Do we like them?

Do we like Jim Halpert?

A character from The Office (US) (2005–2013)

Our score: 8 out of 10. Warm, funny and loyal, and he's the one sane person in the room. He pranks too much and slacks off, but we'd back him, though we wouldn't want to sit across from him.

Jim is a sales rep at the Scranton branch of the Dunder Mifflin paper company. The show is a mockumentary about the branch's staff, and Jim is the everyman among them. He is smart and easygoing, and he is stuck in a job he doesn't want to take seriously. His boss, Michael Scott, is clueless, and his desk neighbor, Dwight Schrute, is intense. Jim keeps the audience grounded with deadpan looks to the camera. Critics often call him the audience's stand-in.

His main hobby is pranking Dwight, and he is very good at it. The pranks are funny, but on a rewatch some of them look pretty mean. He also coasts through early seasons, and he avoids hard conversations about his own career and feelings. He sees everyone else clearly but is much less sure about himself. He is also genuinely likeable, which is why the office warms to him. When Dwight and Jim have to work together, they turn out to be a strong team. Over time he becomes a more decent and more grown-up friend.

His long-running romance with receptionist Pam Beesly is the emotional core of the show. He starts out hiding his feelings, which is clumsy and sometimes unfair to the people around him, and the couple eventually build a life together. In later seasons he gets more ambitious and chases a big new venture. That brings out his weakest trait, which is struggling to be honest with the people closest to him. Even then, his heart is in the right place and he makes amends.

Our score: he is a good guy with real flaws. He is loyal, funny and caring, and mostly fair to the people around him. We take points off for the pranks that go too far and for the slacking. We'd back him, and we'd just keep an eye on our desk.