Most likeable TV cast..

[The Curmudgeon]

Getting a group of characters for a TV show must be pretty difficult. They've all got to gel, but not too much because there needs to be some sort of conflict, and they've all got to have different personalities that an audience will understand and accept.

Take Friends. I actually really liked the show, but for a group of supposedly super likeable people, almost half of them weren't likeable at all. Monica was a pain in the ass and Phoebe was fucking pointless and irritating. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a classic, genre-defining show, but even that had dud characters sometimes (Oz was boring, Willow was annoying).

Seinfeld, on the other hand, gets the balance right. Everyone on that show gets laughs and is likeable (and if I knew Ellen I would just be in absolute love with her). Arrested Development is perfect as well.

So there you have it, today's topic; likeable (they don't have to be nice PEOPLE or anything, Garth Marenghi is a total dick but he's still awesome), funny, cool.. whatever. What shows tick your boxes?

[Benjamin Haines]

Lately I've been watching Firefly on Netflix. Talk about a perfect ensemble cast. Every character is capable of carrying an episode of this futuristic space western and the heart of the show is seeing them play off each other. It's a real shame Fox pulled the plug on it.

[The Curmudgeon]

Gaaah, another Firefly fan. I STILL haven't seen it!!

[trashcanman]

Two member of the cast of Community have a pact that if one of them dies, the other will make it look like a suicide over the cancellation of Firefly to try and get it back on the air. Why hasn't somebody thought to do that IRL? And that show is a definite contender for most likeable cast. I pick Buffy, though. I strongly disagree that Willow was annoying (outside of Season six's poorly handled magic = drug addiction plotline and that Thanksgiving ep). And Oz was the man, and even if you didn't like him he was only really prominent in two seasons. Obviously, Whedon has insane talent in the ensemble cast department. Also, I don't really believe that having people with negative traits makes a cast less likable or good. Seinfeld was awesome and you're talking about a group of jerks so insanely self-centered that they ended up in prison for by the end of the series.