Best of the bad

There's a lot of evil in the world today — no kidding — and maybe that's one of the reasons all sorts of shades of black have infiltrated our TV screens during prime-time.

This past season, the bad guys (and gals) have been vicious serial killers, scheming politicos, murderous stalkers with otherworldly powers and, well, nasty magazine editors. They appear in broad comedies — who would have thought "Ugly Betty's" eyebrows wouldn't have been the biggest wrongdoer on that show? — and in as intense a scenario as "Prison Break," the ill-fated journey of cons on the run.

We've highlighted the miscreants from the last season who have jangled our nerves, raised our ire and given being good a bad name. "There's something about playing the baddies that people like," noted Powers Boothe, from Fox's "24." "They're more fun and people tend to remember them, particularly if you do them well."

See? For every nice guy who finishes last, there's a bad guy who has stomped all over him to finish first. So where's that Emmy for best evil-doer?

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