Sweet Clyde

Sweet Clyde Dixon turns up as one of the Vice-Presidential Action Rangers, the small, faintly ridiculous team assembled around Al Gore's disembodied head to fight environmental catastrophe. He's the cool, unflappable one of the group, sliding through danger with a laid-back drawl and an air of having seen it all before, no matter how absurd the mission gets.

He's a background joke elevated by attitude: the writers give him almost nothing but a name and a vibe, and the performance fills in the rest with dry, unhurried delivery that plays as calm competence next to everyone else's panic. Futurama's gift for making minor players memorable through voice alone is on full display here.