TV with MeeVee Pays Homage to the Unsung, Lovable Sidekick

They rarely get the girl (or guy). They never get their own plotline. Their paychecks also don’t have a lot of zeros on them. They are sitcom’s lovable sidekicks. They steal the occasional scene, provide much-needed comic relief at times, and say the things our main character just can’t say. Let’s celebrate some of the more memorable sidekicks from then and now.

Rhoda Morgenstern–A little before my time, but Rhoda set the bar high for future sidekicks as Mary Tyler Moore’s funny and endearing best friend. She’s one of the few who even got her own spin-off!

Vinny Delpino—Doogie Howser’s wise-guy buddy. Let’s face it: Doogie could get a little too serious at times. Thank goodness Vinny would climb through the window once in a while and loosen things up.

Six LeMeure—Blossom’s little comedic partner in crime. Six had the kind of energy you wish you could just bottle. Plus—she was only three feet tall and wore a new hat every episode. Beat that!

Boner Stabone–Perhaps the most unfortunately named character in television history. As Mike Seaver’s buddy in Growing Pains, Boner was…well…not to smart. Dumber than a box of hammers you might say. Boner was kind of like a two-year-old with hormones, but we loved him.

Buddy Lembeck–Here’s where I have to admit that I watched a little Charles in Charge when I was a kid. I’m not proud of this. Buddy kind of served as Charles’ Id. “C’mon Charles, let’s get some heroin and go to Mexico!” OK, that never happened, but it would have been sweet.

Kimmy Gibler–This character always made me cringe. Actually, watching Full House always made me cringe, but Kimmy made me cringe a little harder. She was D.J.’s smart-ass friend who was memorable mainly because she was even more annoying than the rest of the cast.

Randy Hickey–Bringing us back to the present is Earl’s brother Randy in My Name Is Earl. There aren’t many great sidekicks nowadays, but the slow-witted Randy gets some of the best lines on this show, like ”I bet he’s had twenty beers today. That’s how many I had when I tried to plug the television into that dog.”

Now, we know this list is far from complete. So please add your favorite and tell us why. Let’s not forget the contribution these peripheral characters made to television history.

For showtimes and details on My Name Is Earl visit MeeVee.com

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