10 TV Characters Nobody Expected To Survive

Battlestar Galatica's Gaius Baltar (James Callis) is about as delicious as TV "villains" come - a shamelessly narcissistic, self-serving coward who fans simply couldn't wait to see get his just desserts by series' end, no matter that his character matured considerably in later seasons.

For one, the guy was largely responsible for the Cylons' genocidal campaign against the Twelve Colonies, causing at least 20 billion deaths in the process.

That was certainly enough to make Gaius seem destined to die at some point in the series, especially once he was put on trial for his part in the genocide.

And yet, he proved so damn entertaining in spite of - or perhaps because of - his enormous character flaws that he ultimately stuck around to the bitter end.

Still, the majority of the fanbase surely expected him to either get strung up for his actions or die a redemptive, sacrificial death of some sort. Nope on both counts.