Six Delightful TV Characters

What makes a great television character? Some have an inherent goodness with the motivation to do the right thing, while others have darker undertones who attempt to do good. But sometimes its the secondary characters who deserve the praise for their immaculate loyalty, their fierce judgement and their ability to emulate the audience in the best possible way. These characters are often the more cheery ones. While the hero of the story may be broken or misguided, its these secondary characters who help them find their way. Here are some of TV’s most delightful characters.

Cisco Ramon (The Flash)

In the lighter of the CW shows, Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) is the lovable, brilliant engineer at S.T.A.R. Labs. He manages to find the humour in every situation, cracking jokes at even the most serious of moments. He’s easily the comic relief of Team Flash, though that side of him is only part of the character that he really is. Yes, he might get a kick out of naming every villain but he always wants to help Barry (Grant Gustin) do the right thing. Cisco cares deeply about his friends, and helping Barry, even if he might secretly love helping a real-life superhero. With his incredible t-shirt collection, his endless pop-culture references and quirky inventions, Cisco livens up Team Flash - and for that matter, is the most cheerful character in the dreary, dark Arrowverse.

Donnie Hendrix (Orphan Black)

Donnie Hendrix (Kristian Brunn) comes off as the bubbly stay-at-home suburban dad, but his character is eventually fleshed out over the series as he becomes an integral part of the story. Married to the clone Allison (Tatiana Maslany) with two kids, Donnie grows into an essential character not only for Allison, but the other clones. When he runs into a hard time financially, he begins to sell drugs with his wife to pay for their bills. And when the clones need a spy, he’s the first one that they approach for the job. He’s incredibly warm-hearted and happily agrees to whatever needs to be done, despite the price he might have to pay. He easily lightens up the dark show, and his chemistry with Maslany’s Allison is just brilliant.

Paula Proctor (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend)

When Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom) moves to West Covina, Paula Proctor (played by the awesome Donna Lynne Champlin) is quick to become her new best friend. Rebecca, being the over-sharer that she is, tells her the real reason why she moved; to win over her ex-boyfriend’s heart. Paula jumps on the Rebecca bandwagon and does all she can to get the two of them together. It may seem that Paula is living vicariously through Rebecca, being a mother to young boys stuck in an unhappy marriage. She loves to give advice, even if its not any good, and loves to butt into Rebecca’s personal life, often at the most inappropriate of times. But its her relationship with her new friend that makes her so admirable, even though she might be slightly ridiculous. But let’s face it; we’re all Paula.

Ravi Chakrabarti (iZombie)

With an endless catalogue of pop-culture references, Dr Ravi Chakrabarti (Rahul Kohli) finds the humour in every situation, even though his colleague Liv Moore (Rose McIver) may not have the same sense of humour. Ravi is a Seattle PD medical examiner, Liv’s boss, and the only one she can trust with her secret. Despite often cracking jokes (usually about brains and her zombie condition) Ravi cares about his colleague and he wants to help her find a cure. While Liv is off kicking zombie butt, Ravi is often left behind and he doesn’t like it. He’s easily the most enjoyable character of the show, and that’s hugely thanks to Kohli who pulls it off with ease.

Rogelio De La Vega (Jane the Virgin)

Telenovela superstart Rogelio De La Vega (played brilliantly by Jaime Camil) is less of the self-obsessed celebrity than he comes across as. Even though he might be a tad too invested in his image and addicted to updating his loyal fans every minute of the day on Twitter, Rogelio is first and foremost a loving father to his daughter Jane (Gina Rodriguez). Under his fame-mongering exterior, his deep love for his daughter is what makes him a delightful character. Despite only just uniting with her, all he’s cared about since is connecting with her on a level that he’s not experienced before. Rogelio is often the comic relief of the show, and by far the funniest character, but its his touching relationship with his daughter and his efforts to win her over that makes him an immediately likeable character.

Sylvester Dodd (Scorpion)

What makes Sylvester Dodd (Ari Stidham) the comic relief of Team Scorpion is his personality. He’s an highly sensitive person who struggles with OCD and anxiety. But on top of that, he’s a brilliant mathematician and statistician (who doesn’t like flying). In a cast of characters who are all geniuses, Sylvester stands out as being the most genuine because he admits to being uncomfortable in certain situations and stands up for himself despite the consequences. It’s his intellect and morality that make Sylvester stand out among a bunch of geniuses who fail to open up to each other.