I only watch a few shows, and the reason I watch them is not only because of the great stories, but also because they have at least one great character in the show that you either love or love to hate. Here are some of my favorite characters on TV at the moment.

Dr. Gregory House
How can you not like the great performance put out by British actor Hugh Laurie every week? Yes, he’s arrogant, pretentious, and downright mean, but you can’t help but love the character. The show would not work without the characteristics that embody House, nor do I think it could work without Hugh Laurie. He does such an excellent job. You can hate him one minute and feel sorry for him or laugh at his playful pranks and comments that he makes with his only friend, Dr. Wilson, the next moment. House is truly good television and is marked as one of my favorite shows of all time.

Johnny Drama
Johnny “Drama” Chase, the older washed-up brother of super star Vince Chase in the TV show Entourage is another character I really like. Kevin Dillon, the younger brother of Matt Dillon, does an excellent job playing the has-been actor. I think the fact that he follows in the shadows of his real life brother helps his character out, because Drama is doing the same thing in Entourage. E, Vince, and Turtle have nothing on Drama. My favorite moments are when he tries to equate a current situation the gang is going through with something from his acting past, whether it be his run on 90210 or his guest appearance on The Commish. He’s definitely the best out of the group.

Ari Gold
Another character from the awesome show Entourage is Ari Gold, agent to Vince and now Drama. He’s what really makes the show move. Ari’s quick comebacks and great one-liners (“Let’s hug it out, bitch) make the show funny. Without Ari, the show wouldn’t survive. Not even with Drama holding down the comedic one-liners.

Barney
No, not the big purple dinosaur. I’m talking about Barney from How I Met Your Mother. Who knew Doogie Howser could be funny? (well, those of you who have seen Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle know, but that’s beside the point). He’s misogynistic, witty, and always on the prowl for his next one night stand. He’s what makes the show flow smoothly, whether it’s telling characters to dump their significant others because single life is the way to be, or telling the guys to suit up for a night out of debauchery, Barney is one of a kind. You can even check out his blog and see interesting posts such as his hookup percentages.

Dwight
What makes Dwight from The Office so great is that he is someone you know. Every office has a Dwight and they are just as weird and annoying as the one in the show. Whether it’s telling us facts about bears (tv) or talking about how we should all wear matching jump suits (real life) we all know and love to hate the Dwight in our lives.

Monk
USA’s show Monk is a great show all because of Tony Shalub’s portrayal of the obsessive-compulsive Adrian Monk. He does such a great job with it, I have to wonder how he doesn’t turn into an OCD victim in real life. The stories are always formulaic, but the ways in which Monk solves a crime because of his OCD are awesome and always new.

The worst characters on tv:

The judges and host of American Idol.
Yes, they are characters. Pathetically fake people. ‘Nuff said.

Horatio
David Caruso’s character on CSI: Miami. Ok, this isn’t because of the character, it’s because of David Caruso. Can we all say “Worst actor ever?” Well, he is. All he needs is a pair of shades and his hands on his hips and a one-liner that is never witty and he had a hit show on his hands. I don’t watch the show because of him, which is a shame because the supporting cast isn’t half bad. He needs to stop acting. Now.