Your Five Favorite Sci-fi Characters

[DrMckay]

Very simply; Who are your top five favorite science fiction characters (from literature, Television and movies,) and why do you like them? (perhaps include a quote if you feel like it.

Here are mine:

1) (Star Wars) General Wedge Antilles: The original everyman, survivor of two Death Star attacks, and one of the minor characters appearing in all the movies, he saves Luke's bacon, and is good and lucky enough to survive the war, while building new squadrons and pioneering new tactics. The consummate professional soldier with no military background, Wedge is really fleshed out in the books, as a good leader driven by tremendous survivors' guilt in a long war, and actually growing and changing gradually. Bonus points for supporting Tycho Celchu's innocence, not killing Janson, as well as having one of the more genuine and realistic relationships in the entire EU with Iella Wesseri.


Wedge was my favorite Star Wars Character ever since I got into the movies, and easily takes top spot here.

Quote:

"We're going to try to subvert an Imperial admiral"
"Oh," Hobbie said. "Something easy. While you're doing that why don't Wes and I smuggle ourselves onboard Agonizer and destroy her with thrown rocks."
Wedge gave him a grin. "With the right tools-say, a hundred thousand ewoks and a month to prepare, you could probably do that. In the meantime, we have the right tools to subvert our Imperial admiral."
"What tools?"
"Oh, Wes's maturity, your optimism and my diplomatic skills."
Hobbie buried his face in his hands. "We're doomed."

- Starfighters of Adumar,
By Aaron Allston



2) (Battlestar Galactica) Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol: A good leader, a good man who loves his deck crew and his job. One of the most 'human' characters on Galactica who has possibly been frakked over more times than anyone except Gaeta, Tyrol still managed to retain his soul, and his essential humanity even after being revealed as a Cylon. A man with iron determination and integrity, he actively tries to be a good man under trying circumstances, as opposed to, say, Helo, who is good because the writers and plot have made him so. The Chief takes the number two spot.



3) (Firefly) Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds: Embittered war veteran and smuggler with a shade of compassion left determined to fight to the death for his crew-his family. Should be a cliche, yet he still manages to retain a sense of humor and irony, while still being capable of killing in cold blood if necessary. A very fascinating character, and one I'd want to have my back.

Quote:

Simon: You came for us.
Mal: You're on my crew.
Simon: Yeah, but you don't even like me. Why'd you come back?
Mal: You're on my crew. Why we still talking about this?

-"Safe"


4) (Star Trek Deep Space Nine) Elim 'The Tailor' Garak: "Plain, Simple, Garak"
A tailor, a soldier a spy, and eventually a hero with a charming personality, razor-sharp wit, deep-seated personal issues, and bloody hands, Garak is my favorite character of my favorite Star Trek Show, Deep Space Nine. I love his moral flexibility and his complex character.

Quote:

Bashir: Why are you telling me this, Garak?
Garak: So that you can forgive me, why else? I need to know that someone forgives me.

Bashir: What I want to know is, out of all the stories you told me which ones were true and which ones weren't?
Garak: My dear doctor...they're all true.
Bashir: Even the lies?
Garak: Especially the lies.

5) (Vorkosigan Saga) Miles Vorkosigan: Born with brittle bones and a deformed skeleton in a militaristic culture that demands physical perfection, Miles is a logistical Genius with people smarts, capable of engaging in complex planning on the fly, such as taking control of a mercenary company that captures him. A good leader with searing intelligence and iron determination, he takes number five easily

Quote:

"Miles cursed himself silently, then out loud. He really had to try to cultivate a more normal attitude toward senior officers.... When a normal ensign looked at his commander, he ought to see a god-like being, not a, a... future subordinate."

- The Vor Game



So. Who do you like and why?

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Karl C "Helo" Agathon (Battlestar Galactica)
"There's a storm coming."

He's a badass. He's one of about, oh, two characters in the series without severe emotional problems and keeps a level head, except in situations where it is actually reasonable for a person to have an irrational response (wife being threatened, serious ethical dilemma, etc), contrasted with the vast majority of the show's cast's random, capricious, and often violent and self-destructive tendencies.


Colonel Samantha Carter (Stargate SG-1)
"Maybourne, you are an idiot every day of the week - why couldn't you have just taken one day off?"

Setting aside for a moment the fact that Amanda Tapping is hot, I just find Carter to be the most sympathetic character of SG-1. Her storylines throughout the series were always the most compelling for me, and I love the way she's portrayed. I hate the "uber female warrior-ninja" female lead archetype which has been so popular this last decade (Starting with Buffy, up through more recent examples like Ultraviolet, various Mila Jovovich characters, SGA's Teyla, and so on and so forth), so the portrayal of Carter as a cool, competent, and professional soldier (with a healthy helping of scientific bent) appealed to me. Best of all, her emotional reactions struck me as the most realistic and empathizable of the bunch - "Singularity", "In the Line of Duty", and "Paradise Lost" all come to mind as examples of a fictional character's irrational, emotional responses actually written well.

I'd have put BSG's Starbuck in the running as well, but the past couple of seasons have destroyed all traces of the "cool" and "professional" part of the equation.

Darth Vader (Star Wars)
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force."

Duh. No brainer. One of the best villains of all time, period. He's got style, he's got presence, and he's one bad motherfucker. What more need be said?

Bishop (Aliens)

For some reason, this has always been one of favorite Alien characters. Despite being a cold and distant robot with little character development or screentime, his part in Aliens struck me as compelling and heroic. Despite Ripley's hatred (racism?) toward him, he always pulls through for the heroes. It would have been all too easy for the writers to have him "go bad" as a result of the nasty treatment toward him, but he stoically endures it and fearlessly comes to the rescue at the end, sacrificing himself heroically for someone who hates his guts.

Admiral Piett (Star Wars)
"Bounty hunters. We don't need their scum."

Again, not a lot of screentime or development, but damnit if he isn't awesome. He of course holds the distinction of being just about the only officer to survive Darth Vader's presence consistently. He's competent, he's likable, he just does his job. He has that Imperial flair about him that exudes the quintessential tenets of the Empire: efficient, no-nonsense, and calculating.

[CaptJodan]

William "Husker" Adama: A man with flaws, some of which have made me want to give up even on him, but ultimately is too damn cool to not love as a character. There's really no reason to explain his appeal. Helo is, for me, the only decent man in the fleet we know about, but his limited screen time, and his real lack of badassitude really doesn't help.

"I want a marine strike team in a Raptor in five minutes."

General Jack O'Niell: Decent leader with a great sense of humor who acts dumber than he might be. SG-1 was never the same without him.

"In the middle of my backswing?!"

Dominar Rygel the Sixteenth: Imbued with the same sense of life that Yoda had, and with a hell of a lot more fun and moral ambiguity with him, Rygel is by far one of my favorite sci-fi characters of all time. I loved that two main characters were puppets in a running sci-fi series and not another variation of humanoid

"I'm nobody's puppet!"

"I'm Rygel the 16th, Dominar to over 600 billion people. I don't need to talk to you!"

I second Wedge for similar reasons, but also, as a kid, I didn't think much of the Force or any of it's Whizbangery. Luke crashed his Snowspeeder, crashed his X-wing in a bog, and crashed a speeder in ROTJ, all with the Force. Meanwhile, "everyman" Wedge managed to help smoke 2 Death Stars, managed only to get damaged in one engagement, with one, and live to tell the tale, all without the Force OR being the main character. I always liked him for that. And Starfighters of Adumar remains one of my favorite SW novels just for the humor alone.

G'Kar: I almost went with Vir Coto here, but decided that, when it comes to just pure acting skill and shear presence, G'Kar was clearly the winner. The man helped to elevate what JMS gave him to something much better than what it was (I know that speaks of the actor, not the character), and his journey from scheming, plotting villain to helpful hero was gradual and logical, unlike some other shows have done more recently.

[to Londo after they discover the Centauri are still building warships during peace time] "Well, with everyone now on the same side, perhaps you're planning to invade yourselves for a change. I find the idea curiously appealing. Once you've finished killing each other, we can plow under all the buildings and plant rows of flowers that spell out the words, "Too annoying to live" in letters big enough to be seen from space."

"You forget the terms of our surrender. The penalty for the killing of any Centauri, by any Narn, will be the death of five hundred Narns, including perpetrators own family!!! But I don't have to kill you. [laughs] I don't have to do anything, and I still get to watch you die. I find this most appealing."

I also second Garak. Easily the best character on any Star Trek show for me, for being a bit more morally ambiguous, mysterious in the beginning (for Trek), and not being portrayed as the alien who is always wrong about humanity. He often had some of the most useful and telling lines to give commentary on the human condition.

QUARK
Take a sip of this.

Garak looks skeptically at the drink.

GARAK
What is it?

QUARK
A human drink. It's called root beer.

GARAK
I don't know...

QUARK
Go ahead. Aren't you just a little bit curious?

QUARK
What do you think?

GARAK
It's vile.

Quark is glad that someone agrees with him.

QUARK
I know. It's so bubbly and cloying and happy.

GARAK
Just like the Federation.

QUARK
But you know what's really frightening? If you drink enough of it, you start to like it.

GARAK
It's insidious.

QUARK
Just like the Federation.

Rodney McKay: In many ways, one of the only reasons I got through all of Atlantis during a lot of its episodes, Rodney was a constant source of lighthearted entertainment that brought back some of the humor of O'Neill without it being a copy of him. I'm starting to see a pattern in the type of characters I seem to be drawn towards.

Carson: He fainted.
Rodney: Oh there's gotta be a better word.
Carson: Faint is a proper medical term.
Rodney: I passed out from... manly hunger!

[DrMckay]

Goddammit! I forgot Rodney! How could I forget Rodney? ME?

[Lord of the Abyss]

1) Miles Vorkosigan, as mentioned above.


2 ) Grand Admiral Thrawn. Scarily competent, with a real mystique about him.


3) Belisarius, of the Belisarius alternate history series.

"But I urge you"—for just an instant, the eunuch's sarcastic, sneering voice was filled with nothing beyond earnest and respectful pleading—"to take my questions seriously. Or we will find ourselves, in the end, like so many of Belisarius' opponents. Lying in the dirt, bleeding to death, from a blow we never saw coming."

The man is, most of the time, several steps ( or many ) ahead of his opponents, who tend to find out far too late that they were doing exactly what he wanted.


4) Victor Cachat, of the Honorverse stories. Scary as hell Soldier of the Revolution.


5) Khadaji, the Man Who Never Missed. The protagonist of the first three of Steve Perry's Matador novels. The master schemer who masterminded the fall of the tyrannical Confed ( with more than a little help ).

[Coyote]

Farscape:
Commander John Crichton: He reacts the way a real person would react after falling down the rabbit hole: he goes nuts. He's out of his element, clumsy, intimidated, and while he eventually learns to shoot & do fighting stuff, he doesn't start out as some cardboard cutout badass with a degree in "military" even though it would be so easy to have done so.

Points for the long-suffering Pilot; for Aeryn's character development; and for Rygel's surprising and redeeming kindness to Aeryn when she was grieving over Crichton's death.



Star Trek:
Nog. Went from being a stereotypical snarky Ferengi to being a deep character that had to overcome internal flaws, go against his nature, and eventually join Starfleet despite mountains of prejudice from his own kind as well as the Feds. Went on to be the only real military sci-fi character I've ever seen with a realisitc and meaningful Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder portrayal that I could relate to.

Points to Garak as well for reasons mentioned by others.



Star Wars:
Grand Admiral Thrawn. Finally, a bad guy that was just damn smart and had skills, and was able to make do with what he had. No need to lean on stupid "super-weapon of the month club" gimmicks or brute force of numbers-- here's just a clever, motivated guy with a plan. His only "ace in the hole" was C'baoth, who was troublesome and needed constant herding.



Battlestar Galactica:
Sharon "Athena" Agathon. Went through shit to defy her type, prove her loyalty, and eventually get accepted. Went through the odd prospect of convincing her husband to shoot her so she could be revived in the BaseStar to rescue her baby. Athena's ability to make the choice for her own destiny showed Tirol, Tigh and Anders that it could be done, even if Tori chose to embrace her inner Cylon.



Babylon Five:
Ambassador G'Kar, for much the same reasons already stated. Very inspirational figure who found himself in his degredation. He didn't emerge as a completely redeemed person, as would be all too easy, but still a flawed and changed man after being so broken.

Points for Londo for such an excellent cycle as a happy-go-lucky type who convincingly falls to evil and later horror at his actions (who knows he can never wash his hands of what he's done); to Vir Kotto for covertly standing up to authority and then later dissing Mr. Morden to his face.

[Isolder74]

5) General Obi Wan Kenobi

Not only did he manage to make Darth Vader the best villain to ever appear in movies other then Hannibal Lector or Norman Bates, you can't tell that losing that fight didn't help make Vader the badass we see in the original Star Wars, he managed to survive and stay alive for 20 years in almost the most obvious place to possibly look for him without suspicion whatsoever! I mean come on he was on Tattooine for crying out loud. You'd think someone would have looked into the weird guy in the desert. He has one of the best death scenes ever and dies with almost complete dignity.

4) Captain James T. Kirk, Spock, and Dr. Leonard McCoy

Not much else to say about one of the best characters teams in Star Trek. These three have a perfect chemistry and it's impossible to separate them. Proof, Spock dies in Star trek 2 and the natural outcome in movie 3, Spock's return to bring back the balance to the team! I know that part was cheap but it's hard to complain when it was done well enough to buy.

3) Centauri from the last Starfighter.

Say what you want about the premise of this movie you just have to love the whole idea of Professor Harold Hill in outerspace. every moment this character spends on screen he steal the spotlight making us want to see where he is taking the poor main character.

2) Grand Admiral Thrawn

The man is cold, calculating and the man just has a presence. He has the ability to make 200 obsolete warships into a credible threat. He dies badly so can't make it to number one. Come on! He is suppose to be able to plan for almost anything but never saw that coming?

1) Lord Darth Vader

Yes, this is the man! From the moment he strolled onto the Tantive IV we knew he wasn't a man to mess with. From the cold voice and the mechanical breathing whenever he appears you know something bad is going to happen. When he then crushes a man's neck with his bare hands in the next scene we see him in we just drop our jaws! if we thought he was nasty in movie 1 he just got worse in movie 2! Sure he did do the neck choke thing in movie 1 but in movie 2 he actually kills twice with it! Not to mention watching him torture Han Solo just to do it. Sure we find out it was to draw in Luke but that's just mean. Then of course we get to the greatest what the moment in movie history at the end, that Luke is his son!

[Crazedwraith]

Dr Simon Tam, (Firefly)The guy's just a class act really. I mean I have a sister but I'm not sure I could give up everything I had and throw in with theives and scoundrels just on the off chance I could find her and save her. And after all the shit he goes through he's still loyal to her, and a competent and moral doctor. He doesn't really descend even to Mal's level of pragmatism let alone a thug like Jayne's. His showdown with Jayne in Ariel is a perfect example.

"I will never hurt you. You're on this table. You're safe."

Philip J Fry(Futurama) Just you're average everyday man, who got frozen for a thousand years and loves it. A great fun character, although slightly inconsistant but every time he fails to get the girl it smarts. (I think the worst part of the DVD movies is that they fail to advance the Fry/Leela relationship in accordance with The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings)

"My parents, my girlfriend. I'll never see any of them again.... WhooHoo!"

Gene Hunt (Life On Mars/Ashes To Ashes) A bit iffy on the sci-fi qualifications but what the heck. A total steoreotype of 70s police; a collection of bad habits, brutality and horrible political views and yet qualifies as every moment he's one screen he exudes pure unadulterated awesome. Note: I'm talking about the BBC Phillip Glennister version not the remake.

"Gene Hunt kicks door down, he doesn't pick pansy locks." or of course "Stop! You are surround by Armed Bastards!"

Det. Spooner (I,Robot) odd choice I'll grant you but I did like the "one sane man in a crazy world" thing he had going; which with his back story made perfect sense.

"This relationship just can't work. You're a Cat, I'm black, and I'm not going to be hurt again."

M'K'N'ZY Of Calhoun aka Captain Mackenzie Calhoun (Star Trek: New Frontier) Total and utter over the top badass, lead his people to victory against an evil empire while still a teenager. Found by Captain Picard and went into starfleet. Hi definition of getting old is that he has to hit someone twice instead to put them down. Sort of Parody of James T Kirk with the addition that he usually voices the kind of complains we make about how they do things in the Federation.

"To the brave men and women of the Kobayashi Maru... Sucks to be you."

[Themightytom]

Colonel Jack O'Neill, Stargate SG-1: I specify Colonel because as a general, er.. well as a colonel he was unorthodox, and ballsy, as a General, those same quirks began to make him appear senile...

His wit is legendary, he has a supernatural awareness of the ridiculousness of any situation to a degree that in many cases nearly breaks the fourth wall. he doesn't panic, he applies basic straightforward step by step solutions to a problem and when everything go south, he makes a quip and then changes his plan accordingly.

Jack: "Alright, whats the plan now?"
Bra'Tak: "We die."
Jack blinks "Well thats a bad plan..."

Captain James T. Kirk. Star Trek. in his hey dey he was just the man, the role modelm the template for the rest. The ultiamte leader he just doesn't lose.

"I don't believe in the no win scenario."

Jedi Master Quai Gon Jin: Was the first jedi we saw who was really in his prime. he was unflappable, an excellent teacher, and stuck to his guns when he felt he was right.
Qui-Gon Jinn: The ability to speak does not make you intelligent.

Admiral William "Husker" Adama: You don't frak with the old man. leading a rag tag fleet with nothing but his sheer badass leadership holding military discipline together, Adama has been when neccesary the heart of his people,. the backbone, their conscience their judge but more than anything else their leader.

Captain Lee 'Apollo' Adama: I thought we were sparring.
Commander William Adama: That's why you don't win.

Colonel Samantha Carter: Stargate Atlantis She was great in SG-1 but as a leader she was easily the best. She was a legend among her own people and absolutely the best person to take over after Weir went MIA. no one could dispute her ability to lead, her experience or her talent for coming out on top during her time in SG-1. In Atlantis she demonstrated those qualities even more so, by allowing others to shine, but not hesitating to back them up if they got in trouble. She let mcKay be the genius, and Shepard be the soldier, but she lead the charge whenever they needed backup.

Jeannie: [looking out of the Daedelus] What have you gotten yourself involved in Meredith?
Lt. Col. Samantha Carter: Meredith?
Jeannie: Yeah. That's his name.
Lt. Col. Samantha Carter: Your name's Meredith?
Dr. Rodney McKay: [embarrassed and annoyed] It's my first name, yes. Meredith Rodney McKay. I prefer to go by Rodney.
Dr. Rodney McKay: [after a pause] Look out the window, much more interesting than my name.
Lt. Col. Samantha Carter: Your name's Meredith?

[Peptuck]

No particular order, and only picking my single favorite character from a particular source. I don't watch or read a whole lot of sci-fi, so....

Schlock (Schlock Mercenary): There's just something about a protagonist being what essentially amounts to a sapient, sociopathic pile of crap whose appetite for violence is only matched by his appetite for sugar. As interesting and amusing as the rest of the characters in Schlock Mercenary are, there's not really anyone in the series that is quite as awesome as its titular character.

Derek Reese (Terminator: SCC): it takes guts and confidence for the creators of a series to expand upon a beloved, established character, along with a great deal of competence to create a character who does that expansion without wrecking them. Derek Reese is both of these, and he's quite possibly my favorite character in SCC if only for his perspective and brilliantly psychotic pragmatism. Of all the characters int he series, i find him the most interesting and compelling, which is saying a lot coming from me, when he's competing with a Summer Glau character. The majority of my annoyance at the second season of SCC so far is the sidelining of Derek with the Jessie subplot. I find Cameron almost as interesting, but not quite, and I refuse to use characters from the same series in this list.

Grand Admiral Thrawn (Star Wars): He's not just a Magnificent Bastard. He's not just Affably Evil. He's not just a walking Crowning Moment of Awesome. Grand Admiral Thrawn is awesome beyond measure simply by the old maxim: imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and the sheer number of cheap knock-off attempts by other hackjob writers to match the character with their own creations just goes to show how powerfully Thrawn influenced the EU with his magnificence. For Buddha's sake, he pretty much created an entire type of villain for the SWEU, and that is awesome.

Sander Cohen (Bioshock): Bioshock is very retro and set in the past, but I personally define it as sci-fi. Bioshock does have a lot of cool characters, and both Andrew Ryan and Frank Fontaine are among the most magnificent of bastards, but no one quite takes the cake like Sander Coen. A mad artist with a wild temper and a sadistic streak a mile across, yet at the same time brilliantly erudite and almost lovably amusing in his insanity. He's just the most amazing kind of creepy madman, and the way his madness is shown throughout Fort Frolic, with him sending you to murder his disciples, the bleeding plaster statues set up in the flooded bathrooms, the random lunatic recordings he leaves lying about, and his constant delighted commentary as he watches you frolic about killing everything that moves....a completely unforgettable performance and experience.

River Tam (Firefly): If you didn't see this one coming, from me of all people, hah. I have a thing for mentally damaged girls, especially the kind who need to be comforted and protected and the like, and River Tam manages to trigger every single one of my masculine protector instincts. She's just a ball of brilliantly-acted sympathy and daaaaaaaw, on top of the creepy and tragic madness. And that doesn't factor in the violence, psychic powers, and supreme genius, either. I still think of River as Summer Glau's definitive character, and she's my single favorite Firefly character, which is saying something when she outclasses Mal or Book in my eyes.

Honorable mentions due to the limited number of characters:
Kane (Command and Conquer)
The Arbiter (Halo)
Saul (effing) Tigh (Battlestar Galactica)
Elim Garak (STDS9)
Ciaphas Cain, HERO OF THE IMPERIUM! (Warhammer 40,000)

[Havok]

Obi Wan Kenobi (Star Wars Episode 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

James T. Kirk (Star Trek, ST:TMP, ST:TWOK, ST:TSFS, ST:TVH, ST:TFF, ST:TUC, ST:G)

Riddick (Pitch Black, Chronicles of Riddick)

Gul Dukat (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

Wall-E (Wall-E)

[Aaron]

Ciaphas Cain (WH40K): The guy would obviously prefer to be somewhere else but he still does his duty and does it to the extent that he is a genuine hero.

Urdnot Wrex (Mass Effect): The guy is pretty useless in a fight but I love his attitude, seems there is nothing he'd rather do than bust heads.

Dr. John A. Zoidberg (Futurama): Look up incompetent in the dictionary and his face will be there but he's funny and that counts for more.

Ragnar Blackmane (WH40K): Barbarian turned Space Marine and one of the few that seems to retain some semblance of humanity. He knows fear, doubt and is aware of his own shortcomings.

Qui-Gon Jinn (SW TPM):For me he's the definitive Jedi. Calm, cool and collected under fire and wise enough to break with the council when it's required.

[Steve]

Only five? Damn....

Well, in no particular order of first to fifth favorite....


SG-1: It wasn't just a single character for me. It was all four of the classic team; Jack, Sam, Daniel, and Teal'c. The way they interacted and meshed with each other became a pitch-perfect tone that made SG-1 so undeniably fun to watch. I almost pity the Goa'uld who had to deal with them from their penchant to, no matter how badly the plan went, find a way to win anyway, complete with snide remarks from Jack and sometimes Daniel chipping in.

It was wholly appropriate that when SG-1 finally met their appropriate counter among the Goa'uld, it wasn't the powermad megalomaniac Apophis, the demonic Sokar, the arrogant Heru'er, the ancient and proudful Yu, or the malevolent Anubis; it was the charming, suave Ba'al, capable of matching SG-1 witticism for witticism, scheme for scheme.

And while talking about Stargate....

Dr. M. Rodney McKay: McKay helped make Atlantis for me. Sheppard and Weir were good too, don't get me wrong, but Teyla was, until Season 4, mostly shoehorned in as the female Teal'c of the team with Ronan coming in Season 2 to take the "tough asskicker" Teal'c element and Ronan, well, he had some awesome moments but was never allowed to really grow out of the Wraith-hating badass Satedan warrior and ex-Runner.

But McKay? McKay was awesome, and it was frequently his relationships with his comrades that gave the show its humor. His give-and-take war of wits with Sheppard, his friendship with Carson Beckett, his unease with Ronan, and of course how he treated his fellow scientists - most notably Radic Zelenka - seemed to be integral parts of the show. Granted, other inter-character relationships were crucial, but the best parts of Atlantis inevitably came down to Dr. McKay being his usual egotistical-yet-heroic self.

And then, of course, came Dr. Keller. Rodney and Keller having the slow road to becoming a couple ultimately brought us to the episode "Brain Storm", which was, as it was put best in the episode talkback thread here on SDN, an episode devoted to Rodney McKay kicking ass, taking names, and getting the girl. RODNEY HAS AN AXE, RAR!!!

In summation: More than any other character, Rodney McKay made Atlantis bearable when it was bad and made it awesome when it wasn't.

Now that Stargate is done....


G'Kar and Londo: Yes, Sheridan was the hero, Ivanova was the fiery-yet-cool second-in-command, and Delenn was the serene sage. But nothing defined Babylon-5 better than G'Kar and Londo and the paths they traveled through the series and on into the spinoff novels that revealed the fine particulars of their prophesied fate; hands upon each other's throats until they died at each other's hands (or rather not, as both later developments and novels made clear).

As events changed the galaxy of Babylon-5 forever about them the feud of G'Kar and Londo Mollari, played as they were by such masterful actors (the late Andreas Katsulas, may he rest in peace, and Peter Jurasik), changed to meet the times just as the characters changed. G'Kar went from a more villainous role, a man filled with hatred and bile, to finding enlightenment and seeking to break the circle of violence, Londo on the other hand starting as the jovial Centauri diplomat who's yearning for the past, for that "renassiance of power", led him into dark pacts that would stain his hands with blood he could never wash away and hurt both Narn and Centauri grievously.



Odo: Deep Space Nine is such a tight field, and its so hard for me to pick. Every character, regular or recurring, played such a critical role in how events played out during those seven years. If this list were five times longer I would undoubtedly place every single regular on it, most of the recurring ones too. But it's not, and I'm trying to force myself to only pick one character per show unless I felt the character was enriched by involvement with another.

But with some thought given, Odo comes out just ahead of the pack for me. He was the outsider among outsiders, someone who's quest to find his origins turned so dreadfully wrong when he found his people... and discovered what they had become. Instead he had no happy homecoming; his people were the dreaded tyrants that had enslaved a quarter of the galaxy and looked covetously toward the rest and his connections to the people he was an outsider amongst, his loyalties to them, kept him away from home even when he grew to long to return.

One could ask why I didn't put Odo with Quark, since their rivalry was such a part of the show. Yes, it was.... but Odo had more to him than that, just as Quark was not just Odo's nemesis. Odo had his eventually-requited love for Kira Nerys, the haunting parts of his past as a security chief for the Cardassians, and his tenuous relationship with his own race to identify the character further. Perhaps its not surprising that just like the examples from Babylon-5, Odo was in the hands of a capable and experienced actor - Rene Auberjoinis - just as other deserving DS9 characters for this list were (Andrew Robinson as Garak, Armin Shimerman as Quark, Avery Brooks as Sisko).

Of course, it all came down to Odo finding out, to his horror, that he was once turned into a carrier to infect his entire race with a virus that was intended to exterminate them, and ultimately it was Odo who ended the Dominion War that dominated the last two seasons of the series by his sacrifice, leaving Kira just as they'd begun enjoying a relationship and healing his race, as well as guiding them to a better future with the "solids". If there are no further Dominion Wars in the original, non-reboot Trek continuity, it'll be because of Odo.

And now for my final entry....

Oh, this is a tight one. I considered doing Kirk, because let's face it, James Kirk is the measuring stick by which sci-fi leads are considered. But I've already covered Trek, and there is one more franchise I've yet to cover which probably deserves this consideration more.

So I bring us to....

Qui-Gon Jinn: Ten years ago fans of Star Wars who didn't read the books or the novels were finally introduced to the Old Republic. They were met by a young, yet familiar, face: Obi-Wan Kenobi.

But Obi-Wan had a master of his own now. A gray-haired and bearded Jedi Master played by Liam Neeson named Qui-Gon Jinn. And as much as we all grew to dislike the over-hyped, Jar Jar-infested Phantom Menace, we all had to admit that Qui-Gon made it bearable more than any other character. Qui-Gon Jinn became our first long, personal look at the Jedi Knights of the long-fallen Republic, and it was a good one. An iconic one. He was a wise and capable Jedi Master, a man who stood up for his principles even when it meant clashing with authority, who saw the potential in a young slave-boy to do great and magnificant things.

That the slave-boy became a traitor who joined the Sith and eradicated the Jedi was not Qui-Gon's fault. Who hasn't considered the possibilities of Qui-Gon surviving the duel with Darth Maul and being the one to teach Anakin? The fall of Anakin Skywalker is laid upon many shoulders, particularly Anakin's himself, but also on those who helped pave the road for him: Palpatine obviously, the overly-confident and arrogant Mace Windu, and the fraternal Obi-Wan who treated his apprentice too much like a little brother. One can easily see Qui-Gon Jinn showing Anakin a truer path.

Had he survived, Qui-Gon Jinn probably would have saved the Jedi Order from Palpatine. But it is Liam Neeson's iconic performance that makes him the Star Wars universe's representative on my list.


And now for a short list of honorable mentions:
Han Solo
John Smith (Dead Zone)
Elizabeth Weir
John Sheppard
Darth Vader (Original Trilogy only)
Garak
Quark
Sheridan
Sisko
Kira
General/Chancellor Martok

[fgalkin]

In no particular order:

Londo Mollari (Babylon 5), the Tragic Hero.
Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly), the Rogue. What Han Solo would have been like if Lucas was not a grot and did not pander to kiddies.
Cheradenine Zakalwe (The Use of Weapons), the murdering sociopath turned rogue agent, with an incredible will to survive. The Mental Case, done right.
Leonid Gorbovsky (Noonverse)- the Explorer, a living personification of humanity's drive to perfection, and a symbol of a bright future possible only in dreams. The only Russian character on the list is also the most optimistic.
CIAPHAS CAIN, HERO OF THE IMPERIUM- for he is AWESOME.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Personal Favourites:

Warhammer 40K
Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt: No nonsense leader of the Tanith First and Only, hardworking and determined. Led the defence of Verghast with unparalleled efficiency and effectiveness, that despite the incompetence of many of the local military leaders and a Imperial Guard General. Leads his men from the front, and shows compassion for his men.

Commissar Ciaphas Cain: Because he is just made of so much awesome, it rubs off on anyone that comes into contact with him.

Battlestar Galactica
Admiral William Adama: Others have said lots of him, but in general, he's as bad ass as he can get.

Star Wars
Wedge Antilles: One of the best developed characters, despite being developed by several authors.

Darth Vader: He's Vader. Enough Said.

Emperor Palpatine: Palpatine of the Episode III and VI fame was a pretty decent evil character. His political machinations and ruthlessness really makes sure everyone who watched Episode VI who truly was the major-domo of the Galaxy, and why Vader pales next to him. That is until the various EU writers screwed him up.

[Shroom Man 777]

Commissar Ciaphas Cain Goddamn it, this guy's my favorite and it seems that I'm very much not alone in this one. With all the GRIMDARK of 40k, all the horrific stuff and the nihilism, Ciaphas Cain and his exploits are a breath of fresh air. Sure, there are obscenities that must be fought, there are untellable horrors that make Cain clench his bowels, but in the end the good guys win and it's awesome.

For all his neurotic self-depreciation, Cain really seems like a genuinely good person displaced in an utterly horrific environment, and he seems like a genuinely sane person who's found himself in a universe that's very much insane. And I think it's through this odd idiosyncracy, of a good man very much perpetually in the wrong place (at the right time), that leads to the guy's awesome.

It also helps that his supporting crew are similarly awesome. I mean, the Cain stories basically subvert the whole GRIMDARK of 40k by showing that most people in the Imperium are, in fact, genuinely good. From adorable Inquisitors who like to eat florn cakes, to affable techpriest, to fiery buxom Colonels, to likeable Kroots and Taus even!

The fact that at the end of the day, you can smile and laugh and call it a job well done and heretics/mutants/xenos well purged, in spite of the madness of the 41st millennium makes the Cain stories (as well as Scourge the Heretic stories) really awesome.

The Terminator An iconic character, goddamn it. Arnold Schwarzenegger has, in my opinion, portrayed the most singularly memorable robot character EVER. The cold mechanical demeanor, the brutality, the inhumanity, the emotionless killing machine, a gleaming chrome skeleton rising from the ashes of fire...

AND the fact that it's totally changed in T2, that we see this machine learn the value of human life because as a machine, it is absolutely 100% dedicated to its mission, its programming, its objective - and because of that, it learns humanity because its mission IS to protect human life.

Jayne Cobb The Hero of Canton, nuff said.

Hudson Game over, man! Game over!

Jack O'Neill Man, Richard Dean Anderson's a total asshole.

[The Romulan Republic]

I don't know that I can choose a definitive five, so I'll just post some that occure to me as notable.

Luke Skywalker:

He went from a rather cliche beginning as an idealistic but nieve farmboy who became a hero of the Rebellion, to a much more interesting and original character. Ultimately Luke rejects "destiny" by refusing to kill his father, in the process redeeming Vader and defeating the Empire. Because of his upbringing outside the Order, and his unorthodox teaching at Yoda's hands, he is able to do what Anakin could not, and what the Order as a whole dared not attempt. He is capable of feeling love and the resulting personal attachments, and it becomes a strength, not a weakness that tempts him to the Dark Side. Luke showed greater wisdom than the entire Jedi Council with their broken dogma. And between improvising a plan to rescue Leia from the enemy's stronghold, taking command when his CO was killed at Yavin, and devising a plan to bring down the walkers on Hoth, it could also be said that he showed considerably greater tactical competancy.

"I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

Of course, the EU probably butchers his character, but going off the movies, he deserves to be at the top of the list.


Grand Master Yoda:

Yoda is one of the few characters in Episode Three who really grows. The key moment for me is his departure from Kashyk. Throughout the Prequel Trilogy I was annoyed by Yoda's idiotic dogma about attachments leading to the Dark Side, which only served to alienate Anakin and push him towards the Dark Side. But when he told the Wookies that he would miss them, it seemed to me like a quiet, tacit admission that he had been wrong. The novelization may reflect this, as Yoda reflects during his duel with Sideous on how he cannot win, on how the Sith had remade themselves while the Jedi had stagnated under his rule. Later, when Senator Organa asks if he is hurt, Yoda replies "only my pride."

What makes me admire Yoda is that he is able to admit his mistakes. Note that he ultimately defies Jedi doctrine by allowing Luke and Leia to be raised with families, a decision that probably leads to Luke's ultimate choice to renounce the Dark Side and save his father, thus bringing balance to the Force.

And of course, his dialoug in the OT is classic: humorous, mystical, and wise. His fights are epic, his strength with the Force overcoming his small size and age. He is also about the only Prequel-era Jedi to show some tactical skill at command large armies (he at least seems to grasp the basics of concepts like "camoflauge", "high ground", and "combine arms tactics."

"Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter."

"War not make one great, heh heh."

"Miss you, I shall."

"At an end, your rule is. And not short enough it was."


Sarah Conor (Terminator):

Sarah Conor starts out as an ordinary person. When faced with an "insane world", pursued by Terminators who want to kill her unborn child, she learns to defend herself, but her experiences drive her to the edge of madness. Seeing the transformation in her character from Terminator 1 to Terminator 2, and her ultimate redemption when she is unable to kill Dyson in front of his family, was truly memorable. It also says a lot about the actress that she was able to portray both nieve clumsy Sarah and hardened, cynical Sarah so convincingly.


Darth Vader:

The tragic flawed hero and the ultimate menacing villain, who ultimately finds redemption through the love of his son. Also one of the most competant characters in Star Wars.

"I am your father."

"Apology accepted, Captain Needa"

"I will do what I must."- Obi-wan Kenobi
"You will try."- Darth Vader


The Joker (specifically in The Dark Knight):

The Joker is almost the perfect villain. One of the remarkable things about The Dark Knight was the way in which he could be simultaneously horrifying, pitiable, and genuinely funny. His mysterious origins allow him to appear as a larger-than-life figure, his past representing all the various horrors of human experience. At the same time, it makes him very human, someone who was once just a man, but driven mad by his experiences. He embraces chaos, yet he seems forever compelled to justify himself by drawing others to his level. He seems to tempt death willingly, but always escapes to wreak further destruction.

He is also the ultimate foil for Batman because, in the end, they are in certain respects flip sides of the same coin. Both suffered something horrific in their past that drove them mad, but Batman channels his madness into imposing order, while the Joker channels his into creating chaos. They seem almost dependent on one another, caught in their own personal hell, as captured in the Joker's lines at the end of The Dark Knight.

"You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness, and I won't kill you because, you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever."- spoken to Batman after his recapture.

"To them, you're just a freak. Like me."- spoken to Batman during his interrogation.

"Why so serious?"- spoken to a group of mobsters just before killing their boss.

"What happened, y-your balls drop off?"- spoken to a room full of gangsters.

"Its not about money. Its about sending a message. Everything burns."

I know I put a lot of Joker lines, but they're just that good.

[Lord Pounder]

Dr Ton Phanan - X-Wing Wraith Squadron

Wit, Intellect, Superior Pilot. I was shocked when he was killed off. In my opinion one of the best characters in the EU.

Judge Dredd - 2000AD comics

I AM THE LAW! What more needs to be said Dredd kicked ass at every turn.

Sten - from the books of the same name

Rose from a shit hole on Vulcan to rise to become the Eternal Emperors most trusted aide, then destroyed the Empire and set it free when he realised how corrupt it was. While doing this he drank more alcohol and fucked more women than James Bond. Plus he carries a knife inside his arm, an awesome knife.

Steve Brickman - The Amtrak Wars

Raised in the Federation and shot down while fire bombing Mute savages he finds himself more at home with his enemy than his own race, then the shit hits the fan, in triplicate. special agent to the President General, pronounces saviour of the Mutes. What do you do?

Captain Mal Reynolds - Firefly

I think it's unfair to write him off as a 18 Rated Han Solo. Mal is so much more. I just wished he had have found a back bone and got it on with Anara.

[harbringer]

Ok... well I have been watching waaaay more of NBSG than is good for anyone so lets get that out of the way first.

Dee I know not a main character but she does what she does competently quietly is intense has a twisted love life and competes with star buck the pilots pilot for her husband, and is willing to rescue the same starbuck (grudgingly I admit).

Rose tyler ... well always loved and english accent on a girl and the new doctor who would not have worked if the character was weak. And it must be said that Billy Piper has a lot of appeal as well.

Durham Red a girl I would marry if she were real lmao kicks ass and takes names in every sense.

Ciphias Cain the most misunderstood hero of the imperium and possibly the most unlucky individual who could survive what he did.

and last ....so many to choose from...

Korban Dallas the sort of hero I would want to be

honourable mentions..
Han solo (he shot first)
Boba Fett (love the armour and desintergrations)
Q (anyone who can annoy John Luc)

[Oskuro]

Five is too little, and I would add up to the list of Darth Vader/Freaking all Firefly/O'Neill/Etc fanboys, so I'll metion a few rare ones I like:

Doctor Emmet Brown: Not sure if BTTF would be strict science-fiction, but who cares, he makes a time machine out of a steam locomotive!

"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits eighty-eight miles per hour... you're gonna see some serious shit. "
"Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads."
"The time-traveling is just too dangerous. Better that I devote myself to study the other great mystery of the universe: women! "
"Great Scott!"

Leelo: From The 5th Element, I'd say she's a more colorful version of River Tam, that is, lovely, seemingly vulnerable, kicks ass and is somewhat screwed up. Although she has the power to stop planetoids made out of pure evil. And makes out with Bruce Willis.

"Leeloo Dallas mul-ti-pass."

Korben Dallas: "What's your name?"
Leeloo: "Leeloo Minai Lekarariba-Laminai-Tchai Ekbat De Sebat."
Korben Dallas: "Good. That... that whole thing's your name, huh? Do you have, uh... a shorter name?"
Leeloo: "Leeloo."

To be fair, the 5th Element is full of memorable characters, from the deliciously evil Zorg, to the incredibly annoying Ruby Rod, but since I have a soft spot (i.e. the hots) for Milla Jovovich, she wins.


Dark Helmet from Spaceballs! Rick Moranis in a huge helmet, and with a matching necktie, what's not to love? Also, he's a Vader parody.

"Raspberry. There's only one man who would dare give me the raspberry: Lone Star! "
"So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb. "
"What's the matter, Colonel Sandurz? CHICKEN?"

Dark Helmet: "Before you die there is something you should know about us, Lone Star."
Lone Starr: "What?"
Dark Helmet: "I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate."
Lone Starr: "What's that make us?"
Dark Helmet: "Absolutely nothing! Which is what you are about to become."


Jhonny 5 from Short Circuit. Probably the secret child of R2D2 and C3PO, Jhonny 5 is not only memorable, but can emote very convincingly. Not to mention his secret romance with a garbage disposal yielded Wall-E.

"Number 5 stupid name... want to be Kevin or Dave!"
"No disassemble Number Five!"


Ba'al from Stargate Sg-1. Just remembered this guy. Despite SG-1's declining quality on the later seasons, they managed to give us a pretty awesome villian in the form of the crafty Ba'al, a Goaul'd who had the incredible superpower of not taking the whole Deity thing too seriously, and thus was somewhat immune to narrativium-induced failings so typical of his peers. Also, his chemistry with Jack O'Neill was too awesome for words.

Ba'al: "I am Ba'al."
Colonel Jack O'Neill: "That's it? Just Ball? As in bocce?"

Brigadier General Jack O'Neill: "I am so sorry. I was just finishing up a lovely brunch."
Ba'al: "Impudence."
Brigadier General Jack O'Neill: "No, tuna."

Ba'al: "You dare mock me?"
Brigadier General Jack O'Neill: "Ba'al, come on, you should know. Of course I dare mock you."

Brigadier General Jack O'Neill: [talking to Ba'al about the Replicators] "I've got a better idea. Instead of helping you, why don't we sit back and watch you get your ass kicked. That way you'll be dead and we'll be glad."
Ba'al: "You cannot be serious."
Brigadier General Jack O'Neill: "Yes I can. I just choose not to, some of the time."
Ba'al: "With your insolence, you are dooming not just your world but all of humanity."
Brigadier General Jack O'Neill: "I think big."
[Ba'al leaves]

[The Yosemite Bear]

Marvin (HHTG)
"I'll do it but I won't like it."
the robot who takes the piss, and is now older then the universe it's self.

#6 (The Prisoner)
"I will not make any deals with you. I've resigned. I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own. I resign."

still fighting to be himself,

[charlemagne]

Saul Tigh - Tigh has his great moments. Crashing down hard a couple of times, trying to drink his brains off, but he got up again every time a little more awesome than before. He has his flaws - a lot of them - but he's always remained a loyal officer and he never did anything but trying to do his best (unless he was too drunk, of course).

Mal Reynolds - An obvious choice, but watching Mal, his witty remarks and his trigger-happiness in action is just good plain fun.

Bender - A cleptomanic, backstabbing, cigar-smoking robot that runs on booze and has a shiny metal ass, what's not to love? (On a sidenote, I fell in love with Futurma right from the start when I noticed the transportation tubes and suicide booths taken right out of Immortality, Inc. by Robert Sheckley.)

Max Guevara - Dark Angel Season 2 was retarted, but Season 1 was a bunch of episodes of good "action-sci-fi" in a somewhat believable post-apocalyptic, not too cliche-filled world. Of course it helps that Jessica Alba is one fine babe.

Reginald Endicott "Reg" Barclay III - Reg made for some of the funniest moments in all of TNG. Picard calling him Lt. Broccoli to his face is my personal highlight.

[Jade Falcon]

I can't think in five right off, but one I'd like to nominate is

Commander John Koenig. 13th and last commander of Moonbase Alpha. This is a man who has been through some right shit in what is meant to be a peaceful period. According to Season 2, he lost his wife to a nuclear explosion, he witnessed his friends dying of a mysterious illness, unable to help. He put his balls on the line sticking up for Tony Cellini in the episode "Dragon's Domain" and got grounded for his loyalty. Later he's put in charge of the base to oversee the cause of the deaths at Alpha, and in the process he finds out he's being used as a scapegoat by the corrupt and gutless Commisioner Gerald Simmonds. Post Breakaway he has to make some very tough decisions while still trying to keep the loyalty of those he commands. It helps that Martin Landau is a good actor.

[Coyote]

I can't think in five right off, but one I'd like to nominate is

Commander John Koenig. 13th and last commander of Moonbase Alpha. This is a man who has been through some right shit in what is meant to be a peaceful period. ... Post Breakaway he has to make some very tough decisions while still trying to keep the loyalty of those he commands. It helps that Martin Landau is a good actor.

I've been watching the Space: 1999 DVDs from Netflix, and I have to agree. He was very conservative with his people and when he commanded them intoa risky situation, it seemed to affect him a lot more than some commanders.

I'd rather be a redshirt under Koenig than under Kirk, that's for sure.

[Jade Falcon]

I've been watching the Space: 1999 DVDs from Netflix, and I have to agree. He was very conservative with his people and when he commanded them intoa risky situation, it seemed to affect him a lot more than some commanders.

I'd rather be a redshirt under Koenig than under Kirk, that's for sure.

I don't know which episodes you've seen, but he's definitely far better in Season 1, Fred Freiberger butchered Season 2, though even there, there were some decent episodes. The episodes I think he came out stronget in were Dragons Domain, Collision Course, Black Sun, Testament of Arkadia among others.