2. Rainier Wolfcastle
At the end of it, this run-down was a remarkably close-run thing, and on another day, the thingly-veiled parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger could well have sat atop the list. He is a note perfect action movie sterotype, drawing a lot of detail from Arnie's own life and career - including the name of his wife, his association with Planet Hollywood and some details from his actual films (there's a strong allusion to Last Action Hero at one point.) In a pleasant full-circle moment, Arnold Schwarzenegger appears in the show as the president of the US, appearing very similar to Wolfcastle, albeit with slightly different finishing details. Wolfcastle's appeal is helped by his twin identities - though they are remarkably similar (hence the comic impact,) he is both Rainier and McBain, star of the eponymous action movie series It's very obvious that the show writers have a lot of fun with McBain, since the snippets of his films actually string together to make a coherent short film, and the closeness of the parody does allow for a lot of comic riffing, including in some of the delightfully named films Wolfcastle has put his name to: My Baby is an Ugly Man, Help, My Son is a Nerd (not a comedy); Mrs. Mom; Frankenberry: The Movie; I Shoot Your Face; I Shoot Your Face Again and McBain: Let's Get Silly!
Select Quotes: "Upon closer inspection, these appear to be loafers."