Claire from 'Heroes' ...

Television characters aren't real people, but you wouldn't know it by the way these folks jump off the screen. They are TV's 10 best characters of the moment.

You know the rules: Only one character per show, and if you've been on the list in past years, you can't be on it again. (So consider Jack Bauer, Homer Simpson and Adrian Monk to be the hall of fame).

Let's count it down.

10. Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker), "The Office"

As viewers, we love to visit "The Office," but technically, it's a show about people who hate coming to the office. More than any other Dunder Mifflin paper pusher, Stanley genuinely despises his job - the sentiment is permanently etched on his face every time the camera bothers to pan over to him. This is a guy who was relieved when he thought he was being laid off and crushed when he found out he still had the job. Between chuckles, I feel for this guy.

9. Special Agent Paul

Kellerman (Paul Adelstein),

"Prison Break"

I genuinely hate this guy, whose relentless pursuit of our favorite escapees - he begins with the murder of Lincoln's ex-wife and continues with the framing of Linc's son - makes Capt. Bellick look cuddly by comparison. When the freshly tortured Sara took a hot iron to the Secret Service agent's chest, I cheered, and when Linc had a chance at revenge in a recent episode, my trigger finger was as itchy as his. It's not the fact that Kellerman is evil, it's the way he's evil that makes me love to hate him - and to grudgingly acknowledge this slimeball's place as the small screen's best villain of the moment.

8. Dave Greco (Rick Gomez),

"What About Brian"

Dave has the coolest job on TV (video-game designer), he's dating a hot 20-year-old sandwich vendor, he regularly enjoys a brew with cool guys Brian and Adam ... and we're supposed to believe he has it tough. But Gomez gives Dave a charismatic sense of humor, a refreshing break from the back-slapping smarm found on too many shows. As such, no matter how "TV" his problems are, we still root for him.

7. Claire Bennet (Hayden

Panettiere), "Heroes"

It's been a good season for cheerleaders who dodge the Barbie doll stereotype (see also: Lyla Garrity on "Friday Night Lights"). After a series of small film roles, the hype preceded Panettiere to "Heroes," and she has lived up to it by playing that old standby: the teen who feels like nobody understands her. For Claire, who has healing powers that would make Wolverine raise his eyebrows, such feelings are understandable. You gotta love the scene where, having been sliced open for an autopsy, she self-consciously holds her chest closed like it was a bathrobe. This teen earns her angst.

6. Allison Dubois

(Patricia Arquette),

"Medium"

How good is Arquette as psychic crime-solver Allison? Consider that she does most of her acting lying in bed, having just awoken from a horribly prophetic dream; that this standard opening sequence hasn't become a parody attests to her skill. Allison also is a valuable assistant to the district attorney, a devoted wife and a mother of three daughters to whom she's passed on her supernatural skills.

5. Logan Echolls

(Jason Dohring),

"Veronica Mars"

Someone from TV's best ensemble is going to be on this list every year; now it's Logan's turn. At first glance, he's a lazy underachiever, coasting by on his family's money. He keeps bad friends and has bad habits. But he has a tough legacy to overcome - his dad is the murderer of Veronica's best friend - and he earns pitty points for his periodic wrongful arrests. When Logan starts dating Veronica, we see his decent, devoted side, and Dohring keeps it nicely understated, staying true to the show's noir roots.

4. Matt Albie (Matthew

Perry), "Studio 60 on

the Sunset Strip"

Former "Friend" Perry gets the comeback-actor-of-the-year award for making us forget Chandler Bing ever existed. Perry handles the lightning-quick dialogue with practiced ease as Matt straddles the line between witty writer and bossy showrunner for a late-night sketch program.

3. Marty (Wayne

Wilcox), "Gilmore Girls"

Marty is the biggest reason why "Gilmore Girls" has redeemed itself in its seventh season. Way back in Season 4, Marty was one of the first friends Rory made as a freshman at Yale; the fact that the relationship meant more to him than it did to her was portrayed with painful realism by Wilcox. It's delicious to see Marty return with a new girlfriend and newfound confidence, leaving the brushed-off Rory feeling flustered.

2. Meg Griffin

(voiced by Mila Kunis),

"Family Guy"

On most shows, we are tipped off that someone is uncool only by the fact that other characters treat them as such. But Meg has earned her uncool status. The "Family Guy" writers have used her as a punching bag for years (recall the classic episode in which Meg, as a flag girl, is pummeled with spoiled meat by the cheer squad). It's nice to see her making progress this season, even if going to the dance with Brian only makes her marginally more cool.

1. Matt Saracen

(Zach Gilford),

"Friday Night Lights"

On a show packed with down-home realism, Saracen - who reluctantly took over as QB One after the star was paralyzed in the opening game - embodies this quality better than any other Dillon Panther. He's a nice, quiet kid who juggles football, school, a job, a mentally ill grandmother, non-football player friends (a taboo in this town) and a girlfriend (the coach's daughter, no less). And his dad is fighting in Iraq. When Saracen takes a snap, I want to get out there and throw a few blocks for him.

JOHN HANSEN can be reached at john.hansen@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5863.