Top 10 Canadian Characters on U.S. TV Shows

[bholas]

5. Holling Vincoeur and Shelly Marie Tambo (Northern Exposure)

John Cullum and Cynthia Geary, 110 episodes,

1990-1995



Northern Exposure takes place in Cicely, a small town in Alaska. Holling (played by John Cullum), a French Canadian immigrant, runs the town’s pub “The Brick.” Shelly, his girlfriend (and later wife) works there as a waitress. She is a former beauty queen (“Miss NorthWest Passage”) from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At the beginning of their relationship Shelly is eighteen years old and Holling is sixty-two. The relationship could easily seem creepy but it is not. The complexity of their relationship and the history between them make the characters believable (and likeable, they are one of my favorite TV couples ever).

Actor John Cullum describes their relationship eloquently during an interview:

“Holling, a former professional hunter of ruthless, uncompromising ****er instincts and nerves of steel, is totally at the mercy of a young girl one third his age and will do anything to please her out of pure love. Shelly, an innocent, uneducated, and seemingly empty headed high school beauty queen, is naturally intelligent and clear thinking and instinctively understands the most complicated social problems even though she is convinced she does not.” The interviewer is a fan who is conducting a research project about Northern Exposure for her doctoral thesis, fans of the show should check out the website cicelyonline.com for the full interview.

A fictional TV couple, Holling and Shelly find each other in a small town far away from the Canadian towns where they were raised. Is there anything stereotypically Canadian about them? Holling is a former hunter and he likes to wear plaid mac jackets, but these are characteristics of US inhabitants of Washington State and Alaska just as much as Canada. As a fan of the show, I was pleasantly surprised to discover they are both Canadian, so they get fifth place on my list.

(sources: Museum of Broadcast Communications, moosechick.com, bookrags.com, cicelyonline.com)

[bholas]

4. Dudley Do-Right (The Bullwinkle Show)

Voice of Bill Scott, 39 episodes, 1969




Bill Scott, Dudley Do-Right’s voice, was also co-creator of The Dudley Do-Right Show (1969). Do-Right started off as a character in a cartoon variety show in 1948. He is most famous for his appearances on the Bullwinkle Show (1961). He was so popular that he got his very own show a few years later. Most recently, Brendan Fraser played him in the feature film Dudley Do-Right in 1999.

Dudley Do-Right’s blonde wavy hair, cleft chin, and high moral standards should have made him the perfect role model and heart throb. Instead, Nell Fenwick was in love with his horse… maybe Dudley’s high-pitched voice and melodramatic gestures were a turn off…

One might argue that Sgt Preston of the Yukon (Richard Simmons , 78 episodes, 1955-1958) really deserves a spot on this list since he precedes (and greatly influenced) the creation of Dudley Do Right. However, the show isn’t as well known and he’s not one of my favorites, so

[bholas]

3. Dave Nelson (News Radio)

Dave Foley, 97 episodes, 1995-1999




NewsRadio’s news director and comedic straight man, played by actual Canadian Dave Foley and costarring with another Canadian, Phil Hartman. Dave Foley is another alumnus from one of Canada’s best comedy shows, Kids in the Hall (#6 Scott Thompson is also from the same show). For the first few seasons everyone thinks Dave is from the Midwest. Then, in the third season, the rest of the staff at the radio station are shocked when they discover he is actually Canadian (“Trainer,” episode 39).

Joe Garelli: I can’t believe Dave’s Canadian. All those times we talked about hockey and he pretended not to know anything about it.

Newsradio is one of the most well-written shows ever, in my opinion. Apparently the Dave Nelson character was written specifically for Dave Foley. Believable, because he is perfect for the role and the role is the perfect showcase of his effortless-looking and hilarious talent.

[bholas]

2. Robin Scherbatsky (How I Met Your Mother)

Cobie Smulders, 112 episodes, 2005-2010






Robin moves to New York City to pursue a career in media, not much of a stretch considering how many TV news reporters, journalists, correspondents, and news anchors working in the US are actually Canadian (Peter Jennings, Kevin Newman, Morley Safer, John Roberts…).

Robin’s Canadian roots are a big part of her character: she loves hockey, beer, and she even takes Barney to a Tim Horton’s coffee shop when they visit Canada. In one episode her friends learn that she was once a Canadian pop star very similar to Alanis Morrissette’s early days as the teen singer ‘Alanis.’ I’m giving Robin second place on this list because I think she portrays the most realistic Canadian on T.V. today. Cobie Smulders was born in Vancouver, British Columbia so that probably helps, too.

(For a detailed article about Robin Scherbatsky and Canadians on U.S. TV shows please visit culturallearnings.com.)

[bholas]

1. Wolverine (X-Men)

Various Actors (see below), 163 episodes, 1989 -2010

Wolverine and the X-Men: Steve Blum, 26 episodes, 2008-2009

The Super Hero Squad Show: Steve Blum, 26 episodes, 2009-2010



Black Panther: Kevin Michael Richardson, 1 episode, 2010

X-Men Evolution: Scott McNeil, 41 episodes, 2000-2003

X-Men: Cathal J. Dodd, 66 episodes, 1992-1997

Spiderman: Cathal J. Dodd, 2 episodes, 1995

Pryde of the X-Men: Patrick Pinney (except that he has an Australian accent!?), 1 episode, 1989

Wolverine (aka Logan) was born as James Howlett in the Canadian province Alberta and also spent some time in British Columbia. He can be ferocious but he is also good-hearted and says some very funny one-liners. Wolverine gets the number one spot because he is not only one of my favorite Canadian characters, but also one of my favorite characters of all time. He has also made more TV appearances than any of the other characters on this list, so he earns first place.