TV = Pretty

After various bloggers caught on to the trend of listing their 25 favorite TV characters, I challenged my brother to a list-off to compare our own picks (see his great, and probably more serious, picks here). These aren't The Best Actors Ever, or The Most Award-Winning Actors, but the actors who have stuck with me, entertained me and, several times, moved me to tears. These are also shows that I've watched a lot of, so while I respect, say, Arrested Development or Sports Night, I've only seen a few episodes of each, and therefore can't really call one of either show's characters my favorite.

So, here are my top 25 favorite TV characters, in no particular order:

Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall), Sex and the City -- The most uninhibited and frank female character probably ever to grace the TV screen. Think of that what you will, but in all her outrageousness, Samantha Jones always continued to entertain (and even show a little heart).

Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford), The West Wing -- "Well, I can tell you that you don't believe in any God I pray to, Mr. Lyman. Not any God I pray to." "Lady, the God you pray to is too busy being indicted for tax fraud." Granted, those were Aaron Sorkin's words, but only Whitford could deliver them with such style. The character wavered a bit over time, and really only ended up with Donna in the way he did because the show was ending, but his storyline and development continually moved me. "The Crackpots and These Women," "Noel" and "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen: Parts I and II" are brilliant.

Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), House -- Only Laurie can pull off the acerbic wit of House while still instilling a sense of deep-down kindness in the sarcastic doctor.

James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway), Lost -- While Locke arguably has the best character development and backstory of any of the castaways, Sawyer never ceases to entertain. Season Two's "The Long Con" provided more insight into his con-artist ways, and I'll never give up on him. Oh, and I think he and Kate should get together. They've both killed people. What an icebreaker.

Malcom Reynolds (Nathon Fillion), Firefly -- So, so great. I've got a trend of "tough-guy exterior but with a good heart" going. Everyone who's ever given Firefly a chance has loved it, so go ahead: join the club.

Ross Gellar (David Schwimmer), Friends, and Monica Gellar (Courtney Cox-Arquette), Friends -- My favorite brother/sister pair, the team producing great fight scenes ("Hurricane Gloria didn't break the porch swing, Monica did!" "Ross got married - again!") and the best sitcom dance number in memory: The Routine.

Dr. George O'Malley (T.R. Knight), Grey's Anatomy -- Fumbling, bumbling George has captured many a heart on his Grey's run, probably more than McDreamy himself. After his heart was broken by a foolish, rebounding Meredith, George began to step out of his shyness and take greater command of his life. He's just a great guy, the kind of guy a girl would take over a cocky McDreamy any day.

Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis), Battlestar Galactica -- You try keeping your composure while the sexy Cylon in your head is having sex with you. Yeah. Seriously. I will not go into the awesomeness of this show here, though every critic loves it and it's one of the best dramas you're not watching. If you're not watching specifically because the title turns you off or you hate anything remotely Sci Fi, guess what? You make me very sad.

President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), Battlestar Galactica -- President Stands With a Fist, who was the Secretary of Education but was the next alive in line to assume the presidency after a near holocaust of the human race, has a lot on her plate. She's gotta command respect, lead the human race to safety and try to find a place called Earth. Oh, and deal with her impending death from cancer. This show tears me apart.

Eric Cartman (voice of Trey Parker), South Park -- Still going strong after eight seasons, South Park never ceases to entertain with overweight, expletive-laced diatribe spewing Cartman. When I saw the Season Five episode "Scott Tenorman Must Die," in which Cartman enacts revenge on the bully Tenorman by killing Tenorman's parents and feeding their bodies to him in a bowl of chili, I knew I was watching something insanely awesome.

Grace Manning (Julia Whelan), Once and Again -- Man, I loved this show. Grace's character was intelligent and awkward, a teenager trying to cope with high school and the coming together of her family with her mom's (Selah Ward) boyfriend's. Plus, she had a crush on her English (or Drama?) teacher, played by Eric Stoltz. And she definitely kissed him. Too bad the show ended with so many questions left unanswered.

Noel Crane (Scott Foley), Felicity -- Also loved this show, which debuted when I was ending my middle school career. Noel was the good guy, the guy Felicity should have chosen all along, not Ben. But, she kept bouncing back and forth between the two and I believe ended up with Ben in the end. Wrong choice, Felicity.

Michael Scott (Steve Carell), The Office -- Steve Carell injects so much humanity into his roles that you can't help but love Michael, even though he's painfully annoying. We always catch glimpses of the fact that he's really a good guy, and Carell makes him loveable. Somehow.

Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- It can't be easy balancing high school with killing vampires. Joss Whedon's cult gem brought great storytelling and drama to the TV screen, and he definitely knows how to tear a viewer's heart out. In his works, people die, and not just minor characters. Same with Battlestar. These storylines are just as emotional as anything you'd see at a movie, some times more so.

Executive A.D.A. Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston), Law & Order -- I'm pretty sure that if someone, who was actually on trial, hired Waterston to be their attorney, they'd win. If I were on a jury and listened to Waterston defend his case, I would believe him.

Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel), Gilmore Girls -- I felt compelled to put a Gilmore character on here, but most of them are incredibly annoying. Seriously, slow the crap down and try to keep the neurosis at a minimum, Lorelai. So, I picked Rory. Jess might be the most normal character, but I missed a lot of the seasons he was on. He sure beats Logan, though.

Detective Robert Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio), Law & Order: Criminal Intent -- This character is only cool because Vincent D'Onofrio is cool. His eccentric characterization makes Criminal Intent one of the better of the franchise.

Seth Cohen (Adam Brody), The O.C. -- Though the show's quality has rapidly deteriorated, and it wasn't really quality to begin with, Seth's witty dialogue and devotion to Summer was the highlight of the heydays.

Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon), Buffy the Vampire Slayer -- The perfect sidekick, even though he was part of a group. Loved him from the beginning.

Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson), The Office -- Dwight Dwight Dwight Dwight Dwight Dwight Dwight Dwight Dwight Dwight Dwight Dwight Dwight Dwight Dwight Dwight Dwight ...

Ainsley Hayes (Emily Procter), The West Wing -- The delightful Southern Republican in a Northern and Western Democrats' world, Ainsley was an energetic asset to Season Two. Unfortunately, The West Wing writers don't know how to write characters off the show, so she just disappeared. She should have wound up with Sam. Ah well.

Dr. Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce), Frasier -- Season Three's "Moon Dance" episode was great, and Niles took unrequited love to a new height of painful. Niles and Daphne were better before they got together (as just about all on-screen couples are), but Niles was always delightful.

Steve Brady (David Eigenberg), Sex and the City -- The best male character on the show.

Stephen Colbert (Stephen Colbert), The Colbert Report -- It's a character, and I say it counts. Besides being robbed at last night's Emmys (Barry Manilow? For the love...), Colbert's turn on the Report always has me in tears. Don't know what I'd do without his show and The Daily Show. An appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien this summer showed him out of character, just regular Stephen, a guy who is obsessed with The Lord of the Rings, has a family and teaches Sunday School. This quote from him says it all:
"I love my church, and I'm a Catholic who was raised by intellectuals who were very devout. I was raised to believe that you could question the church and still be a Catholic. What is worthy of satire is the misuse of religion for destructive or political gains. That's totally different from the Word, the blood, the body, and the Christ. His kingdom is not of this earth." -- Stephen Colbert, June 2005, Time Out New York


The End.