This, like all of my lists, is all about my opinion, based on criteria that are internalized and words can't even describe them -- or, at least, that's what I'm expected to say when I'm too lazy to use words that could easily describe them, right? I should've written the intro first, now I'm all worn out and don't want to write anything now. Here's the list. Eeeeenjoy.
This is my only cheat pick, but it's a big one. And before you think it, no, I know Karloff didn't play Dr. Frankenstein, and frankly I'm insulted you would even think that. How dare you?!? This entry includes, but is not limited to, Karloff's characters in The Mask Of Fu Manchu, The Invisible Ray, The Man Who Could Cheat Death, The Walking Dead, The Man They Could Not Hang, Before I Hang, The Man With Nine Lives, The Devil Commands, House Of Frankenstein, and honestly probably a dozen more I can't think of right now (or haven't seen). And these are just from the '30s and '40s. The man played misunderstood scientists trying to prolong life through experimental means about 1000 times, and that doesn't include his more malicious characters. And it's easy to see why, he was great at it. Whether it was a sympathetic character or a hilarious lunatic like Fu Manchu, he made it work, and singling just one out as his best is too difficult for me.
played by Fredric March
And no, I'm not contradicting my previous statement about not being able to single out one of Karloff's scientist characters since he once played this role. That was an Abbott And Costello movie, so it barely counts anyway. No, this entry is mostly focused on the 1931 Fredric March version, with honorable mentions going to John Barrymore (1920) and Spencer Tracy (1941). A pretty typical mad scientist by today's standards, Jekyll became obsessed with his 'lil lunatic chemistry set which resulted in a mix that unleashed the id: Mr. Hyde. If this is news to you, I pity your upbringing. In the book, it wasn't made clear until the end that Jekyll and Hyde were in fact the same person (OMG SPOILERS!!!), but in these movies they ignored that plot element and addressed it outright. A wise move, as the transition scenes (1931 in particular) were pretty impressive. March's is my favorite, but any of the 3 are worthy of this spot on the list.
played by Claude Rains
And with this, I promise I'm done with mad scientists of the ye olde 1930s era. But ultimately, even among all these others, The Invisible Man is my favorite mad scientist of the 1930s-earlier. Mostly this can be attributed to Claude Rains, who in spite of only being actually seen for about 3 seconds at the end of the movie, managed to bring more passion, energy, and pure madness to this character than any amount of makeup and overacting by any of these other guys could muster. But it's not just how crazy he is (believe me, he's a lunatic), what makes this character/performance so interesting to me is how his passion is obviously a byproduct of his chemistry set, but he isn't 100% lost because of it. His love for Flora has a sporadically calming effect on him, and these moments really bring out the humanity of the character without a distinct transformation like Jekyll. And then he goes and murders like 150 people and totally spoils it.
played by Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd is one of my all-time favorite actors and this is one of his all-time most memorable roles of all-time. In all of time there are only a few mad scientists who are as fun as him. Ever. Of all-time. While most of the others on this list are dangerous lunatics who you wouldn't trust with any task that doesn't directly involve murdering or mutilating people, Doc Brown from Back To The Future is so trustworthy he'll probably maybe only steal plutonium from terrorists and put your life in danger because of it. Not exactly harmless, but he's too absent-minded and fun/funny to really be afraid of him. Lloyd's great at handling manic characters like this, and with a trilogy of movies, an animated TV series, and numerous cameos over the years, he's one of his most prolific and recognizable roles. Maybe not *the* funniest on this list, but one of them.
voiced by Billy West
Oh Farnsworth, how you make me laugh so. With a total of over 10 seasons, Futurama maintained a consistent quality that was honestly astonishing -- you can thank the forced hiatus for that. But it wasn't just the show's concepts that stayed great, it was the characters. And some of them even kind of improved...you get where I'm going with this, right? While the original run gave Farnsworth plenty of great moments, the second time through offered up some of Farnsworth's funniest moments and even gave him a few emotional ones as well. Billy West didn't miss a step with this guy, and the same goes for the writing. Senile, more than happy to experiment, and so cripplingly old and crazy you couldn't possibly fear him, Farnsworth is a one-liner machine who never feels like that irritating sitcom guy you're supposed to laugh at. It's a fine line to walk, and the show walk it wonderfully. As far as mad scientists go, he is probably overall the funniest, and honestly probably the overall most entertaining character in the entire show: which is pretty impressive.
played by Tim Curry
There are millions of iterations of Dr. Frankenstein, and believe me when I say there are more to come on this list. But when it comes to being visually memorable and iconic in a totally unique and hilarious way, Frank N. Furter has them all beat. Not only that, but Tim Curry sings! This is the first movie role of his career, and it couldn't possibly surprise anyone that this is the one that defined him and made him the "star" he is today. In spite of being an excessively over-the-top performance/character in pretty much every way, there's a sort of subtlety to this performance that makes it so great. Curry fills the role with all sorts of ticks and details that make him so bizarre and individual in every way, it's honestly stupid that they thought anyone could capture the eccentricities of this role when they remade it for TV a couple years back. This is a bizarre and wonderful movie, but it wouldn't be half what it was if it weren't for Frank N. Furter.
played by Jeffrey Combs
I've mentioned how much I love Combs' crazy doctor before, but that won't stop me from doing it again. For the...third time, I want to say? Combs is a wonderfully eccentric actor, and much like with Curry in RHPC, this was basically his first movie and the one that's defined his entire career. Appearing in three movies spanning nearly 20 years, Herbert West starts out as a medical student experimenting with reanimation to a full-blown criminal mastermind working from inside an actual prison. His curiosity and need to experiment with his signature glowing green necrojuice always outweighs logic, with him repeatedly finding himself in compromising situations where his only (perceived) way to get out of them is by murdering and re-animating some more. He's absolutely bonkers, a joy to watch, and totally unafraid to get his hands dirty and drenched in gore. This is the best Combs performance out there and one of my favorite horror characters ever.
voiced by Justin Roiland
Endlessly irritating fandom aside, one thing remains true of the (so far) 3 season run of Rick And Morty: Rick Sanchez is far more than the sum of his parts. On the surface he's just a combination of Doctor Who and Doc Brown, but Sanchez is actually a deeply troubled and nihilistic character with crippling self-awareness and self-hatred. He operates with limited motive (apart from his deeply closeted love for his family), and mostly seems to play God and drink in perpetuity because the realization that life and existence is meaningless is too much for even his enormous mind to handle. Not only is this an inherently dark character in virtually every way, he manages to ironically throw out nonsensical one-liners that idiots mindlessly quote, as if he's not just crapping on everyone within the show, but everyone who watches the show as well. Does his misanthropy know no bounds?? He's a hilarious character with plenty of great moments, and still remains one of the most compelling leads on TV right now -- even if the overall quality of the show has somewhat diminished.
played by Bryan Cranston
You might say I'm bending the classical classification of what makes a mad scientist with this pick, and you might be right. But when it comes to the combination of crazy and science, Walt White does fit the bill. While most mad scientists aim to conquer the world as a whole, Walt White was much more realistic and essentially took over a world of his own over the course of Breaking Bad: the criminal underworld, that is. Starting out as a nebbish high school teacher/car-washer and winding up a drug kingpin, the transition of this character was one of the most compelling evolutions in the history of film and TV. And this isn't just thanks to fantastic writing, but the totally immersive performance by Bryan Cranston: previously known most for his performance as the goofball dad on Malcolm In The Middle. His complete corruption and evolved criminal/scientific mind make him one of the best mad scientists ever.
played by Peter Cushing
True to my word, this is not the Frankenstein of the 1930s variety. No, I'm of course referring to the near two decades-worth of appearances by Peter Cushing throughout the Hammer Frankenstein series. Anyone who reads my 200 Items Or Less reviews can probably tell that I'm a pretty big fan of Hammer horror, and this series is, in my humble opinion, the best overall work they ever did. And this also applies to Cushing's performances. How could you describe a character who would willingly take the brain out of someone and put them in the body of their lover? Or someone who would do volunteer medical work on poor people, all the while harvesting their limbs and organs to create a new life? Not only is he a merciless killer with very loose morals in every way, but he's also a rapist, grave-robber, prison escapee, and just about every foul word you could think of to describe a depraved lunatic scientist. Cushing somehow accomplished all of this without overplaying it. I've said it before, but this is my favorite horror performance, and one of the most engaging movie characters ever.
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