TV and Sympathy

Pure character

With 'Top 25 Character' lists floating around the series of tubes known as the Internet, you just know I had to jump on the train with a list of my very own.

They're in no particular order, but you know V is near and dear to my heart, though I could just as easily have added Logan and Keith to the top of the list were I not keeping myself to a one-character-per-show limit.

1. Veronica Mars (VM) - Flinty, funny, fiercely loyal. Keen to protect herself and everyone she cares for, but not always able to.

2. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Battlestar Galactica) - Capable of handling everything but her own emotions.

3. Jim Halpert (The Office) - The most ordinary, or the most extraordinary guy, depending on how you look at it.

4. Zack Morris (Saved by the Bell) - BMOC. A legend to a generation.

5. Michael Wiseman - (Now and Again) - John Goodman's brain in Eric Close's body? Tell me that's not worth watching.

6. Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) - Responsibility weighed heavily on her, but she still knew how to have fun.

7. Pacey Witter (Dawson's Creek) - The only person that never suffered character assassination on DC. Sweet, funny, full of mischief.

8. Doug Ross (ER) - One of the original charming rogues. Breaking hearts as fast as he sews 'em up.

9. Cosmo Kramer (Seinfeld) - Weiry, wacky, wiry, watchable.

10. Greg House (House) - A rule-breaking bastard you can't help but root for.

11. G.O.B. (Arrested Development) - Devious, immature, magic on stage and screen.

12. Aeryn Sun (Farscape) - Hard on the outside, with a soft vulnerable filling for a certain IASA member.

13. Perry Cox (Scrubs) - Insults have never been so fun and fanciful.

14. Hoban "Wash" Washburne (Firefly) - Capable, whimsical, equal parts brave and scaredy-cat. Devoted to his woman and his work.

15. Ari Gold (Entourage) - I think I've said it all.

16. Javier Clemente Quintata (Felicity) - A brutally honest teddy bear.

17. Karen Walker (Will & Grace) - A brutally honest lush and flibbertigibbet.

18. Angela Chase (My So-Called Life) - The awkwardly beautiful girl we all grew up next door to.

19. Vicki the Robot (Small Wonder) - A freakishly strong, hyper-intelligent girl child robot? In no way is this a bad idea.

20. Ed Stevens (Ed) - Quirky and sweet. A perennial optimist with a flair for legal affairs.

21. Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) - This pop-culture goddess may not be the best mother, but I bet Rory wouldn't trade her for any other.

22. Jack Bauer (24) - He's so busy kicking ass, he doesn't even bother to take names.

23. Sandy Cohen (The OC) - One of the few TV dads that isn't just a satellite of his children. (John Wesley Shipp, I'm talking to you.)

24. Samantha Jones (Sex and the City) - Vulgar, uninhibited, confident, glamorous, and daring. My favorite diva.

25. The Lone Gunmen (The X-Files) - Lovable nerds and conspiracy theorists, I can only think of them as a unit, like the Three Musketeers.

Several things are evident to me from this list: I like strong female characters (Buffy, Veronica, Aeryn) and brash male characters that I'd probably find insufferable in real life (G.O.B., Ari, Perry). I imagine what's entertaining to watch is not entertaining to live with.

I'm sure it's also evident how very young I am -- there are no classic characters on the list, as I really have had no exposure to them.

Frankly, though, I'm more curious what you think -- so have at it in the comments!

posted by Julie Beckmann Veltman @ 2:42 PM