Earlier this week, TV Land and Entertainment Weekly unveiled their list of the 100 Greatest TV Icons of All-Time. According to TV Land's website, these 100 TV stars are the champions, the trailblazers, the game changers. More than TV Stars, they are the legends.For the most part, I feel that TV Land/Entertainment Weekly did a pretty good job. However, as with any list, there is never going to be a consensus in regards to the rankings or who made the list... but that's part of the fun! After looking at the list, here are some of my observations:
1. I can't really argue with the placement of Johnny Carson at #1. After all, he was the king of late night TV for 30 years. However, I would have put either Lucille Ball or Bill Cosby in the top spot instead.
2. How can the man that many call the father of the TV talk show (Steve Allen) not be on the list at all?! I understand that many Elvis fans will never forgive Allen for having "The Pelvis" wear white tie and tails as he sang "Hound Dog" to a basset hound (click here to see the performance), but Allen should be on the list.
3. I was glad to see the cast of "In Living Color" make the list (#94). Because of the diversity of its cast (not to mention the writing staff), "In Living Color" went places that SNL never could.
4. How in the hell is Larry Hagman only ranked at #50?! If the only TV character that Hagman ever did was J.R. Ewing, I'd rank him higher than that.
5. Arsenio Hall should have made the list. Some people might say "Why?", but think about it... the TV stars were chosen because they are "champions, trailblazers, and game changers." Arsenio may not have been the funniest stand-up comic, but he showcased guests on his late night talk show (The Minister Louis Farrakhan, Tupac Shakur, Spike Lee, etc.) that you generally weren't going to see on Carson, Letterman, or Leno back in the day.
6. Susan Lucci (#44) rightfully made the list. Even if you've never watched "All My Children" or any other daytime soap, chances are that you know Lucci and her most famous character (the one and only Erica Kane).
Below are links to the list of the 100 Greatest TV Icons. I'm anxious to hear your thoughts.
1-50
51-100
7 comments:
I agree about In Living Color (AND they broke that ground in prime time, didn't they? I seem to remember it being on early) and Arsenio.
Man, they oughta ask your opinion the next time they make these lists...
I agree with you about Steve Allen and Arsenio Hall. I don't care for Arsenio's stand up, but his show did have its moments. I was glad to see that Sally Field made the list. She has been on television since she was a teenager and now she is portraying a grandmother on "Brothers and Sisters" and doing a heck of a job I might. I caught the tail end of "100 Greatest TV Icon" the other day, but I have tivoed it and will watch it in its entirety over the weekend.
I don't really take these types of ranking lists seriously, for they're more reflective of the opinions of the voters than on anything measurable according to the stated criteria. For instance, talk about a trail blazer, Nichelle Nichols not only influenced Star Trek, future Sci-Fi (virtually everything before had no people of color--leading Richard Pryor to quip that in the future, "Somebody doesn't plan on us being here"), and color-blind casting strategies in Hollywood. She influenced a lot of people in real life, among them Dr. Mae Jemison.
I suspect too that ideological concerns might have kept some people off the list (e.g. The Smothers Brothers).`
I find that none of these style of lists are ever true to the "public's opinion" because they are driven by higher powers I feel.
I think they missed the mark in a number of places, and Larry Hagman was a classic on I Dream of Jeannie, I was not a fan of J.R. Ewing and could have cared less who shot him. Thanks for your passion on this.
Did Susan Lucci ever get a daytime emmy for Erica?
Susan: You are right... "In Living Color" came on in prime time (normally at 8 pm). By the way, thanks for what you said about "them" asking me for my opinion about these types of lists.
Pjazzy: If I was compiling a list, I wouldn't have thought to put Sally Field on it. However, she is more than worthy of being among the Top 100. Who would have ever thought that the actress formerly known as Gidget/The Flying Nun would be able to pull of the complex role of Sybil?
X. Dell: I hope that no one takes these lists too seriously. To me it's just fun to discuss omissions/inclusions/rankings, etc.
I would love to be the fly on the wall during the meetings where these lists are being compiled. It would be interesting to find out if TV pioneers such as Steve Allen, The Smothers Brothers, or Ernie Kovacs even came up and if they did, hear why they were ultimately left off the list.
Sassy Lucy: Welcome and thanks for joining in on the discussion. If you haven't already, you should check out the TV Land Message Boards and read some of the comments by viewers. Many of them are kind of upset over this list. Someone mentioned the exclusion of Walt Disney... excellent point. How could he be left off the list, but someone like John Stamos makes the cut?
The Mistress of the D: Susan Lucci finally won a Daytime Emmy in 1999. It was pretty cool because when Shemar Moore opened the envelope he shouted, "The streak is over, Susan Lucci!" If you are interested, you can see the clip here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pJKHiij5Kz4
I saw this in my EW this week. Homer Simpson in the top 10, really? My list would have included many of the same people, but in a much different order.
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