No more monstrous or charming a sociopath -- for whom the rules of polite, PC society simply didn't exist -- has ever graced TV. A distillation of every smarmy, self-aggrandizing, faux-sensitive talk show host, "Buffalo Bill" Bittinger basked in glorious bigotry and arrogance, rarely registering he might not be king of the world. Low cunning flowed nonstop behind Bill's see-through mask of sincerity, as he instantaneously switched course and revised script to suit whatever outrageous con he had afoot. Afraid he might not snag a coveted network anchor job, Bill sought comfort from Jo-Jo (Joanna "Six Feet Under" Cassidy), his sexy producer and sometime girlfriend. Slowly twigging that the network headhunter was on his way over for a candlelight dinner, Bill seamlessly segued into suggesting that Jo-Jo bed the guy -- on his behalf, of course. You had to fall down laughing at Bill's childlike, "It's all about me" deviousness, while -- weirdly -- cherishing his unmitigated gall. Check him out when "Buffalo Bill" hits DVD on Sept. 6.

("Entourage"'s Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), a Hollywood uber-agent who swims the piranha-infested waters of show-biz like a jolly shark, has to be Buffalo Bill's bastard son.)

Who is your favorite TV curmudgeon? Tell us at heymsn@microsoft.com

Kathleen Murphy currently reviews films for Seattle's Queen Anne News. A frequent speaker on film, Murphy's contributed numerous essays to magazines (Film Comment, the Village Voice, Film West, Newsweek-Japan), books ("Best American Movie Writing of 1998," "Women and Cinema," "The Myth of the West"), and Web sites (Amazon.com, Cinemania.com, Reel.com). Once upon a time, in another life, she wrote speeches for the likes of Bill Clinton, Jack Lemmon, Harrison Ford, Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Art Garfunkel and Diana Ross.