If you were to view TV shows and movies as records of RPG sessions, how would you view the various characters?

I'll start with Robotech, the Macross chapter.

Rick Hunter: Definitely a PC.  He's the character in nearly every episode.  I think he's only absent in one or two.  He's the guy growing and leveling up as things go along.

Roy Fokker: He qualifies as a PC, but one played by a character who just won't commit to the game.  He's the guy coming in late to the session and leaving early, and the GM trying to shove him into the session or account for his sudden absence.  Eventually the GM gets tired of it and just declares the guy dead at the end of an adventure.

Lynn Minmei: While there are one or two episodes where it can be argued that Minmei could be a PC, she spends the vast majority of the show in full NPC mode.

Lisa Hayes: Lisa could be either a PC or NPC.  Most of the time she is in NPC mode, but her portrayal also matches that of a fairly passive PC.

Claudia Grant, the bridge bunnies, Henry Gloval:  These are all firmly in the NPC camp.  

Lynn Kyle: He's an NPC, but an argument could be made that he's another intermittent player who came in after the game was halfway underway and came up with a background tying himself to an existing character.

Ben Dixon: Full on NPC.  He has all of one personality trait.  He doesn't grow.  In D&D he would be a guy hired to carry a spear and keep the kobolds from kiling the mage.

Maximillian Sterling: GMPC, but a white hat GMPC.  The episode where he marries Mirya happened off camera in the GM's notes.

Mirya Farina (Parina?): NPC.  She started as a threshold guardian.  Then the GM put her on the ship intending to make the love triangle a square.  Then he trashed that idea and hitched her with his GMPC.

Breetai: He's a classic honorable villain NPC.

Exedore: He's an NPC that got promoted to PC with another intermittent player.

Khyron: Standard homicidal villain NPC.

Grel: Definitely NPC.

Azonia: Another definite NPC.

Dolza: Standard big dog homicidal mastermind villain NPC.

Rico, Konda, and Bron: These seem like PCs in an abortive side-campaign.  When it didn't work out the GM used them as NPCs in the main game.

Roy Fokker: more like the standard captain of the guard NPC who seems always there to help or advise. But sometimes gets offed.

Lynn Minmei: Could also be a manipulative self centered special snowflake PC. (Depending on who is writing her.)

Grant and Gloval could make it to PC status as they do alot from the bridge. Equivalent to the wizard at the back of the group lobbing fireballs and organizing attacks.

Lynn Kyle: is the NPC attatched to Minmei's PC to make her more special.

Lisa Hayes: PC like Gloval, but a co-ordinator and planner who musters the forces and rallys the troops from the back row.

Breetai: More like the mislead soldier just doing his job. Gradually realizing he is on the wrong side. Mostly NPC, but could be an elaborate PC set up.

Dolza: Neither homicidal nor much of a mastermind. He is more just an opposing general carrying out an order with absolute rigid adherence and expecting the same of his troops. And in the end fails to adapt and see other options and thus looses.

Robotech maps poorly as a record as it is so heavily altered in plot from its Macros origins with things going on that do not quite mesh.

The Goonies is clearly an old-school RPG group.

Mikey is the de facto leader of the group.  He's a skilled player, but likes playing things like Halflings and dweebs as a "roleplaying challenge".

Data is a min-maxing powergamer who is always trying to manipulate the rules.  The DM punishes him, possibly unfairly, by enforcing "fumble" rules with everything he does.

Mouth is the player who thinks he's charismatic because he rolled a high Charisma score.

Chunk is the guy who likes to play off-the-wall characters and manages to make everyone at the table laugh.

Brand is the annoying DM PC who tries to steer the party without looking like he's steering the party.

Steph is the DM's girlfriend.

Andi is Steph's NPC follower/walking plot device.

The Fratellis are a group of bandits rolled on the random encounter table.  When the DM rolled them again, he decided to roll with it and make them ongoing antagonists.

Sloth was supposed to be a dangerous and antagonistic ogre, but Chunk hit him with a Charm spell and brought him into the party.

One-eyed Willy was designed as a bad joke and the "big bad" of the adventure, but the DM didn't have the heart to go through with it after Mikey made that heart-breaking speech to the corpse.