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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ome" data-source="post: 259870" data-attributes="member: 2"><h2>75. Cameron Howe (Halt and Catch Fire)</h2>[ATTACH=full]25498[/ATTACH]Played by Mackenzie DavisThe (too few) viewers of Halt and Catch Fire first meet Cameron Howe as a soda swilling, braless punk coder with the attitude of a surly teen. And while she maintains her distrust of authority figures throughout the series, we also watch as she shifts toward a tentative maturity while wrestling with the fear that growing up might mean selling out. Cameron, portrayed with incredible verve by Mackenzie Davis, is perhaps the purest distillation of Halt and Catch Fire's driving themes. She's creativity incarnate, whose success is hampered by her inability to compromise. Whereas another show might make that stubbornness a gift, Halt knows that sticking to your principles is often an Achilles' heel. About midway through the first season, the writers seemingly realized that the show's heart was not Lee Pace's Joe MacMillan, it was his underling: Cameron Howe. -- EZ<h2>74. Zoë Washburne (Firefly)</h2>[ATTACH=full]25499[/ATTACH]Played by Gina TorresWe've been through cycle upon cycle of the "what makes a strong female character strong" discussion, and the badass and compelling women on TV have evolved with the conversation -- but, oddly enough, a lady out of a sci-fi western from 2002, when people were only first starting to whisper about female characters not needing to be gung-ho warriors to be considered "strong," embodies exactly the nuanced kind of strength that audiences are now demanding to see. Gina Torres' Zoë Washburne, the tall leather-clad, pistol-wielding counterpart to Alan Tudyk's soft-spoken pilot Hoban Washburne, is at once an intimidating fighter and a tender, protective figure, stepping lightly across the spectrum of everything a "strong female character" can be. -- ES<h2>73. Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal)</h2>[ATTACH=full]25500[/ATTACH]Played by Mads Mikkelsen"A thankless task" is the only way to describe the prospect of playing one of horror cinema's (and literature's) most blood-curdling antagonists, especially one that has already been made iconic by the likes of Anthony Hopkins. But Mads Mikkelsen's portrayal of Hannibal Lecter, the cannibalistic villain of Thomas Harris' terrifying series of crime novels, holds his own -- when he's not holding one of his victims' delicious roasted limbs. Mikkelsen's entirely unreadable face and soothing voice mask a horrific, bloodthirsty killer hiding just under the surface -- and, many times, right in plain sight -- as he runs circles around the FBI agents trying to stop him. The cat-and-mouse dance between Hannibal and Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) is such fun that it birthed its own rabid fanfiction community, and Hannibal's appetite for human flesh led to some particularly memorable grisly death scenes. (Anyone remember that Damien Hirst-inspired corpse cross-section?) Only a show whose baddie was this delightful could make murder look so tasty. -- ES<h2>72. Jared Dunn (Silicon Valley)</h2>[ATTACH=full]25501[/ATTACH]Played by Zach WoodsWho knew that tech bros could actually be endearing? Silicon Valley is full of nastiness, but Jared Dunn, played by Zach Woods, is an absolute sweetheart of an exec. Jared transferred over to Pied Piper from its vicious rival Hooli in the first season, and worked hard to keep Pied Piper afloat among their many f**k-ups. But it always felt like it was less about the company for him and more about just wanting to be one of the guys. His devotion to Thomas Middleditch's Richard Hendricks was downright sycophantic, but their insane love story ended up being one of the purest parts of Mike Judge's deeply cynical series. Jared has a wild backstory, largely improvised by Woods, that is hard to piece together -- he was in and out of foster homes; his father is in a militia in the Ozarks -- and his odd quirks range from adorable to disturbing. For instance, he is an a capella aficionado and speaks German in his sleep. Still, it was hard not to want to give him, in all his awkwardness, a hug with at least half as much care he gave his makeshift Pied Piper family.<h2>71. Dougie Jones (Twin Peaks: The Return)</h2>[ATTACH=full]25502[/ATTACH]Played by Kyle MacLachlanAmid the interdimensional backwards-speaking monsters and existential terror of David Lynch's return to his beloved mystery series Twin Peaks sits Dougie Jones in his oversized bright green jacket, perched slantwise on his breakfast room chair, repeating his favorite phrases (his name, his wife's name, "Mr. Jackpots," the chillingly monotone "call for help") to the consternation of his friends and family. One of three extraordinary turns from Kyle MacLachlan, Dougie was the best, most well-executed tease of the show, promising a final showdown between Dale Cooper and the demons of the Black Lodge. Even though it took a full season for that to even happen, we were all too enamored with this goofy incarnation of MacLachlan's lawman to care -- the pure adrenaline rush of hearing "damn good" referring to a cup of freshly brewed coffee was enough. Dougie and his family unit were the emotional anchor of the season, a reminder of David Lynch's capacity for sweetness even along the margins of a cosmic battle between good and evil. -- ES</blockquote>

Verification: What month follows July?