The final week of January means many things to many people. For some, the end of January means a return to school. For others, it means we are only a couple of weeks away from the return of the second half of season seven of The Walking Dead. The Walking Dead always seems to draw controversy, whether it involves showrunners leaving, budget cuts, or too much violence. This season is no different as a steady backlash from the amount of violence shown during the season premier, along with several of the episodes focusing on a single story involving marginal characters, has led to a decline in ratings. Hopefully, the show can get back to the storytelling which made it one of the most popular shows in cable history. In the meantime, it's fun to look back on some of the show's best moments and best characters. We all can remember our reaction to watching Rick take down a walker for the first time or the feeling we got when the Governor and Rick met face to face. As a result of these jaw-dropping and suspenseful moments, some characters fade to the background or go wholly unappreciated during their entire tenure on the show. I'm going to highlight some of these underappreciated characters. Here is a list of the top 10 underappreciated characters on The Walking Dead television series.

10. Dr. Jenner

The crazy scientist from season one episode six "TS-19" sneaks onto the list at number 10. Oftentimes, Dr. Jenner is overlooked as an important character because he has no comic book counterpart. In the comics, Rick and the gang never go to the CDC and never really know the extent of the apocalypse until much later. In the television series, this knowledge is brought front and center as the survivors seek sanctuary in the hopes of finding a cure. Once the survivors arrive, they are not met with a cure but a scientist who had just about given up.

Dr. Jenner's characterization as someone who gave their all for someone they loved made me emotionally invested in the character. Perhaps more importantly, the knowledge Rick gains from this chance encounter sets up the end of the Shane vs. Rick storyline where Shane turns into a walker despite not getting bitten. Despite Rick knowing this, he never told the group until the season two finale "Beside the Dying Fire." This resulted in a loss of trust among the group towards Rick's leadership and goes a long way towards explaining Rick's character development over the last few seasons.

9. Father Gabriel

When we first meet Father Gabriel in the first couple of episodes of season five, he was in a pathetic state. He was weak, vulnerable, and seemingly unsuited for the post-apocalyptic world. Over the past season and a half, fans have quietly come to enjoy Seth Gilliam's portrayal as the once meek pastor has turned into a steady moral foundation. It doesn't hurt that he's not afraid to turn "Machine Gun Preacher" and kill some hapless bad guys while reciting John 14:2.

Courtesy of AMC

8. Morgan

Morgan's season three episode twelve return is one of the best episodes of the whole series, in my opinion, thanks to the incredible acting of Lennie James. He was able to portray a man who had lost everything, but still had enough mental capacity left to understand how he got there and where he had to go. Unfortunately, his character has been in developmental limbo since his solo episode with Eastman (also a very underrated episode). Hopefully the writers give Morgan more time in the upcoming episodes and allow him to reassert his place among the A-list characters of the show.

7. Joe

Joe was a relatively obscure character who was the leader of the group known as the "Claimers," the first main villains of the post-Governor era. I thought the dynamics of the group were unique and one that could allow the group to stick around for quite a while. Unfortunately, they were only around for a few episodes so we never got to see the full potential of this group.

Courtesy of AMC

6. Martin

Martin takes the sixth spot on my list mostly due to how underrated the character was when he was around. For those who don't remember, Martin was Tyreese's main nemesis for the first few episodes of season five while he tried to gauge how tough Tyreese truly was. He was so important to the character development of Tyreese that Martin returned for a cameo appearance in Tyreese's last episode "What Happened and What's Going On?"

Overall, I think Martin overshadowed Gareth in terms of what it means to be a villain. Gareth came across as weak and weird because nothing in his characterization would lead me to believe that he would become the leader of a cannibalistic group. Martin, on the other hand, came across as smug and had an excellent ability to gauge what people are capable of doing. I believe the Termites would have survived longer and had been better off if Martin was their leader.

5. Tyreese

Tyreese receives a lot of flak from some fans who don't like to see "weak characters." However, I think it is important to retain that type of realism as it is entirely possible that a character like Tyreese could survive long into the zombie apocalypse. Remember, he was able to beat back a horde of zombies by swinging a hammer around. He definitely can hold his own when the time comes.

4. Lori

Lori was an A-list character that has been universally derided as the most hated character in the show's history. Her placement on this list is to highlight the amount of real emotion she brought to the show through seasons one and two which is, unfortunately, overshadowed due to her later-half season two and season three character development. Nevertheless, Sarah Wayne Callies did a tremendous job playing the role of a universally hated character and did a lot to ensure that we would not like Lori.

3. Simon

Simon has steadily become one of my favorite characters in the show despite his relatively few appearances on screen. Steven Ogg's portrayal of a completely new character who is so smug, yet terrifying in his own way, endears me to Negan's No. 2. Perhaps the whole sequence with Gregory at the Hilltop Colony persuades me to place Simon on this list. I got a sense of danger and suspense from the moment the saviors walked in to the moment they left. A feeling that Jeffrey Dean Morgan's portrayal of Negan cannot, at times, even match. Hopefully the writers keep Simon in the show for a long time.

2. Dale

The curious case of Jeffrey DeMunn's Dale was an interesting story over the final weeks of the character's existence until season two episode eleven's "Judge, Jury, and Executioner." Dale's untimely demise in the television series is a point of contention among Walking Dead fans, matched only in their hatred for the final episodes featuring Andrea. Frankly, Dale was treated horribly in the television series. First, he tries to fight Shane by hiding the group's guns in the woods. Then, he argues to let somebody who tried to kill Rick, Glenn, and Hershel into the group. Finally, he gets taken down by one walker in the middle of a field while holding a gun.... just horrible. On top of that, his purpose in the show -- being a source of morality and being the group's elder statesman -- was taken over by Hershel. What a horrible end to a character with so much potential who lives a very long time in the comics.

1. Shane

Shane is one of the most polarizing characters in the Walking Dead. Plenty of fans hated him and the amount of time he received in season two. Others thought he was one of the best characters on the show and was better adapted to the zombie apocalypse than Rick was. His placement on this list is a testament to how great Jon Bernthal's acting was over the course of two seasons. In my opinion, he single-handedly made season two watchable despite its low budget and boring location.

Fans of Shane are thrilled to see Jon Bernthal's success in several major films over the last five years. Whether you loved Shane or hated him, Jon Bernthal's acting kept you watching week in and week out.