With season 4 of Showtime’s Dexter kicking off Sunday night, it got us thinking about some of the coolest and most unique ways that TV characters (and personalities) make a living … 
Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), Dexter
Although the whole murder thing isn’t exactly “cool” per se, it’d be endlessly satisfying to play God to bad people -- especially in Miami! Bonus: Your day job (blood spatter analyst) is kinda cool, too.
Padma Lakshmi, Top Chef
Getting all dolled up, taste-testing (usually) great food and strongly asserting your opinions? What girl wouldn’t kill for this gig?
Turtle (Jerry Ferrara), Entourage
For the first several seasons, Turtle was simply reaping the benefits of Vince’s (Adrian Grenier) stardom for a living -- without an ounce of the pressure! He’s recently gone all ambitious on us, but for a while there he had it made in the Hollywood Hills shade.
Michael Scott (Steve Carell), The Office
Managing a small paper branch in an even smaller city -- not to mention an “increasingly paperless world” -- might not sound like fun, but if you managed Michael Scott-style … well, that’s a different story.
Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), 24
The guy basically lives a video game for his job, which has obvious dude appeal -- but it’s a job that comes with no do-overs or replays.
Don Draper (Jon Hamm), Mad Men
Even though he’s prone to disappearing, the dapper Draper gets to take naps throughout the day, drink when he’s not napping, and squash ideas in nanoseconds when he’s not drinking or napping.
Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), The Big Bang Theory
It’d require a little more brains than most people possess, but for the relative few gifted enough, experimental physics would be a gas -- not like Sheldon’s (Jim Parsons) inferior position as a theoretical physicist!
Bear Grylls, Man vs. Wild
Aside from the cuisine, it’s an alpha male’s dream job -- and if the rumors are to be believed, you even get to stay at cushy hotels during the nighttime!
Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations
Probably the best job on TV -- and possibly in the world. Bourdain literally eats his way through Earth's farthest reaches and most exotic locales on the Travel Channel’s dime, and then casually reports on his tasty findings.
Ray Drecker (Thomas Jane), Hung
It’s not always pretty -- and by “it” we mean the clientele -- but there are a lot of guys out there who would be willing to take the bad with the good that comes with Drecker’s job. After all, it is the oldest profession in the world!
Liz Lemon (Tina Fey), 30 Rock
She doesn't make writing for TGS look easy or even all that much fun, but we’d all sure love to try our hand at parlaying crude ideas into sketch-comedy gags (even if our boss was Jack Donaghy).