12 Most Epic Character Introductions In TV History

Because if you want Charles Dance to look even more terrifying, have him skin a deer.

HBO

In life first impressions count, and in television that's doubly important. If the opening falls flat, if the pilot episode fails to set the right tone for the show, if the story doesn't have that immediate spark to hook in the audience, chances are we won't come back for more.

But it's really all down to characters to make that initial impact with the audience. They need to be people we can engage with, whether it's because we relate to them, because they make us hang on their every words or simply because we want to be like them. Some of the greatest TV characters have been successful because they entered our screens with such an impact we kept coming back for more.

These are the characters that made us sit up and take notice again and again and again. Not everyone was a major player in their show, but they all definitely made their mark.

Honourable Mention: Locutus Of Borg - Star Trek: The Next Generation

Paramount

Is Locutus another version of Picard or an entirely new character, created by the Borg to be their spokesperson to the Federation? Either theory is possible, which is why Locutus is relegated to honourable mention status. Unlike 'evil versions' of characters, such as Angelus in Buffy The Vampire Slayer / Angel, he also only gets a single story to really show his mettle (along with cameos in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Emissary and Star Trek: First Contact).

That being said, what an epic introduction the reveal of Locutus was. Captain Picard, transformed into Locutus while the crew of the USS Enterprise look on in horror, has to be one of the greatest season cliffhangers in TV history.

Contributor
Contributor

A writer for Whatculture since May 2013, I also write for TheRichest.com and am the TV editor and writer for Thedigitalfix.com . I wrote two plays for the Greater Manchester Horror Fringe in 2013, the first an adaption of Simon Clark's 'Swallowing A Dirty Seed' and my own original sci-fi horror play 'Centurion', which had an 8/10* review from Starburst magazine! (http://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/eventsupcoming-genre-events/6960-event-review-centurion) I also wrote an episode for online comedy series Supermarket Matters in 2012. I aim to achieve my goal for writing for television (and get my novels published) but in the meantime I'll continue to write about those TV shows I love! Follow me on Twitter @BazGreenland and like my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BazGreenlandWriter