Do we like them?

Do we like Dale Cooper?

A character from Twin Peaks (1990–2017)

Our score: 9 out of 10. Yes. He's kind, honest and endlessly curious, and he treats every person and every cup of coffee with respect. Back him for the case, the cherry pie and the good humor.

Special Agent Dale Cooper arrives in the town of Twin Peaks to investigate the murder of Laura Palmer. He's an earnest, cheerful FBI man who loves coffee, pie and trees. He is also unusually perceptive, and he uses dreams, intuition and a Tibetan-inspired method to read clues others miss.

Cooper is the moral center of the show. He's polite to everyone, loyal to his friends and sincerely fond of the town and its quirky people. His methods look eccentric, but his heart and his integrity are never in question. That is why we rate him so highly.

Later stories split him into several versions. One is trapped in a strange realm. Another is a corrupt, cruel double. A third is a dazed man living a stranger's life, who still manages to do good by accident. The real Cooper stays decent throughout, and the cruel double is a separate being, not him. The ending leaves it deliberately unclear who he has become.