by Juliet Chase

Created on: September 05, 2009

It's interesting to sit back and think of who would make your top ten list of best television characters. Did you forget some now that the show is off the air? Can you separate a single character from the entire cast? I'll argue that popular and best aren't necessarily the same thing, although if you're curious about ratings, there's some nice charts on Wikipedia. My list has a smattering of British characters from shows rebroadcast in the U.S. as well. It's always going to be a personal and highly subjective list; I'm hoping one of these sparks a happy memory for you, a character misplaced in your memory that can now be refound:

1. MacGyver (of MacGyver) No, it wasn't that great a show but how can you not love a character that can stop the world from ending with a chocolate bar and some duct tape?

2. Spock (of the original Star Trek) When I was young enough to be scared by the Styrofoam aliens, Spock always took control of the situation (while Kirk was off looking at girls!) He wasn't gregarious or fashionable but certainly memorable.

3. Thomas Magnum (Magnum, PI) Maybe it was the Hawaiian shirts but he certainly carried the show and the decade. Can you remember any other character from that show?

4. Murphy Brown (of Murphy Brown) She made it ok for women to be successful, intelligent, and cranky all at once.

5. Diana Trent (Waiting for God) Exactly who I want to be when I'm elderly; pointing out the idiots while slipping liquor into her teacup.

6. Beaker (The Muppet Show) It's hard to pick just one, but I'd have to give it to Beaker for managing to make such a presence without ever uttering a single intelligible word.

7. Jeeves (Jeeves & Wooster) Another British production and another character that calmly manipulates all the other characters out of the fixes they find themselves in.

8. Remington Steele (Remington Steele) Maybe it was the smirk but there was something so captivating about his audaciousness.

9. Geraldine Granger (The Vicar of Dibley) It takes something special to pull off being a vicar, single woman on the hunt, intelligent when others aren't, and remarkably patient and still be funny.

10. Benton Fraser (Due South) The quintessential Royal Canadian Mountie wandering the streets of Chicago, stopping his horse at traffic lights and occasionally singing ballads. How could you not have the entire series on DVD? I do!

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