# Your favorite TV characters of all time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641 "2012-03-03T15:07:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/1 "2012-03-03T15:07:05Z")
[This article](http://www.avclub.com/articles/president-obama-makes-executive-decision-that-omar,70186/) was sent to me yesterday by a Doper friend because he knows how much I like Omar Little on _The Wire_ as a favorite character on that show. In response to him I said that Omar may just be my favorite character of them all! That’s in spite of some competition he would face from the likes of: – Tony Soprano – Raylan Givens – Dexter Morgan – Walter White – Al Swearingen … and at least a dozen others that are slipping my mind at the moment. Maybe if enough iconic characters get mentioned we can even have a poll for the best one. Who do you nominate? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/2 "2012-03-03T15:14:35Z")
Hmm… The first I though of were: Captain Malcolm Reynolds (_Firefly_) Toby Ziegler (_the West Wing_) Benjamin Linus (_Lost_) But I think I’ll go with: President Laura Roslin (_Battlestar Galactica_). No one really comes close. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/3 "2012-03-03T15:32:37Z")
Lieutenant Columbo, probably. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/4 "2012-03-03T15:38:12Z")
I came in here to say Al Swearingen, and lo and behold, there he is in the OP! Early on I thought, he’s going to be a great bad guy, and all the creative cursing was fun, but I had _no_ idea what I was in for. The layers just kept coming as the series went on, and Ian McShane did a masterful job of revealing _just_ enough in just the right way. HBO pulled the plug on _Deadwood_ too soon, and not getting to see the end of Swearingen’s arc is practically tragic (well, as “tragic” as it gets when you’re talking about watching TV). ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/5 "2012-03-03T15:42:13Z")
Currently Richard Castle is one of my favorites. He just seems to be enjoying his life. (Most of the time) ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/6 "2012-03-03T15:42:16Z")
1. Lieutenant Columbo 2. Leroy Jethro Gibbs 3. Patrick Jane 4)Jayne Cobb 4. Malcolm Reynolds _can’t wait for Adam Baldwin’s guest appearance on Castle!_ 5. Ted Mosby, Marshall Ericksen, Barney Stinson (they work for me as an ensemble, not as individuals) 6. Pierre Despereaux 7. Lassiter (I watch Psych more for the supporting characters, not the main two) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/7 "2012-03-03T15:46:13Z")
Well said, **Wheelz** , and it may be his turn as Seth Bullock that gave Timothy Olyphant a leg up in the Raylan Givens (_Justified_) characterization for me. _Deadwood_ had way more than its fair share of memorable characters. So much so that when I see those actors in other settings it’s usually their _Deadwood_ work that springs to my mind first. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/8 "2012-03-03T15:51:27Z")
1. Basil Fawlty 2. Edmund Blackadder (II-IV) 3. The Doctor Hmmm. I think my biases are showing! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/9 "2012-03-03T16:08:40Z")
To save having to start another thread for females, I’ll mention these who are in my faves list: – [Kalinda Sharma](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0659544/) – [Gemma Teller Morrow](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005408/) – [Lt. Debra Morgan](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1358539/) – [Mags Bennett](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0553269/) … and likely another dozen here as well. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/10 "2012-03-03T16:14:05Z")
Jim Rockford ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/11 "2012-03-03T16:19:16Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > To save having to start another thread for females, I’ll mention these who are in my faves list: > > – [Kalinda Sharma](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0659544/) > – [Gemma Teller Morrow](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005408/) > – [Lt. Debra Morgan](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1358539/) > – [Mags Bennett](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0553269/) > > … and likely another dozen here as well. For the record, I’d like to note that \*my \*favorite character was a woman of the female persuasion. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/12 "2012-03-03T16:19:42Z")
Jim Rockford Lt. Arthur Dietrich Rev. Jim Ignatowski Lou Grant Peter Paul “Paulie Walnuts” Gaultieri Artie from _The Larry Sanders Show_ Dr. Robert Hartley Admiral William Adama Col. Saul Tigh The Doctor (specifically Nine, Ten, and Eleven) Fox Mulder X, Mulder’s contact after Deep Throat ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/13 "2012-03-03T16:25:54Z")
Claire Huxtable (Cosby Show) Angela Chase (My So-Called Life) Tami Taylor (Friday Night Lights) Niles Crane (Frasier) Chandler Bing (Friends) Bubbles (The Wire) Dr. Elliot Reid (Scrubs) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/14 "2012-03-03T16:27:48Z")
More to serve as a trigger for the old-timers in the crowd (along with the reruns fans) here are some of my early favorites from the early days: – Cheyenne Bodie – Paladin – Perry Mason – Peter Gunn – Napoleon Solo – Bret Maverick ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/15 "2012-03-03T16:33:16Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > For the record, I’d like to note that \*my \*favorite character was a woman of the female persuasion. That’s a good point. My favorite female is also a woman. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/16 "2012-03-03T16:52:58Z")
The Countess of Grantham Tom Servo Angel Martin Buddy Sorrell Paul Drake Veronica Mars Saul Goodman ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/17 "2012-03-03T17:03:07Z")
In no particular order (and many of mine aren’t at all “iconic”): - Mr. Spock - Dr. Gregory House - Dr. Anton Arcane from _Swamp Thing_ - Frank Furillo and Joyce Davenport from _Hill Street Blues_ - Cal Lightman from _Lie to Me_ - Gil Grissom from _CSI_ - Father Dougal McGuire from _Father Ted_ - Captain Picard from _ST:TNG_ - Niles Crane from _Frasier_ I’ll probably think of more as soon as I hit Reply, but those are the ones that pop to mind right away. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/18 "2012-03-03T17:09:53Z")
Jayne Cobb Gus Fring Sheldon Cooper ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/19 "2012-03-03T17:14:37Z")
Hawkeye Pierce Captain Piccard ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641/20 "2012-03-03T17:18:31Z")
Outstanding replies, y’all! Quite a few of my “missing dozens” have already showed up in some of your lists. Also, it’s encouraging to see how many of these characters are not the starring roles in the shows being mentioned. Maybe some other threads focusing on things like _sidekicks_ (or other non-star types) would be fun along with this catchall survey. Be my guest starting such a spinoff. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-tv-characters-of-all-time/614641.md?page=2)