TOP 50 TV VILLAINS COUNTDOWN (RESULTS)

[bob]

Here's how it works.

You all PM me your top 10 TV villians of all time.

1) please have your tv villain list numbered
2) please list the TV show the character is from
3) they can be from any tv show in the history of tv
4) I'm not counting villains from made for TV movies

[DramaGuyCJM]

Sent my list. Hope it doesn't suck too much.

[bob]

yay! I now have a grand total of 1 list



my list is at 4 right now

[bob]

got 2 lists with a total of 19 evil doers so far

keep the lists coming!!!!!!!

[The Raven]

I'll getcha a list tomorrow.

[bob]

keep the lists coming people......

[bob]

another list gives this countdown a very diverse cast of villains

keep sending them in.....if not I'll turn heel on this board

[bob]

with another list we have more villains, with very few evil doers appearing more then once

keep them coming people.......do it (shakes fist)

[bob]

we're getting close to 50 total evil people.......however, more submissions are needed

lots more

there is literally at least a 30-way tie for last place

[bob]

I'm going to start the countdown on Sunday the 14th...so all submissions have to PMd to me by midnight Saturday

[Mr. Emoticon Man]

Jun 11, 2009 17:30:06 GMT -5 bob said:

another list gives this countdown a very diverse cast of villains

keep sending them in.....if not I'll turn heel on this board

I have a feeling that was my list... though I'd hope my top pick made it on a few other lists as well.

[bob]

less than 24 hours for all submissions to be made

[bob]

less then 12 hours before the countdown begins

[The Raven]

This may end up being a strange countdown if we've still got 30 last place ties.

[bob]

twas a tiny bit of an exaggeration on my part

there are some ties still.......and I have a lot to say about votes but I'll save it for the count down

[bob]

T minus 3 hours for submissions

[bob]

Thanks to everyone who voted for their favorite tv villains. I haven't heard of some of the villains or tv shows that had votes for villains in them. Additionally, I never watched an episode of several shows that had villains that recieved votes.

Now, some music to get everyone in the mood.

[bob]

Let's get this tarted. In the future when I do there I would list the people/things that just didn't make the top 50. However, in this case there is a 4-way tie for last place as each of the nominations received a single vote. And without listing them there would've be 50 villians so here we go:

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NUMBER 50
The Riddler from the original Batman television show.



The Riddler is obsessed with riddles, puzzles, and word games. He delights in forewarning both Batman and the police of his capers by sending them complex clues. With this self-conscious use of a gimmick, the Riddler's crimes are flamboyant and ostentatious. The character is often depicted as wearing a domino mask either with a green suit and bowler hat, or a green jumpsuit The Riddler's criminal modus operandi is so deeply ingrained into his personality that he is virtually powerless to stop himself from acting it out (as shown in his third comic book appearance). He cannot simply kill his opponents when he has the upper hand; he has to put them in a deathtrap to see if he can devise a life and death intellectual challenge that the hero cannot solve and escape. However, unlike many of Batman's themed enemies, Riddler's compulsion is quite flexible, allowing him to commit any crime as long as he can describe it in a riddle or puzzle. Frank Gorshin played the Riddler in the 1960s Batman television series and spin-off movie, with John Astin substituting once on the series. The popular television series was inspired by the first Silver Age appearance of the Riddler, with the premiere episode being an adaptation of this issue (Batman #171). Before the television series, the character was a minor villain with only three appearances in two decades, but the exposure of the series - especially with Gorshin's extremely popular interpretation - elevated the character in the comics to a major enemy. Riddler's real name was never mentioned in the TV show. Gorshin also portrayed the Riddler in Legends of the Superheroes in 1979

"Old Man <Insert Last Name Here> " from Scooby Doo

The plot of each episode followed a formula that would serve as a template for many of the later incarnations of the series:

1: At the beginning of the episode, the Mystery, Inc. gang bump into some type of evil ghost or monster, which they learn has been terrorizing the local populace and is the local 'ghost story'.

2: The teens offer to help solve the mystery behind the creature, but while looking for clues and suspects, the gang splits up in two groups. In first group are Fred, Velma (sometimes she isn't in this group) and Daphne. The second group are Scooby and Shaggy (sometimes Velma accompanies them).

3: Scooby and Shaggy find food and eat, but they run into the monster, who always gives chase. Scooby and Shaggy try to lose the monster.

4: Meanwhile, Fred, Velma and Daphne investigate some places by themselves and find the clues, but they also run into monster. Daphne very often ends up being captured by the monster. Sometimes Daphne is rescued by Scooby and Shaggy, but usually is rescued by Fred and Velma. Velma often ends up dropping her glasses and unable to see anything. Velma then reunites with her glasses.

5: Scooby and Shaggy lose the monster and then reunite with Fred, Velma and Daphne.

6: However, after analyzing the clues they have found, the gang determines that this monster is simply a mere mortal in disguise. They capture the monster, often with the use of a Rube Goldberg-type contraption built by Fred, and bring him to the police.

7: Upon learning the villain's true identity, either the only person they had met or someone they hadn't seen before, the fiendish plot is fully explained, and the apprehended criminal would utter the famous catchphrase, or a variation thereof: "And I would have gotten away with it, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!"

8: The gang finally gets to relax and have fun. Shaggy tries to eat something, but Scooby defeats him and eats.

In the Scooby Doo Series the villain often times an old man.

Another evil person who only got one vote: Harley Quinn from Batman the Animates Series.



Harley Quinn first appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor" (episode #22, original airdate: September 11, 1992), as what was originally supposed to be the animated equivalent of a walk-on role – a number of police officers were to be taken hostage by someone jumping out of a cake, and it was decided that to have the Joker do so himself would be too bizarre (though he ended up doing so anyway). A female follower of the Joker was thus created. Arleen Sorkin, formerly starring in the soap opera Days of our Lives, appeared in a dream sequence in which she wore a jester costume - Dini used this scene as an inspiration, writing the character specifically so Sorkin could voice her Dini, who had been friends with Sorkin for years, incorporated aspects of her personality into the character. Sorkin's portrayal of Harley appears to be not only her own persona and quirks, but also seems to be a semi-caricature of actress Judy Holliday.

Rounding out the people tied in 50th place is Starscream from Transformers .



Although the 1990s Transformers series, Beast Wars, officially occurred in a universe/continuity that contained aspects of both of the Generation 1 animated series and Marvel comic, the show most commonly displayed its lineage with references to the animated series. To that end, Starscream's ghost made a brief but memorable appearance in the first season episode, "Possession". His spark, once again without a body through unknown means, wandered to prehistoric Earth (probably through the same transwarp gate the Maximals and Predacons traveled through, although the exact details remain unknown) and ended up in the Darksyde's computer console. Taking control of Waspinator's body with Terrorsaur watching, Starscream went about his standard backstabbing ways, acquiring the trust of Predacon leader Megatron, telling him that he was defending Galvatron against Unicron and was destroyed, with his spark enduring. In reality, he was planning to overthrow Megatron. When his true intent was discovered by Blackarachnia, who knew he was really scrapped by Galvatron for betraying him, Starscream took her under his wing to teach her the ways of treachery —inevitably (and somewhat ironically) resulting in her betraying him. Caught in an energon explosion engineered by Optimus Primal, Starscream's spark was forced out of Waspinator's body and set adrift in space once more, vowing vengeance on both sides. In the episode, Starscream was voiced by Doug Parker.

At the time "Possession" was written, the idea that Beast Wars took place in the past had not been cemented, hence it was not precisely explained how Starscream's spark was able to travel back in time, aside from a qualifier in the form of Starscream's indistinct claim that his spark was "...beyond the reach of time itself". Although no specifics were intended by the writer, fans generally speculate that his spark hails from a point in time that post-dates his final appearance in the Generation 1 animated series, since he was last seen tumbling through space — a predicament he is also in, sans his body, at the beginning of "Possession". Starscream, successfully commandeering the Axalon, was the first male to be attracted by Blackarachnia.

In the second season of Beast Wars, the reason for Starscream's ability to survive beyond death was revealed — a mutation in his spark had rendered it indestructible. Maximal experiments to replicate this effect resulted in the creation of the insane monster Protoform X, later called Rampage.

Starscream's original body was seen, lying in stasis lock, in the last episode of season two when Megatron entered the Ark.

[bob]

Coming it at 46th we have a tie between three villians


#46


Red Skull from Spiderman the animated series



In the 1994 Spider-Man animated series, Red Skull makes a cameo in the second episode of Season 4 in the episode "The Cat" (voiced briefly by David Warner). Later on, during the Six Forgotten Warriors story arc in Season 5, it is revealed that after Red Skull (now voiced by Earl Boen) and Captain America fought, they were trapped in a vortex. Fifty years later, his son Rheinholt Kragov and stepson Chameleon frees him from the vortex only for one of the captive scientists to also free Captain America. Red Skull's doomsday weapon is that he turned Rheinholt into the series version of Electro. During the struggle, Red Skull and Captain America ended up trapped in the vortex. Finally, in Secret Wars, the Skull is sent by the Beyonder to an alien planet to fight Spider-Man and his team of superheroes, but is sent back to Earth from with no memory of the events when Dr. Doom absorbs the powers of the Beyonder.

The Banker from Dead or no Deal

no picture available

The central game of Deal or No Deal involves a contestant, a banker (unseen in some versions of the show), and a host/presenter who acts as MC for the game. The game revolves around the opening of a set of numbered boxes each of which contains a different prize (cash or otherwise). The contents of all of the boxes are known at the start of the game, but the specific location of any prize is unknown. The value of each of the boxes is indicated by a label or card sealed within it.

The contestant claims (or is assigned) a box to begin the game. The box's value is not revealed until the conclusion of the game.

The contestant then begins choosing cases to be removed from play. The amount inside each choice is immediately revealed; by process of elimination, the amount revealed cannot be inside the player's chosen box. Throughout the game, after a predetermined number of boxes have been opened, the banker offers the contestant an amount of money and/or prizes to quit the game, the offer based roughly on the amounts remaining in play and the contestant's demeanor. The player then answers the titular question, choosing:

"Deal", accepting the offer presented and ending the game, or
"No Deal", rejecting the offer and continuing the game.
This process of removing boxes and receiving offers continues, until either the player accepts an offer to 'deal', or all offers have been rejected and the values of all unselected boxes are revealed. The player wins the value of the deal taken, or if no deal is taken, the contents of the player's box.

Should a player end the game by taking a deal, a pseudo-game is continued from that point to see how much the player could have won by remaining in the game. Depending on subsequent choices and offers, it is determined whether or not the contestant made a "good deal", i.e. won more than if the game were allowed to continue. Generally, early offers are low, in order to avoid an anti-climax to the show.

Since the range of possible values is known at the start of each game, how much the banker offers at any given point changes based on what values have been eliminated. To promote suspense and lengthen games, the banker's offer is usually less than the expected value dictated by probability theory, particularly early in the game[1]. Generally, the offers early in the game are very low relative to the values still in play, but near the end of the game approach (or even exceed) the average of the remaining values.

Only a few people have ever won the top prize on any version of the show (see table below). For a contestant to win the top prize the player would have to select the case containing the top prize and reject every offer the banker makes during the game. While the chances of a player selecting the top prize are reasonable (4-5% depending on how many amounts are in the game), the chances that a player will be able to turn down a number of inevitably large offers to win that top prize are much smaller.

Also tied at 46th is a rarity in this countdown, a human being. The third villain is Louie De Palma from the TV show Taxi.




Louie De Palma was The head dispatcher for the Sunshine Cab Company, Louie spends the bulk of his time holding court inside the caged-in dispatch office at the garage and trading insults with the drivers. He not only has no morals to speak of, he positively revels in his misdeeds. Nothing is beneath him, from taking advantage of a drunken friend of his sometime-girlfriend Zena Sherman (played by DeVito's real-life wife Rhea Perlman) to gambling with a young boy to stealing from the company. He lives with his mother (DeVito's real mother, Julia, in two episodes). Under the amoral exterior beats a heart of pure lead. That said, he has (on very rare occasions) helped his workers, as in the episode in which an arrogant hairstylist (played by Ted Danson) gives Elaine a garish makeover just before a very important event and further humiliates her by stating he "didn't know how to do taxi drivers". It is Louie who bolsters her confidence to confront him. TV Guide ranked De Palma first on its list of the 50 greatest TV characters of all time

[bob]

I'm done for now...I'll really sink my teeth into this after I wake up from sleep