"OK, that thing in the woods? Maybe it’s a monster. Maybe it’s a (ticked)-off giraffe. I don’t know." - Hurley, in Lost’s "Numbers" episode If Lost ever does uncover what’s lurking in the woods, I have one request: Don’t show it.

After all, some things are best left to the imagination. As I’ve been telling my friends lately, I’ll be fine if Lost’s writers concoct a dragon or angry giraffe, but revealing it would deflate the show’s mystery, making it as entertaining as Maddie and David’s post-hookup episodes of Moonlighting.

Then again, I prefer the unseen: My favorite Wonder Woman gadget? The jet. Best Desperate housewife? Mary Alice. In my ideal world, Lost’s monster would join the company of these folks - the best TV characters we rarely saw, if at all:

15. Stanley Walker, Will & Grace. We never got a peek at Karen’s overweight, tax-evading husband, and we probably never will, since the writers killed him off in the fifth season. In my head, he looked like a cross between Jonathan Winters and Andre the Giant. Only hairier.

14. Nanny, Muppet Babies. Forget Easter Island or UFOs: If you grew up in the ’80s, one of the biggest unexplained phenomena was who wore those green-and-white-striped socks. Voiced by Leave It to Beaver’s Barbara Billingsley, Nanny sounded patient and kind. Then again, she could’ve had a goatee and hooks for hands. We’ll never know for sure.

13. Kenny, South Park. While we can make out the shape of Kenny’s tiny body - and we’ve seen buckets of his blood - the tyke’s full face has never been shown on television. The only time we saw what lies beneath his orange parka, in fact, was in the 1999 South Park movie, Bigger, Longer & Uncut.

12. Dennis, Angel. "How’d I ever live without a ghost?" Cordelia asked during one of Dennis’ most memorable non-appearances, where he nursed his ailing roommate by drawing her a hot bath and scrubbing her back. If the Academy gave Emmys to invisible men, he would’ve been a contender.

11. George Steinbrenner, Seinfeld. Most of us knew what the New York Yankees owner looked like, which made not showing him (or casting an actor to portray him) even funnier. Mr. Steinbrenner’s stern voice was interpreted, however, by co-creator Larry David.

10. Robin Masters, Magnum, P.I. The wealthy, jet-setting novelist let Tom Selleck shack up at his Hawaiian mansion for eight years, yet he never showed his face. What gives? At least we heard the elusive Mr. Masters a few times, courtesy of guest voice Orson Welles.

9. Wilson, Home Improvement. Actor Earl Hindman stayed with the series longer than Jonathan Taylor Thomas, though, few people recognized him during its run. Wilson’s face wasn’t fully revealed until the show’s final episode - and if I’d known that, maybe I would’ve cared enough to watch.

8. Diane, Twin Peaks. Last weekend my cousin told me she was invited to a Twin Peaks costume party, but she couldn’t find a costume, so she stayed home. "You could’ve worn anything and gone as Diane," I said, referring to Agent Cooper’s mysterious pal on the other end of the tape recorder. She frowned. I offered her coffee and pie.

7. Carlton, Rhoda. The writers gave some of their best punchlines to Rhoda’s doorman (voiced by Garfield’s Lorenzo Music, who died in 2001). It’s a shame we could never match a face to the voice. Click here if you’d like some closure.

6. Ugly Naked Guy, Friends. Monica and Rachel seemed pained by their nude neighbor, but I was always jealous, since the only thing outside my apartment window is a brick wall. Sadly, we bid farewell to UNG when he moved out ... so almost-always-clothed Ross could move in. What a letdown.

5. Orson, Mork & Mindy. Wait, did Orson even have a body? More than 20 years later, I still can’t answer most questions about the show (especially how Jonathan Winters came to play Mork from Ork’s son, Mearth from Earth). But Ork’s hidden boss did sound like he could’ve shredded Mork’s suspenders if he misbehaved, and for that I loved him.

4. Vera, Cheers. Poor, neglected Vera. I doubt Norm Peterson saw her much more than we did, which was never. If she and Orson had existed on the same planet, they might’ve been a perfect match.

3. Charlie, Charlie’s Angels. Even though he was voiced by John Forsythe on the TV series (and in the recent movies), for some reason, I always hoped Charlie was a woman. I guess the thought of some scrappy dude in a basement on speakerphone was just too creepy.

2. Maris Crane, Frasier. Niles’ wife became more ridiculous by the season, and therefore, more impossible to cast. During the show’s run, she was described as having "terribly weak triceps, " a "fetchy little underbite" and a body so light it didn’t leave tracks in the snow.

1. Grownups, Peanuts TV specials. Can unseen characters get any better? Charles Schulz kept us in Charlie Brown’s world by making adults unseen and completely inaudible. Although I’m now tall enough to see over a desk, I still have moments where I feel like someone is speaking in Peanuts’ "waa waa" language.