Writer Ken Levine did this, picking his favorite performer for a variety of roles. I can do that. Who is your favorite:
Felix & Oscar? I saw the television show, with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman first. The movie, with Lemmon and Matthau was great. But the room for the characters to develop through over 100 episodes on TV makes Tony & Jack my favorites. I did enjoy the short-lived version with Ron Glass as Felix and Demond Wilson as Oscar. Always wondered what the Sally Struthers/Rita Moreno version was like. Just read that ” Matthew Perry will be starring, co-writing, and executive-producing a remake…[which] will start airing in midseason 2015 on CBS. Perry will play Oscar Madison, a known slob; the role of his clean freak roomie Felix Unger will be portrayed by Thomas Lennon.”
James Bond? I STILL have not seen in a theater a James Bond movie. I’ll pick Sean Connery, because I did see some of his films on TV.
Superman? I suppose it’s Christopher Reeve, the guy from the movies c. 1978. Though George Reeves on the TV, and even the Fleisher cartoons voiced by Bud Collyer were under consideration.
Batman? (Michael Keaton? Really?) Sure, why not Michael Keaton, if only because he was better than I expected. And he was in the only movies I saw, except for the one with Adam West.
Lois Lane? Terri Hatcher from Lois and Clark, though Noel Neill from the early TV show also gets consideration.
Sherlock Holmes? The current TV show with Jonny Lee Miller
Dr. Who? I only watched the Tom Baker period with anything approaching regularity.
Darrin Stephens? Dick York, the original husband on Bewitched.
Hawkeye? Again, years of playing a character, in this case for over a decade, gives Alan Alda a real advantage over Donald Sutherland.
Host of THE PRICE IS RIGHT? While I had admiration for both Bill Cullen and Dennis James, and I’ve only seen Drew Carey a few times, I’ll go with Bob Barker, the long-time host.
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Who else could we compare?
Alex Trebek has been doing it for the last 30 years, and I’ve gotten used to him. But I liked the jovial Art Fleming as host of JEOPARDY!, and he appears in the Weird Al video.
Clearly, I’ve spent WAY more time with the original Star Trek cast than the newcomers (seen only the first film of the reboot), so that’d be no contest, thus far. BTW, those are the Captains Kirk above.
Best presidential pair with a common surname: Roosevelt over Adams, I reckon. Don’t think Harrison, Johnson or Bush are really in the running.
One could take on music groups:
Which Van Halen lead singer? David Lee Roth
Genesis with or without Peter Gabriel? Each has its qualities
Which iteration of Fleetwood Mac? Ditto, though a lesser bands sans Christine McVie
Which group of Temptations? I actually preferred them after David Ruffin left and was replaced by Dennis Edwards before Eddie Kendrick left, the beginning of the psychedelic soul period.
Which Beatles drummer, Pete Best or Ringo Starr? OK, I was kidding with the last one.
Give me more!