… In no particular order.
Here’s my line-up:
Hugo, a.k.a. “Hurley”
Sawyer
Sun
Sayid
Locke
Actually, perhaps there is an order to this thing, because I think I may like Hugo best after all. On a lame show, Hugo would have been comic relief in the shape of a walking fat-joke (like when “Lord of the Rings” writers needed to balance out some emotional moment and threw in a “oh, and by the way, Gimli is short!… Oh, look, he’s still short!… And here he is again, being short! Bwahaha!”), and the fact that he’s not is already pretty sweet. Of course, there’s more than that to Hugo, he’s both weird, and charming, and when he has emotional moments, you actually don’t want to puke and die. I like how he can act batshit nuts without coming off as tiresome and showy. I like his back-story. I like the way he talks. I like the fact that he’s fearless and can kick major ass, in a realistic fashion. I like how my favourite character on a TV show is actually not the prettiest one to look at – and that’s a testament both to the writing and to how awesome Jorge Garcia is. I mean, doooood.
I also really like Sun. I enjoy the dynamic she has with her husband, and how it unfolds over time. Sun is very clever and has a lot of depth about her, and there’s something profound about the way she was written and acted (by contrast, I can’t quite warm up to Kate – I don’t enjoy the “girl on the run” scenario, for whatever reason).
Sawyer can get annoying when he morphs into a knock-off version of Kurt Cobain every once in a while, but then he turns around and calls Sun and Jin “Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon,” and all is well again. And no, I don’t think he’s a sex-god or anything. Sayid is a badass, and yes, it’s true, Naveen Andrews does not sound Iraqi, or even remotely Arab, in those flashback scenes, but he fits the role. He’s both Tarzan and a holy-man, with a dark streak that measures a couple of light-years across. Locke is just awesomely weird, he’s like the love-child of Fox Moulder and the old guy from “Karate Kid”, and it works.
Could I, perhaps, make a personality test out of all this? Hmmm. I bet I could. I bet it would rock.
Anyway, if you watch “Lost,” and just happen to be reading this blog, do let me know who’s in your top five. And tell me why.
Natalia A. 
again, in no particular order:
1. Ben
2. Jack
3. Sawyer
4. Sayid
5. Locke
I think Jack is under-rated by most Lost fans. He is kicked into the whole “he’s to good to hate, so let’s hate him” bucket. I think Jack is the man, and I love how his massive strengths couple to his massive weaknesses.
I don’t think I need to say anything about Ben. I was kind of surprised you had left him out of your top 5.
Also, for past characters, I would nominate Mr. Eko. Also, Charlie totally redeemed himself in the season finale. I didn’t much like him, but the season finale changed all that.
I’m also missing people like Hurley, Desmon, Jin, Kate, Sun. I think the show would be incomplete without them. So I guess a better description of the list above would be the top 5 Lost characters I am most fascinated with.
Ben’s brilliant, and Michael Emerson was perfect for the role. He’s not in my top five because I cringe every time I see him. He’s fascinating, but in a really disquieting way. A fellow blogger recently compared Ben to Bob on “Twin Peaks.” They’re very different of course, but the feelings they inspire are, I believe, similar…
Also, you’re right about Jack. Everyone always piles on Jack, and you’d think he was a Ken-doll with tattoos, but he’s much better than that.
Hmm…
1. Charlie – I haven’t always liked the direction they’ve taken his character, but regardless… always been my “fave.” There’s always a bit of Hobbit sweetness to Dom Monaghan’s portrayal of him, particulary in his relationship with Claire and Aaron. Plus he’s got a sexy accent and plays guitar.
2. Hurley – I think Natalia summed up his awesomeness rather well.
3. Sawyer – he just gets all the best lines and is badass.
4. Locke – I want to be Locke when I grow up.
5. Sayid, Mr. Eko, and Danielle Rosseau – they’re all badass. Or were, in Mr. Eko’s case….
In the first season I also liked Boone just because he was so purty.
Oh yes, and Desmond… you know it’s hard to pick a top five.
I think Desmond is terrific. There are all these theories that he is pretty much the most important character (which would make sense, considering that they introduced him late… to throw us off, of course!). The accent, to us Yanks, is what’s basically seals the deal, imho.
I’ve gone back and forth on Charlie, yeah.
Oh lord…ummm.
Desmond, Sayid, Sun, Locke and Charlie probably round out my top five, although I really do love Hurley and Sawyer (playing ping pong).
I really want to re-watch the season finale, but Charlie is the reason why I just can’t… Maybe later, when I’m feeling a little less dreary overall.
maybe it’ll make more sense when I’m not making retarded noises and spoiling the show.
But wouldn’t it be fun to actually hear Sayid say, “eh beetch, I rape you now”?
oh baby oh baby.
I just laughed so much….well you know what happened.
I’m late commenting on this, but have been thinking about it since, well, since you posted. And my top five (restricting myself to characters who are currently alive), I think, would be Ben, Sun, Hurley, Sayid and Walt. At least, I am hoping that Walt is alive and not just a ghost–if he is, I guess I’ll switch to Desmond.
I think a lot of the reason I like Ben so much has to do with Michael Emerson’s voice and the way he pauses. But I also like the way that he seems to have planned everything out five steps in advance. I had a drama teacher once who said people go to the theater to watch people think–I don’t know if that is generally true, but it’s certainly true of Ben. And I am really enjoying the slowly unraveling desperation of his precarious political situation. Though I have to admit that a) he is significantly more evil than I had thought that he was and b) he is no longer the creepiest character on the show (because Alpert is freaking scary).
I like Sun largely because of the reasons you have stated and also because she is such a survivor. She is incredibly adept at seeing what is going on and keeping a really good poker face. Honestly, I could see her being the one to take down Ben at the end of the show; nobody else is smart enough or sneaky enough.
You’ve also done an excellent job of explaining why Hurley rocks, and he’s the only character I think that I could see myself as actually liking in real life.
Sayid is highly practical, highly competent, and extremely conflicted. I love that there is someone on the island that knows how to do stuff, and I enjoy seeing him work through his issues.
Walt is depicted pretty realistically, and I appreciate it when kids are, but I also like how unconsciously spooky he is, how carefully he scrutinizes things, and his love of his dog.
A list of characters not restricted to living ones would of course contain Eko.
I’ve just noticed how my list tends toward much more minor characters than other people’s, but that’s not very surprising, as I tend to really like minor characters in general. I’ve also grown rather fond of Mikhail, actually.. the invisible crazy badass who probably knows something is a great character type, and you just can’t beat the line “We’re approaching the house… don’t shoot us…”
Hahahaha. I think Mikhail has to have 9 lives. There is something strange going on there – he appears indestructible (maybe the grenade killed him, but we don’t know).
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head when it comes to Ben:
“he is significantly more evil than I had thought that he was”
The genius of the show is in how carefully they lay down the groundwork for the characters. When the character surprises you – it’s much more than a cheap thrill, you find yourself fascinated by the different aspects of their personality and biography.
I was a whole lot more sympathetic to Ben, until he showed his true face to Locke. Although then again, I’m sure that there are more surprises on the way with him.
I looooved JACK (for his neurotic insistence on the rational) until he took Juliet’s side (she may be more good than bad but still). HURLEY’S character is just cute (in his shy, sometimes brave, funny way). SAYID is awesome in spite of his past evils. I’ve warmed up to SAWYER (or rather they’ve made him more endearing). SUN does have a quiet strength which makes it easy to admire her.
I did like Kate and I still think she has potential. Locke . . .not sure what to make of him at this point in the show.
Heather – It is really hard to understand where Locke is coming from at this point. I think that his character was written brilliantly – it will be interesting to see where they take things from here. I felt horrible, at the end of the season finale – because I had the sense that Locke was turning into Ben. But time will tell…