Top 50 Aussie TV characters

06 JAN 2010 | Posted By: TheVine

That sacred text of Aussie television, TV Week, recently compiled a list of the Top 50 Aussie TV Characters of all time. Making the list are several prominent female characters who met premature deaths (notably Molly Jones, Maggie Doyle and Claire McLeod at 1, 9, and 21, respectively), men dressed as women (Ja’mie King and Aunty Jack at 10 and 13), perceptive renderings of Greek characters (Effie Stephanidis and Con the Fruiterer at 31 and 45) and goggle-eyed critters with hands up their backs (Ossie Ostrich and Aggro at 19 and 34).

Here’s our run-through of the Top Five.

1. Molly Jones (Anne Tenney) – A Country Practice
One of the longest running Australian television dramas of all time, A Country Practice followed a medical practice in remote NSW town called Wandin Valley, and was not afraid to deal with topical issues of the time, like yabbie harvesting. Early on in the series, audience favourite Molly Jones succumbed to a case of incurable cancer and stonewashed denim. A Country Practice is currently gracing the much coveted 1am time-slot on Channel Seven in between Hot Auctions and Home Shopping.

2. Pat The Rat (Rowena Wallace) - Sons And Daughters
Sons And Daughters was a typically muddled soap opera full of long-lost children, characters falling down wells and the occasional exploding wheelchair, but Pat The Rat, the scheming superbitch, was the real highlight. So popular was she that the character was reprised long after the original actress left the series. Her new appearance was explained away as a plastic surgery job in Rio. Clever.

3. Kath Day-Knight (Jane Turner) - Kath & Kim
As recently seen on US television being unceremoniously slaughtered by Molly Shannon. Both Jane Turner and Gina Riley’s hornbag poster girls for middle Australia make the Top 50 list, but Kath Day-Knight’s frizzy witlessness and turn of phrase earns her this spot. Set to return in 2009 with even more commercials.

4. Norman Gunston (Garry McDonald) - The Norman Gunston Show
Before Sacha Baron Cohen made the ‘ambush’ interview style his own, Norman Gunston’s shiny blue tuxedo jacket and razor-nicked countenance bemused the likes of Muhammad Ali, Ray Charles and Mick Jagger (“I’ve been a great fan of yours ever since you were with The Beatles.”) He also jammed with Frank Zappa and had vodka poured over his head by Keith Moon.

5. Skippy (several different Eastern Grey Kangaroos) - Skippy The Bush Kangaroo
At the call of a gumleaf, Skippy The Bush Kangaroo bounded around the Waratah National Park, saving it from the endless crooks who recognised the myriad of criminal opportunities of the Australian bush. Australia’s answer to the do-gooding animal stars of the States, Skippy could also play the piano, and is the only character in the Top 50 with a chambered stomach to process food, except perhaps for Bluey Hills from Bluey (no. 36).

And here is the complete list.

1. Molly Jones (Anne Tenney) – A Country Practice
2. Pat The Rat (Rowena Wallace) – Sons And Daughters
3. Kath Day-Knight (Jane Turner) – Kath & Kim
4. Norman Gunston (Garry McDonald) – The Norman Gunston Show
5. Skippy (Various) – Skippy The Bush Kangaroo
6. Ted Bullpitt (Ross Higgins) – Kingswood Country
7. Bev Houghton (Abigail) – Number 96
8. Maggie Beare (Ruth Cracknell) – Mother & Son
9. Maggie Doyle (Lisa McCune) – Blue Heelers
10. Ja’mie King (Chris Lilley) – We Can Be Heroes
11. Joan “The Freak” Ferguson (Maggie Kirkpatrick) – Prisoner
12. Charlene Robinson (Kylie Minogue) – Neighbours
13. Aunty Jack (Grahame Bond) – The Aunty Jack Show
14. Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher) – Home And Away
15. Kylie Mole (Mary-Anne Fahey) – The Comedy Company
16. Danni Francis (Paula Duncan) – Cop Shop
17. Mike Moore (Rob Sitch) – Frontline
18. Grace Sullivan (Lorraine Bailey) – The Sullivans
19. Ossie Ostrich (Ernie Carol) – Hey! Hey! It’s Saturday
20. Terri Sullivan (Georgie Parker) – All Saints
21. Claire McLeod (Lisa Chappell) – McLeod’s Daughters
22. Grace Scott (Cornelia Francis) – The Young Doctors
23. Michael Rafferty (John Wood) – Rafferty’s Rules
24. Roberta Williams (Kat Stewart) – Underbelly
25. Don Finlayson (Joe Hasham) – Number 96
26. Strop (John Cornell) – The Paul Hogan Show
27. Steve “Mickey” McClintock (Gary Sweet) – Police Rescue
28. Nudge (Christopher Truswell) – Hey Dad!
29. Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) – Neighbours
30. Diver Dan (David Wenham) – Seachange
31. Effie Stephanidis (Mary Costas) – Acropolis Now
32. Wheels (Marcus Graham) – E Street
33. Alex Taylor (Jeremy Sims) – Chances
34. Agro (Jamie Dunn) – Cartoon Connection
35. Bluey Hills (Lucky Grills) – Bluey
36. Evan Wylde (Samuel Johnson) –The Secret Life Of Us
37. Kim Craig (Gina Riley) – Kath & Kim
38. John Quinney (Maurie Fields) – Bellbird
39. Peter Church (Peter Phelps) – Stingers
40. Miss McKenzie (June Salter) – The Restless Years
41. Reg Reagan (Matthew Johns) – The Footy Show (NRL)
42. Pixie-Anne Wheatley (Magda Szubanski) – Fast Forward

43. Mrs Hopkins (Lois Ramsey) – The Box
44. Drazic (Callan Mulvey) – Heartbreak High
45. Con the Fruiterer (Mark Mitchell) – The Comedy Company
46. Emma Plimpton (Rebecca Gibney) – Flying Doctors
47. Nell Mangel (Vivean Gray) – Neighbours
48. Frank Holloway (Colin Friels) – Water Rats
49. Napoleon “Boney” Bonaparte (James Laurenson) – Boney
50. Bobby Simpson (Nicolle Dickson) – Home And Away

And here are a couple of clips, for a little trip down televisual memory lane.

Marcus Graham as Wheels in E Street. Prepare yourselves - this is a little painful to watch.