Now that mob boss Tony Soprano and his HBO show, “The Sopranos,” are gone, FX might have TV’s most well-defined conflicted heroes. Here’s a look at how five of that network’s bad good guys stack up against five from other networks.
Vic Mackey
“THE SHIELD” FX
Actor: Michael Chiklis
Bad guy: He went all vigilante on an alleged cop killer. It was the wrong guy.
Good guy: He thought the suspect had killed his partner.
OR
Dexter Morgan
“DEXTER” SHOWTIME
Actor: Michael C. Hall
Bad guy: He’s a serial killer.
Good guy: Make that the Robin Hood of serial killers; he murders only unpunished criminals.
Wayne and Dahlia Malloy
“THE RICHES” FX
Actors: Eddie Izzard, Minnie Driver
Bad guys: The grifters assume the identities of a dead rich family.
Good guys: They’re doing it for the kids.
OR
Marc and Amanda
“UGLY BETTY” ABC
Actors: Michael Urie, Becki Newton
Bad guys: The Mode magazine assistants terrorize Betty.
Good guys: They give Betty advice, too, such as “This is Mode, not … Dog Fancy.”
Tommy Gavin
“RESCUE ME” FX
Actor: Denis Leary
Bad guy: He’s sexist, homophobic and has a bad temper. Raped his wife.
Good guy: Saves people’s lives; helps care for a kid who may or may not be his.
OR
Gregory House
“HOUSE” FOX
Actor: Hugh Laurie
Bad guy: Mean to colleagues, patients and anyone else he doesn’t like — which is everyone.
Good guy: Every patient he ridicules walks out of the hospital cured.
Lucy Spiller
“DIRT” FX
Actress: Courteney Cox
Bad gal: Tabloid editor pays people off, sleeps around, blackmails to get the story.
Good gal: At least she’s nice to one employee — schizophrenic Don.
OR
Nancy Botwin
“WEEDS” SHOWTIME
Actress: Mary Louise Parker
Bad gal: Suburban mom pedals marijuana.
Good gal: Her kids have to eat!
Patty Hewes
“DAMAGES” FX
Actress: Glenn Close
Bad gal: Lies, cheats and goes to even more drastic extremes to win her cases.
Good gal: If she didn’t stand up for the little guy, who would?
OR
Grace Hanadarko
“SAVING GRACE” TNT
Actress: Holly Hunter
Bad gal: Drinks, smokes, curses, has sex with married men — well, any men.
Good gal: When the driven cop uses the Lord’s name in vain, he answers — with an angel named Earl.
