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On January 10, 1999, a bathrobe-clad Tony Soprano first bent over to pick up a Star-Ledger in his driveway — and TV changed forever. We’re celebrating this new Golden Age of Television by paying tribute to our favorite TV characters who’ve debuted since The Sopranos premiered. No reality TV here, folks: just the 99 richest, most fascinating fictional characters from both comedies and dramas to grace the small screen over the past decade and a half. We love TV… and these people are the reason why.

39. Dr. Gregory House, House

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On paper, Princeton-Plainsboro’s finest is quite the catch: a piano-playing, multilingual doctor with perfect three-day beard growth, a prodigious intellect, an acerbic wit, and an acceptable level of bad boy with his motorcycle. He was even OK with taking orders from a woman. But that paper, like everybody, lies because this misanthrope is a seriously broken man who frequented hookers, was addicted to Vicodin, had a debilitating leg injury and a death wish, often skipped mandatory clinic hours and pushed his work on his team, disregarded hospital protocols, and usually delivered a diagnosis with a heavy dose of derision. At least no one could honestly call him boring, which is a feat through eight seasons. — Carrie Bell



Related: Vote For the Best TV Characters of the 2000s

38. Stella Gibson, The Fall

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Steely and precise, priding herself on being in control, Detective Inspector Gibson is a brilliant investigator, logical yet willing to go with hunches as they occur to her. Like some of her male colleagues, she’s also made a few errors in judgment when it comes to interoffice involvements — one-night stands and trickier relationships as well. Dogged and obsessive, Gibson is as hard-boiled as any of her male counterparts in leading an investigation. — Ken Tucker

Related: ‘The Fall’: Gillian Anderson Profiles Her Character Stella Gibson

37. Kenny Powers, Eastbound & Down

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We wouldn’t want to share a bullpen with Kenny F—king Powers, but viewed from a safe distance, this cocky former big-league pitcher was a fascinating case study in machismo run amok. After flaming out in the majors, the raunchy redneck with a world-class mullet was reduced to taking a job as a middle school gym teacher in his old hometown, but he still strutted around like a rooster in heat. Even when humbling stints in the Mexican league and the minors followed, Kenny’s gargantuan self-confidence never wavered. To him, life is one big party… and he brought all the beer. — Dave Nemetz

