You know I have always loved Ripley from Aliens but better than SMG as Buffy? Don't think so.
It's cool that Joss had a hand in both female leads. He's got the touch.

cheryl | May 15, 08:31 CET

We also have Fred in 47th.

And there's no Firefly character anywhere to be found (outrageous!!!).

Djungelurban | May 15, 08:32 CET

Sarah Conner should be higher than Wonder Woman.

eddy | May 15, 09:19 CET

Well and Willow at number 31. That's four for our guy. Pretty spectacular, imo.

It's especially awesome that he had an influence over Ripley....saving the character after the nightmare of the third movie, I don't think she would have won this without his much needed intervention. Yeah, imo, the third movie was that bad.

cheryl | May 15, 09:20 CET

Sorry, with no Kara Thrace this list has absolutely no merit.
There is no hero in any scifi with more strength; flaw; character; and beauty than Starbuck (male or female or something other than the main two), but that's just me. Also Sydney Bristow and Aeryn Sun should have come in a bit higher and where's the love for our Firefly girls. There were other things I noticed along the way but I can't think of them now. Also it is very sorely lacking Selina from 28 Days Later.

theMidnighter | May 15, 09:28 CET

Selina from 28 Days Later was awesome. I don't like how on the Willow entry, how the one guy Joe says Willow never moped. Did he miss half of season 7? Or that time when she found out Xander slept with Faith? Or how about when Oz left and she inadvertantly put a spell on everyone?

But back to Selina. She was brutal and beautiful at the same time. I was rewatching the movie the other day with commentary and it made me relish the quieter scenes between her and Jim like when they're having the picnic with Frank and Hannah. When you first meet Selina you see this tough bad ass fighting away the infection but then you learn theres still a wonderful woman in there. Yeah.

eddy | May 15, 09:36 CET

The Top SF Moms list is bizarre: Mothra is higher than Joyce? Rose (wife of Sam Gamgee) is higher than both of them? Maureen Robinson beats Sarah Connor?

Oh, dear.

crossoverman | May 15, 09:39 CET

Sydney Bristow at 53? WHAT-ever. She should be in the top 10. I agree on the lack of Selina love too. I would have liked to at least River in the mix. Sarah Connor should have been number three. Personally I wanted to see Kabuki on here as well. Would Illyria be a seperate entry from Fred?

Oh, and the Buffster should have been number uno.

Charmuse | May 15, 10:27 CET

No offense, I know this a pro-Whedon site and all, but Ripley would devour Buffy, chew her up like Ted Nugent brand beef jerky and spit her out into a John Deer wood chipper---and take out half the planet in the process.

The list is very haphazard, some choices like Susan Ivanava and Death (from Sandman) are cool, but others just don't gell. Naming people from the cape-filled, robot dog-monkey original GALACTICA but leaving Kara Thrace, Boomer or Number 6 from the superior, Olmos fueled 2004 version. For that matter I don't know if a character like Buffy should be on a list for science fiction characters; she's better served in a list for fantasy or horror characters.

I'm annoyed by the inclusion of Fred, but the complete lack of Cordelia. Cordelia was a major reason for the intial popularity of A:TS; her absense a major reason for the mediocrity of the fifth season. Despite how appling of an actress Amy Ackner is, Fred was little more than a mary sue, who later morphed into a Power Rangers villain pulling a 7of9 impression.

Is Mothra a better mother than Joyce? Tough call. Both were single mothers. But Mothra did have to put up with creepy minature twin syndrome and unrequited radiactive lizard love.

misbegotten3 | May 15, 11:19 CET

Not to speak for the big guy, but I imagine Joss would agree with Ripley at #1.

jam2 | May 15, 11:24 CET

Guys, I think the mom list was more tongue-in-cheek than serious.

NickSeng | May 15, 11:50 CET

No room for Rose Tyler? *is shocked*.

Simon | May 15, 12:08 CET

Serious or not, I have to say that Ellen Ripley was an appropriate No. 1 for all the reasons outlined in that article. Compared to say Sarah Connor in T2, another Cameron heroine, Ripley was a far more touching and realistic figure in a bad situation. Sarah was a snarling, overly muscled and masculine action figure bereft of any feminity.

Another thing that bothers me with girl-power features of late is the ridiculous unarmed combat ability of a character like Sydney Bristow. For a series apparently grounded in pseudo-reality, she routinely takes out two or more armed thugs (usually big, heavy and male) while still in high heels. Like I said before, simply ridiculous.

Luckily Alias has other qualities worth watching like the outstanding support acting. Ironically I find the character of Irina Derevko a much more believable female super spy. She holds back on the biff and expertly takes people and situations apart with her ruthlessness and sheer intelligence. Perhaps its just Lena Olin being a far more convincing actress.

StaffOSimon | May 15, 12:37 CET

I don't know, I'm pretty pleased with that list. A couple of choices made me go 'huh' or 'what', but for the most part it was good.

Of course Buffy was going to mkae the top 3. That was expected. And she deserves it. Curious, though, that Willow is considere the most compelling and well-developed character yet can't even make the Top 20.

And as a late-comer to the X-Files (as in purchased the first season (in those little half-seaso boxes that I love so much) a month ago). I've seent he first two season in their entirity. But I am totally hot for Dana Scully. Totally. Hot. And the woman pulls her gun at the drop of a hat.

Gouki | May 15, 13:22 CET

And what about Death, Joan of Arcadia is higher than she. Oh,Cmon

Este | May 15, 16:03 CET

Where's She-Ra??? Princess of Power??? Top ten is pretty good, but Sydney at 53? Hmm...

Guestage Drew | May 15, 17:48 CET

Heh, fun list. But, unfortunately, lists are by definition subject to debate. I'd say individual rankings lower down the list are pretty much subject to change. But I like that Buffy came close to taking the top spot. But then, of course, she is a pop-culture icon.



Wow. Just have to say I disagree with this. Naming Cordelia as a major reason for the popularity of A:TS seems slightly odd to me. Sure, she was a great character and a welcome addition to the cast, but I'd say the reason for the popularity of A:TS was the writing, the story, the overall acting and all the characters and their dynamic and interaction combined. I think the three initial characters were all about equally important. In later seasons, the dynamic shifted (as it tends to do in Whedon-series), and more characters were introduced, so the show was even less dependent on any single character. I'd maintain that Cordelia, while still an important part of the puzzle, was never the main reason for the succes of the show. I don't even think there was a 'main' reason.

Also: S5 mediocre? Disagree again. Great season, stand-out stories. S5 might even be my favorite Angel season. As for Fred: she was a wonderfull, complex character that developed from a mentally shook up girl to a powerful, strong woman. I'd say that in some ways, she actually had a special place in the group dynamic. There's a reason why she was killed off in S5: she was the one character that every single person in the fang gang felt a special connection to and 'A Hole in the World' (which may be the single best Angel episode) was all the more powerfull for it.

GVH | May 15, 18:29 CET

I'm with you, GVH. Season 5 was awesome & Amy Acker is wonderful!

jcs | May 15, 21:16 CET

I love Buffy came second in this list. A great many of great characters, some very good choices, so I think it's a great list, though my person list would be very different.

And count me in the awesome season 5 camp too.

I think S5 didn't start of great, the stand alones were a bit of a step back from the Arc format, and while I loved what the characters had become, I wasn't to happy about the way they were used. But the first half was atleast okey, and when the story did start to roll from ''A Hole In the World'' on, every thing worked and we got some amazing episodes.

I don't want to sound offensive but I for one actually am kind of happy they cut Cordelia in S5. While I loved the Cordy character in Buffy, and Angel S1/2/3, and while I liked her development in Angel at first, I think somewere in season 3 it went over the top, and Charsmima, who I love too, couldn't pull the character anymore. And in season 4 this became only more and more the case. By the time of Angel season 5 every other cast member had reached incredible heights, and not only did they make the Cordy character unnecessary, she would just have pulled the show down.

And Fred, she was just amazing. Great character and I love Amy Acker very much.

the Groosalugg | May 15, 22:02 CET

A quibble, perhaps, but I'm not sure how Buffy qualifies as a "sci-fi" heroine. I don't think of BtVS as sci-fi.

1starbuckstown | May 16, 01:45 CET

RRRRIIIIIIVVVVVVEEEERRRRRR!!!!!!!!

jmaze | May 16, 04:11 CET

May be worth pointing out that the link's full title is "Top 75 Heroines of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror," within which I think Buffy and Willow fit comfortably.

And, I will insist until my dying breath that, while I admit Ripley comes into her own in Aliens, Alien is vastly the better film. YMM (and does) V, naturally.

SoddingNancyTribe | May 16, 05:26 CET