Top 10 Sitcom Show Stealers

“How you doin?” is one of the most iconic dialogues that we all remember by Joey from friends. Every one of us has been addicted to one or more sitcoms at some point or the other. The witty dialogues, unimaginable situations and the unforgettable characters are a treat to watch and uplift our moods no matter what. But in some of these sitcoms, no matter how well defined every character was or is there is always that one character that stands out among them all, the one who is the most quirky and takes the show away at the end of the day! The top 10 sitcom show stealers are

10. Harry Solomon (3rd rock from the sun)

Harry(3rd rock from the sun)

Every alien fiction fan’s dream; this show was conceived on the premise that aliens exist and that a group of them have come to earth to study humans and learn more about them by taking on human forms. Utterly ignorant about human conventions the show follows 5 aliens in the form of the Solomon family the commander Dick, next in command Sally his sister, Tommy the little kid and informer and Harry, the communicator . Comedic effect is a certainty as the characters grapple with human emotions and norms, but Harry who is especially dimwitted, played by French Stewart takes the ball away each time. Weird, prone to misfortune and strangely delightful his character is absolutely hilarious on a whole new level especially his standard facial expressions!...

9.Larry (Dharma and Greg)

Larry (Dharma and Greg)

A typical love at first sight story it is a not so typical match between Greg Montgomery a rich Stanford lawyer bred with posh sensibilities and Dharma who as her Indian name suggests belong to a hippie community, was home schooled and teaches yoga. Their struggle to understand each other’s views, with no point of commonality forms the crux of the story. The other characters include dharma’s best friend biker chic rosy, her hippie parents Larry and Abigail; Greg’s lawyer friend Dave and his rigid high class parents Kitty and Edward. A mix of these stark opposites makes for an absolute comical dish of which Larry, played by Alan Rachins undoubtedly is the predominant flavor. His hatred of government policies and his silly antics to stay off the government radar along with general nonsensical behavior makes him the star comic of the bunch.

8.Maw Maw (Raising hope)

Maw maw(Raising Hope)

A new sitcom raising hope has had three complete seasons so far, with a refreshing set of characters. It is about the struggle of the Chance family-Jimmy who is a clueless 25 year old and living with his parents-Virginia and Burt and slightly senile great grandmother Barbara to raise his daughter hope whose mother was a serial killer and executed in prison. Other actors include Sabrina who works in the departmental store with Jimmy. Virginia works as a maid and Burt does odd jobs cleaning pools and raking leaves and they try to make the most of it with the little they have; whilst handling maw-maw who appears to have dementia and is lucid only for a few random moments during which the family takes turns to make her do a task. The rest of the time her character induces comedy with her odd behavior living in the past and forgetting the rest of the people.

7.Community- Abed

Abed(Community)

A back to college theme with a medley of varying characters community follows a study group studying in Greendale community college and their close bond formed over time. The characters include Jeff the self obsessed charismatic playboy, Annie who is shy and strongly ethical, Pierce the rude and cranky old guy, Shirley the strongly religious catholic, Chang the weird and quirky, Troy the ex school quarterback, Britta a former anarchist activist, the annoying Dean Craig Pelton with a fetish for strange costumes and last but not the least the spark of the show Abed who is suspected of having Asperger’s syndrome. Emotionless and lost in his own imaginary world and set of rules, he still manages to be unarguably practical. Troy and Abed are shown to be best friends and subsequently roommates, and they pair up well with similar sensibilities and passions. His ability to interpret the group’s everyday adventures by comparing them to TV conventions or cliché’s makes him the source of much of the humour and undoubtedly makes his character this community’s beacon.Cool cool cool!

6.Phil Dunphy (Modern Family)

Phil Dunphy(modern family)

Doing very well in current ratings modern family is a show about a typical American family – The stern dad Jay Pritchett and his new hot Columbian wife Gloria and her over-mature son Manny; Jay’s daughter Claire and her husband Phil dunphy with their three kids-Haley, the pretty one, Alex, the smart daughter and Luke, their offbeat son; and Jay’s son  Mitchell with his partner Cameron with their adopted Vietnamese daughter Lily. All three families live close by and the show follows their dilly dallying about everyday life. A set of very well defined characters, they manage to make you roll on the floor laughing but the gadget freak, thinking out of the box character of Phil Dunphy, played by Ty burell manages to overshadow them all. He isn’t the loudest like Gloria or the most dramatic like Cameron but his terrible attempt at jokes and wanting to be a self –professed cool dad is unsurpassed!

5.Elka Ostrovsky (Hot in Cleveland)

ElkA Ostrovsky(Hot in cleveland)

Garnering rave reviews and currently on its fifth successful season hot in Cleveland is a breath of fresh air as it shows the journey of three single fifty plus best friends –never married British-origin Joy, ex-actress Victoria and recently divorced Melanie as they decide to make a drastic lifestyle change from living in the hip and happening Los Angeles to the simple Cleveland. They rent a house but with the condition that the house owner Elka gets to stay with them. Their hilarious attempt to find love in Cleveland, and their friendship which has stood the test of time despite their quirks, forms the storyline. Elka, played by Betty white is the liveliest of all characters that rises above, with her absolute disregard for conventional age appropriate behavior and witty remarks. Constantly at a war of words with Joy, their rapport is unmatched.Graceful yet naughty she is the most fun grandmother you would wish to have.

4.Barney Stintson(How I met your mother)

Barney Stintson (How I met your mother)

As the name suggests this sitcom follows the main character Ted Mosby as he tells his kids the story of how he met his wife; their mother. The story involves his life before meeting their mother with his closest friends; Marshall his college roommate who is a lawyer and a Minnesota sweetheart, Lily who is married to Marshall and also studied art in the same college as ted and teaches kindergarten; robin who ted used to date and is now best friends with Lily and last but not in the very least the life of the show Barney! Narcissistic and having an obsession with having as many one night stands as possible, being present for all things crazy, playing laser tag and being Ted’s best friend, he sees a challenge in every situation and in every girl he wishes to “pick up”. He started a rage with the concept of Bro-code; a diary of the rules best friends must follow and always wearing a suit. With HIMYM well on its way into its 9th season the Barney effect has become legen-wait for it-dary!

3.Sheldon Cooper(Big bang theory)

Sheldon Cooper(Big bang theory)

With a unique storyline the show is about 5 main characters: An Experimental physicist, Leonard Hofstadter who shares an apartment with his colleague and best friend Dr Sheldon Kooper ; their co-workers at Caltech- aerospace engineer Howard Wolowitz and astrophysicist Raj Koothrapally; and Penny, a waitress and aspiring actress who lives across the hall. The sitcom basically revolves around the geekiness and social awkwardness of the 4 friends and their interaction with Penny a typical hot girl. The character of Sheldon potrayed by actor Jim Parsons is that of an emotionally stunted genius who follows a strict daily routine, having a lack of social skills, humility, humour or sarcasm. All knowing, eccentric and completely lacking empathy, his reactions to everyday situations stand out by far and cannot but help make you laugh. Bazinga!

2. Cosmo Kramer (Seinfeld)

Kramer (Seinfeld)

One of the most popular sitcoms of all time Seinfeld was largely popular during the 90′s and ran for a good 9 seasons. Set in an apartment block in Manhattan’s upper west side, the show was about Jerry Seinfeld a stand-up comedian and his neurotic friends George Costanza, former girlfriend Elaine Benes and neighbor Cosmo Kramer. One of the craziest characters of all times Kramer was a highly excitable character; Very Jim Carreyish in his actions he had a skewed sense of emergency for weird situations. His jumpy technique of entering a room became a trademark symbol, as did his colourful shirts. He is probably the worst neighbour you could have but also the most entertaining person you could meet, which helped him become one of the most endearing show stealers of all time.

1.Charlie Harper: 2 and a half men

Charlie Harper(2 and a half men)

Charlie harper has become one of the most hated yet idolized characters of all times, played by Charlie sheen with perfection. The sitcom revolves around three main characters- Charlie as he learns to live in his Malibu beach house with his miserly desperate brother Alan and Alan’s son Jake with a lower than average iq, when Alan’s wife wins their house in the divorce against the backdrop of their selfish nonmaternal mother, a lazy and no nonsense housekeeper Berta and Charlie’s psychotic stalker rose. A playboy with a worrisome drinking habit, Charlie’s sarcasm alone runs the show. His aversion to commitment, ease with which he fools girls and unsuccessful attempts to taunt Alan out of his house is a treasure of witty one liners. Replaced by Ashton Kutcher after Charlie’s character was killed in the 8th season, the sitcom still has a large number of viewers but certainly does not have the same élan that Charlie brought to the show.