Right Wing News aske…

Right Wing News asked a bunch of bloggers who their favorite fictional characters were, and I was honored that he asked me. The full list is here, and here’s the list I sent in. (Links for characters that don’t appear on the RWN list.)

• Larry the Cucumber from the video series “Veggie Tales”
  A lovable guy that, while a little slow at times, is the one that ultimately “gets it”. (And what other cucumber do you know that looks as good in Spandex?)
• Sam Gamgee from “The Lord of the Rings”
  Sam was my favorite character. He had to both press on, as Frodo did, but also had to keep his own spirits up as well as Frodo’s. He didn’t have the heaviness of the Ring to weigh him down, but he pretty much ran interference for every other pressure that might have hit Frodo. A true friend.
• District Attorney Arthur Branch from the TV show “Law & Order”
  Former Senator Fred Thompson plays a character that, I think, isn’t that much of a stretch for him, in terms of political views. However, the character has some great ways to get his point across, typically in ways that are tough to counter.
• Sherlock Holmes
  Always had a fascination with him, but after I got married my wife and I read through a complete volume of all the Holmes stories, which cemented my appreciation of the character.
• Dr. Who from the British science fiction series of the same name
  Especially the John Pertwee and Tom Baker incarnations.
• Phillipe Gaston from the movie “Ladyhawke”
  The movie’s pretty good, the music’s excellent, and Matthew Broderick gets some really great lines.
• Mr. Bean as played by Rowan Atkinson
  If my family’s any indicator, you either love him or you hate him. I place myself in the former camp, really enjoying a character that is sometimes childlike, sometimes extremely clever, and always hilarious.
• Benjamin Martin from the movie “The Patriot”
  A many willing to do what it takes to defend his family and his country.
• Col. Jack O’Neill from the TV series “Stargate SG-1”
  He may not be the brightest bulb on the SG-1 team (for him to use the word “quark” in a sentence, properly, would truly amaze Maj. Carter), but when the hard decisions have to be made, he is decisive.
• P. D. Q. Bach, the (hilarious) classical composer invented by Prof. Peter Schiekele
  I was introduced to this “composer” in high school (by a “Literature & the Arts” professor with a sense of humor), and enjoyed him ever since.
• Elwin Ransom, main character in the science fiction trilogy by C. S. Lewis (“Out of the Silent Planet”, “Perelandra”, “That Hideous Strength”)
  “C. S. Lewis” and “science fiction” in the same sentence? You betcha, and Elwin Ransom, the main character, learns to understand himself, his purpose, and the meaning of his existence, while we learn about it for ourselves.
• Inspector Jacques Clouseau from the “Pink Panther” movie series
  “Is that your minkey?”
• Col. Robert Hogan from the TV show “Hogan’s Heroes”
  How did they get a microphone in Klink’s office? Anyway, when I was a kid I used to imagine myself being a part of the crew.
• Rick Marshall from the original “Land of the Lost” Saturday morning TV show
  OK, the acting may have been a bit hokey, but the stories were generally good science fiction. So imagine being a father with your two kids, and trying to hold things together in a land of dinosaurs (and no change of clothes). I think this guy deserves a lot of credit.
• The Genie from Disney’s “Aladdin”
  Not just a guy who makes wishes come true, but becomes Aladdin’s surrogate conscience at times.
• One vote each for Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Linus van Pelt from the “Peanuts” comic strip
  I really identified with Charlie Brown growing up. I had an imagination a lot like Snoopy’s. I thought that Linus was the great wise man of the bunch and enjoyed his advice (The Great Pumpkin notwithstanding).
• Inigo Montoya from the movie “The Princess Bride”
  Best character in the whole movie, in my humble opinion.
• Willy Wonka from the movie “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”
  Some might see him as cruel sometimes, but I think he knows human nature and, in searching for his successor, needed to weed out the bad apples. In society today, there’s apparently no such thing as bad apples, but Wonka didn’t have to worry (or didn’t care about) being politically correct; he made value judgements when they needed to be made, and brought out the best in Charlie.
• Harry Tasker from the movie “True Lies”
  Schwarzenegger has done a number of movies where he’s one sort of family man or another, but I like him best in this role (not to mention it being incredibly funny).
• Peter Parker from “Spiderman” (more so from the movie than from the comic)
  Another awkward teenage kid I could identify with.
• The Grinch from the book/movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”
  The 1966 Boris Karloff version is the classic. Jim Carrey’s version definitely has it’s moments, but the original is still the best. The Grinch is a guy willing to rethink his well-entrenched ideas when confronted with his error.
• Dr. Phlox from the TV series “Enterprise”
  I like this guy’s attitude, even in the worst of circumstances. He can be serious, if the situation warrants it, but his joviality is often what is really needed rather than medication or a blood worm.
• Vir Cotto, aide to Ambassador Londo Mollari from the TV show “Babylon 5”
  He started out as comic relief, but Vir became Ambassador Mollari’s conscience and saving grace a few times. During the 5 year run of “Babylon 5”, he did some serious growing up himself.
• Indiana Jones from the “Indiana Jones” movies series
  Who wouldn’t want to join him on one of his adventures?

I considered putting Atrus from the “Myst” series of games in here, possibly leaving out Rick Marshall, but Atrus did have some family issues (sons, father) and seems kind of naive at times. Nonetheless, he has a good heart.

That was an interesting poll to take, and got me thinking hard about what I’ve read or watched in the past. Most of my choices didn’t show up on the list (but then, my wife figured that would be the case >grin<), but it was fun to participate.

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