History BunnyEarsLawyer / LiveactionTV

** Donny Douglas is a prime example. He has his first client meeting with Niles while pantsless, and later one while eating a sandwich. By the end of his first episode, he's managed to dig up a ''highly'' embarrassing secret about Maris that gives Niles a major bargaining chip in their divorce.

* The very first scene in the pilot of ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' shows detective Jake Peralta in a recently robbed electronics store quoting Donnie Brasco, playing with the displays, and generally goofing off to the annoyance of his straight-laced partner. He then reveals that he solved the case five minutes ago. The series eventually establishes every detective in the precinct as having their own set of bunny ears, and most of them being excellent at their jobs in spite of their eccentricities.

** In his days acting as [[TheBrigadier UNIT]]'s scientific adviser, [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirdDoctor he wore an anachronistic velvet jacket and a cape]]. [[Characters/DoctorWhoFourthDoctor Or a scarf long enough to touch both sides of the English Channel]]. [[Characters/DoctorWhoFifthDoctor Or a piece of celery on his lapel]]. [[Characters/DoctorWhoSixthDoctor Or]]... [[http://dailypop.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/c_baker.jpg whatever the hell this is supposed to be]]. TheBrigadier drew the line at his attempt to dress as a Viking warrior, though. While fiddling with the TARDIS console, he also liked to sing opera. He is ''still on'' UNIT's payroll, because when there ''is'' a crisis, the Doctor is going to involved ''somehow'', and being aligned makes it less likely - although not impossible - that they'll end up working at cross-purposes.

* John "The Biscuit" Cage in ''Series/AllyMcBeal''. He was painfully shy, had facial and verbal tics (including shouting "Balls! Balls! Balls!"), routinely hung upside-down in his office like a bat to collect his thoughts, had a secret room installed in the office (the only entry to which was in a bathroom stall, by remote control), and harbored a thousand other eccentricities. Yet when he walked into court, or sat down at a conference table, and took a sip of water, everyone present knew that he was about to utterly demolish his opponent.
** To a lesser extent, many of the other lawyers in the show. [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Ally]] has many brilliant legal maneuvers despite her hallucinations, [[IceQueen Nelle]] is the firm's most productive associate and full of quirks involving a dreaded fear of frogs, and [[OutOfFocus Mark Albert]] was ridiculously skilled at closing arguments, and was so obsessed with hygiene he had a dentist's chair installed in his office. Even [[SexySecretary Elaine]] is shown to be a genius inventor.
** However, Richard is completely incompetent as a litigator; his mission is actually to destroy the law just for the fun of it, and his arguments are so over the top ridiculous that the judges groan when he starts to talk. He is, though, ''very'' good at manipulating clients into hiring the firm.

* H.M. "Howlin' Mad" Murdock from ''Series/TheATeam'' fits this trope to a T. Completely and totally mentally unbalanced, prone to assuming make-believe identities and over-personifying objects and is just flat-out loony. Who happens to be a crack military pilot.
** Although there's a lot of hints that Murdock is engaged in [[ObfuscatingStupidity Obfuscating Insanity]] when it comes to the authorities and annoying BA when with the team. And like Barclay, he's ''also'' played by Creator/DwightSchultz. The man '''excels''' at this type of character...
*** The fact that it is rumored he fakes at least some of it, and can be serious without a hint of insanity (see the first season finale as an example) makes it even more awesome.

* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''. Dr. Baltar is always twitching and rambling on to himself as if he's interacting with an invisible person, but no-one gives him more than a funny look because he's a recognised genius and their Cylon expert -- it's not as if he has a Cylon in his head or something. A more straight-up example would be Starbuck, whose flagrant insubordination and conduct unbecoming is only tolerated because she's such a hotshot pilot.
** Well, that and the series' premise. When the human race has been reduced to 50,000 individuals and the enemy can [[BrainUploading respawn indefinitely]], throwing away a talented {{jerkass}} or {{Cloudcuckoolander}} is less of an option.

** For that matter, Baltar's actual lawyer at the end of Season 3, Romo Lampkin, is a kleptomaniac who wears sunglasses for almost an entire season and carries his ex-wife's cat around in a bag. He's also an amazing lawyer who managed to get Baltar cleared of all charges in what was supposed to be a show trial.

* [[ThoseTwoGuys Jeff & Lester]] of ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' are stated by the title character to be ''better'' than the CIA's best computer experts, if they're focused. The kicker? Lester's a somewhat sociopathic [[SmallNameBigEgo egomaniac]], and Jeff (At least for the first four seasons, before recovering from carbon monoxide poisoning) is the show's resident {{Cloudcuckoolander}}.
** Chuck himself qualifies too, but in his spy career, not his computer repair career. The Intersect gave him encyclopedic knowledge of espionage and international conflict, and the Intersect 2.0 gave him basically any skill that could be useful to a spy in short bursts (such as marksmanship and almost every martial art and language). He'd be a perfect TuxedoAndMartini spy if not for being a TechnicalPacifist and very socially awkward.
** Every main character on the show fits this trope to some degree.

** Douglas Fargo, the man who put the Schmuck in SchmuckBait. Though lacking in social skills and practical knowledge, as well as being a Creator/SarahMichelleGellar fanboy, he's proven more than once that he deserves to be in Eureka and is long established as the right-hand man of first Nathan Stark, then Allison Blake, the previous and current heads of Global Dynamics respectively.

* Implied with Frasier and Niles Crane from ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': they're both ridiculously neurotic, eccentric, and have personal lives so screwed-up and behavioral tics so shocking that if you'd never met them, you'd wonder why ''anyone'' would consent to get therapy from such colorful characters (Frasier, among other breakdowns, once spent several hours on a ledge above ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' threatening to kill himself after his wife left him, while ranting about her affair at the crowd below; while Niles once had a HeroicBSOD and stripped stark naked in the middle of Cafe Nervosa after enduring several sleepless nights of constant media hounding and DisasterDominoes when ''his'' ex-wife was arrested for a sensational homicide). The answer, of course, is that they're both absolutely brilliant psychiatrists (and they demonstrate it in nearly every episode too -- it's not an InformedAbility), mentioned to be among the best in the American northwest, enough to retain their respected standing in Seattle's high society despite their general insanity.
** Also on ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', Donny Douglas is a prime example. He has his first client meeting with Niles while pantsless, and later one while eating a sandwich. By the end of his first episode, he's managed to dig up a ''highly'' embarrassing secret about Maris that gives Niles a major bargaining chip in their divorce.

* The entire Special Investigations Unit in ''Series/KamenRiderDrive''. You have TheHero who would rather lay on the grass and watch the clouds pass by, his {{Tsundere}} partner who tries to keep him in check, an OldMaid and an {{Otaku}} as the Unit's researchers, an OnlySaneMan who [[AgentScully refuses to believe in what the unit is investigating in, even if it's a major phenomenon]], and to top it all off, the chief is obsessed with horoscopes and is very superstitious. However, they all manage to get their moment to shine. The Chief's fortune telling obsession helps the team from time to time, the Otaku is able to pull out information faster than people can ask for them, the sane man winds up believing the team and becomes one of their most valued assets, and the Cake invents the weapons that the hero and his partner use. Not only that, but once TheHero tightens his tie, you ''know'' he's ready to kick some ass.

* In the fourth season ''Series/TheManFromUncle'' episode "The Summit-Five Affair", U.N.C.L.E.-Northeast head Harry Beldon is pretty much set up as a BunnyEarsLawyer. He's a flamboyant playboy who arrives at his Berlin headquarters garishly dressed, in a chauffeur-driven limousine, while drinking champagne with two beautiful women (at least one of whom is married, since Beldon tells her "remember me to your husband"). Something which is remarked on:
-->'''Illya Kuryakin''': Hmmm. Harry Beldon... Everything a cautious, unobtrusive, successful secret agent shouldn't be, except he's successful.

* Captains Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John [=McIntyre=] on ''Series/{{MASH}}'' are never in uniform, chase the nurses, drink to excess, gamble, and use medical equipment to prank others. On the TV series, the early years would be filled with episodes where generals and colonels would appear at the 4077 and be appalled at their behavior yet refuse to charge them because they were the best doctors around. Occasionally they really are Bunny Ears Surgeons, dressing in crazy outfits to make patients laugh in post-op.

** From RealLife: Battlefield surgeons were often able to get away with anything short of treason because if you brought them up on charges they would be taken out of the O.R. with no guarantee of a replacement. (It goes for other medical staff, too.)
*** Even more so in the [[Film/{{Mash}} movie version]], in which they tend to be more {{jerkass}}.

* Patrick Jane of ''Series/TheMentalist''. He enjoys playing mind games with coworkers and suspects alike, whether or not this will actually get results towards solving the crime, and a lot of his more outrageous stunts are inadmissible as evidence. But the CBI keeps him around because he ''does'' always manage to catch the culprit.
** In fact, after Lisbon's previous boss resigns, her new boss tells her outright that Patrick Jane will never get canned or prosecuted for his shenanigans. ''Lisbon'' will. Thus, it's in her best interest to keep Jane in line.
* ''Series/Merlin2008'' The titular Merlin is a very odd servant, but he is so good at providing support for Arthur, even very publicly saving his life, or even the whole kingdom, often at risk to his own, that Arthur can't get rid of him despite the fact that Arthur thinks he's a complete {{Cloudcuckoolander}}. Of course, while not many people know it, Merlin is also an extremely badass and smart self-appointed CourtMage, and has saved Camelot and Arthur many times more than Arthur even knows.
** Another example to fit this trope, in the same show, would be Gawain: he's impulsive, TheAlcoholic, the ButtMonkey, an outrageous flirt and, prior to becoming a knight, was constantly on the run from some angry unpaid bar-owner or another -- but with his loyalty to his TrueCompanions and his swordsmanship, Arthur'd be a fool not to include him in the Knights of the Round Table.

* Adrian ''Series/{{Monk}}'''s obsessive-compulsiveness sometimes throws off other characters, but it is essential to his investigative abilities (as shown on the FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome episode).
** He's one example of a Bunny Ears Lawyer whose weird behaviour ''has'' caused him major troubles with employment: his condition became so severely exacerbated after his wife was murdered that he's no longer allowed on the police force, and in one episode he does a compulsion that causes him to accidentally delete important police information, so the commissioner revokes the license he needs to be a private consultant.

*** Special mention has to go to Dr. Cox. His laundry list of bad behaviors all qualify, but what really tells is his antagonistic relationship with Chief-of-Medicine Dr. Kelso. Kelso even admits that, not only did he keep promoting Cox despite his bad behavior because he was the best man for the job, but that he relied on Dr. Cox's antagonism. If Cox asked Kelso for something, and Kelso said no, and Cox let it go, Kelso knew it wasn't important. If Cox kept hounding him about it, then Kelso knew it was something that needed to be addressed.

** The Soup Nazi. He treats his customers ridiculously harshly, but his soup is so good they willingly submit to his regime rather than go without it, thus his business is safe. (At least until Elaine steals his recipes.)
*** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soup_Kitchen_International Loosely based on true events,]] mind you. Don't ever call the real one a "Soup Nazi", though; he's Jewish. And it was actually a justified example -- his soup was so popular, especially in winter, and his shop was so small that lines would be around the block in a New York winter, so he did everything he could to keep the line moving to stop people freezing outside. This meant forbidding anything that wasted time.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' had Reginald Barclay, played by Creator/DwightSchultz, who was shy and insecure, had a tendency to stutter, was fearful of being transported, had a holo-addiction problem, and was a hypochondriac. He also saved some lives and the ship at least once. He returned as a recurring guest character in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': his brilliance and scientific insight led to Starfleet finding and establish transgalactic communications with Voyager, though he remained as hopelessly neurotic as ever (initially, the stress of the project and his sympathy for the stranded crew actually made him ''worse'').
*** Many other crew members have their own quirks. Riker is a notorious womanizer, Geordie is rather socially awkward, Worf is always trying to live up to what Klingons want outsiders to think about their culture, Data has no emotions, and initially had no understanding of common metaphors or social skills. Despite these, they are the best crew Starfleet has.

** In fact, just about every main or recurring on the show has their own set of traits; even Death has an odd affection for cheap food.

* Agent Dale Cooper, in ''Series/TwinPeaks'', combines wide-eyed innocence and purity of heart with an array of highly unusual investigation techniques and an openness to the supernatural that makes [[Series/TheXFiles Fox Mulder]] look like a hardened skeptic. Of course, from the other agents we see in the series, the entire FBI seems to be made up of people like this.

* In Season 4 of ''Series/TheVoice'', it's revealed that, as a coach, Music/{{Usher}} has some very... eccentric... ways to train his singers to be better. The best example might be when he gave singer Michelle Chamuel instructions to drop and do push ups, then jump up and start singing, as a means to increase her breath control. Also, he gave Chamuel the Cyndi Lauper classic "True Colors" (a song about never giving up and believing in yourself) for use in a Knockout round performance, and during rehearsals instructed her to sing the song to herself in a mirror, as a way to get her to get her to open up to the audience more. It worked.

** Lord John Marbury is eccentric to the point of being unstable, constantly refers to Leo as "Gerald" and possesses little social grace or decorum around anyone, with the possible exception of The President and even he isn't immune. Despite this, he is a brilliant consultant and easily one of the smartest characters on the show, possessing a very insight into complex issues and always acting in the best interest of Britain and America.
*** Marbury negotiated a deescalation of [[WorldWarIII hostilities between India and Pakistan]] in a matter of a couple of weeks. This is the same guy who spends most of his screentime drunk, and [[RefugeInAudacity asked the First Lady if he could touch her boobs in front of her husband]].

** Even in the relatively serious [[TheNthDoctor regenerations]], the man saves the universe with [[JediMindTrick psychic paper]], a [[MagicTool sonic screwdriver]], and a time traveling police box, prone to the {{pun}} and losing track of his metaphors.

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!

** In his days acting as [[TheBrigadier UNIT]]'s scientific adviser, [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirdDoctor he wore an anachronistic velvet jacket and a cape]]. [[Characters/DoctorWhoFourthDoctor Or a scarf long enough to touch both sides of the English Channel]]. [[Characters/DoctorWhoFifthDoctor Or a piece of celery on his lapel]]. [[Characters/DoctorWhoSixthDoctor Or a... whatever]] [[http://dailypop.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/c_baker.jpg this is supposed to be]]. TheBrigadier drew the line at his attempt to dress as a Viking warrior, though. While fiddling with the TARDIS console, he also liked to sing opera. He is ''still on'' UNIT's payroll, because when there ''is'' a crisis, the Doctor is going to involved ''somehow'', and being aligned makes it less likely - although not impossible - that they'll end up working at cross-purposes.

* Richard Series/{{Castle}} is a bestselling writer who helps a homicide squad out with their investigations. One of the things he brings to the table is Connections. Another is money to throw at certain problems, including buying a high-end cappuccino machine. The third, and most important, would be his unusual perspective on the cases, compared to the three cops. He comes up with crazy theories all the time, and they are occasionally proved right. One scene had him explaining his latest wacky idea to Beckett, then instead of rejecting him, she admits she can't come up with anything better.

** In his days acting as [[TheBrigadier UNIT]]'s scientific adviser, [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirdDoctor he wore an anachronistic velvet jacket and a cape]]. [[Characters/DoctorWhoFourthDoctor Or a scarf long enough to touch both sides of the English Channel]]. [[Characters/DoctorWhoFifthDoctor Or a piece of celery on his lapel]]. [[Characters/DoctorWhoSixthDoctor Or a... whatever]] [[http://dailypop.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/c_baker.jpg this is supposed to be]]. TheBrigadier drew the line at his attempt to dress as a Viking warrior, though. While fiddling with the TARDIS console, he also liked to sing opera.

* Detective Zack Nichols from ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' is described as this (although not in so many words) by Captain Ross in his debut episode. As is typical of Creator/JeffGoldblum characters, everything about him is a little bit off, and he once left the force for seven years to discover the meaning of life.

* ''Series/GetSmart'': Maxwell Smart is a [[TheDitz ditzy]] {{Cloudcuckoolander}} at the best of times, but CONTROL keeps giving him missions because he manages to consistently get results anyway, through a combination of being BornLucky, having a wide assortment of specific but situationally-useful skills, being an expert in armed and unarmed combat, occasionally catching important details of a situation that everyone else overlooked, and [[Determinator a complete unwillingness to ever give up]]. That said, he wouldn't be as successful without his more traditionally-competent partner, Agent 99.

** In his days acting as [[TheBrigadier UNIT's]] scientific adviser, he wore an anachronistic velvet jacket and a cape. Or a scarf long enough to touch both sides of the English Channel. Or a piece of celery on his lapel. Or a... whatever [[http://dailypop.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/c_baker.jpg this is supposed to be.]] TheBrigadier drew the line at his attempt to dress as a Viking warrior, though. While fiddling with the TARDIS console, he also liked to sing opera.

** Like Sherlock Holmes upon whom he was modeled, Dr. Gregory House definitely qualifies as a BunnyEarsLawyer. He uses comatose patients as cup holders, watches sports with clinic patients, avoids seeing his own patients as long as possible, has a bedside manner akin to Lex Luthor when he finally ''does'' see them, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking refuses to wear a tie]][[note]] A fun little real life note about the tie. In 2007, Britain's NHS passed rules banning [[http://www.nctimes.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/article_990cfc31-a3e0-538c-8be2-fba174edc1cc.html doctors from wearing long-sleeved shirts and ties]] in state-funded hospitals. The reason? Ties are worn daily but almost never washed, making them travelling petri dishes for hospital infections like MRSA. Perhaps House sees a way to flout convention and, incidentally, [[FridgeBrilliance save patient lives]]. A win-win! They also make good handholds when patients turn violent, an occupational hazard even for doctors that lack House's winning personality.[[/note]], plays with his Game Boy/cane/ball while his patients code, and has a running commentary on Cuddy's boobs. He is a {{jerkass}} every chance he gets, apparently for his own entertainment. This apparently improves his thinking processes.

* Spencer from ''Series/ICarly'' is an almost literal example. He spent only three days in law school, but in several episodes, most notably "[=iPromote=] Techfoots", he put what he learned in those three days to good use. In general, despite his {{Manchild}} [[CloudCuckoolander eccentricities]], he's fairly reasonable, intelligent, and cogent when he really needs to be -- he did get ''into'' law school after all, and he only dropped out to pursue his career as an artist.

** Even in the relatively serious [[TheNthDoctor regenerations]], the man saves the universe with [[JediMindTrick psychic paper]], a [[MagicTool sonic screwdriver]], and a time traveling police box, prone to the IncrediblyLamePun and losing track of his metaphors.

* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'': Charlie Kelly is an almost completely illiterate janitor with some severely maladjusted social skills and a borderline childlike view of the world in many instances, but he's also ridiculously competent at the work that he DOES do to the point that Paddy's Pub, a disgusting cesspit with barely functioning appliances and amenities, has NEVER failed a health inspection. The episode "Charlie Work" in particular highlights how not only was he able to successfully pull off a surprise inspection but also do so while organizing a complicated and falling-apart-at-the-seams scheme the rest of the gang had decided to enact without his knowledge, and all in the span of several hours.

* The entire Special Investigations Unit in ''Series/KamenRiderDrive''. You have TheHero who would rather lay on the grass and watch the clouds pass by, his {{Tsundere}} partner who tries to keep him in check, a ChristmasCake and an {{Otaku}} as the Unit's researchers, an OnlySaneMan who [[AgentScully refuses to believe in what the unit is investigating in, even if it's a major phenomenon]], and to top it all off, the chief is obsessed with horoscopes and is very superstitious. However, they all manage to get their moment to shine. The Chief's fortune telling obsession helps the team from time to time, the Otaku is able to pull out information faster than people can ask for them, the sane man winds up believing the team and becomes one of their most valued assets, and the Cake invents the weapons that the hero and his partner use. Not only that, but once TheHero tightens his tie, you ''know'' he's ready to kick some ass.

** The main cast is a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits ragtag lot]] that makes the casts of the various ''Series/{{CSI}}''s look downright normal. The most obvious case is Abby, the PerkyGoth [[TheLabRat Lab Rat]] who talks to her lab machines and utterly ignores every dress code ever known to man, woman, or government bureaucracy, but the rest of the team are no less offbeat: Tony [[ObfuscatingStupidity covers his considerable talents]] as an investigator and a leader by acting like an immature JerkJock HandsomeLech; Ziva, the Israeli who consistently mangles her English idioms and DrivesLikeCrazy, started the job as a spy and assassin on loan from Mossad; Ducky talks to the corpses he autopsies (not that uncommon in RealLife) and turns every conversation into rambling stories about his GloryDays; and Gibbs is a stubborn CowboyCop who seems to make it a personal mission in life to piss off anyone in authority over him, and anyone working with him or for him... come to think of it, [=McGee=], best selling author, computer nerd and online gamer, is the most normal member of the team.

** The main cast is a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits ragtag lot]] that makes the casts of the various ''Series/{{CSI}}''s look downright normal. The most obvious case is Abby, the PerkyGoth [[TheLabRat Lab Rat]] who talks to her lab machines and utterly ignores every dress code ever known to man, woman, or government bureaucracy, but the rest of the team are no less offbeat: Tony [[ObfuscatingStupidity covers his considerable talents]] as an investigator and a leader by acting like an immature JerkJock HandsomeLech; Ziva, the Israeli who consistently mangles her English idioms and DrivesLikeCrazy, started the job as a spy and assassin on loan from Mossad; Ducky talks to the corpses he autopsies (not that uncommon in RealLife) and turns every conversation into rambling stories about his GloryDays; and Gibbs seems to make it a personal mission in life to piss off anyone in authority over him... come to think of it, [=McGee=], best selling author, computer nerd and online gamer, is the most normal member of the team.

* John Amsterdam of ''Series/NewAmsterdam2008'' has lived for over 400 years, but no one on the police force he works with knows. Because, every so often, a case is solved because, say, Amsterdam knows an underground club because it was a speakeasy during Prohibition, everyone treats him like a BunnyEarsLawyer who thinks he's 400 years old.

* Vince Noir of ''Series/TheMightyBoosh'' is an air-headed CampBi weirdo obsessed with fashion, fame and Gary Numan. He has no qualifications for working with a zoo, he dropped out of school, he dresses up animals as pop stars and the owner of the zoo he works at hates him to the point of trying to kill him more than once, but he's always allowed back because he has the magical ability to talk to animals and thus understands their needs better than any of the trained keepers.

* ''Series/Merlin2008'' plays with the trope. Merlin is a horrible servant, his primary job, but his secondary job, providing support for Arthur, is so good that Arthur can't bear to fire him despite the fact that Arthur thinks he's a complete {{Cloudcuckoolander}}. Further played with because, while no one knows it, Merlin is an extremely badass and smart self-appointed CourtMage, and has saved Camelot and Arthur multiple times without anyone knowing.
** Doesn't really fit the trope. Merlin's second "job," as you call it, is nowhere on his contract -- that's just him being a good friend, and Arthur keeps him around because they're HeterosexualLifePartners. A better example to fit this trope would be Gwaine: he's impulsive, TheAlcoholic, the ButtMonkey, an outrageous flirt and, prior to becoming a knight, was constantly on the run from some angry unpaid bar-owner or another -- but with his loyalty to his TrueCompanions and his swordsmanship, Arthur'd be a fool not to include him in the Knights of the Round Table.

** House Targaryen taken as a group across three centuries. It is said that madness and genius are two sides of the same coin, or only a difference of degree. In-universe, a common saying became that every time a Targaryen was born, the gods would flip a coin to see if they'd be insane. Half of them were crazy, the other half were brilliant statesmen, conquerors, and builders of empires. They were all kinds of quirky, though (routinely practicing incestuous marriages to "keep the bloodline pure", which ''apart'' from probably causing half of them to be born with mental defects, was also considered an abomination to ''every'' major religion in Westeros). Even in the current generation, Aerys II was infamously known as "the Mad King" and his younger son Viserys wasn't far behind (and at the very least, delusionally arrogant); yet on the other hand, Aerys II's elder son Rhaegar was considered one of the most skilled knights of his generation, while Aerys's uncle Maester Aemon and his daughter Daenerys are born leaders. A Targaryen might either be a great monster or a great hero but they're never boring.

* Benton Fraser on ''Series/DueSouth'' has conversations with his deaf wolf-dog and his father's ghost, runs around Chicago in his red serge dress uniform, and analyses evidence by licking it, among other quirks. He is, however, a very effective crimefighter.

*** The fact that it is rumored he fakes it, and can be serious without a hint of insanity (see the first season finale as an example) makes it even more awesome.