Since Syfy is one of the networks that show new episodes in the summer, the time seems right to focus on the sci-fi genre’s bad girls – TV characters we love to hate (or hate to love). This week Syfy UK published its list of the “Top Ten Bad Girls of Sci-Fi.” Let’s take a look at the highlights or, in this case, lowlights.
I have never watched Sanctuary and I have no idea why. With Amanda Tapping as the lead and Agam Darshi as an antihero, how did I miss this show? In any case, Kate is described as a smuggler, thief, con artist and swindler. She’s also whip-smart and the woman you want on your side in a fight. What happens after the fight is entirely up to you.
I am so smitten with the subtext between Seven of Nine and virtually every other female character aboard the Voyager that I forgot she tried to assimilate the crew into the Borg collective when she first showed up. Throughout the series, Seven of Nine was a foil for Captain Janeway, but we all know that the two of them have long since been assimilated into each other.
Oh, Adelle, how I miss you. That lilting accent, that no-bullshit demeanor, that long, creamy neck – sigh. Adelle was the boss of the Dollhouse. She was so hungry for companionship that she also was a secret client, hiring Victor to play her sexy suitor. In the end, Adelle showed the courage to stand up to the Rossum Corporation and the compassion to care for Topher, proving once again that icy exteriors often hide warm hearts.
Faith was the anti-Buffy, making bad decisions and generally effing up her life. She had few friends and an abusive upbringing, ending up on the dark side of slaying. Faith never hesitated to call herself a killer and believed that protecting the world gave her the right to break its rules. But something about her let us know that she wasn’t evil through and through. And, of course, we enjoyed the underlying sexual tension between Faith and Buffy.
In the Season 1 finale of Seeker, Cara, a member of the fearsome women’s order known as Mord-Sith, was sent by Darken Rahl to kill the Seeker. Instead, she ended up killing Darken to save herself. Oops. In the process, she gained Richard’s trust and joined the Seeker’s quest. I’m glad she hasn’t given up her love of leather in the process.
Others listed include Number Six from BSG, Vala from Stargate, Cameron from Sara Connor Chronicles, Starbuck from BSG and Aeryn from Farscape. All are wicked women in their own right, as you can read in the original article.
I’m going to let you fill in the blanks with your favorite sci-fi bad girls, but I would be remiss if I failed to mention one glaring omission from Syfy’s list. (From its own network, no less.)
Clarice is a high priestess of Athena and heads Athena Academy. As such, she is deeply religious – but her true religion is monotheism, which is verboten on Caprica. The “mono-” doesn’t extend to relationships, however; she is part of a group marriage with (approximately) four husbands and three wives. Clarice is ruthless, manipulative and unabashedly sexual. If she and Amanda Graystone don’t get it on when Caprica returns, I’m not sure I can take the tension.(Yes, I do remember what happened to Amanda in the last episode, although I don’t want to spoil it. Just remember that in Caprica, anything is possible.)
Your turn: What sci-fi women make you tremble in your moon boots?
