10 Sexiest Women in Science Fiction

The rules of our game/#86-100
#71-85
#56-70
#41-55
#26-40
#11-25
After more than six weeks of beautiful, sassy, confident women, we've finally arrived at the Top 100's summit. The hallowed Top 10. These ten mirror the whole of the list. They come from various decades. Some are from long running franchises, others from one-shot projects. Some are from far in the future, others walk only 5 minutes ahead. There are robot chicks, pliable fantasy women and warrior amazons. Good girls and bad girls. Noticeably, four of them have had a sexy legacy that has cast more beautiful women in their roles. It is telling that I've shown the original actress in each case. Some characters stay with us and haunt our dreams.

10. Jaime Sommers from The Bionic Woman (Lindsey Wagner)
Though I have great appreciation for Michelle Ryan, there's something a lot more iconic about the original 6,000,000$ lady. She's a natural beauty made of equal parts sweetness, kickassery and metal. If you're looking for a sample, track down the episodes where she fights the Fembots (why would I kid about that?). Basically, she had me at "OMG she just ripped a phonebook in half!". (Unrelated note: Lindsey Wagner appears tonight on Warehouse 13!)

9. Emma/Anna from Dark City (Jennifer Connelly)
Playing a riff on the woman who can be many women, Connelly is a sultry femme fatale in Dark City as Emma, except when she turns into her summery self, Anna, in another life. In whatever life, she leaves quite the impression. There's something about a classy lady singing the blues in a slinky dress, something unforgettable that acts as a catalyst for John Murdoch overthrowing the film noir aliens controlling Dark City and turning the noir to light just so he can walk down a beach with an intoxicating woman.

8. Sarah Connor from the Terminator franchise (Linda Hamilton)
Though she starts out as a scared waitress in need of saving (hey, we all want to save the girl), she turns into this totally badass guerilla fighter in the second film. Don't ask why later installments sucked. She wasn't in them. It's that simple. (I'm sorry you can throw an inflatable-boobed Terminator at me and hope I forget Sarah Connor.) If you ask me, Sarah Connor is where the MILF concept was born from.

7. Uhura from Star Trek (Nichelle Nichols)
I won't lie, for me, it's those awesome abs of steel. The Mirror Universe certainly had a way with a midriff. But even in our universe, Uhura had the goods. Mini-skirt? Check. Playful and teasing? Check. Great voice? Check. Soft focus lens? Didn't need it. Everyone thinking there was something between her and Spock long before the Star Trek movie? Check. And Nichelle Nichols only made the character sassier and more confident with time, culminating in the infamous naked fan dance in Star Trek V. That movie is guilty of many crimes. Skimping on the Uhura is not one of them. A very classy pic if I do say so myself.

6. Gwen Cooper from Torchwood (Eve Myles)
Whether you're looking for a steamy office romance (Owen), Sam & Diane chemistry (Jack), girl on girl action (that sex alien from Day One), or true love with a normal schmo just like you (Rhys), Gwen has found a way to show it. Torchwood will do that to a girl. And what a girl! Gwen is both mean-business, compassionate and slyly funny, and has a slick modern style rooted in girl next door look. Great eyes, freckles, and the Wife of Bath's dentition. Chaucer was not wrong when he associated gap-toothed with passionate. Mmmm. (Yes, I've gone literary fetish on this one.) And that accent! Mmmm. (Linguistics too.)

5. Barbarella from Barbarella (Jane Fonda)
Barbarella, the film, starts with a zero-g undressing sequence. And a sex symbol is born. Barbarella's appearance in the Top 5 is no surprise given the erotic nature of the film - not many heroines are threatened with death by sexual pleasure OR seduce and angel - but it's hard to give her a higher ranking, with apologies to those who hit puberty in the 60s. Why? She's too much of a bimbo. And while her innocence is certainly charming, that'll never be as sexy as a confident woman who knows where her power lies. And yet, Barbarella was never equaled by her many imitators over the years, from Galaxina to the Austin Powers-brand Fembots (runners up in this Top 100, surely).

4. Dana Scully from The X-Files (Gillian Anderson)
The FBI's resident doubting Thomas, the impassive Scully is our final true ice queen (not that Mulder never did melt her down). Gillian Anderson used the character's popularity to build her "brainy is sexy" persona, becoming her generation's Felicia Day, if you get my meaning. Total nerdbait (what is it about pale redheads?). People, there's a reason the Doctor Who fanboys keep name-checking her to become the next Rani.

3. Orion Slave Girls from Star Trek (various)
I'm making an exception here to include half of an entire species, but the Orion Slave Girl is one of the best remembered things about Star Trek, even among the uninitiated. "Slave Girl" is something of a misnomer, as Enterprise revealed they were actually in charge of their society, using their sensuality and super-human pheromones to drive men wild all across the quadrant. The Orion Vina was certainly sexy, but it wasn't until Enterprise that they got the right shade of green for them and made me believe She-Hulk could be real.

2. Persephone from The Matrix franchise (Monica Bellucci)
Monica Bellucci. Do I need to go on? Ok, ok, just let me get my head back in the game. Persephone is a badass character, as characters are wont to be in the Matrix universe, bored with her husband, but totally into getting kinky with our boy Neo. Her outfits are only second to the beautiful, exotic woman inside them. In the Enter the Matrix video game, she also gets a kiss from both Ghost and Niobe, your player avatars. Thank you, filmed cut scenes. Bellucci could have just made her cold and dangerous, but Persephone is also sensitive to love, and that makes her warmer and all the more attractive.

1. Number 6 from Battlestar Galactica (Tricia Helfer)
There can only be one #1 and I've chosen BSG's Six. As with the other Cylon on this list, that nomination goes to the entire model. Perhaps there's a Six for each of us. A total bad girl. A sexy seductress. An intimate confidante. An icy brainbox. A super strong warrior. A sensitive would-be mother. Balthar certainly tasted from the buffet. Truth be told, even though Tricia Helfer created a lot of permutations over the course of her four years on the show, it's the Six from the first season that resonates here the most, and that wondrous red dress. Devastatingly hot, and I'm not just talking about the glowing spine. Was it legal to show this character on tv?

And that makes a hundred! Of course I missed your favorite. How could I not? There are so many incredible female characters in science fiction. Imagine if I'd included the Superhero and Fantasy genres in there. It would have been a top 200 for sure. So let me know who you like, and maybe I'll throw in an addendum next week. And to all the ladies I mentioned, thank you for some great performances. It's really not all about the looks.