James' Top 10s - Favourite characters in some of my favourite TV shows.

There's so much rubbish on TV these days that I often find myself going back to TV series of the past that I've bought as a DVD box set.

However, there are some programmes I watched purely because the characters were so well written and I looked forward to seeing what they were going to do each week.

Here are ten characters who made shows worth watching - all of these shows are fairly recent - well in the last 30 years anyway (you know how much I like the older shows - these still seem new to me).

However, they're all shows worth spending your time watching, if only for the characters alone - here's my Top 10.

10 Matt Saracen (played by Zach Gifford) - Friday Night Lights

Matt looked after his Grandma. He started as the back-up Quarter Back to Jason Street who gets injured, and so is thrust into the spotlight of being in the Panthers starting line up when he never expected to be. Matt is low on self-confidence, unsure of himself but always tries to do the right thing. 

As the series progresses, we see him grow as a person even though he faces multiple setbacks. Not your usual jock - he's a thoughtful character and all round nice-guy.

9 Al Swearengen (played by Ian McShane) - Deadwood

Based on a real person, Al Swearengen is the owner of a Saloon called the Gem Theatre where he sees himself as an entrepreneur but he's also a pimp. He lures unsuspecting young girls into the saloon and coerces them to become dancers and then prostitutes through bullying and physical brutality.

Ian McShane plays him brilliantly with menace and harshness. He's always 'on the make' and tries to turn everything to his advantage as he endeavours to run the town of Deadwood.

He's a tremendous character and one that I loved watching. He was foul-mouthed with no morals and I loved watching to see what he did next. Swearengen is no Lovejoy!

8 Saga Noren (played by Sofia Helin) - The Bridge

Saga is a detective in the Malmo County Police Department. She's unlike any other police person I've ever seen in a programme. Although it's never said, she suffers from Aspberger's Syndrome and she has no recognition of social norms.

She does and says exactly what she thinks she wants to do when she wants to do, which puts her at odds with the partner she had to partner with, Martin Rohde from Denmark to solve a murder of a woman found dead on 'The Bridge,' whose body spans the border of the two countries.

As the series progress, she interacts in the same way with everyone, but her attention to detail works for her, even though her unorthodox personality puts her at odds with most people. She is played magnificently by Sofia Helin and is one of the most unique characters I've seen in any series.

7 The Janitor (Neil Flynn) - Scrubs

He's the Janitor in the Sacred Heart hospital who spends his whole time trying to torment, insult and play personal tricks on the Intern JD after his first encounter with him.

He pretty much strikes terror into JD and becomes his nemesis. He was only a bit-part player in the show at first, but his role grew and he became more and more outrageous as the show goes on, but over time you realise that he doesn't have friends and that JD is probably as close to a friend that he has.

Neil Flynn plays the part so well and there are so many moments of comedy greatness that I couldn't wait to see him on the screen each week.

6 Jim Bell (played by Mark Heap) - Friday Night Dinner

Jim is The Goodman's neighbour who drops by often during the family's Friday Night Dinner. He is infatuated with Jackie Goodman (played by Tamsin Greig) and he always finds excuses to gain entry into the house along with his dog, Wilson, who he's afraid of.

In the later series, Wilson the dog dies, and is replaced my Milson, who he's equally afraid of.

He's interested in the Jewish way of life that the Goodman's lead, but has no actual concept of what being Jewish is. 

He's socially inept and isn't able to conduct a normal conversation and whilst it means he's treated patronisingly, you can't help but warm to the character. 

So much so that Jim has become a much-loved cult character.

5 Owen Newitt (played by Roger Lloyd-Pack) - The Vicar of Dibley

Owen is a farmer in the village and also a member of the Parish Council, He thinks the Vicar, Geraldine is great and is a big supporter of her plans.

He swears a lot, is always late to meetings and always has the most implausible excuses. He also has bad body odour but is oblivious to it.

Not only does he support the Vicar but he fancies her as well and proposed to her twice.

He's an everyman who is totally un-PC which makes him all the more likeable and he's played brilliantly by Roger Lloyd Pack. 

He likes to take part in village events and his animals are also often involved. His mentions of his sex life are not normal to say the least and he's a character that you shouldn't like but do. Comedy Gold!

4 Moira Rose (Catherine O'Hara) - Schitt's Creek

She's the matriarch of the Rose Family, she's a has-been soap opera actress, she's totally eccentric, has a weird way of pronouncing words and is the one who hates being in Schitt's Creek the most.

The Rose's used to be mega-rich but now they're not. They'd bought the town of Schitt's Creek as a present for son, David and when they lost everything they moved there and lived in the Motel as they started over.

Moira sees it as a temporary situation and tries to live her outrageous life in the small town.

She's awkward around people, including her own children but over times becomes more involved in the community but as much as she tries to join in, she's always self-absorbed and it leads to hilarious situations.

The only person she appears to gel properly with is husband Johnny. Catherine O'Hara's portrayal of Moira is superb and for me, she was the highlight of an excellent show.

3 Richard Fish (Greg Germann) - Ally McBeal

He's the co-founder of legal firm, Cage & Fish. He's got a very loose idea of morals and ethics and at the end of the day, it's all about the money.

Richard has his own thoughts that he's willing to share and they're known as 'Fishisms' but often they misogynistic, off-colour and offensive and whenever it's pointed out, he replies, 'Bygones'!

He is obsessed with his older girlfriend's 'Wattle' as well as any woman who has one.

He's well-meaning but too self-absorbed to notice when he's out of line and he manages to turn everything in order to prove he's right.

He always puts his partner and co-founder down even though he doesn't think he does.

His 'Fishism's are the stuff of legend and the way he's played by |G|reg Germann is a delight to watch

2 Barney Stinson (played by Neil Patrick Harris) - How I Met Your Mother

He's a serial womanizer, he thinks he's Ted's best friend, and he's an opportunist. He's really the only single person in the group of five and spends his life concocting plans to meet women.

He feels he's the ringleader of the group and likes to manipulate situations. In fact, he feels that most of his wheezes are 'legendary'.

He's very competitive and likes to take on challenges. He proud, he's stubborn but most of all he's absolutely hilarious. He's one of the funniest characters I've seen on television and he had me belly-laughing through the complete run of the show.

1 C.J. Cregg (played by Allison Janney) - The West Wing

It's my favourite TV series ever. I watch it every year because it's so well written. The cast is tremendous and every character is played so well that they could all be up there as great TV characters, but for me, C.J. (Claudia Jean) Cregg is the Queen of TV characters.

She serves of the staff or President Josiah Bartlet, firstly as the White House Press Secretary before taking over as White House Chief of Staff after Leo McGarry resigned his role following a heart attack.

She's sharp, well-spoken and not afraid to mince words with anyone. She's tall, slightly awkward and doesn't like that her secret service password of 'Flamingo' because it's "ridiculous-looking" and  she most likely thinks she's thought of that way as well.

She's competitive, ballsy, and doesn't shy away from saying what she thinks, even when she's the only one who thinks so.

I love that she's brave, and though she's one of the top five powerful people on the staff, there's an underlying femininity to her and the on-off courtship with Danny Concannon a press reporter is a joy to watch. It's a sweet relationship that runs through different parts of the series and shows a different side of CJ.

A highlight for me is her lip-syncing of Ronnie Jordan's 'The Jackal' during a party in the White House in series one.

For me, she's the greatest character I've ever seen on TV, There's light and dark to Allison Janney's portrayal of C.J. and she's a complete character. She's just brilliant. And she stands out for me as the best character in a cast of excellent written characters.

She's a joy to watch and I've probably got a crush on her! She's my number one TV character of the lot!