Cultural Impact Battle Royale: ER vs The Mickey Mouse Club

One match-up has already been decided with Swingers moving on to the second round in convincing fashion. Freaks and Geeks has a commanding lead over Saturday Night Live (circa 1995) while Dawson's Creek is locked in a brutal battle with That '70s Show. Here's our final first-round contest: ER vs. The Mickey Mouse Club.

The Case for ER (1994):

George Clooney! Really, this contest should be over now. The man has been named the "sexiest" man alive by People magazine ... TWICE! He's also taken a turn in O Brother, Where Art Thou? and won an Academy Award for Syriana. He's got two other noms too for little movies called Good Night, and Good Luck and Michael Clayton. Hmmm, my research indicates George is a very big star, and I haven't even mentioned the Ocean's franchise yet.

William H. Macy also appeared on the first season of ER as Dr. David Morgenstern. After he left the show he made one of my favorite films, Magnolia. He also appeared in Fargo, Wild Hogs, and The Cooler. It's hard not to like Bill Macy, we'll even forgive Sahara and Doogal.

Can I interest you in Julianna Margulies? Of course she did the 134 episodes as Nurse Carol Hathaway but she's also appeared on The Sopranos and Canterbury's Law. Weave in that role in Snakes on a Plane and you could make a case for her.

Eriq La Salle and Anthony Edwards haven't done much outside of ER although Edwards was decent in last year's Zodiac.

The Case for The Mickey Mouse Club (1993):

I know what you're saying. The Mickey Mouse Club vs. Clooney? Absurd! But there was legitimate star power that burst forth from the mouse house back in '93.

First off: Ryan Gosling. Was he only on three episodes? Sure. But he's been in Lars and the Real Girl and Fracture recently, so I'm counting him. He also did a little movie called The Notebook which the ladies seem to dig. Lastly a movie called Remember the Titans which most folk enjoyed.

Then I'll hit you with Keri Russell. She was in FIVE episodes in 1993! She also appeared in the abysmal August Rush last year ... but that's balanced out by the delightful Waitress. Keri was Felicity for a full four years and shared screen time with Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible III.

Justin Timberlake deserves some attention too. He did at least three MMC episodes back in 1993 (trust me, tapes are hard to find) and then went on to the boy band 'N Sync. Lately he's become a strong actor too: Alpha Dog and Black Snake Moan are legitimate credits. He stars in this summer's Love Guru too; my guess is he'll be the only decent part. His SNL hosting gig in 2006 was also all-decade classic.

I'm going to go list mode with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Brit is clearly a pop culture machine all by herself bur her acting credentials are thin. How I Met Your Mother and Crossroads are the two most have heard of. X-Tina (as the kids call her) did a voice in Shark Tale and co-hosted the 2001 Radio Music Awards.

So who ya got? Which troupe has made the biggest pop culture impact?

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