by Alexander Howard

Created on: June 10, 2009

A top television character is one that does so well in a show that no one can remember that program without also having that character leap to mind. A top television character is also one that captures the viewer's interest, so that whenever that character appears in a scene, the viewer becomes more engaged with the show, ready and waiting to respond to the direction that character takes the show in. Below is a list of the television characters that not only drive the show they are in, but are some of the best performed characters, characters with depths so deep, only the actors who play them know how far they go.

10. Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion, "Firefly") - I would not have watched Joss Whedon's "Firefly" without Malcolm Reynolds. In "Firefly" there is a clear divide between those characters from whom viewers expect to see off the wall nuttiness, and those from whom viewers expect a more serious tone, usually helping to drive along the main conflict in each episode. But Whedon and his writers have crafted the character of Captain Mal as a nice middle ground, and he is masterfully executed by Fillion, who has the character exude charm, wit, deadly seriousness, and sadistic hate as needed. And he can run the gamut in a single scene, seamlessly and believably. Half-cowboy, half-war hero, Fillion seems to be channeling Michael Caine as John Wayne, giving us a taste of the rough and tumble while also the wry and clever.

9. Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson, "The Blackadder Series") - The Britcom "Blackadder" (and the subsequent series) take the general formula of the sitcom, which is that one character will have an idea which will be poorly executed and thus hilarious hijinks will ensue, and breathe new life into it by setting the series around the personal history of the Blackadder family. The series didn't really come into it's own until the second run, where Edmund became the straight man to the antics of the rest of the cast. Blackadder himself would not be a likable character without Atkinson. Blackadder is generally a conniving, self-absorbed misanthrope, and ordinarily would be quite unlikable, but there is nothing more enjoyable watching Atkinson drop clever quips and riff on the stupidity of the other characters in the show. Atkinson has a knack for comedic timing that comes out here, as against the backdrop of various historical locations, from the Middle Ages to World War I.

8. Cmdr. Data (Brent Spiner, "Star Trek: The Next

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