Angel

A great character can light up the screen with his charm and humor. But some characters are just as good without ever being shown at all. These are the best of the best:

Norm’s Wife from "Cheers." The bar fly’s wife was often mentioned but never shown, mostly because Norm spent all his time at Cheers instead of at home. Her face was almost revealed in one episode but she was hit by a pie before we could see her.

Gossip Girl from "Gossip Girl." Voiced by Kristen Bell, Gossip Girl is the Perez Hilton of the Upper East Side. She brings us all the dirt on the most affluent socialites in New York City and she does it with a little bit of wit and a lot of x’s and o’s.

Mr. Steinbrenner from "Seinfeld." George’s boss and Yankees owner appeared in several episodes throughout the series but only from behind. Aptly voiced by Larry David, Steinbrenner was known for his rash decisions and for his raspy tirades.

Wilson from "Home Improvement." Wilson was the lovable neighbor who was full of wisdom and advice for the Taylor family. Though technically he wasn’t totally unseen, a running gag on the show was that his face was always partly obscured, usually by a fence.

Mrs. Wolowitz from "The Big Bang Theory." Howard’s mother is never seen but often heard on the sitcom making his life a living hell. She always seems to shout inappropriate things at the most inopportune times. She plays overbearing Jewish mother better off screen than many have on screen.

Phantom Dennis from "Angel." In an early episode of the show, we find out that Cordelia’s apartment is haunted. After some supernatural investigation, they discover that years ago a mother killed her son, Dennis, by trapping him inside a brick wall. After releasing him, his spirit lingered for several seasons as a friendly and benevolent roommate.

Ugly Naked Guy from "Friends." One of the most beloved unseen TV characters was the Friends’ obese neighbor who had a habit of doing everything in the nude. He was often the butt of jokes and eventually Ross moved into his apartment after he found out it was up for rent. Prior to that, the gang, believing that he might be dead while he was asleep fashioned a long stick out of chopsticks to poke him.

All these quirky, well-written characters have been immortalized despite their short or nonexistent screen time. Thinking back on it, some of them, like ugly naked guy, were probably better left unseen.