Ten Favorite Characters from Television

1. Gil Grissom, CSI. He's brilliant but has issues dealing with people. Endlessly surprising.
2. Sheriff Andy Taylor, The Andy Griffith Show. Just the kind of smart Southern gentleman we could use more of.
3. The "It's..." Man (Michael Palin), Monty Python's Flying Circus. He's a favorite not for himself, but for what comes right after we see him.
4. Julia Sugarbaker, Designing Women. Who wouldn't love to be able to tell off a jackass who so richly deserves it, and in that droll Dixie Carter voice, to boot?
5. Oscar the Grouch. Classic.
6. Peggy Hill, King of the Hill. She's the Texas State Boggle Champion and one heckuva substitute teacher.
7. Betty Suarez, Ugly Betty. Cheering for Betty in that snake pit of an office is like rooting for the insecure seventh grade girl inside us all.
8. President Jed Bartlett, The West Wing. Too bad real politics doesn't work out this well.
9. Pee Wee Herman, Pee Wee's Playhouse. Because at Chez mimi, we never get enough of screaming when someone says the secret word.
10. Blossom, The Powerpuff Girls. For obvious reasons. Obvious, at least, to my partners in crime. Hey, bossiness and ice breath come in handy.

I had to work to come up with this list, so I guess that's good. TV hasn't quite rotted my brain. Yet.