All right, kiddies. Time for a list. This one is my 17 (in no particular order) greatest characters in Television history.*

* I say "television history" but I'm only going to consider shows I've watched since exiting my mother's netherparts 31 years ago. So, don't bring me the "what about Lucy?" stuff. If I watched it, even in syndication, it's game.

1. Dan Fielding - "Night Court": John Larroquette played the fine line between disgusting pig and charmer like no one else.
2. Buffy - "Buffy the Vampire Slayer": hot chick who kicks tail. Nuff said.
3. House - "House": Hugh Laurie is the freakin' man. Anyone who can convincingly play a British fop (Bertie Wooster) and an American misanthrope (House) is a friend of mine.
4. Edmund Blackadder - various Blackadder series: Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean makes me sad. As good as he is as the silent Bean, he is ten times better as a sarcastic sadistic Blackadder.
5. David Brent - The Office: Ricky Gervais made uncomfortable so funny in this groundbreaking series.
6. Mr. Hooper - "Sesame Street": His death was the first real loss many children experienced because Sesame Street would not recast the part. They showed that children need not be coddled or spoken down to or tricked... then they gave us Elmo and pooped all over that idea.
7. Inspector Morse - Inspector Morse: John Thaw's interpretation of the sullen, grumpy C.I.D. was wonderful. Morse was brilliant, cultured and very often wrong in his conclusions.
8. David Fisher - "Six Feet Under": In this the smartest and most well written series on television, David was the most interesting character. The "good" son, who struggles with his sexual, religious and personal identities.
9. Lou Grant - "Mary Tyler Moore Show": Ed Asner is one cool old man. Funny and scary all at the same time.
10. Wesley Wyndham Price - "Buffy" and "Angel": Wes's evolution from goof to badass was one of my favourite story arches of recent memory. The pain and self-loathing, the unrequited love... a little close to home.
11. Fonzie - "Happy Days": Before Arthur (and the show) jumped the shark, The Fonz was the man.
12. Homer - "The Simpsons": While the show's endless self referential nature has turned me off, this once great show hit its stride when it chose Homer as the focal character.
13. Keith Mars - "Veronica Mars": He maybe the greatest TV dad of all time. When lame parental figures are the norm, Keith stands out. He genuinely cares about his daughter and respects her.
14. Rube - "Dead Like Me": Mandy Patinkin's second greatest role. As the patriarchal reaper Rube, you never quite knew where he was coming from.
15. KITT - "Knight Rider": More personality and character than his human counterpart, KITT made a show starring David Hasselhoff bearable. Baywatch producers needed dozens of jiggling breasts to achieve the same thing.
16. Basil Fawlty – “Fawlty Towers”: Angry was never as funny.
17. Jack Bauer – “24”: He pulls too many all nighters for a guy his age.