TV Characters I Would Most Like to Date (Part II)

After quickly criticizing my friend’s picks for the ten most date-able female TV characters, I’m still not ready for The Final Countdown.  But I’d thought I’d share my thoughts so far.

I’ve broken down over thirty potential picks into categories (the names of which are references to TV shows and episodes, for added cleverness).  I must warn you: if you haven’t seen the show I’m referring to at any given moment, you may be spoiled and/or confronted with references and quotations which will make no sense to you.

Also, feel free to post additional suggestions in the comments.  It is very, very likely that I have forgotten many, many characters, especially in older series which I have forgotten about.  (And on a related note, I realize that this list is fairly “contempo-heavy” as well, despite my plea for some classic TV characters.)

TV Characters I Would Most Like to Date (Part I)

In the comments, a friend (knowing my interests very well) asked for my input on a most pressing topic:

[M]y friend Justin and I made a list of the top ten most date-able female TV characters of all time. By “date-able” we mean a combination of looks, personality, sense of humor, ambition, etc. This is not a list of the best looking girls on TV. It’s literally, who would you like to get to know better.

They compiled their top ten list by (1) mutually agreeing upon eight characters, (2) each adding a veto-proof character, (3) each ranking the ten in order of dateability, and (4) merging the two rankings into a master list.  The list:

1. Pam Beesly (played by Jenna Fischer), The Office
2. Liz Lemon (played by Tina Fey), 30 Rock
3. Joan Holloway (played by Christina Hendricks), Mad Men
4. Lindsay Weir (played by Linda Cardellini), Freaks and Geeks
5. Sun Kwon (played by Yunjin Kim), Lost
6. The Waitress (played by Mary Elizabeth Ellis), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
7. Elaine Benes (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus), Seinfeld
8. Karen Filipelli (played by Rashida Jones), The Office
9. Charlotte York (played by Kristin Davis), Sex and the City
10. Dana Scully (played by Gillian Anderson), The X Files

Honorable mentions:

• Rita (played by Charlize Theron), Arrested Development
• Olive Snook (played by Kristin Chenowith), Pushing Daisies
• Rose Nylund (played by Betty White), The Golden Girls
• Mel (played by Kristen Schaal), The Flight of the Concords

Right off the bat, there’s a pretty big problem with this list.  For rankings of the most dateable TV characters of all time, this list is incredibly heavy on contemporary characters.  Of the top ten, only four are on shows currently off the air, and two of those had feature film spinoffs in 2008.  The honorable mentions don’t fare much better in the regard (though Rose is a bit of an inspired choice).

My friend’s veto-proof pick is Sunny’s unnamed waitress.  And I think this is a terrible, terrible pick.  If we’re judging these fictional women on “a combination of looks, personality, sense of humor, ambition, etc,” how can she possibly make this list?  Sure, she’s cute.  And the actress is funny, but actress’ talent is irrelevant in this silly game.  The character is a recovering alcoholic whose main goal in life seems to be to convince Dennis to have sex with her (and if not Dennis, she will apparently settle for Danny DeVito’s Frank).  Thanks, but no thanks.

Again, if we are to judge a character by more their her looks, Theron’s Rita must be immediately disqualified, even from being an honorable mention.  In no way is an adult woman of her intelligence and social skills anywhere close to being datable.

Picking both Pam and Karen on The Office doesn’t sit right with me.  Especially since one of them has a personality, and the other doesn’t.  Expect to see Pam on my list, and though this will be blasphemy to the many guys I know who worship her, she won’t be Numero Uno.

The least obvious choice on the list, I think, is Lost’s Sun.  And I think it’s a pretty good one, all things considered.

I’m behind the times with Mad Men and Flight of the Concords, so I’m afraid I can’t quite comment on them.

In my next post, I’ll discuss in detail the many fantastic female TV characters I am considering for my top ten.  Stay tuned.