Here at Flavorpill, we can hardly wait for Ringer, the new TV series on the CW that has Sarah Michelle Gellar playing the dual role of estranged twins who are both entangled in high-stakes intrigue. In our anticipation of the show’s premiere tomorrow night, we started thinking about other memorable twins — both real and fictional — in pop culture. Our top 10 are after the jump; add yours in the comments.
Fred and George Weasley
How could a pair of twin schoolboys born on April Fools’ Day be anything but tricksters? The Weasleys are Hogwarts’ very own class-clown entrepreneurs, parlaying their talent for pranks into a joke shop. Although they’re often silly, the Weasleys are always down to help Harry Potter when he needs them.
Click through the links below to view more of our favorite pop-culture twins.
Patty and Selma Bouvier
It’s a good thing they’re hilarious, because Marge Simpson’s older sisters are also a notorious pain. While the twins both work at the DMV, have identical four-packs-a-day rasps, enjoy ridiculing Homer, and live together at an apartment complex called (what else?) Spinster City, each has her own defining characteristics; Patty, for example, is a lesbian, while Selma once dated Grampa Abe Simpson.
Jacob and the Man in Black
For reasons that will be clear to those who know their Old Testament, the creators of LOST chose to use a set of twins as the embodiment of good and evil. Jacob, the small, fair, and righteous one is generally seen wearing light colors, guarding the all-important island, and testing the show’s characters to determine who will be his replacement. The Man in Black is our resident Lucifer, appearing in the form of a vengeful “smoke monster” and eventually assuming the form of the deceased John Locke.
Kim and Kelley Deal
What is not to love about Kim and Kelley Deal, the wonderful twins who made some of our favorite alt-rock of the ’90s as the Breeders (“Cannonball,” anyone?), split up as a result of personal problems after a few great albums, and then came back better than ever in the 21st century? Of course, the Deals have also made some great music separately — while Kim is most famous as the Pixies’ bassist, Kelley also fronted the Kelley Deal 6000.
Mario and Luigi
They may not look alike — aside from the outfits — but Nintendo’s most recognizable video game stars, Mario and Luigi, are fraternal twins. Since Mario is obviously the leader of the duo, it makes sense that Luigi is the very slightly younger plumber. Strangely, Mario and his evil doppelganger Wario aren’t related at all.
Luke Sywalker and Princess Leia Organa
Another pair of twins, Star Wars‘ Luke and Leia have a far more awkward relationship than Mario and Luigi because it takes them a while to figure out that they’re related. In The Empire Strikes Back, the siblings share a steamy kiss. Then, in Return of the Jedi, Luke realizes that Leia is his twin sister — meaning both that she made out with her brother and that her dad is Darth Vader. Sounds like years of therapy to us.
Apollo and Artemis
From Romulus and Remus to Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, Greek and Roman mythology is full of twins. Our favorite pair — for obvious reasons — is Apollo, god of poetry and music (and about 25 other things), and Artemis, the badass goddess of the hunt.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Love them or hate them, the Olsens have been among pop culture’s most visible twins for nearly their entire lives. (They turned 25 back in June.) Viewers fell in love with the fair-haired duo when they split the role of Michelle on Full House; since then, they’ve become a brand, publishing books, starring in endless straight-to-video kids’ movies, and launching a few of their own fashion lines. Although Ashley hasn’t acted much since the mid-’00s, Mary-Kate still pops up every now and then, often in such marijuana-oriented projects as Weeds and The Wackness. Fun fact: Although they look alike, the Olsens are actually fraternal twins.
Katie and Emily Fitch
Two of our favorite characters from the third and fourth seasons of British Skins, Katie and Emily’s similarities end with their not-found-in-nature hair color. While Katie is a bold, bossy social climber who dates soccer players, Emily is a sweet and reserved lesbian who spends most of her arc coming to terms with her sexual orientation — and her sister and parents’ reaction to it.
Austin Powers and Dr. Evil
You may have noticed the, uh, resemblance between “International Man of Mystery” Austin Powers and his supervillain nemesis, Dr. Evil. But you would have had to watch the third film in the series, Austin Powers in Goldmember, to find out that they’re actually twin brothers. (We won’t blame you for giving up after The Spy Who Shagged Me, though.) So, which twins do you think best symbolize good vs. evil — Austin Powers and Dr. Evil or Jacob and the Man in Black? Who else did we miss?