Boardsies Decide: Greatest Sitcom Character (US & Canada)

After an epic final battle which was back and forth all evening, your Champion, and the winner of the Boards Greatest Sitcom Character tournament is, by an 11-10 vote...




















Ron Ulysses Swanson







And commiserations to the Runner Up, Rachel Green, who had a phenomenal run also

Hope everyone had fun and enjoyed the Tournament, thank you all for voting and playing along

Keep an eye out for the next Tournament, I know Omackerel has something coming up over the weekend, and there's always plenty of other games and tournaments going on in Forum Games worth checking out if you're only joining us here for the first time, so have a look at those too

Just for fun, at 9pm, I'm releasing a list of My own Top 15 Favourite Characters from this competition, since people had been asking who my personal favourites were, so come back and check that out if you care about my irrelevant opinion...

Since a few people had asked who my personal favourites were throughout the competition, here's a quick countdown of My Own Top 15

Of course this is an arbitrary list that can probably change depending on my mood, but more or less covers it





15. Ron Swanson (Parks & Recreation)


A few years ago, while the show was airing, he probably would have topped my list, but after re-watching a few times and appreciating some of the other characters much more on repeat screenings, I just don't have the same love for the big man as I once did. Still a great character though, and a worthy winner, who still makes my Top 15 of 120 characters to choose from, all of whom I like to some degree, so I still rate him highly... Probably just wouldn't have been my own personal choice as overall winner...

14. Dean Craig Pelton (Community)


I still think Community is hugely underrated, and the standout character for me was always the Dean. His entrances, costumes, and just the little nuances Jim Rash gave the character were always a joy to watch.

13. Donald "Jared" Dunn (Silicon Valley)


He's just so pathetic it's hard not to love the guy, and of course as we all know this guy f***ks!

12. Dick Solomon (3rd Rock From The Sun)


3rd Rock From The Sun may not be remembered as one of the greatest sitcoms of all-time, but it was certainly a lot of fun, and even as a kid in the '90s watching this, I just absolutely loved John Lithgow's energy as Dick and the over the top antics of the character were always a delight.

11. Frasier Crane (Frasier)


Frasier as a character really came in to his own in his own series and brought something that he never could have on Cheers. Add to that the fact that Kelsey Grammer's voice is like velvet and it's no wonder I can sit and watch Frasier all day long.

10. Leslie Knope (Parks & Recreation)


I don't think Leslie or Amy Poehler ever get enough credit. There's always so much praise given to Nick Offerman and Chris Pratt for Ron and Andy (and rightfully so), but Leslie's delivery and her reactions are always spot on, and I find her character's enthusiasm and frenetic energy very endearing. Her relationship with Ben is also one of the best on screen partnerships.
As an aside here, I actually wanted to include Ben in this comp instead of Ron, but I knew there'd be murder if I left out the big man.

9. David Rose (Schitt's Creek)


In a few years time, he'll probably be higher up on this list, but I've only gotten in to Schitt's Creek since the end of last year, so don't want to jump the gun. I'd like to revisit the show and the character at some point as I have all the others on the list.

8. Gob Bluth (Arrested Development)


I don't love Arrested Development as much as some others around her clearly do. It has its moments and I did enjoy it overall, but never been overly keen to sit down and re-watch it, and I've never ranked it as highly as I would a lot of the other comedies on its level (The Office, Parks & Recreation, Community, etc), but the character of Gob transcends the show for me. I think Will Arnett is superb (big Bojack Horseman fan, so that makes sense), and he was the highlight of Arrested Development as far as I'm concerned.

7. Rachel Green (Friends)


Before this competition I may not have ranked Rachel so highly, but was watching some clips of all the semi-finalists this morning just in case I had to split any ties, and she definitely jumped up a few spots. I think Homer J. Fong put it best in his reasonings for voting for Rachel, that she was the most consistent of the characters on Friends, and Jennifer Aniston does not get enough credit for how good of a comedy actor she is. I was rooting for her to win during the last few minutes of the final. I had a post ready to go for both Finalists to announce them the winner depending on the outcome, and it killed me a little to have to delete Rachel's one. I never would have predicted it before the contest that she'd even get as far as the final, but once she was there I would have liked to see her win. Had it been a tie at 8pm, there would've been extra time of an hour, but if there was still no resolve at 9pm, I was going to break the tie myself and declare Rachel the winner, based not only on my own preference, but because I think Homer gave the best reason.
Just wanted to give an idea of close it was to going the other way, but again Ron is a worthy winner... Don't @ me!

6. Michael Scott (The Office)


I'm slightly surprised myself while making this list that Michael just missed out on the Top 5, as Steve Carrell just did a superb job in the role and made The Office the success that it was. I love how cringeworthy the character is, but it's that awkwardness that makes him so deliciously appealing. That's What She Said!

5. April Ludgate (Parks & Recreation)


April is one of the most relatable characters in any comedy for me, because I'm a lot like her personality wise. She has so many great lines and moments in the show and is easily the best Parks & Rec character as far as I'm concerned. Her apathy is fantastic, and Aubrey Plaza plays the role perfectly.

4. Red Forman (That '70s Show)


I think if anyone other than Kurtwood Smith had gotten the part of Red, it probably wouldn't have worked, and the foot is the ass jokes would have gotten old fast, but Smith's delivery just made it funnier every time, and the way the character genuinely cares about Eric and the rest of the gang, works really really well. The best moments of that '70s Show is when Red is sitting down and just having a heart to heart with Eric or Hyde or Jackie.

3. Ross Geller (Friends)


When I was a stupid child watching Friends in the '90s I stupidly believed that Chandler and Joey were the funniest Friends, but with age and wisdom it's obvious now that the funniest were Ross and Rachel all along. While Rachel I feel was consistent throughout, Ross was obviously a bit all over the gaff, but I appreciated every version of Ross. His meltdowns were all absolutely fantastic and I particularly enjoyed when he finds out that condoms are only 97% effective... Pivot! Pivot! Pivot!

2. Niles Crane (Frasier)


I'm sure it comes as little surprise to anyone paying attention throughout the competition that Niles is high on my list. To me Frasier as a series, would not have worked without Niles and I doubt anyone else could have made the character what it was the way David Hyde Pierce did. All of Niles' little mannerisms and eccentricities were always a delight to watch, and his deadpan put downs of some of the other characters, particularly Roz, were some of the best moments of the show.

1. George Costanza (Seinfeld)


Once again, how did you heathens vote the greatest character out in Round 1! Round. F**king. One. Are you taking the pi$$!
I'll tell you, I had a right mind to cancel the entire tournament there and then after that catastrophe. Seinfeld is a phenomenal show, George Costanza is the Greatest Sitcom Character of All-Time and you were all wrong. He is clearly the real winner and the past week has all been one big waste of time. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk!






But really though, thanks for taking part, I had a lot of fun this week and I hope you all enjoyed it too.