Sometimes...Bad Is Bad

TV is filled with great villains. For me, a great villain must go above and beyond the usual amount of badness that is expected of their character. They should also bring an intensity (and great acting) to their actions. Also, a great villain is not always found in the usual places.

Here are for me, TV's best villains of the decade:

Vic Mackey-The Shield Fox

Vic Mackey was a cop for whom the "thin blue line" was a huge gray area-with loads of violence. Mackey eventually painted himself into a corner that was impossible to get out of but it was a very dark, thrilling ride watching him get there.

Omar Little-The Wire

The Wire created legions of top flight baddies, but none were as unique as Omar Little. He had a strict credo to never menace or rob anyone who wasn't in the drug trade.

Tommy Gavin-Rescue Me

Gavin's endless self-destructive antics make him so bad that even the characters in his hallucinations can't stand him. His demons include alcoholism, pill popping and violence.

Michael Caffee-Brotherhood

Michael Caffee was a pure criminal and never pretended to be anything else. Anything was fair game to Caffee and no amount of violence was ever spared. Even a vicious beating that almost killed him did little to quell his meanness.

Stefano DiMera-Days of Our Lives

Extortion, kidnapping, murder: you name it; Stefano has done it-repeatedly. Stefano has been a menacing figure for decades and shows little sign of slowing down.

Paulie Walnuts-The Sopranos

Paulie was an aging mob soldier who was quick to violence and showed zero remorse in bringing the hurt. Paulie's tortured soul was even more twisted by his constant need for approval from his boss, Tony Soprano.

Devon Banks-30 Rock

Devon Banks is an ultra-ruthless business executive whose sole passion is to wrest NBC from Jack Donaghy. Like Donaghy, Banks speaks with a throaty whisper and claims that the "Church of Practicology" cured his homosexuality, but he still harbors a wicked man crush on NBC page, Kenneth Parcell.

Michael Scott-The Office

Michael Scott is the clueless, self-obsessed buffoon who can worsen any situation just by opening his mouth. He greatly fears being alone and would go to any length to make himself look good.

Dwight Schrute-The Office

A loner who lives on his family's beet farm with his mute cousin, Dwight can't relate to anyone but manages to be the best salesmen in the company. He is paranoid and a weapons expert. Recently, Dwight decided to unleash a diabolical plot, entitled "Dwight's Diabolical Plot." Written copies of it were found around the office.

Mia Cross-Californication

16 year old Mia befriended then bedded then punched Hank Moody in the face. Thinking Mia to be of college age, he soon learns that she is underage. When Hank wants to keep the indiscretion quiet, Mia tortures him and manages to steal a rough draft of his latest novel, getting it published under her own name, to great acclaim and notoriety.

Sources:

Imdb.com

Wikipedia.com

Movieline.com

Helium.com