The most iconic quartets from film and TV

Sometimes, they are animated. Sometimes they are guys in costumes. Sometimes they are goofy and love pizza. Sometimes they are a bit more serious. Through it all, they are the quartet of turtles named after Italian artists of yore. Leonard leads, etc. They have a spotty history (though the recent “Mutant Mayhem” was quite well received), but they are truly an iconic quartet.

They are more than a superhero team. They are a family. The Fantastic Four was Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s first superhero team, and they have been going reasonably strong for decades. To date, every attempt to make a Fantastic Four movie has flopped, but now that Marvel, under Disney, has the rights back, they are feeling more optimistic.

At first, the Ghostbusters were a trio. A great trio, to be fair. Venkman, Ray, and Egon were Columbia researchers tossed out on their asses who rebounded by becoming ghost exterminators. When the work got too much for them, they added Winston, completing the quartet. In the cartoon they hung out with Slimer, but he was never really part of the team.

You could call them the Plastics, but that really was more when they were a trio, before Cady joined the crew. Karen is humorously dumb. Regina is the truly mean one. Gretchen is also there. Okay, so the four aren’t on equal footing, but Tina Fey’s high school comedy became canonized, so much so that it got a musical adaptation that was then itself adapted to the big screen.

The Marx Brothers were something of an inverse of the Ghostbusters. They started (on screen, at least) as a quartet: Groucho the wisecracker, Chico the rapscallion, and Harpo the maniac who by modern standards is what the Brits call a “sex pest.” There was also Zeppo in the early days, though. Zeppo was the straight man. The reasonable one. Maybe he’d sing a song or woo a lady. Eventually, Zeppo went by the wayside – he didn’t like performing and worked as an engineer and theatrical agent - and the Marx Brothers became a trio of pure anarchy.

As the bigwig of San Diego news, Ron Burgundy has a real boy’s club at his disposal. Brian, Champ, and Brick are always there to support him and to sing a cappella versions of Starland Vocal Band songs. Granted, they’re all stupid, but in different ways. They are one of the funniest comedic quartets in film.

Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” is an indelible novel. It focuses on the March family, specifically the four March sisters, Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth. Naturally, there have been multiple film adaptations. The 1994 version got Winona Ryder an Oscar nomination for playing Jo, but that version has been surpassed culturally by Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation. That one got both Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh Oscar nominations, and was also up for Best Picture.

Are the pants magic, or the sisterhood? Or is the real magic the friends they made along the way? Based on a YA novel, “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” is indeed about a group of four teenage girls, lifelong best friends, who purchase a pair of pants that fit all of them perfectly, which doesn’t make logistical sense. Now, it’s not really about the pants, but about their friendship and dealing with spending their first summer apart. In addition to the title that grabs your attention, astute casting helped “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.” The four are played by Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, and Alexis Bledel.

Definitely the chillest soldiers of fortune we can think of. The four men of The A-Team were in Vietnam together, tried and convicted for a crime they didn’t commit, escaped, and traveled around in a cool van helping out people being oppressed by crooked real estate developers or whatever. It was a silly show, but it was fun ‘80s action and helped make Mr. T a cultural icon.

The Beatles made a couple of movies, but they were the Beatles in those movies. They were a musical quartet that dipped their toe in other realms. The Monkees, though, were created for TV. They were the “Pre-Fab Four.” Davy, Micky, Peter, and Mike were put together as a band to star in a TV show about a Beatles-esque band. And yet, the music was decent, and the sitcom was better than it had any right to be.

Four ladies of a certain age living together down in Florida led to a beloved sitcom that introduced most people to the word “lanai.’ “The Golden Girls” cast well, to be sure, led by Betty White, a beloved TV icon. Sure, they were all a broad type, and the comedy of “Golden Girls” wasn’t subtle, but it was not unusual for a multi-cam sitcom of the era. What made it stand out was the nature of the main characters.

Speaking of broad. “Sex and the City” never met a sweaty double entendre it wouldn’t jump on, and Carrie’s professional life made zero sense. And yet, we cannot deny how culturally impactful “Sex and the City” was. People, women mostly, would note which “Sex and the City” gal they were in their own friend group. Alas, in “And Just Like That,” they aren’t a foursome any longer, as Kim Cattrall’s Samantha is not really part of the equation. One assumes Cattrall is too busy doing jazz scatting.

No sitcom foursome is more iconic, more entertaining than the “Seinfeld” gang. There is a reason why it is a contender for the best sitcom in history. What’s remarkable is that in the pilot, there is no Elaine. Imagine a world without Elaine Benes! Elaine, Kramer, and George are all indelible sitcom characters. Funnily enough, it’s Jerry that pops the least, though he is still great, of course.

“South Park” has endured for years and years and years, so much so it can be hard to remember just how unusual, how scandalous it was when it debuted. Made for cheap, Matt Stone and Trey Parker focused the show on four children in the fictional Colorado town. With all due respect to Stan and Kyle, it’s Cartman and Kenny that really grabbed the headlines. The former is one of the most psychotic, most amoral characters in TV history, and the latter died…and died…and died.

MTV’s “Daria” is the network’s best scripted show. While Daria, her parents, and her best friend Jane are front and center, so is Daria’s younger sister Quinn. Quinn, who is vain and vapid, is a member of the Fashion Club, basically Lawndale High’s answer to the Plastics. They are secondary characters, but they are funny, both collectively and apart. Plus, Stacy, Tiffany, and Sandi all have funny voices.

On the delightful 1960s “Batman” TV show, Batman and Robin would face off against different villains. You know, the classics like Joker, Mr. Freeze, and Louie the Lilac. When they made a “Batman” movie, though, they had to up the ante. Enter “United Underworld.” In the film, Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman joined forces on a scheme to take down Batman and to take over the world. It was as delightful as you would imagine (though for the one and only time Lee Meriwether played Catwoman).

Who do you see in the “King of the Hill” opening credits? Well, it’s Hank and his buddies drinking beer by the side of the road. Hank and the guys aren’t the inherent focal point of the show, and Hank’s relationship with his family is equally important, probably more important. Still, the foursome of friends is important, and a lot of fun. What’s more enjoyable in “King of the Hill” than Hank, Dale, Bill, and dang ol' Boomhauer hanging out, drinking beer, and talking? Or, oftentimes, not talking.

All these years later, perhaps the iconic film quartet remains the group from “The Wizard of Oz.” In 1939, moviegoers were wowed by this fantastical adventure, and that hasn’t changed over the decades. There’s the fish-out-of-water Dorothy, plus Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. They all want something, and they are willing to travel down the Yellow Brick Road to get it. Oh, and Toto is there, but Toto is a dog and doesn’t count. When we do a list of the best quintets, we promise we won’t cheat and induct a fivesome from “The Wizard of Oz.”