Memorable TV Character Introductions
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Dawn, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
In a ballsy move, the Season 5 premiere brought in the slayer's pre-teen sister, who never before existed. Even more crazy: She simply appeared, with no explanation, when Joyce suggested that Buffy take her sis with her if she was going out. "Mom!" they both exclaimed as viewers went, "WTF?!"
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Addison Montgomery-Shepherd, Grey's Anatomy
Derek and Meredith were getting their cute on at the hospital when they were interrupted by the unexpected arrival of his wife. "You must be the woman who's been screwing my husband," she greeted Mer. Did we mention that the intern had no idea that her beau was married?
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Elsa, Once Upon a Time
The unexpected appearance of Frozen's ice queen in the final moments of Once's third season finale left us with... chills.
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Castiel, Supernatural
Everything about the angel's first scene was epic, from the striking visual of his wings to his first words to Dean ("I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition") to the way the surprise twist would forever change the show.
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Katherine Pierce, The Vampire Diaries
The vampire vixen made a dramatic debut in present-day Mystic Falls by posing as good girl Elena... and then cutting off Uncle John's fingers!
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Negan, The Walking Dead
With his potential victims lined up in one long, quivering row, the Saviors' merciless leader asked as he emerged from his trailer, "We pissin' our pants yet?" Before the villain had even begun history's most torturous round of eeny, meeny, miny, moe, much less struck down both Abraham and Glenn, the question had already become rhetorical.
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Locutus of Borg, Star Trek: The Next Generation
In the midst of sabotaging the Borg cube, Beverly Crusher thought she spied her captain. So you can image the gut punch she and the rest of the away team felt when "Picard" turned to reveal that he had been assimilated. Driving the point home, Locutus later introduced himself to the bridge, declaring, "Resistance is futile."
The Calm
Black Canary, Arrow
After Roy Harper saved a damsel in distress, who would arrive to save Roy from the would-be muggers? Cue a blur of black leather, blonde hair and bo staff, as the iconic superheroine began to make her presence known in Starling City.
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Helena Cassadine, General Hospital
What did Mikkos Cassadine's widow give Luke and Laura for their highly anticipated (and well-watched!) wedding? Wyndham's was out of toasters, so Helena — played by the Elizabeth Taylor — came bearing something less practical: "My curse on you, Laura and Luke! My curse on both of you!"
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Desmond Hume, Lost
Of all the things we expected to find at the bottom of The Hatch, no one predicted it'd be a Scotsman punching away at a dingy keyboard, while listening to Mama Cass.
The Big Bang Theory
Amy Farrah Fowler, The Big Bang Theory
It was "shared apathy for organized religion at first sight" when the lady neurobiologist first met Sheldon and, perhaps most with the promise of "no coitus," managed to lower the online dating cynic's defenses.
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Walden Schmidt, Two and a Half Men
Ashton Kutcher's alter ego appeared out of thin air and scared Alan, who lost his grip on Charlie's urn and let the remains of his thought-to-be dead brother go flying. Our first good look at the guy came once his predecessor's ashes had settled.
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Tracy McConnell, How I Met Your Mother
As scenes of Ted and his friends at different, life-altering moments gave way to glimpses of a woman carrying a guitar and a yellow umbrella, you had to wonder, "Could it really be?!" And then the camera turned around to (finally!) reveal The Mother's face after eight long seasons.
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Irina Derevko, Alias
The Man's a she, baby! As the seminal spy drama's freshman run came to a close, Sydney learned not only that her KGB agent mother "Laura" was alive, but that she was the elusive Big Bad that had dogged SD-6 for most of the season!
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Alexis Carrington, Dynasty
For many fans of the iconic soap, the party didn't even start until Blake's ex-wife showed up as a surprise witness in a murder trial at the tail end of Season 1. (Cue the courtroom gasps.)
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Alexis Meade, Ugly Betty
Even with the trail of breadcrumbs laid out before us, we never expected Alexis — formerly known as Alex, who was thought to have died in a skiing accident — to be the mysterious, no-longer-bandaged lady pulling the strings in the ABC dramedy's first season.
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President Jed Bartlet, The West Wing
We had already met the rest of the West Wing staff when their boss walked in quoting the First Commandment in a booming voice: "I am the Lord your God! Thou shalt worship no other God before me!" The Prez went on to school a hostile group of religious activists on Scripture, crack a few jokes and make it abundantly clear why these smart, dedicated people were so proud to work for him.