25

So this is what happened...

Slither director James Gunn wrote a list of his 25 favourite TV characters ever. Joss Whedon came back with his rival list. And then Entertainment Weekly threw it open on their Popwatch blog...

Thinking about it, I find it difficult not to list the entire casts from ensemble shows. Only because a great character rarely works in isolation. I tried to pick characters from different shows, which didn’t work out.

And then when the list was done I realised that a lot of them are pretty weasely, which made me wonder what that said about me. Ah, what the hell.

So, if you're sitting comfortably, I'll begin...

My favourite TV characters

01. Al Swearengen - Deadwood
02. Andy Sipowicz - NYPD Blue
03. Jimmy McNulty – The Wire
04. Josh Lyman – The West Wing
05. Eliot Weston - thirtysomething
06. George Costanza - Seinfeld
07. Gaius Baltar – Battlestar Galactica
08. Londo Mollari – Babylon 5
09. Frank Pembleton – Homicide: Life on the Street
10. Artie – The Larry Sanders Show
11. Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri – The Sopranos
12. John Locke - Lost
13. Jayne Cobb - Firefly
14. Lt. Mike Torello – Crime Story
15. Mick Belker – Hill Street Blues
16. Ludwig Kessler – Secret Army
17. Holland "Dutch" Wagenbach – The Shield
18. Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm
19. Calamity Jane - Deadwood
20. John Kelly – NYPD Blue
21. CJ Cregg – The West Wing
22. Melissa Steadman - thirtysomething
23. Tim Bayliss – Homicide: Life on the Street
24. Hank Kingsley – The Larry Sanders Show
25. Laura Roslin – Battlestar Galactica

And if we could have mini-series/serials, which Gunn categorically forbids, there would also be

Darius Jedburgh – Edge of Darkness (honorable mention)

And Ronnie Craven. And Harcourt and Pembleton.