The Hollywood sidekick serves an important purpose, highlighting both the lovable and loathable aspects of the spotlight-stealing protagonist. Sidekicks are usually less cute and less morally tortured than self-centred stars, but often funnier and more likeable. While the plump and the un-white have been relegated to BFF status since forever, other sidekicks stand out as particularly curious. Really, would these two be friends?



5. Pluto
OK, so this isn't my own observation, but it's worth repeating: how come Pluto is the only one that doesn't talk? Isn't Goofy a dog? Why does he get to walk on two legs while the much cuter Pluto is relegated to playing foil to a topless helium-pitched mouse? I still don't get it.

4. Mackenzie Astin as Andy Moffett on The Facts of Life
I'm the type of person who admires British sitcoms for knowing when enough is enough. In the '80s, American sitcoms attempted to avoid a certain fate by adding a new young person to the cast. The execs thought it upped the cute factor (think of the rash of surprise pregnancies on Growing Pains, Family Ties, et al) but really, it just made us cringe from all the self-conscious child acting. The addition of this fine-boned lad as a supposedly tough and troubled teen only served to confirm that The Facts of Life was ready for euthanasia.



3. Justin Long as Matt Farrell in Live Free or Die Hard
Drew Barrymore's on-again off-again boyf plays the classic sensitive sidekick role to Bruce Willis' latest turn as the gruff John McClane. Like any good macho hero, McClane becomes enamoured of his slender companion who prefers programming to push-ups, even as he doesn't quite understand why Farrell's the one that ends up with the girl. (Those who need a refresher can see Live Free or Die Hard on Showcase on Saturday, November 14 at 10pm ET/PT.)



2. Jay, or maybe Silent Bob
It's not strange that this duo is tight—the understated Bob makes a nice counterbalance to the frenetic Jay. It's more that they're both more sidekicky than centrepiece: without each other, neither is strong enough to be an attention-grabbing whole.



1. Estelle Getty as Sophia on the Golden Girls
Sophia is the sidekick as scene-stealer: though she's never quite at the centre of any plotline, the show would be drab and grey without her pointed quips. Her dynamic with her daughter (RIP, Bea) served to make the inflexible Dorothy sympathetic, while Sophia's barbs at promiscuous Blanche and addled Rose made the geriatric version of Sex and the City a good time for all. That's right, Estelle Getty as Sophia is number one on this list. There's nothing more unlikely than that.