Cat

Cat is one of the central characters of Red Dwarf, the British science-fiction sitcom that first aired on the BBC in 1988 and has returned in fits and starts ever since. His origin is one of the show's neatest ideas: the last surviving human, Dave Lister, smuggles a pregnant cat named Frankenstein aboard the mining ship Red Dwarf. When a radiation leak wipes out the crew, Lister is sealed in suspended animation and the ship's computer keeps him there for three million years until the danger fades. In that time, Frankenstein's descendants — sheltered in the hold — evolve into an upright, intelligent humanoid species. Cat, played by Danny John-Jules, is the last of them still aboard.

Everything about Cat is a comic exaggeration of feline nature. He is staggeringly vain, obsessed with his own appearance and his wardrobe of dazzling suits, and spends a heroic proportion of each day sleeping, eating and grooming. He is aloof to the point of near-total self-absorption, indifferent to the crew's problems unless they affect him directly, and given to sudden bursts of instinct — hissing at enemies, marking territory, and reacting to shiny objects and the smell of food. His catchphrases and his strut became defining features of the show.

What makes the character work is that the writers took real cat behaviour and simply transposed it onto a person: the pride, the fastidiousness, the disdain, the sudden playfulness. For cat owners, Cat is a running in-joke — a walking, talking embodiment of the animal asleep on their sofa, complete with the conviction that the universe exists chiefly for his comfort.

Red Dwarf became a cult favourite far beyond Britain, winning an International Emmy and a devoted global fandom, and Cat has remained a fan favourite across its long, intermittent run of series and specials.