Amalgamonday Confession

Inspired by THIS:While you enjoy this Amalgam of Star Trek and Firefly, allow me to confess one of my repulsively geeky habits. This kind of amalgamation is something I do all the time as a mental exercise. Any show or franchise that has an ensemble cast, I eventually and inevitably put that cast on a Federation starship (usually TNG era) named after the corresponding show. It really doesn't have to be science-fiction. Captain Bartlet of the USS Republic? Check. Captain Phelps of the USS Impossible. Likewise. Captain Jack Harkness of the USS Torchwood (everyone's potentially a redshirt!). Captain Buffy Summers, youngest Captain in Starfleet, of the USS Sunnydale. Captain Donaghy of the USS Rockefeller (NCC-30). They've all existed in my head space.

Hi, my name is Siskoid and I'm a capital-G Geek.

TV's Top 5 Science Fiction Christmas Episodes

We're talking memorable favorites, since I can't claim to have watched every genre series out there. So feel free to suggest Roswell's or Smallville's. I won't be in a position to disagree. Genre shows don't, in any case, have the strongest track record when it comes to Christmas specials. Star Wars has that crazy Christmas special featuring Bea Arthur and a family of Wookies, and Star Trek is so secular, it pretty much avoided even mentioning Christmas until Picard's little fantasy in Generations. Let's face it, space operas are about alien cultures, not about our quaint little traditions. And any show with a more fantastical bent will eventually try to do A Christmas Carol or It's a Wonderful Life (and there is some of that in my list). So these are my favorite Christmas-centric genre episodes...

Honorable mention (fantasy): Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, "Amends"
Buffy is principally about the supernatural, but since she HAS gone after robots and mad scientists, I feel comfortable at least giving "Amends" an honorable mention. As with most Joss Whedon-penned and directed episodes of Buffy, "Amends" is considered among the best. The First Evil makes its first appearance, Angel is haunted by his past victims, and he attempts to commit suicide by standing atop a hill during sunrise. That's the most realistic portrayal of Christmas since Charlie Brown's. As the sun is about to come up, the heat wave gripping Sunnydale breaks and snow unseasonably descends on the California town, divine intervention cleansing Angel clean and ready for his own spin-off. Cheesy Christmas Moment: Spontaneous snow!

5. Quantum Leap, "A Little Miracle"
If you're going to include A Christmas Carol riff in a list like this, you could do worse than Quantum Leap's "A Little Miracle" in which Sam and ghostly Al con a rich Scrooge into finding love and generosity over the 1962 holidays. It's very sweet and doesn't even have to take the show off-premise. Cheesy Christmas Moment: The unmotivated appearance of the Star of Bethlehem!

4. Doctor Who, "The Christmas Invasion"
I have a sneaking suspicion that this year's Christmas special will supersede this one, but at this point in time, the best Doctor Who Christmas special remains its first (I'm not counting The Feast of Steven). Not only does it introduce David Tennant to the role, but part of that introduction includes his becoming part of the Tyler family after Eccleston's Doctor unequivocally told her he didn't "do families". A sweet moment with a fun song at the end of a day filled with Christmas dangers. Did you go out on the roof in your jammies that Christmas morning? Cheesy Christmas Moments: Evil robot Santas and killer Christmas trees!

3. Futurama, "Xmas Story"
By the year 3000, Christmas has become Xmas, a terrible day on which people are brought together by fear of a murderous robot Santa's rampage who guns down anyone who has been "naughty" by its extremely high standards. Only Frye knows the true meaning of Christmas and he foolishly risks his life to get Leela a present. John Goodman guest-stars as the ultimate Bad Santa in what turns out to be a dynamic, clever, funny and yes, sweet episode. Cheesy Christmas Moment: Let's all sing "Santa Claus Is Gunning You Down".

2. Chuck, "Chuck vs. Santa Claus"
On Christmas Eve, in what is perhaps the best overall Chuck episode, the evil reverse-CIA Fulcrum engineers a hostage takeover inside the BuyMore. Sure, there's the usual contrast of BuyMore silliness (like the Nerd Herd in elf costumes), hairy danger (the Die Hard situation) and touching romance (Chuck gives Sarah his mom's bracelet), but there's an extra layer too. Sarah has a showdown with a Fulcrum agent in a Christmas tree lot that undercuts her entire relationship with Chuck. I love my downbeat Christmas endings. Awesome Christmas Moment: Your Vegas' "Christmas and Me Are Through" playing over the climax. The only good Christmas songs are the saddest ones.

1. Space: Above and Beyond, "The River of Stars"
And speaking of sad Christmas episodes... On Christmas Day, the Wild Cards are stranded in enemy territory on a damaged drop ship. The desperate Marines have to hold out until they can be rescued, with only Christmas memories and a pathetic little gift exchange to keep their spirits up. Invoking WWI's impromptu Christmas cease-fire and Apollo 8's Christmas Eve mission (and shades of Apollo 13's) adds weight to a tense and touching story. Ultimately, it's about soldiers reconnecting with faith and hope. To me, not only is Space a buried television treasure, but its Christmas episode ranks as the best I've seen. Cheesy Christmas Moment: The Comet of Bethlehem will lead them home!

Now you know mine, what are yours?

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.

100 Sexiest Women in Science Fiction (25-11)

The rules of our game/#86-100
#71-85
#56-70
#41-55
#26-40
Variety is the spice of life, or so goes the saying. I hope that while their ranking is hotly debatable, you've at least enjoyed the variety I've tried to put on display in these posts. Within the rules I set for myself, I still tried to include luscious babes from the silliest of comedies and the soul-crushingly intense dramas. Whether you hit puberty in the 60s or last week, your first SF crush has a good chance of being on the list. I've tried to cater to all tastes, though of course aggressive/bad girls tend to win out in the end. Still, I've shown you vixens, ice queens, hot librarians, both the innocent and the sultry, and a variety of looks and levels of maturity. Let's see what the bottom of the Top 25 yields, shall we?

25. Amy Pond from Doctor Who (Karen Gillan)
The new kid on the block from Doctor Who Series 5 has been called the sexiest Doctor Who companion ever. Well, I've got one in a higher position, but there's no denying that the leggy redhead has sexiness hardwired into her. Her day job is "kissogram" (it's a laugh!) and she certainly exudes a pouty confidence and loves to torture her boys with her sexuality. She's that girl that's one of the boys but keeps making jokes about getting it on with them, knowing full well nobody will dare take her up on it.

24. Nova from Planet Of The Apes (Linda Harrison)
Because it's not SF, I really can't use Raquel Welch in a fur bikini (1,000,000 B.C.). But see below. What I CAN do, is remember than Nova was there first. One thing Charlton Heston discovered is that while apes evolved to become the dominant species on Earth, humans evolved a definite hotness. And who needs brains and tools when you've got hotness on your side? A million years of evolution can't be wrong.

23. Leela from Doctor Who (Louise Jameson)
Here's MY pick for sexiest Doctor Who companion ever, and she's a fiery redhead too. Leela is a sexy and completely unselfconscious savage from the far future, a tomboy with a short skirt to rival even Amy's. Doctor Who's first female badass is still its premiere badass. I've got a janis thorn in my side to prove it.

22. Kaylee Frye from Firefly (Jewel Staite)
Speaking of tomboys... Kaylee may look like a sweet and upbeat ship mechanic, but considering that the first time she came aboard Serenity was to boink the previous mechanic, I'd say there are more sides to her. Though it didn't get very many episodes to work its magic, the chemistry between her and Simon Tam was potent, and it was great to see her in the ballroom dress too. It's nice to see the tomboys dress up. It's a subset of the sexy librarian phenomenon. I could watch her eat strawberries all day.

21. Ro Laren from Star Trek: The Next Generation (Michelle Forbes)
Ensign Ro created in me an everlasting crush on Michelle Forbes, and it's almost a wonder that she didn't crack the Top 20. One of the many women on this list who can break me in half, Ro definitely has a chip on her shoulder, but it's a passionate chip. Her verbal sparring with Riker threw off sparks and I can totally believe that they would wind up together as soon as their memories were wiped. In her first episode, she took off her shirt and gave it to a war orphan. And then there's the scene where she poses as a prostitute and fondles Picard's ears. That's Star Trek's way of saying MAY-DECEMBER!!!

20. Toshiko Sato from Torchwood (Naoko Mori)
Oh Torchwood, you're responsible for so much sexiness, only some of it gratuitous. Tosh may be a bit shy, especially around the man of her dreams, but the show has pushed her into a short-lived same sex relationship with an alien hottie, and brainwashed her so that she put it all out there. And those costumes, oy! But when Tosh is herself, it's sexy librarian all over. She's a timid computer nerd who doesn't realize just how beautiful she is.

19. Lady Jessica from Dune (Saskia Reeves)
Lynch's Dune movie disappoints once again in the sexiness department when you watch the Dune mini-series and see the classy, classy beauty that is Saskia Reeves in the role of Lady Jessica (Alice Krige in Children of Dune can't even compare). Wow, that's some hot mom you have there, Muad'Dib. And of course, she should be. In the Dune universe, wives are a formal affair, but concubines are the ones you really love. The mother of a Messiah should be nothing less than Duke Leto's ideal woman.

18. River Song from Doctor Who (Alex Kingston)
It may or may not help that Alex Kingston played Moll Flanders in a sexy adaptation of Daniel Defoe's book almost 15 years ago (it helps, I confirm it), but there's something incredibly sexy about her portrayal of the Doctor's maybe wife. She seems to be able to have chemistry with just about anyone she wants, and it scarcely matters if they're in their diapers (as the current Doctor, Matt Smith, is, relatively speaking). The voluptuous figure, the bedroom eyes, the curly red hair, the hallucinogenic lipstick... Yes, you read that right. This is a character armed with LSD lipstick. And some mean high heals.

17. Doyle from Andromeda (Brandy Ledford)
The robot girlfriend with a built-in G-spot that's easy to find (why would I make that up?), Doyle could break you in half, but then had these more intimate moments where she didn't mind being held, or stripped naked. I'm also a sucker for almond eyes.

16. Jessica 6 from Logan's Run (Jenny Agutter)
Sexuality being what it is in Logan's Run, there was every chance Jessica would wind up here. This is a world where you can teleport anyone you meet on the forums for steamy under-30 sex, after all. Jenny Agutter is the perfect beauty to bring her to life, innocent yet sexual, and with a wardrobe that's easy to shrug off. Of COURSE, I'll go on the run with you.

15. Leeloo from The Fifth Element (Milla Jovovich)
The petite Leeloo with her strange accent and even stranger costumes was an immediate hit and probably remains one of the most frequent costume ideas for girls who want to be sexy for Halloween or the convention circuit. The fact that so many fail at being at all sexy with an orange harness riding up their crotch is a testament to how Milla Jovovich can make anything look good. Here's the Weapon of God and there was no way Bruce Willis wouldn't fall for her. The best thing is: That's exactly how you unleash the weapon and beat the bad guys. Winning wars against ugly aliens is a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.

14. Maggie Beckett from Sliders (Kari Wuhrer)
Though I'll always remain a Wade fan first and foremost, I can't say I was unhappy with erotica icon Kari Wuhrer joining the cast of Sliders. It certainly gave me something to watch when the scripts started going south. I could go on an on about this being another smokin' warrior woman (oh, those Amazons!), but did I really need to say anything after the words "Kari Wuhrer"? No. No I did not.

13. Cora Peterson from Fantastic Voyage (Raquel Welch)
Told you to watch for Raquel! Like #26's Farrah Fawcett, here we have a star that may not have done a lot of science fiction, but that small appearance has remained in the public's consciousness for a long time. 1966's Fantastic Voyager is a B-movie classic, and Welch fills out that inner-space astronaut outfit to perfection. She's the best thing about the movie (unless you live on Bizarro World, then it's the scientific accuracy), and still mentioned anytime someone counts down the sexiest costumes.

12. Cherry Darling from Planet Terror (Rose McGowan)
A stripper becomes a radioactive-zombie killer all thanks to her machine gun leg. Rose McGowan is gorgeous and uncompromisingly sexy in the role, even after she loses a limb. That takes some doing. And I respect the effort by putting her in the 12th spot.

11. Claudia Brown from Primeval (Lucy Brown)
The voluptuous Claudia Brown and her chemistry with Nick Cutter was probably my biggest reason for liking Primeval initially (though the dinosaurs also had something to do with it). When the universe had a spasm and she became Jenny Lewis, it just didn't work for me anymore, even if it was the same actress. So you really can have the same person play the same basic role (if not character) and still register different levels of sexiness. So it's Claudia's style and her more relaxed relationships I really dig. She's smart, elegant, confident, but can also be flustered in matters of love. Totally hot and endearing. I still hold out hope that the universe can be put right.

I'm noticing that a lot of sexy characters tend towards redder shades of hair. I knew that was a thing in comics (where it's just a matter of coloring hair a flaming and eye-grabbing orange), but it seems to hold in tv and film too. Looking at the top 10, I spot only one more, so redder doesn't necessarily mean sexier. But it's certainly an element. Next week: The 10 sexiest women in science fiction!

100 Sexiest Women in Science Fiction (40-26)

The rules of our game/#86-100
#71-85
#56-70
#41-55
All caught up? As we enter the Top 40, I realize how there must be sci fi babe for everyone and that yours may not have made the list. Certainly, I had to cut some personal favorites like Sally Sparrow and Lady Christina both because they were only featured in one episode of the a long-running show, and because that show is already strongly represented in the 100. Anij may have steamed up the screen in Star Trek: Insurrection, but there are a lot of Trek women already and she became a victim of variety. And even if I try to be as varied as possible, there's every chance I missed your favorite from a show I've never seen. I'll count on you guys to let me know in a couple weeks when the list is done. But remember! No cartoons or puppets!

40. Dr. Helena Russell from Space 1999 (Barbara Bain)
I'll admit that Barbara Bain's Cinnamon Carter from Mission Impossible helps insure such a high placement for Dr. Russell, but Helena has charms very much her own. The chemistry with then-real-life husband Martin Landau which was prominent in M:I carries over to Moonbase Alpha, and Bain definitely proves that at 46 (which she was when the series ended), a woman can definitely hold her own in the sexiness department, even when covered from neck to foot (though she did sometimes show some shoulder and thigh).

39. Maggie from Escape from New York (Adrienne Barbeau)
Adrienne Barbeau's future-gypsy look combined with her absolute loyalty to Brain and gunplay kickassery make her the perfect bodyguard. Who else wanted her to leave Brain behind and escape New York with Snake? She could have escaped from L.A. as well!

38. Stephanie Speck from Short Circuit (Ally Sheedy)
Ally Sheedy made the news, I remember, when she went nude for a robot. Well, there's a bathtub scene. You don't really see anything. Not that it's required for sexiness (and often, the reverse is true). Though not exactly known as a "good girl", she was still an unmeltable creature in The Breakfast Club (believe what you will about that ending). In Short Circuit, Sheedy goes from girl to woman, dropping an unscrupulous ex-boyfriend for a sweet, innocent machine. How could she not crawl into the hearts of geeks everywhere? (We all know what dancing is a metaphor for, don't we?)

37. Sally Solomon from 3rd Rock from the Sun (Kristen Johnston)
Though originally sexless, 3rd Rock's resident military expert and tactician draw the short straw and became a woman. And what a woman! Incredibly sexy, but not wanting to be, and then discovering the woman inside and embracing her while still being able to break your arm. The resulting character is frequently goofy and often unaware of her own beauty and sexuality. Which makes you believe you could actually get such a girl (I mean... Don?), and that's hot.

36. Dizzy Flores from Starship Troopers (Dina Meyer)
What is it with transgendered characters? Yep, Dizzy used to be a guy in Heinlein's original novel. I suppose that transposition makes the resultant woman more of a tomboy (which is sexy in the same way an ice queen is, but far more approachable) and as self-possessed as the male character was. Thankfully, fiction no longer relegates women to the more demure roles and sees them as very much capable of (non-male) confidence. The new and improved Dizzy is the one who gets the boy - sorry Carmen Ibanez! - with a hot barracks love scene the military will certainly frown on.

35. Valeris from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Kim Cattrall)
Kim Cattrall would prove the same thing later in Sex and the City and become something of a sex icon, but for science fiction (I am NOT counting Mannequin, a-thank-yeww), it has to be Valeris. Her playful take on the Vulcan type out-coquettes both T'Pol and Saavik, and easily at that. No wonder people got the impression that she and Spock were having a May-December of next year romance!

34. Leeta from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Chase Masterson)
Like Sally Solomon, Leeta is a sexy girl who likes fugly boys and acts as comedy relief. Frequently listed in lists like this one, Leeta is a bit of a bubble head (Quark famously hired her for her "brains"), but she still has that strong independent streak we can admire in every Bajoran woman. There's a hottub scene in the Leeta-Bashir break-up show that I still can't believe they got away with, and if you go to the Mirror Universe, you might catch a Leeta-Ezri show.

33. Zoe Washburne from Firefly (Gina Torres)
Zoe brings together a number of ingredients proven to work the sexiness. She's a military gal and can kick your ass. She's fallen for an average schmo in Wash. And then there's the rest of the personality/physical package. Wow. This is the woman Sam Raimi picked to play Cleopatra on Xena, after all.

32. Sil from Species (Natasha Henstridge)
What of the Alien Queen in Aliens was a hot chick? The ultimate bad girl, all she wants to do is mate. And she looks like Natasha Henstridge. Some of the time. The cognitive dissonance created by, on the one hand, a babe who wants to make it with you, and on the other, a slimy evil alien that will kill you, is what SF horror is all about. Maybe the more docile Eve from the later films would be more to your tastes? Because yes, though Species wasn't any damn good, they still managed to do three sequels fueled by hormones alone.

31. Zhora from Bladerunner (Joanna Cassidy)
Speaking of bad girls, I couldn't include two replicant girls (Rachael and Pris) and not the last, especially when that third replicant is a sexy stripper assassin played by Joanna Cassidy. She out-wet looks Bo Derek in this film and gets an "11". The bio-engineered snake costs extra. The shower scene is free.

30. Gigolo Jane from A.I. (Ashley Scott)
Here's a character that without much screen time, still managed to capture our libidinous imagination. In fact, she has a single line before slinking off. Shame. The curvy love-bot is also our first introduction to Ashley Scott, who would most certainly make my list of sexiest tv&film superheroes as Birds of Prey's Huntress. And that's somehow gotten her to the top 30. Sue me.

29. Lori Quaid from Total Recall (Sharon Stone)
It's hard not to think of Sharon Stone as something less than a sex symbol, and though people today might attribute it to Basic Instinct, her big sexy break came two years before that infamous picture, in Total Recall. Not only did she play a kickass perfect wife/deadly assassin mindwarping combo, but also posed for Playboy in conjunction with the movie's release. And that's how you beat sharing a film with a three-breasted Lycia Naff.

28. Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager (Jeri Ryan)
The ice queen to beat all ice queens is, of course, Seven of Nine. We've spoken about this before, but let me reiterate: We want to melt the ice and find the passionate woman underneath. And it's there in Jeri Ryan's performance, brewing underneath the logical Borg surface. Bonus points for that ribbed for your pleasure metal unitard. Points off for winding up with cardboard personality Chakotay.

27. Xev Bellringer from Lexx (Xenia Seeberg)
I've never really understood Lexx when I've caught it, despite being partly filmed 3 hours from my house. Best I can make it, it's all about sex. Naturally, its heroine Zev/Xev makes the list. We're talking half cluster lizard, and half renegade love slave here, tutored in how to be a submissive but sexually aggressive wife. When that line of business didn't work out, she underwent the love slave process which turned her into Eva Habermann (quite sexy herself). The character died and was reanimated as Xenia Seeberg (and now called Xev). It's a choice that I made, but feel free to like Eva better. In any case, Zev/Xev's heightened libido scores her a relatively high place on the list, though that libido is always frustrated for various reasons, like liking her men dead.

26. Alex from Saturn 3 (Farrah Fawcett)
She drives the robots wild. At least, she did in Saturn 3 when another character gave a machine his own lust and homicidal nature. Farrah Fawcett leaves an indelible impression as the unfortunately victimized (but surviving) girl, and boys of a certain age won't be able to watch without thinking about her famous poster. Definitely a case of the star pushing the character farther than she might have gotten on her own, but her outfits in Saturn 3 have something for everyone, leather fetishists included.

I wrap things up as one of Charlie's Angels narrowly misses the Top 25. Next week, we breach the top of the list.