TV Guide Magazine's 60 Greatest TV Animals of All Time

[JamesG]

TV Guide Magazine's 60 Greatest TV Animals of All Time
Sep 4, 2013
by Bruce Fretts


Turns out, it really is a dog's life. Canines dominate the latest list in TV Guide Magazine's 60th anniversary celebration, taking three of the top five spots and 20 places overall. But there's still room for cats, birds and barnyard critters, not to mention a dinosaur (sorry, Barney didn't make the cut!).

We limited our picks to one animal per show so Looney Tunes, Muppets and Disney characters wouldn't hog all the attention.





1. Lassie on "Lassie"

The beloved collie enjoyed a 19-year TV run — and not in dog years. Who but Lassie could let us know every time little Timmy fell down a well?




2. Mister Ed on "Mister Ed"

When this palomino started talking to his befuddled owner, Wil-burrr (Alan Young), we laughed ourselves hoarse!




3. Eddie on "Frasier"

The adorably precocious Jack Russell terrier always had a leg up on his costars, even if Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce won more Emmys.




4. J. Fred Muggs on "Today"

Monkeyshines were the order of the day on NBC's morning show from 1953 to 1957, when the temperamental chimp upstaged host Dave Garroway.

TV Guide Magazine honored him for many years with an annual list: the J. Fred Muggs Awards for Distinguished Foolishness.




5. Scooby-Doo on "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?"

Ruh-roh! Any number of phony ghosts would've gotten away with it if it weren't for this meddling pooch.







The Other 55 (Alphabetically):


Arnold on "Green Acres"


Babar on "Babar"
Bear on "BJ and the Bear"
Brian on "Family Guy"
Buck on "Married...With Children"
Bugs Bunny on "Looney Tunes"


Chim Chim on "Speed Racer"
Curious George on "Curious George"


Dino on "The Flintstones"
Doc on "Grey's Anatomy"


Elvis on "Miami Vice"


Felix on "Felix the Cat"
Flipper on "Flipper"
Fred on "Baretta"


Geico Gecko from Geico Commercials
Gentle Ben on "Gentle Ben"


Happy on "7th Heaven"


Itchy and Scratchy on "The Simpsons"


Kermit on "Sesame Street"
Kitty on "The Addams Family"
K-9 on "Doctor Who"
Krypto on "Smallville"


Lancelot Link on "Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp"


Marcel on "Friends"
Mickey Mouse on "The Mickey Mouse Club"
Mighty Mouse on "Mighty Mouse Playhouse"
Miss Piggy on "The Muppet Show"
Murray on "Mad About You"


Pink Panther on "The Pink Panther Show"
Pokey on "Gumby"


Ren and Stimpy on "The Ren & Stimpy Show"
Rin Tin Tin on "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin"
Rocky and Bullwinkle on "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show"


Salem on "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch"
Silver on "The Lone Ranger"
Smokey on "The Smokey Bear Show"
Snoopy on "Charlie Brown"
Spuds MacKenzie from Budweiser Commercials


Tiger on "The Brady Bunch"
Tom and Jerry on "Tom and Jerry"
Tony the Tiger from Frosted Flakes Commercials
Topo Gigio on "The Ed Sullivan Show"
Trigger on "The Roy Rogers Show"
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien"


Underdog on "Underdog"


Vincent on "Lost"


Wilfred on "Wilfred"
Winnie the Pooh on "Welcome to Pooh Corner"
Wishbone on "Wishbone"
Woody Woodpecker on "The Woody Woodpecker Show"


Yogi Bear on "The Yogi Bear Show"

http://www.tvguide.com/News/TV-Guide...s-1069894.aspx

[icecream]

The writer needs to see Early Edition, its cat was wonderful.

[Regulus]

Originally Posted by JamesG

TV Guide Magazine's 60 Greatest TV Animals of All Time
Sep 4, 2013
by Bruce Fretts

1. Lassie on "Lassie"

IThe beloved collie enjoyed a 19-year TV run — and not in dog years. Who but Lassie could let us know every time little Timmy fell down a well?

Geico Gecko from Gieco Commercials uke:

It's no surprise this dawg got the number one position.

BTW Timmy NEVER fell in a well. Lassie did however, TWICE (During its "Ranger" Years).

Here are a few of the predicaments Timmy got into:

Threatened by a Rabid Dog (Twice).

Fell into a Body of Water (Multiple Times).

Got Sick (Twice).

Threatened by an Elephant.

Eats Poison Berries.

Falls off a Cliff (Multiple Times).

Gets trapped in a Mine (Twice)

Threatened by a Mother Wolf.

Struck by a Hit-and Run Driver.

Gets trapped in a Balloon, and gets blown all the way to the Canadian Wilderness.

Exposed to Radiation.

(Ma! Pa! Check this out! I Glow in the Dark!)

They need to replace that infernal lizard with the Taco Bell Chihuahua.

[bmasters9]

Why isn't Freeway there?! I think he made Hart to Hart one of my favorites, not to mention what the Harts themselves did.

[DJM77]

Dreyfus from Empty Nest should've made the list.

[Jack Gomez]

I'm surprised Benji didn't make the list. I know, he's known primarily for movies, but he did have his own Saturday morning TV show called Benji, Zax and the Alien Prince.

[Dave_L]

I would have placed the animated animals on a separate list rather than combining them with actual animals.

That said, here are some TV animals I remember who weren't on the list:

-Duke, the dog on The Beverly Hillbillies
-Tramp, the dog on My Three Sons
-the dog on Petticoat Junction (I don't remember it ever having a character name. It seems like everyone just referred to it as "the dog".)
-Reuben, the dog on Duet (though I'm probably the only one on Earth who even remembers that early Fox series, much less that there was a dog)
-Dog, the dog on Columbo (yeah, "Dog" really was his name on the show)

I also agree with the previous posts regarding Freeway and Dreyfuss.

And, since Bugs Bunny WAS on the list, I'd also add Porky Pig. While not the first Warner cartoon character, he's the first of the ones that became popular.

[You_Rang]

Top Cat should have made the list!

[MrCleveland]

What?!

Donald Duck...my 2nd favorite cartoon character (Bugs Bunny will be #1 to me always...hence my avatar) got screwed over again?!

Is there a Top-60 Cartoon Character line-up for TV Guide that has him?

[jimpickens]

How about Trigger and Bullet on the Roy Rogers Show or Fury or Diablo and Loco of the Cisco Kid and in speaking of the Lone Ranger why was Silver mentioned and not Scout and how about the bloodhound on Hee Haw.

[tvfan25]

What about Flash from "The Dukes of Hazzard"?

Mr. Needles from "The George Lopez Show"

Fluffy from "The Brady Bunch" (only on the wedding episode though)

Abraham from "Diff'rent Strokes"

Boomer

[comedyfreak]

They missed Elly's critters especially Bessy the chimp. They also left out one of my favorites, Dreyfus the St. Benard from Empty Nest.

[tv star collector]

Originally Posted by Jack Gomez

I'm surprised Benji didn't make the list. I know, he's known primarily for movies, but he did have his own Saturday morning TV show called Benji, Zax and the Alien Prince.

Not to mention his several years on Petticoat Junction, as the dog with no name (his real name, BTW, was Higgins).

[tv star collector]

Originally Posted by MrCleveland

What?!

Donald Duck...my 2nd favorite cartoon character (Bugs Bunny will be #1 to me always...hence my avatar) got screwed over again?!

Is there a Top-60 Cartoon Character line-up for TV Guide that has him?

Yes, there is (well, actually a Top 50 Cartoon Characters list), published in the Aug. 3, 2002 issue of TV Guide. Donald Duck was No. 43.

And I agree with the person who said the REAL animals and CARTOON animals belong on separate lists.

[MrCleveland]

Originally Posted by tv star collector

Yes, there is (well, actually a Top 50 Cartoon Characters list), published in the Aug. 3, 2002 issue of TV Guide. Donald Duck was No. 43.

And I agree with the person who said the REAL animals and CARTOON animals belong on separate lists.

With that list (Top-50 Cartoon Characters List) I wasn't happy that Garfield wasn't on there. "Garfield and Friends" is my favorite Cartoon Series!