ATLien

I will begin working on my dissenting opinion now on the inevitable Fringe omission.

RollWithEm

I've never seen Fringe, so you can definitely prepare your argument now.

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But that's just me.

ATLien

I can't blame you as it's been on FOX's Friday night line-up for the past year. However, you're wrong for missing it. Great show.

RollWithEm

Before I get started with the list, please note that I will likely have a second list at some point for comic book superheros... and maybe even a different list for SciFi movie females.

20) Kaylee Frye (Firefly; Jewel Staite) - She's got a fire in her loins rivaled only by the intensity of her love for Serenity herself. She's the most genuinely sweet character I've ever seen, yet she's still strong enough to never get pushed around. Oh yeah, and she's pretty much the best mechanic in the verse.

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But that's just me.

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19) Admiral Helena Cain (Battlestar Galactica; Michelle Forbes) - Although her role was abbreviated (by another character in this list, no less), she made more impact on the show than any other part-timer. She ran the Pegasus with an iron fist. She didn't care much for civilians, but she seemed to be really good at surviving... well... not that good, I guess.

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18) Dr. Beverly Crusher (Star Trek: The Next Generation; Gates McFadden) - The good doctor faithfully served as Chief Medical Office on the Enterprise as well as chief hidden love interest of the captain. Ever-level headed and reserved, she served as the perfect compliment to the insanity that often surrounded her in sick bay. She even got the change to engage the Borg in combat during her one short stint as captain of the Enterprise.

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But that's just me.

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17) Adelle DeWitt (Dollhouse; Olivia Williams) - Though British, she runs the Los Angeles chapter of the Dollhouse. She has a motherly quality towards her Actives that borders on ruthlessness quite often. Still, those protective feelings apparently don't supersede her loneliness when it comes to Victor. She believes wholeheartedly in the benevolence of her "children" and of what service they provide for their customers. Just do not make the mistake of crossing her. The consequences are swift and often lethal.

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But that's just me.

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16) Rose Tyler (Dr. Who; Billie Piper) - This quintessentially British store assistant sort of just lucks into a budding relationship with the Ninth Doctor. Her resulting travels give her godlike powers over time and space. She makes such an impression on the doctor that he willingly sacrifices his 9th incarnation on her behalf. She continues to grow closer to him even in his 10th incarnation. Though her feelings remain unrequited throughout the series, Rose manages to humanize the doctor (and to get herself a place in the Torchwood universe).

__________________
But that's just me.

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15) Number 6 (Battlestar Galactica; Tricia Helfer) - Easily the most seductive of all the Cylons, 6 can pretty much infiltrate humanity in any way she pleases. Whether she's ensuring the destruction of most of the human race, accusing scientists of treason, leading a cylon coup, existing solely in someone's head, or even if she's an angel, 6 always seems to embrace her circumstances. There might not be a bigger chameleon (or a sexier character) in the SciFi television world.

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But that's just me.

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14) Inara Serra (Firefly; Morena Baccarin) - This bonafide Companion proves herself an expert in many skills from the emotional to the psychological to the physical. She always seems to have her own agenda outside of her key role on the ship itself. The captain seems to treat her as a tenant sometimes and a family member other times depending on his changing moods. This is another character with undeniable yet unrealized feelings for the strong male lead on the show. It wasn't revealed until after the show's cancellation that Inara was in fact battling a terminal illness for the entire run (something she has in common with another lady a little higher on the list). This only makes her martial arts and archery acumen more impressive.

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But that's just me.

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13) Xena (Xena: Warrior Princess; Lucy Lawless) - This former "Destroyer of Nations" has sworn to walk the straight-and-narrow path to righteous in order to atone for the sins of her younger self. Accompanied by the naively innocent Gabrielle, she suffers through many trials and tribulations in her fight for right. At one point, her son is killed by Gabrielle's demonic child. Another time, she and Gabrielle are crucified by Caesar only to be revived by a mystic who channels the spirit of an angel once killed by Xena herself. A true world traveler with a penchant for fighting, Xena will always live on as an iconic character near the beginning of the "powerful women" boom in SciFi.

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But that's just me.

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12) Counselor Deanna Troi (Star Trek: The Next Generation; Marina Sirtis) - This half-Betazoid, half-human has the gift of Clairsentience: she can sense people's feelings, sometimes from great distances. As counselor, she acts as the liaison between the Enterprise and the many alien peoples they encounter. She often finds herself the target of mental attacks by telepathic enemies of the ship. She also happens to be the main (though off-again, on-again) love interest for the ship's first officer. At one point, there was actually a love triangle between the two of them and the ship's Klingon head of security. Plus, she always gets to mix up her outfits despite the notoriously rigid wardrobe regulations in Starfleet.

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11) Delenn (Babylon 5; Mira Furlan) - This Minbarian Ambassador is another SciFi do-gooder looking to stabilize a relationship with a race (humanity) with whom her people had once been enemies. She sort of evolves over the course of the show from reserved and timid to firm and forceful. Although possessing a natural proclivity towards compromise, Deleen will straight woop some ass when the time is right. Just like the rest of the Gray Council, she is mysterious at times and always seems to be holding a few cards up her sleeves that she's prepared to throw down when she needs to. The way she chose to resolve the Shadow War, like many of her policy decisions, was genius.

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But that's just me.

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Top 10 will be on its way either tonight or tomorrow.

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But that's just me.

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10) Lieutenant Nyota Uhura (Star Trek; Nichelle Nichols) - As a head communications officer who could also man the helm quite proficiently, she was certainly an oddity in 60's television. A strong black woman holding her own in a white male dominated world. Whoopi Goldberg, for one, credits Uhura for her career at least in part because she was more than just a pretty face. She always seemed to be able to not only do her job extremely well but also to recall small elements from her Starfleet training to help her in any situation she encountered during her 5 years on the Enterprise. She also has a couple of implied (and occassionally realized) interracial hook-ups under her belt in a time when that was taboo on TV. Eventually rising to the rank of Commander, Uhura served as a beacon for aspiring women and minorities in SciFi for years following her run on the original series.

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But that's just me.