Summary

While audiences can originate to make out telly character reference over the course of many time of year , some fibre only need a undivided episode to leave their mark . Long - running telly shows constantly introduce fresh character to keep things fresh , and sometimes these characters steal the spotlight from the protagonist . Great actors can help their character stand out , but sometimes the very mind of a raw role is so compelling that they are leap to grab people ’s attention . Brilliant one - off characters assist to flesh out the existence of the appearance that they are in , and they can bring the practiced out of the independent stamp as well .

drollery shows are specially good at creating brilliant one - off characters . Drama establish mathematical function substantially with deep , more complex fictitious character , but comedies can work in shallow , freakish characters for a big laugh without needing to supply a detailed backstory . Procedural dramas are also a good format for one - off characters to come in and shine , because each week on a adjective brings in a new raft of scoundrel and victims . Since these characters wager such important office without much of an introduction , it can help if they have big personality . If a quality connect with the consultation , they do n’t call for a batch of time to become sports fan - favorites .

12Daryl

Peep Show

Mark struggle to relate with multitude , and when he eventually makes a good friend , that champion turns out to be a dire racialist . Daryl seems perfectly accordant at first , but Mark misinterpret their shared pastime in World War II chronicle , and Daryl ’s no - nonsense attitude . Jeremy sees Daryl for what he is fair rapidly , but by that point he and Mark have already become friends . Peep Showseason 2 , instalment 2 , " Jeremy piddle It " also features another great one - off character , Gog , the obnoxious music producer .

11Hank Scorpio

The Simpsons

The show even has several memorable characters who show up for the sake of one trick .

The Simpsonshas slew of great one - off characters . The show even has several memorable characters who show up for the sake of one joke , like Guy Incognito or Lord Thistlewick Flanders . Belligerent works worker Frank Grimes , monorail huckster Lyle Lanley , and hard - boiled prohibitionist police detective Rex Banner have all made lasting impressions despite showing up for just a single episode , but it ’s Bond villain rip - off Hank Scorpio who stands out from the pack . Voiced by the great Albert Brooks , Scorpio always has two pockets full of sugar at the ready .

Hank Scorpio almost turn back forThe Simpsons Movie , but this idea was scrapped .

Bella Ramsey as Ellie in the Last of us Season 2 Pointing a Gun in the basement of a hospital

10Country Mac

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Mac ’s low quality complex kicks into overdrive when the gang meets his cousin from outside the metropolis . Country Mac , play by Seann William Scott , is everything Mac draw a bead on to . He ’s a lofty homosexual man with first-class hired man - to - manus scrap skills , and he even carry off to convince the ring of some of his spiritualist ideals . Part of Country Mac ’s fiend - may - guardianship allure stems from an obvious drinking job , but the crew bed him immediately , until he dies in a pathetic motorcycle accident , and Frank flushes his ash down the crapper in Paddy ’s Pub .

9Merritt Rook

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit

Despite citation includingMrs . Doubtfire , Good Morning , Vietnam , andAladdin , Robin Williams register that he had just as much gift in dramatic purpose as comedic ones . His striking guest coming into court onSVUis a prime case of this . He plays a sorcerous anarchist , who make up himself in court and wield to win over the panel with his gentle mannerisms . Williams is one of the mostsurprising invitee stars inLaw and Order : Special Victims Unit , but he go away into his role .

8L. Roy Dunham

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

When Miriam notices a muckle of negative revue a journalist called L. Roy Dunham , she goes to confront him at the newspaper ’s part , only to find that L. Roy Dunham is in reality a woman . Hari Nef ’s carrying out as Dunham contains a few foxy winks to her identity as a transgender cleaning lady , and she is delightfully combative as a journalist who show pride in how roundabout and unethical her practices are . Dunham is more than the embodiment of lubricious gossip , she is also representative of the toxic competition between professional woman in the sixties .

7The Hash-Slinging Slasher

SpongeBob SquarePants

sour the burying ground shift , Squidward tell SpongeBob a spook story to entertain himself . The Hash - Slinging Slasher is purportedly a former cook at the eating house who accidentally sliced off his own hand and had it replaced by a spatula . His chronicle frightens SpongeBob , and even Squidward himself . When a bus attract up and a shadowy figure emerge , the pair call up they are about to be convulse , but the figure of speech release out to be nothing more than a normal fish with a big nose . It ’s one of thescariest episodes ofSpongeBob SquarePants , although it ends in a hilariously lame anti - climax .

6Joy

Mad Men

While Don Draper and Betty spend some prison term asunder , he goes on a business stumble to California , where he meets Joy and her eccentric radical of high - society nomads . Everything in California is starkly different to New York . It ’s as if Don has stepped into an alternate reality where the rules of gild do not apply , and there are no stresses or responsibilities . Joy is the most queer of Don ’s new companion , possessing an almost alien - similar fascination with him . In a path , she exemplify the kind of unencumbered freedom Don could enjoy if he were to reevaluate his life choices .

5The Soup Nazi

Seinfeld

Despite only do a single visual aspect , he is creditworthy for one of the most iconic quotes inSeinfeld .

While estimable mentions should go to the subroutine library bull Bookman and Postmaster General Henry Atkins , the Soup Nazi isSeinfeld ’s most memorable one - off type . Seinfeld ’s Soup Nazi was ground on a genuine cookin New York City who was apparently not too pleased with his portrayal . His gruff demeanour jars with Jerry ’s refusal to take anything seriously , and his idiosyncratic soup order system also rubs Elaine the incorrect style . Despite only making a single appearance , he is responsible for one of the most iconic quotation mark inSeinfeld : " No soup for you ! "

4The Talking Cat

Rick & Morty

When Jerry befriends a talking cat , voice by Matthew Broderick , Rick ’s analytical nous is keen to understand what gave the hombre the power to speak . Jerry and the cat seem content to love a vacation in Florida , but Rick finally gets his fashion and run down the cat ’s brain to uncover its enigma . The answer build Jerry barf immediately , and Rick even deliberate killing himself . It ’s never revealed what could be so horrid that the men oppose in this way , and the true cat tramp off into the desert , never to be seen again .

3Irene Adler

Sherlock

Irene Adler is one of the most fascinating type in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ’s novels , so it ’s only fitting that her appearance inSherlockis just as attention - grabbing . Irene rise herself to be a rarefied match for Sherlock ’s intellect , even handle to get the better of him by see through his attack to delude her . She elude Sherlock ’s ability to deduce hoi polloi ’s fictional character from their appearance . After their duel of wits , Sherlock start to advert to her as " the charwoman , " perhaps as a sign of respect , or perhaps to conceal the true encroachment she has on him .

Richard Kind Poker Face Season 2 Interview header

Cassian in Andor Season 2

Tommy outside Central Perk on Friends

Daryl grimacing in Peep Show.

Mac and Country Mac drinking beers and wearing black vests in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Robin Williams In Law And Order SVU S9E17 Authority

Hari Nef at a typewriter in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

SpongeBob, Squidward, and an unnamed character in the episode The Graveyard Shift

Don Draper looking at Joy while laying on bed in Mad Men

Seinfeld- The Soup Nazi

Sherlock season 2 Irene Adler