Katie

Ideal fictional life: A combo of Fraggle Rock and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, or basically anything where animals can talk to me and/or do my bidding.
Quote: “Shitballs”

The character that made me fall in love with TV: Dana Scully. As one half of the FBI agent pair charged with investigating The X-Files, Scully was a brilliant scientist. Her struggles with her faith and career created an emotional counterpoint to the outrageous aliens and monsters that frequented the series. From her complexity to her smart 90s pant suits, I loved everything about Scully and (nerd alert) I will always believe that the truth is out there.

Annie

Ideal fictional life: Perpetual student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Characters from Glee are my wizarding classmates and we often break into song and dance. And then we make out.
Quote: “I don’t think my father, the inventor of toaster strudel, would be too pleased to hear about this.”

The character that made me fall in love with TV: Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell. I’ve always felt a strong connection to Zack because we’re basically twins. I too create crazy harebrained schemes to raise money, skip class, and of course, win Kelly Kapowski’s heart. But most importantly, I can freeze time by saying ‘time out’.

Ashley

Ideal fictional life: To exclusively drink wine out of a can without fear of reproach or Type 2 diabetes; reunite Dr. Funke’s 100% Natural Good Time Family Band Solution; live out my golden years in Del Boca Vista and finally know that Bea Arthur will greet me at the pearly gates (or the mouth of hell). Oh, and I’d like to D.E.N.N.I.S. System Winnie Cooper. Just because I can. No one puts Kevin Arnold in the corner.
Quote: “We bred eight originally, but when she came in she took over the pride and killed all but two of the others. That one… when she looks at you, you can see she’s working things out.” — Robert Muldoon

The character that made me fall in love with TV: Every single character played by Tracey Ullman on The Tracey Ullman Show, circa 1987. Watching Ullman transform from woman to man to teenage girl and back again (all in a mere 22 minutes!) firmly laid the groundwork for my prepubescent, pubescent and adult identity crises. Thanks to Tracey, I’m like an onion, each layer more maladjusted and batshit crazy than the last!

BJ

Ideal fictional life: Drummer for a doom metal band by night, jewel thief by even later in the night. Aubrey Plaza is my best friend (with benefits, of course), and everything I touch turns into pizza, except water, which turns into Tecate. Oh and did I mention that I look like Ryan Gosling during all of this? I look like Ryan Gosling during all of this.
Quote: “Some people see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ But I dream of things that never were and say, ‘I bet I could jump my bike over it.’”

The character that made me fall in love with TV: Patti Mayonnaise from Nickelodeon’s Doug. She had so much depth for a character in a show geared towards kids — only child, raised by her widowed, wheelchair-bound father, and for some reason spoke with a southern accent? It opened my eyes at an early age that no specific template exists to create compelling characters that you could grow to care about.

Brian

Ideal fictional life: To be the wacky next-door neighbor in a classic 90′s sitcom… imagine Kimmy Gibler + a dick – a horrible face. As a literal boy next door, I’d enter homes without knocking, receive canned laughter from a live studio audience, and would be the best friend of the male protagonist (Sean from Boy Meets World) OR the love interest of the female protagonist (i.e. Sean from Clarissa Explains It All). Really I just want to be named Sean… Sean Gibler.
Quote: “Kids, there’s 3 ways to do things. The right way, the wrong way, and the Max Power way.”/ “Isn’t that just the wrong way?”/ “Yeah. But faster!”

The character that made me fall in love with TV: Artie, the Strongest Man… In The World! In addition to being Pete’s personal super hero, Artie can hit a golfball 300,003 yards, move an entire house by one inch and he likes armpit noises because it reminds him of his mother. PIPE!
More: Check out my award-winning web series “Big Country Blues”.

Brooke

Ideal Fictional Life: The Brooke Identity. Instead of Matt Damon, Brooke is Angelina Jolie or Scarlett Johanssen, depending on which one is best able to incorporate ballet into their mixed martial art action sequences. The time and place is The Great Gatsby and Dr. T.J. Eckleberg is the head of the Treadstone Brookestone project. Instead of finding a safety deposit box full of money, guns and fake identities, Brooke is allowed to choose a rat, owl or cat to accompany her to the castle. (Guess which one she chooses!)
Quote: “Hell is other people at breakfast.” -Sartre. (Don’t fucking talk to me in the morning until I’ve worked out, had a cup of coffee and at least two hours of complete silence.)

The character that made me fall in love with TV: CJ Cregg on The West Wing. Every Wednesday night through high school and college, you inspired me to speak my mind and feel less weird about being extremely tall and awkward. Thanks, Claudia Jean.

Erica

Ideal fictional life: My ideal fictional life is directed by J.J. Abrams and airs Sunday nights at 10 on HBO. It’s Heroes Season 1 meets Freaks and Geeks meets Alias meets Battlestar Gallactica meets My So-Called Life. My character never talks to camera and I do my own stunts.
Quote: “He-Man and She-Ra aren’t boyfriend/girlfriend. They’re brother and sister.”

The character that made me fall in love with TV: “Make it so.” Without a doubt, Jean Luc Picard, Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC1701-D). Capt. Picard had it all: Poise, intelligence, compassion and authority. He drank his tea, Earl Grey, hot and without lemon. He loved mysteries, Shakespeare and archeology. He was Indiana Jones meets Sherlock Holmes meets JFK.

Eve

Ideal Fictional Life: Every day is like Seinfeld, wardrobe furnished by Mad Men. And I can visit The Island from LOST whenever I want, because The Island is real!
Quote: “Serenity now. Insanity later.”

The character that made you fall in love with TV:Homer Simpson. The Simpsons was instrumental in developing what little sense of humor I have. I even lost my first tooth while watching the show! And losing teeth is funny.

Jack

Ideal Fictional Life: It’s 1962. I’m a chess prodigy living in Paris with Justin Timberlake and David Foster Wallace. I have the power of flight and I’m named the executive producer and host of the Academy Awards every year until at age 100 I die peacefully in my sleep from a gunshot wound.
Quote: “If you’ve got nothing, oversell it.”

The Character That Made Me Fall In Love With TV: Lisa Simpson. She’s a witty idealistic rebel, which struck a major chord with me as a kid. I love how she can be optimistic and disenfranchised simultaneously. I Choo-Choo-Choose her.

John

Ideal Fictional Life: It’s 1952. We beat the Nazis, nipped the Nips, and the rally cries of “I Like Ike” fill the air like ticker tape. I wear perfectly fitting suits and bed dames like it’s going out of style. A scotch in one hand, a Lucky in the other. Oh, did I mention: I’M IN OUTER SPACE!
Quote: “It’s not worth winning if you can’t win big!” – Coach Reilly

The (show) that made me fall in love with TV: I was in 8th grade driving with my dad through and around my town in Jersey and there were trailers, crews, film trucks, etc. We pulled over to ask the local cop what was happening. He told us they were filming a pilot for an HBO show about the mafia. That’s all he knew. I was so eager to see what this thing would become. Eight years later, I couldn’t imagine a Sunday night without The Sopranos. There are people, true fans of the show, who say things like “I was a watching from the first episode” to prove their loyalty. Well, I was watching since David Chase said “Action!” while filming the pilot on Bloomfield Avenue. Your move, bitch.

Jon

Ideal Fictional Life: I am the ultimate spy combo of James Bond and Ethan Hunt. When I’m not saving the World, I run a post-Lorne Michaels SNL with better results (just kidding Lorne!). While saving the world from a zombie apocalypse, I meet and fall in love with Natalie Portman. We have a picket fence around our penthouse apartment in midtown and we visit my hometown Blanchester, Ohio whenever we want (because I moved the entire town into Central Park).
Quote: “Chill your boner.”

The character that made me fall in love with TV: The cast of the Wonder Years. Initially, I’m not sure I realized that I wasn’t watching the Arnold’s home movies (I know now that home movies don’t come with voice-overs from the future). I did, however, begin to narrate my life like Kevin (in my head), often as it was happening and I still sometimes do (out loud, to people on the subway). It definitely explains the minor obsession I have with HIMYM and the fact that I might be slowly coming unhinged.

Kate

Ideal fictional life: A burned out Liz Lemon-type opens a bakery in Cicely, Alaska surrounded by the quirky but loveable characters from Northern Exposure.
Quote: “Never go with a hippie to a second location.” – Jack Donaghy

The character that made you fall in love with TV: MacGyver. No question about it. His brilliance and cleverness captured me from a very young age and taught me that nothing is impossible…provided you have a roll of duct tape and a pocket knife.

Kat

Ideal fictional life: Winnie the Pooh
Quote: “Look at that, huh? We’re all here thinking inside the box, and you’re outside of it, playing a little game of ‘What If.’ Gorgeous AND brilliant. The triple threat.” – Nick Brady, Fired Up

The character that made you fall in love with TV: I absolutely loved Evie from Out of This World. She had it all — the ability to stop time, a hot boyfriend and a dad who was actually a plastic prism. What I wouldn’t give to have those kinds of powers! And she did it all with such flair. We totally had the same haircut and stretchy headbands. Evie, you’re still my style icon.

Kelley D.

Ideal Fictional Life: Miss Frizzle from Magic School Bus transplanted as a professor at Community’s Greendale College with a network drama’s expensive leading lady’s wardrobe.
Quote: “Too much of everything is just enough” – Jerry Garcia

The character that made me fall in love with TV: In retrospect, I don’t know that I would say Danny Tamberelli as Little Pete in the Adventures of Pete & Pete made me fall in love with TV so much as made my tiny, prepubescent heart flutter. It was confusing and resulted in many, many hours spent watching Nickelodeon.

Kelly C.

Ideal fictional life: I am a combination of Topanga and Kelly Kapowski with Blair Waldorf’s wardrobe, and I am obviously dating a combination of Zack Morris, Dylan McKay and Uncle Jesse. And I am in the scene of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids where the Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pie is really giant and I am really tiny because that’s my favorite snack and can only be made better by being supersized.
Quote: “I feel the same way about disco as I do about herpes.” – Hunter S. Thompson

The character that made me fall in love with TV: Stephanie Tanner from Full House. She was witty, had some funny one-liners and I would have killed for her hair and wardrobe when I was six.

Kelly K.

Ideal fictional life: I am a Hogwarts graduate and former government-trained super spy/assassin but now I’ve gone rogue and I’m just kickin’ ass all over the place. Also, John Krasinski is my husband and everybody loves me.
Quote: “Boom. Mom-banged.”

The character that made me fall in love with TV: Not necessarily a singular character, but the entire cast of Saturday Night Live from 1994 to 2002 was my life. I absolutely lived for Saturday nights when I got to stay up past 10 p.m. and watch the show with my parents. The idea that a single person could be so many different characters was incredible to me and I spent more time memorizing Spartan Cheerleader chants and Mary Katherine Gallagher monologues than I did doing homework or learning acceptable social skills. I regret nothing.

Kristina

Ideal fictional life: Buddy cop comedy where I’m basically Veronica Mars and Ben Linus is my partner and we drive around NYC talking about how Kate was the worst heroine ever.
Quote: “Life is just blah blah blah. We hope for blah, and sometimes you find it, but mostly it’s just blah. Waiting for blah, hoping you’re right about the blahs you made. And just when you think you’ve got the whole blah damn thing figured out and we’re surrounded by the ones we blah… Death shows up… and blah blah blah.” – Andy Botwin

The character that made me fall in love with TV: Bob Barker. I mean, my earliest memories are coming home from Kindergarten and screaming at the TV during The Price is Right with my babysitter. Always spay and neuter your pets, people.

Matt

Ideal Fictional Life:I’m a rollerblading vagabond, shredding through the U.S. with nothing but my wheel boots and a song in my heart. That song is “You Gotta Be” by Des’ree. While in-lining through Oregon I am suddenly hit by a speeding Nissan Ultima driven by none other than TV’s Patrick Duffy. Duffy takes me to his home and nurses me back to health. He looks me in the eye and says, “We’ll make it better the second time around”. I move into the trailer behind his house rent free and he calls me Codeman for the next 6 years. I learn to love it. The rest is history.
Quote: “If you’re gonna reach for a star, reach for the lowest one you can.” – Jerri Blank

Mike

Ideal Fictional Life: I often fantasize about being pretty much myself, living my same life to this point, but being better at karate.
Quote: “I have butterflies b/c Modelland comes out on Tues. You can still preorder here (link)!” – Tyra Banks’ twitter at the exact moment of this typing.

The character that made me fall in love with TV: Launchpad McQuack – a strong presence on two of the best television shows ever about humanoid duck-life.