My favorite slimy character is from the Season 1 Law & Order episode "Sonata for Solo Organ" in which a father pays a surgeon to find a kidney for his near-death daughter.
The episode has lots of great lines, including Michael Moriarty as Stone asking the daughter, "Do you really think your father would have behaved differently if you had needed a heart?"
The surgeon, played by Paul Roebling, is totally slimy. He makes an initial deal with the D.A.'s office to give up the father, but he holds back on his testimony after getting paid more by the father. When his subterfuge is discovered, he sacrifices the father--turns out, he made a recording of the entire conversation!
What I love about this slimy guy is how totally bland and unapologetic he is about his constant ability to shift course to get out ahead. When Stone yells at him for his less than truthful statements, the man replies easily, "What do you need?"
The British version of this episode gives the surgeon, played by Michael Maloney, a more defensive "how dare you question me?" attitude.
I prefer the slimy self-interest of the American surgeon--it is totally hilarious in a dark kind of way. If nothing else, the guy is a survivor! And he is honest--ultimately, at least--about what he is.
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