Top 5 television characters

I loved Lexx! I am not really into sci-fi, but loved that show. I once went to MegaCon in Orlando with a buddy and his wife who are really into sci-fi and I bought an autographed photo of Xenia Seeberg which I still have somewhere.

Best episode: Luvliner when the crew visits the space bordello and 790 is paired with a toaster. Hilarious.

 

More...

Saffron -Absolutely Fabulous - Her sisters from other misters are the offspring of wannabe hippie parents.

Mike - The Young Ones - Imagine being the straight man in that crew.

Chidi - The Good Place - Another straight man whose cracks started to show.

Arnold Rimmer - Red Dwarf - My insane bucket list of things that will never happen includes Chris Barrie prank calling Michael Palin and the Archbishop of Canterbury as Michael Palin and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Good lord, he managed to continue to add wrinkles to Rimmer long after most people would have been phoning it in.

Cat - Red Dwarf - So inspired. He has to be here.

 

I generally love bots and droids, but I never got over the inclination to drop-kick 790.

 

Don't forget this guy ...

 

I mostly just watch "Star Trek" in its various iterations, and I could make a list just based on those shows. Thus, my picks among those would be:

1.) Garak -- An enigmatic character in the extreme, and someone whose character was given a story and room for expansion over seven seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

2.) Dr. Julian Bashir -- Another character given a chance to grow and change, so the actor could provide great depth that did nothing but add to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

3). Seven of Nine -- Just a terrific, ever-evolving character all throughout her four seasons of existence on Star Trek: Voyager.

4). Spock -- A central character in Star Trek, the original series (and indeed, the entire franchise) who, even as great as he was, was underdeveloped, mostly as a result of the original series' short-lived run.

5). Data -- A machine who wanted to be human. Many of the best episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation involved this character, played by Brent Spiner, who I thought was even better as the developer/leader of the Augments (Data predecessors) in Star Trek: Enterprise.

What I find interesting is that of these top characters, and most of the others mentioned in this thread, as well, none had top billing on their shows. Perhaps there are built-in constraints to being the star of a show -- things that are not as limiting to lesser lights.

 

I think that was one of the high points of the series. Heaven and Hell, which IIRC, was the arc that borrowed heavily from Maxfield Parrish was eye-poppingly pretty.

 

One of the Darryl brothers from “Newhart,” but not the other one.

 

Five of mine that I don't believe have been brought up yet:

Sawyer from Lost

Roger Sterling from Mad Men

Dr. Greene from ER

and the duo of Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby (the Brain) Heenan.

 

I mean, there's a problem with your list - Bobby Heenan was a broadcast journalist. This topic is just about characters.

 

Have to put in a word for Hank Kingsley. Hey now.

Also:
Buster Bluth

 

Lucy

Costanza/Kramer/Elaine

I have to think on the rest.