Sam Ganges?! Is that the East Indian branch of the Gamgee family? ;)

Haunt | March 03, 15:58 CET

I was distracted by a pretty butterfly.

Simon | March 03, 16:06 CET

Despite Willow, I think I'd have to vote for Beaker. Willow has the big, sad eyes - but I'm not sure they trump a forlorn 'meep'.

Wemb | March 03, 16:46 CET

Ooh, tough pick but Spock probably - he had the best catchphrases ;).

Saje | March 03, 17:01 CET

Beaker's meep-meep is seen as a weakness? How very odd.

Lioness | March 03, 17:05 CET

I know these things don't matter but Scully was his partner and Willow I believe once said "I'm not your sidekick" and we know that if a character pronounces something as definitive as that then it must be true.

moley75 | March 03, 17:23 CET

moley75, I was just thinking of that.

And the heck with LOTR. Beaker is top of my list!

damaged justice | March 03, 18:34 CET

Okay, seriously missing, Dr. Watson. Faithful chronicler of hero's adventures while remaining modestly in the background, requires explanations for hero's deductive process for expository purposes, AND, provides hero with drugs of choice.

barboo | March 03, 18:42 CET

Would Dr. Wilson from "House" count as a sidekick? And/or Foreman?

I also agree that Willow is not a sidekick. A point which she rather forcefully proved with teh uber pwnage of Buffy in "Two To Go" :)

KingofCretins | March 03, 19:22 CET

Would Dr. Wilson from "House" count as a sidekick?

I don't think we can have Wilson and Watson, there're probably quantum physical rules against it ;).

Saje | March 03, 19:53 CET

Not that I've ever been a big X-Files fan, but can you really count Scully as a sidekick? It seems to me that she would be as much of a main character as Mulder (especially since he left the series at one point).

deepgirl187 | March 03, 19:56 CET

Scully as sidekick? The show wasn't called Mulder Wants to Believe 'Cause He Saw His Sister Kidnapped By Aliens and He Likes Sunflower Seeds and Porn. They were *partners* investigating together--one believer, one a skeptic, both needed.

Also, Beaker wins. Meep!

Dizzy | March 03, 20:36 CET

The show wasn't called Mulder Wants to Believe 'Cause He Saw His Sister Kidnapped By Aliens and He Likes Sunflower Seeds and Porn.

I thought that's what the X stood for ?

Saje | March 03, 20:58 CET

Scully? Not a sidekick.

Willow? Tougher choice. I'd say it's pretty clear that she starts S1 as a sidekick, and is absolutely NOT a sidekick by S6, but where does she cross the line from sidekick to allied hero? Frankly, Xander would have been the better choice, because he still is clearly a sidekick--So much so that we have at least one entire episode ("The Zeppo") about it. If you're freezing Willow in time sometime, say S3, then she belongs on the list as much as Robin does. I'm not a big DC Comics fan, but Wikipedia confirms my memory that Robin (Dick Grayson) eventually went on to his own comic as Nightwing. Now, Willow may not be getting her own comic book any time soon, but she's clearly of the same power level.

Beaker is just cool. I "meep, meep" almost as much as I "bork, bork, bork"

ETA: (I forgot I wasn't done, sorry)

Oh, and Wilson to House? Hard to say. House is so misanthropic, no one really follows him around. Still, Wilson might fit the mold in a very post-modern world. Sidekicks seem to have gone out of style, really, but Wilson may be what one looks like in the 21st century. (Disclaimer: I don't watch broadcast TV, so I haven't seen any of House S4, and won't until it comes out on DVD)

Samwise Gamgee? Definitely a sidekick. He's probably the most sidekickish one on the list.

[ edited by jclemens on 2008-03-03 18:14 ]

jclemens | March 03, 21:08 CET

I'd compalin about Dr. Trowbridge beign absent but I wouldn't want to push reading Jules de Grandin on anyone who isn't very sure they already want to....

DaddyCatALSO | March 03, 22:00 CET

Oh, come now; the de Grandin stories are well worth reading - if only to demonstrate what the term "bad writing" actually means...

And, just to stay on-topic, Willow may have started her career as a sidekick, but she grew out of that role a way long time back.

[ edited by Rowan Hawthorn on 2008-03-03 19:27 ]

Rowan Hawthorn | March 03, 22:27 CET

If it 's possible to still be a sidekick when you're more p[owerful than the lead hero.

DaddyCatALSO | March 04, 02:05 CET

I have a soft spot for both Angel and Dennis of the Rockford Files- 2 sides of the sidekick role -both endearing and both indisputably sidekicks of Rockford. In fact, the show was loaded with sidekicks- "Marcus", Rockford's exasperated woman attorney-friend, even "Rocky", his father- they were all his sidekicks.

[ edited by toast on 2008-03-03 23:32 ]

toast | March 04, 02:31 CET

One could argue the Samwise Gamgee as sidekick bit almost as easily as some of the others... but why bother. Beaker ftw!!

Haunt | March 04, 03:00 CET

Scully was a sidekick in the beginning. Mulder's partner, however capable, could only follow him into the weirdness he knew so much better than anyone. Later in the series, I would argue that it was no longer the case. Scully knew how to deal with things just as well as he did by then. She always brought a lot to the team, but in the beginning there were more times when she had to go with something he saw that she didn't see at first. It was interesting watching him give that up-- I think it was one reason they had some hilarious bickering for awhile. There was a bit of a power struggle going on, as always happens when your sidekick outgrows the role and you have to redefine how you work together.

I think it was similar with Willow and Xander, who to my mind were equally sidekicks to Buffy. Willow outgrew it faster because of the massive magic power that made her such an asset (and she also has a strong but quiet independent streak), but I think we're seeing Xander outgrow it in Seasons 7 and 8. It was interesting watching him stand up to Buffy when Anya was Buffy's target. I think a lot of the whole "I'm in charge" stuff from Buffy in Season 7 was as much about her not-so-sidekicks questioning her decisions as it was the potentials questioning her leadership.

Sunfire | March 04, 03:27 CET

Oh, I forgot-- this:

Weaknesses
Sad devotion to cooking gear and Bill the pony compromise mission.

is just wrong. Wrong.

Sunfire | March 04, 03:31 CET

Ponies are useful things.



Maybe I should make the Slayer the sidekick in my futre fics. Her older sister the witch is mroe powerful than e ither of their k moms.

DaddyCatALSO | March 04, 05:48 CET

DaddyCatAlso: Here's an idea - "Vampire Willow and Tara", with their faithful blonde side-kick pet, "Buffy."

quantumac | March 04, 20:23 CET