The rules of our game/#86-100
#71-85
#56-70
#41-55
All caught up? As we enter the Top 40, I realize how there must be sci fi babe for everyone and that yours may not have made the list. Certainly, I had to cut some personal favorites like Sally Sparrow and Lady Christina both because they were only featured in one episode of the a long-running show, and because that show is already strongly represented in the 100. Anij may have steamed up the screen in Star Trek: Insurrection, but there are a lot of Trek women already and she became a victim of variety. And even if I try to be as varied as possible, there's every chance I missed your favorite from a show I've never seen. I'll count on you guys to let me know in a couple weeks when the list is done. But remember! No cartoons or puppets!
40. Dr. Helena Russell from Space 1999 (Barbara Bain)
I'll admit that Barbara Bain's Cinnamon Carter from Mission Impossible helps insure such a high placement for Dr. Russell, but Helena has charms very much her own. The chemistry with then-real-life husband Martin Landau which was prominent in M:I carries over to Moonbase Alpha, and Bain definitely proves that at 46 (which she was when the series ended), a woman can definitely hold her own in the sexiness department, even when covered from neck to foot (though she did sometimes show some shoulder and thigh).
39. Maggie from Escape from New York (Adrienne Barbeau)
Adrienne Barbeau's future-gypsy look combined with her absolute loyalty to Brain and gunplay kickassery make her the perfect bodyguard. Who else wanted her to leave Brain behind and escape New York with Snake? She could have escaped from L.A. as well!
38. Stephanie Speck from Short Circuit (Ally Sheedy)
Ally Sheedy made the news, I remember, when she went nude for a robot. Well, there's a bathtub scene. You don't really see anything. Not that it's required for sexiness (and often, the reverse is true). Though not exactly known as a "good girl", she was still an unmeltable creature in The Breakfast Club (believe what you will about that ending). In Short Circuit, Sheedy goes from girl to woman, dropping an unscrupulous ex-boyfriend for a sweet, innocent machine. How could she not crawl into the hearts of geeks everywhere? (We all know what dancing is a metaphor for, don't we?)
37. Sally Solomon from 3rd Rock from the Sun (Kristen Johnston)
Though originally sexless, 3rd Rock's resident military expert and tactician draw the short straw and became a woman. And what a woman! Incredibly sexy, but not wanting to be, and then discovering the woman inside and embracing her while still being able to break your arm. The resulting character is frequently goofy and often unaware of her own beauty and sexuality. Which makes you believe you could actually get such a girl (I mean... Don?), and that's hot.
36. Dizzy Flores from Starship Troopers (Dina Meyer)
What is it with transgendered characters? Yep, Dizzy used to be a guy in Heinlein's original novel. I suppose that transposition makes the resultant woman more of a tomboy (which is sexy in the same way an ice queen is, but far more approachable) and as self-possessed as the male character was. Thankfully, fiction no longer relegates women to the more demure roles and sees them as very much capable of (non-male) confidence. The new and improved Dizzy is the one who gets the boy - sorry Carmen Ibanez! - with a hot barracks love scene the military will certainly frown on.
35. Valeris from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Kim Cattrall)
Kim Cattrall would prove the same thing later in Sex and the City and become something of a sex icon, but for science fiction (I am NOT counting Mannequin, a-thank-yeww), it has to be Valeris. Her playful take on the Vulcan type out-coquettes both T'Pol and Saavik, and easily at that. No wonder people got the impression that she and Spock were having a May-December of next year romance!
34. Leeta from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Chase Masterson)
Like Sally Solomon, Leeta is a sexy girl who likes fugly boys and acts as comedy relief. Frequently listed in lists like this one, Leeta is a bit of a bubble head (Quark famously hired her for her "brains"), but she still has that strong independent streak we can admire in every Bajoran woman. There's a hottub scene in the Leeta-Bashir break-up show that I still can't believe they got away with, and if you go to the Mirror Universe, you might catch a Leeta-Ezri show.
33. Zoe Washburne from Firefly (Gina Torres)
Zoe brings together a number of ingredients proven to work the sexiness. She's a military gal and can kick your ass. She's fallen for an average schmo in Wash. And then there's the rest of the personality/physical package. Wow. This is the woman Sam Raimi picked to play Cleopatra on Xena, after all.
32. Sil from Species (Natasha Henstridge)
What of the Alien Queen in Aliens was a hot chick? The ultimate bad girl, all she wants to do is mate. And she looks like Natasha Henstridge. Some of the time. The cognitive dissonance created by, on the one hand, a babe who wants to make it with you, and on the other, a slimy evil alien that will kill you, is what SF horror is all about. Maybe the more docile Eve from the later films would be more to your tastes? Because yes, though Species wasn't any damn good, they still managed to do three sequels fueled by hormones alone.
31. Zhora from Bladerunner (Joanna Cassidy)
Speaking of bad girls, I couldn't include two replicant girls (Rachael and Pris) and not the last, especially when that third replicant is a sexy stripper assassin played by Joanna Cassidy. She out-wet looks Bo Derek in this film and gets an "11". The bio-engineered snake costs extra. The shower scene is free.
30. Gigolo Jane from A.I. (Ashley Scott)
Here's a character that without much screen time, still managed to capture our libidinous imagination. In fact, she has a single line before slinking off. Shame. The curvy love-bot is also our first introduction to Ashley Scott, who would most certainly make my list of sexiest tv&film superheroes as Birds of Prey's Huntress. And that's somehow gotten her to the top 30. Sue me.
29. Lori Quaid from Total Recall (Sharon Stone)
It's hard not to think of Sharon Stone as something less than a sex symbol, and though people today might attribute it to Basic Instinct, her big sexy break came two years before that infamous picture, in Total Recall. Not only did she play a kickass perfect wife/deadly assassin mindwarping combo, but also posed for Playboy in conjunction with the movie's release. And that's how you beat sharing a film with a three-breasted Lycia Naff.
28. Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager (Jeri Ryan)
The ice queen to beat all ice queens is, of course, Seven of Nine. We've spoken about this before, but let me reiterate: We want to melt the ice and find the passionate woman underneath. And it's there in Jeri Ryan's performance, brewing underneath the logical Borg surface. Bonus points for that ribbed for your pleasure metal unitard. Points off for winding up with cardboard personality Chakotay.
27. Xev Bellringer from Lexx (Xenia Seeberg)
I've never really understood Lexx when I've caught it, despite being partly filmed 3 hours from my house. Best I can make it, it's all about sex. Naturally, its heroine Zev/Xev makes the list. We're talking half cluster lizard, and half renegade love slave here, tutored in how to be a submissive but sexually aggressive wife. When that line of business didn't work out, she underwent the love slave process which turned her into Eva Habermann (quite sexy herself). The character died and was reanimated as Xenia Seeberg (and now called Xev). It's a choice that I made, but feel free to like Eva better. In any case, Zev/Xev's heightened libido scores her a relatively high place on the list, though that libido is always frustrated for various reasons, like liking her men dead.
26. Alex from Saturn 3 (Farrah Fawcett)
She drives the robots wild. At least, she did in Saturn 3 when another character gave a machine his own lust and homicidal nature. Farrah Fawcett leaves an indelible impression as the unfortunately victimized (but surviving) girl, and boys of a certain age won't be able to watch without thinking about her famous poster. Definitely a case of the star pushing the character farther than she might have gotten on her own, but her outfits in Saturn 3 have something for everyone, leather fetishists included.
I wrap things up as one of Charlie's Angels narrowly misses the Top 25. Next week, we breach the top of the list.
#71-85
#56-70
#41-55
All caught up? As we enter the Top 40, I realize how there must be sci fi babe for everyone and that yours may not have made the list. Certainly, I had to cut some personal favorites like Sally Sparrow and Lady Christina both because they were only featured in one episode of the a long-running show, and because that show is already strongly represented in the 100. Anij may have steamed up the screen in Star Trek: Insurrection, but there are a lot of Trek women already and she became a victim of variety. And even if I try to be as varied as possible, there's every chance I missed your favorite from a show I've never seen. I'll count on you guys to let me know in a couple weeks when the list is done. But remember! No cartoons or puppets!40. Dr. Helena Russell from Space 1999 (Barbara Bain)
I'll admit that Barbara Bain's Cinnamon Carter from Mission Impossible helps insure such a high placement for Dr. Russell, but Helena has charms very much her own. The chemistry with then-real-life husband Martin Landau which was prominent in M:I carries over to Moonbase Alpha, and Bain definitely proves that at 46 (which she was when the series ended), a woman can definitely hold her own in the sexiness department, even when covered from neck to foot (though she did sometimes show some shoulder and thigh).39. Maggie from Escape from New York (Adrienne Barbeau)
Adrienne Barbeau's future-gypsy look combined with her absolute loyalty to Brain and gunplay kickassery make her the perfect bodyguard. Who else wanted her to leave Brain behind and escape New York with Snake? She could have escaped from L.A. as well!38. Stephanie Speck from Short Circuit (Ally Sheedy)
Ally Sheedy made the news, I remember, when she went nude for a robot. Well, there's a bathtub scene. You don't really see anything. Not that it's required for sexiness (and often, the reverse is true). Though not exactly known as a "good girl", she was still an unmeltable creature in The Breakfast Club (believe what you will about that ending). In Short Circuit, Sheedy goes from girl to woman, dropping an unscrupulous ex-boyfriend for a sweet, innocent machine. How could she not crawl into the hearts of geeks everywhere? (We all know what dancing is a metaphor for, don't we?)37. Sally Solomon from 3rd Rock from the Sun (Kristen Johnston)
Though originally sexless, 3rd Rock's resident military expert and tactician draw the short straw and became a woman. And what a woman! Incredibly sexy, but not wanting to be, and then discovering the woman inside and embracing her while still being able to break your arm. The resulting character is frequently goofy and often unaware of her own beauty and sexuality. Which makes you believe you could actually get such a girl (I mean... Don?), and that's hot.36. Dizzy Flores from Starship Troopers (Dina Meyer)
What is it with transgendered characters? Yep, Dizzy used to be a guy in Heinlein's original novel. I suppose that transposition makes the resultant woman more of a tomboy (which is sexy in the same way an ice queen is, but far more approachable) and as self-possessed as the male character was. Thankfully, fiction no longer relegates women to the more demure roles and sees them as very much capable of (non-male) confidence. The new and improved Dizzy is the one who gets the boy - sorry Carmen Ibanez! - with a hot barracks love scene the military will certainly frown on.35. Valeris from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Kim Cattrall)
Kim Cattrall would prove the same thing later in Sex and the City and become something of a sex icon, but for science fiction (I am NOT counting Mannequin, a-thank-yeww), it has to be Valeris. Her playful take on the Vulcan type out-coquettes both T'Pol and Saavik, and easily at that. No wonder people got the impression that she and Spock were having a May-December of next year romance!34. Leeta from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Chase Masterson)
Like Sally Solomon, Leeta is a sexy girl who likes fugly boys and acts as comedy relief. Frequently listed in lists like this one, Leeta is a bit of a bubble head (Quark famously hired her for her "brains"), but she still has that strong independent streak we can admire in every Bajoran woman. There's a hottub scene in the Leeta-Bashir break-up show that I still can't believe they got away with, and if you go to the Mirror Universe, you might catch a Leeta-Ezri show.33. Zoe Washburne from Firefly (Gina Torres)
Zoe brings together a number of ingredients proven to work the sexiness. She's a military gal and can kick your ass. She's fallen for an average schmo in Wash. And then there's the rest of the personality/physical package. Wow. This is the woman Sam Raimi picked to play Cleopatra on Xena, after all.32. Sil from Species (Natasha Henstridge)
What of the Alien Queen in Aliens was a hot chick? The ultimate bad girl, all she wants to do is mate. And she looks like Natasha Henstridge. Some of the time. The cognitive dissonance created by, on the one hand, a babe who wants to make it with you, and on the other, a slimy evil alien that will kill you, is what SF horror is all about. Maybe the more docile Eve from the later films would be more to your tastes? Because yes, though Species wasn't any damn good, they still managed to do three sequels fueled by hormones alone.31. Zhora from Bladerunner (Joanna Cassidy)
Speaking of bad girls, I couldn't include two replicant girls (Rachael and Pris) and not the last, especially when that third replicant is a sexy stripper assassin played by Joanna Cassidy. She out-wet looks Bo Derek in this film and gets an "11". The bio-engineered snake costs extra. The shower scene is free.30. Gigolo Jane from A.I. (Ashley Scott)
Here's a character that without much screen time, still managed to capture our libidinous imagination. In fact, she has a single line before slinking off. Shame. The curvy love-bot is also our first introduction to Ashley Scott, who would most certainly make my list of sexiest tv&film superheroes as Birds of Prey's Huntress. And that's somehow gotten her to the top 30. Sue me.29. Lori Quaid from Total Recall (Sharon Stone)
It's hard not to think of Sharon Stone as something less than a sex symbol, and though people today might attribute it to Basic Instinct, her big sexy break came two years before that infamous picture, in Total Recall. Not only did she play a kickass perfect wife/deadly assassin mindwarping combo, but also posed for Playboy in conjunction with the movie's release. And that's how you beat sharing a film with a three-breasted Lycia Naff.28. Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager (Jeri Ryan)
The ice queen to beat all ice queens is, of course, Seven of Nine. We've spoken about this before, but let me reiterate: We want to melt the ice and find the passionate woman underneath. And it's there in Jeri Ryan's performance, brewing underneath the logical Borg surface. Bonus points for that ribbed for your pleasure metal unitard. Points off for winding up with cardboard personality Chakotay.27. Xev Bellringer from Lexx (Xenia Seeberg)
I've never really understood Lexx when I've caught it, despite being partly filmed 3 hours from my house. Best I can make it, it's all about sex. Naturally, its heroine Zev/Xev makes the list. We're talking half cluster lizard, and half renegade love slave here, tutored in how to be a submissive but sexually aggressive wife. When that line of business didn't work out, she underwent the love slave process which turned her into Eva Habermann (quite sexy herself). The character died and was reanimated as Xenia Seeberg (and now called Xev). It's a choice that I made, but feel free to like Eva better. In any case, Zev/Xev's heightened libido scores her a relatively high place on the list, though that libido is always frustrated for various reasons, like liking her men dead.26. Alex from Saturn 3 (Farrah Fawcett)
She drives the robots wild. At least, she did in Saturn 3 when another character gave a machine his own lust and homicidal nature. Farrah Fawcett leaves an indelible impression as the unfortunately victimized (but surviving) girl, and boys of a certain age won't be able to watch without thinking about her famous poster. Definitely a case of the star pushing the character farther than she might have gotten on her own, but her outfits in Saturn 3 have something for everyone, leather fetishists included.I wrap things up as one of Charlie's Angels narrowly misses the Top 25. Next week, we breach the top of the list.
Comments
I have the three seasons where they starred together in MI and there is hardly any interaction between the two. When a married couple needs to be involved in on one of their missions it's usually Peter Graves who gets the nod. Since he leads the missions I guess he's the one calling the shots.
The rest of the cast is pretty repetitive, especially when they go over their missions in the beginning of each episode. Jim irons out the details, Cinammon says a funny/sarcastic comment to lighten the mood. Rollin tells us how he will fool whoever he tries to fool. Barney assures everyone that everything he's build will be working, while Willy asks a stupid question that should have been asked at the beginning of the preperations, then he doesn't say anything for the rest of the episode. Still entertaining nonetheless.
Her best performance though is the 1st episode of the 3rd season, where she pretends to be a missing princess who tries to take back her throne, obviously inspired by Anastasia, daughter of the Russian Czar.
You should check out her daughter Juliet Landau, she's just as stunning as her mother was.
Most "top lists" on the web have been a waste of time but for some reason this one i can relate to i think becuase the fantasy is complete, hot girl and cool world.