TV Guide: 25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends

Rowan · July 26th, 2004, 06:19 PM

25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends
Aug issue

25 = Captain Video
24 = Dick Soloman
23 = Ultraman
22 = Dr. Who
21 = Starbuck
20 = John Crichton
19 = Steve Austin & Jaime Sommers
18 = Captain Mal Reynolds
17 = Max Guevara
16 = Allie Keys
15 = The Coneheads
14 = Robot
13 = MST3K Crew
12 = Sam Beckett
11 = Duncan MacLeod
10 = Jack O'Neill
9 = Captain John Sheridan
8 = Alf
7 = Fox Mulder
6 = David Vincent
5 = Diana
4 = George Jetson
3 = Uncle Martin
2 = Star Trek Crews
1 = Rod Serling

Emerging from a bunker at a secluded Air Force base in New Mexico, TV Guide's editors hand over a list of the characters they'd most like to fly away with to planet Melmac. Here's a few:

DICK SOLOMON
3rd Rock from the Sun, NBC, 1996-2001
Intelligent life in outer space? You couldn't prove it by Dick Solomon, the funniest extraterrestrial since Dan Aykroyd stuck a rubber cone on his head. As the leader of a quartet of intergalactic invaders (the cast also included former Conehead Jane Curtin), Dick and his Rock band posed as humans in a small Ohio town, causing no end of misunderstandings. Serious actor John Lithgow proved not only that he could be hilarious but that a sitcom premise as timeworn as a favorite Martian could zoom with originality.

JOHN CRICHTON
Farscape, Sci Fi Channel, 1999-2003
Plunged through a wormhole, easygoing astronaut John Crichton found himself caught in an interstellar conflict with only a handful of allies. Ahead of its time? Maybe that explains the fan obsession. Or maybe it was the out-of-this-world charm and good looks of actor Ben Browder. Either way, Sci Fi has a four-hour miniseries, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, coming in October.

MAX GUEVARA
Dark Angel, Fox, 2000-02
A genetically souped-up teen soldier, Max could mop the floor with futuristic baddies without so much as smudging her lipstick. Co-creator James Cameron hired an unknown 18-year-old named Jessica Alba for the role because, he says, "she had sass." Not to mention perfectly pouty lips and a body that sent the sci-fi boys' club into a hormonal frenzy. No wonder that two years after Dark Angel's wings were clipped, fans are petitioning for a return.

JACK O'NEILL
Stargate SG-1, Showtime, 1997-2001, Sci Fi Channel, 2002-Present
Between battles with aliens, the smirky, sarcastic Jack O'Neill watches reruns of The Simpsons and reads Mad Magazine. No Patrick Stewart-style pomposity for this space hotshot. Played with irreverent confidence by Richard Dean Anderson, the snarky colonel has led Stargate to its place as one of the longest-running sci-fi series in television history. An official seal of approval is due in September, when the U.S. Air Force will give Anderson an award for representing the military positively. The Pentagon has so far declined to take a firm position on the reading of Mad Magazine.

GEORGE JETSON
The Jetsons, ABC, 1962-63
Most sci-fi heroes have it all: looks, guts, cool gadgets. And then there was George Jetson, who had... well, one out of three ain't bad. George was an Everydad of the 1960s: overworked, underpaid and always a bit out of step with the brave new world of treadmills, picture phones and robots. His trademark lament of "Jane, stop this crazy thing!" could be heard as an existential cry for help in a world gone techno. Or maybe The Jetsons was just a cool cartoon. Either way, it painted an enduring Pop Art image of the space age.

CAPTAIN MALCOLM "MAL" REYNOLDS
Firefly, FOX, 2002

A bona fide space cowbow, Firefly's Mal Reynolds was a 25th century renedage who, after fighting on the losing side of a galactic war, made a living as captain of a small space freighter. So what if the Joss Whedon series was canceled after 10 episodes? Played by the strapping Nathan Fillion, Mal made a lasting impression, with fans calling themselves Fillionaires and all byt demanding next spring's big-screen spin-off, "Serenity."

(For the rest of our 25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends, pick up this week's issue of TV Guide magazine, on sale Thursday.)

http://www.tvguide.com/tv/coverstory/

This is all I could find

July 26th, 2004, 06:50 PM

Alf made the list???????

Rowan · July 26th, 2004, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bijou88

Alf made the list???????

((((((((((((((((((((Bijou))))))))))))))))))))))

sometimes it's better not to think too much about these things

I mean I could ask where are the women in this list??? Allie, Diana and Max that's it 3? what happened to Aeryn Sun? or a whole bunch of others instead they put in Alf or even george jetson ???

thomas7g · July 26th, 2004, 11:30 PM

obviously a dartboard was used in this selection.

thomas7g · July 26th, 2004, 11:33 PM

Must be TV only......

CAUSE THEY DIDN'T LIST LUKE SKYWALKER!!!!

Rowan · July 26th, 2004, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomas7g

Must be TV only......

CAUSE THEY DIDN'T LIST LUKE SKYWALKER!!!!

I think you must be right Thomas!

bsg1fan1975 · July 27th, 2004, 03:09 AM

or Darth Vader! Glad to see Starbuck made it!

unowhoandwhy · July 27th, 2004, 07:16 AM

Alf?!

Obviously, the editors are comedy fans and not Sci Fi fans.

Alf?!!!!!???!!!???!!!

braxiss · July 27th, 2004, 04:55 PM

the coneheads?

and alf

i agree with tom a dart board is the only answer

bsg1fan1975 · July 28th, 2004, 03:23 AM

most definately! they need an education in sci fi!

Darth Marley · July 28th, 2004, 05:08 AM

Alf was way cool.

And he had a career comeback in commercials that rivals Shatner's.

Archangel · July 28th, 2004, 11:30 AM

Yeah, he should at least have made the top 5. Here kitty, kitty.

Muffit · July 28th, 2004, 12:44 PM

If they included British SciFi, they should DEFINITELY include Marvin from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in the top ten!!! Gotta love him!!!

kingfish · July 28th, 2004, 12:58 PM

I look at it this way, for a 25 year show that was supposedly forgotten, it keeps poping up. Starbuck, that's right, the lovable, MALE character from a show that was gone prematurely. Starbuck a character that was reimagined for no reason. Starbuck a character that Dirk embeded in the minds of fandom forever. Starbuck a character that was coming back in the DeSanto production. Need I go on?

kingfish · July 28th, 2004, 12:59 PM

Oh yeah, almost forgot, Starbuck a character that might come back in a LARSON CONTINUATION.

HOLLA IF YA HEAR ME.

julix · July 28th, 2004, 01:43 PM

Julix yelling loudly WOOOOOHOOOO

kingfish · July 28th, 2004, 02:33 PM

I do have some criticisms of the list. Two of the best sci fi characters were omitted.

1) Commander Koenig- Martin Landau gave a stellar performance in this Anderson series.

2) Commander Jeffrey Sinclair- I almost stopped watching when the character left the series. Michael O'Hare was excellent as the brooding hero.

bsg1fan1975 · July 29th, 2004, 03:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muffit

If they included British SciFi, they should DEFINITELY include Marvin from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in the top ten!!! Gotta love him!!!

oh yeah Marvin the Paranoid Android! he was hilarious in the books!

kingfish · July 29th, 2004, 03:29 PM

I actually managed to get my paws on an issue. It had a photo of Dirk. It also stated in Dirk's own words, "Why reimagine a character that audiences loved?" Why Ron, why? I could have actually liked the new show.

thomas7g · July 29th, 2004, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingfish

I actually managed to get my paws on an issue. It had a photo of Dirk. It also stated in Dirk's own words, "Why reimagine a character that audiences loved?" Why Ron, why? I could have actually liked the new show.

The reason why is simple. A SciFi Programming head with no empathy for fans of science fiction. AND by creating such a blatantly different Battlestar Galactica they were hoping to weaken the legal claims of Glen Larson to any profits from the new show.

thomas7g · July 29th, 2004, 10:32 PM

Another Great that I think is missing is HAL.