Ten for Tuesday

Today's top 10 is a list of my favorite TV characters of all time. Again, these things are freakin' hard. When I made my initial list, I had over 30 names. Narrowing it down to the 13 that appear here was (in some cases) heart-wrenching. And obviously, these lists are limited to the shows that I've watched. Because I know Al Swearengen is quite the character, but I've never seen "Deadwood." In making the final decisions, I looked for a scene or two that really pulled me to the character.

Those who just missed out/honorable mentions: Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Katee Sackhoff, "Battlestar Galactica"), Matt Saracen (Zach Gilford, "Friday Night Lights"), Gob Bluth (Will Arnett. "Arrested Development")

10) Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman, "Heroes") I always think of that scene from "Company Man," on the bridge with Claire right before the Haitian wipes his memory. That was a beautiful moment in (my opinion) the best episode of "Heroes" ever.

9) James Ford/"Sawyer" (Josh Holloway, "Lost") I think Sawyer's usually at his best tossing around snide remarks and new nicknames, but his most emotional moments wer in last season's episode "The Brig," when he finally confronted the real Sawyer and read him the letter he wrote as a young boy...and then killed him.

8) Major Richard Winters (Damian Lewis, "Band of Brothers") The only real-life figure on this list, Winters is too good and too noble not to be included. I think my favorite scene of his from the miniseries is in the final episode, "Points," when his former commanding officer, the uber-pain-in-the-ass Capt. Sobel has to salute the now-higher-ranking Winters.

7) Dr. Addison Montgomey (Kate Walsh, "Grey's Anatomy"/"Private Practice") Really, she was supposed to be the one we all rooted against. She was the one keeping Meredith and Derek apart. But as Meredith became increasingly whiny and intolerable during the second season, Addison just kept getting more awesome. And when she (and her amazing red hair) left Seattle Grace, I packed up and left Grey's, too.

6) President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell, "Battlestar Galactica) While I may not always agree with her, she's led humanity with an iron will and a lot of class through the apocalypse and to the search for Earth. The two scenes that stand out to me are her first confrontation with Sharon/Athena, when she tried to have her airlocked, and on the witness stand in the Season 3 finale, admitting that her cancer has come back. They're the two sides of Roslin: she can be tough and emotionless one second, and vulnerable and open the next.

5) Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven, "Entourage") I can't even pick a favorite Ari moment, because there are just too many, but any with his assistant, Lloyd, have to be near the top. Ari is (by far) the greatest thing about Entourage, and most of the time, he's the only reason I'm watching.

4) Seth Cohen (Adam Brody, "The O.C.") I know, it's terribly cliche of me to pick Seth, but if not for him, we don't have Henry on Ugly Betty or Chuck. He made being a geek cool and something to be proud of. AND, he gave the world Chrismukkah. I still think early-season 1-Seth is my favorite, because the stammering and nervousness were adorable every time.

3) Omar Little (Michael Williams, "The Wire") Omar. What else needs to be said about the man who robs drug dealers for a living? I think my favorite scene of his was when he took the stand against Bird in early Season 2, without a care in the world. But what makes Omar such an indelible character is how everyone reacts to him. The lookout whistles, the bustle to get out of his way, the time when he went out for some "honey nut" unarmed and ended up with a stash just by walking through the neighborhood...Let him live, Simon. Let him live.

2) Sylar (Zachary Quinto, "Heroes") If I ever make a list of best villians, Sylar will be at the top of that one. As it is, almost no other character makes me squeal in glee just by showing up on my television screen. If you want my opinion for why Heroes went downhill this year, it's because they deprived Sylar of his powers and let him become a wuss for so long. This guy is such a great villian -- there's almost no redeemable quality to him, he's pure evil -- that it just seems dumb to keep him out of the spotlight. I have three favorite Sylar moments, and they're just that -- moments. One was the "Boom" from last year, before the finale, the second was the roll of the eyes and the neck before he killed Maya this year -- the annoyance on his face perfectly reflected my feelings. And third was his final moment from this year, "I'm back." I can't wait to see what havoc he wreaks next season.

1) Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion, "Firefly") Captain Tightpants himself. Firefly was cancelled too quickly, but Mal and his fierce devotion to his ship will live on -- and actually did live on in Serenity the movie. He was the perfect anti-hero, and I'll forever be sad that more of his backstory will never be explored. My favorite Mal moment is the one that Joss Whedon himself calls Mal's "hero moment." His "I aim to misbehave" speech in Serenity was Captain Reynolds coming fully into his own, and taking a real stand for the first time since the war stripped him of his faith.