\']Like with most of these "lists", this one just seems to look like random celebrities who made one big breakout role, that turned into more of a signature role for them. [/quote]I suppose it really depends on the definition of iconic. If it means an object of attention and devotion, well, then you basically have "Fifty Favorite People," and there's no fun in that. If instead it means "representation by virtue of similarity," then I would say that Eric Cartman certainly represents a fat, loudmouthed bigot with self-esteem issues and poor eyesight, or that Johnny Carson represents what all late-night talk show hosts should strive to be. But even then, it's still all argument.