IMOI yes, and to give two examples, Trigger and Father Dougal. They always seem to be the most memorable, possibly because there's always a slow person in every crowd
Simpleton Characters - just good for easy laughs?
The wellness lady in the new Reggie Perrin.
I generally find stupid characters really boring and overly unrealistic.
But they seem to be a staple and some are a great addition - eg Baldrick and Woody from Cheers for example.
I just find the obvious misunderstanding type jokes tedious. Eg Tim's girlfriend in Not Going Out. I loved the rest of the show but could have cut her out completely!
Simpleton characters do make me uneasy - I never liked Some Mothers - but characters such as Dougal, Woody, Trigger or Randy from Earl work because they have an alternative world view that wrongfoots others - they themselves are never the victims. Much as Olly's frustration with Stan always backfired on him.
Jim Trott, Hugo Horton, and Alice Tinker-some of the best characters on Vicar of Dibley. You can't get much simpler, or funnier.
I have also never found thick characters that funny but I think it works when fairly intelligent characters have belviable moments of thickness like Jen from The IT Crowd.
Quote: Griff @ July 6 2009, 10:33 PM BSTIt's Dougal's childlike innocence that makes the character work. Without that, he'd just be Baldrick.
Linehan is a huge fan of dimwitted characters, and I think Baldrick was his favourite Blackadder character.
Yeah, those easy laughs are the worst.
Woody and Coach weren't just simpletons they were complex characters and fully part of the action. Dougal was simple to the point of surreal madness.
That said I do get a little uncomfortable about how much Ralf Wigum is made out to be genuinely learning disabled.
Quote: sootyj @ July 7 2009, 11:03 AM BSTThat said I do get a little uncomfortable about how much Ralf Wigum is made out to be genuinely learning disabled.
Trust you Sooty! 
Gobbler is integral to When the Whistle Blows. Not just there for easy laughs.
Quote: Matthew Stott @ July 7 2009, 11:05 AM BSTTrust you Sooty!
Oh he's one of the best characters but there's just a few lines that cause a twinge of unease, kinda unneccesary ones.
And Jake Howe was one of the BSG's greatest ever characters.