3-Bit Leela

Turanga Leela is the one-eyed captain of the Planet Express ship, tough, competent, and quietly lonely in a universe of idiots. She believes she's an alien orphan with no others of her kind, wields a wrench like a weapon, and keeps Fry and Bender in line while wanting, more than anything, someone or something to belong to.

Katey Sagal gives her a gruff, dry authority that never curdles into humorlessness — she's the only sane person on the ship and she knows it, which is funny and a little sad at once. The show lets her be capable without making her cold, and her loneliness is played for real feeling, not just gags.