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Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley Tops List Of Science Fiction's Baddest Women
San Francisco, 2:24 PM
Tue Dec 8
28 posts in the last 24 hours
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Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley Tops List Of Science Fiction's Baddest Women |
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06/02/09
And though she was only a recurring character for a season, I'll nominate Ellen from Supernatural. Lady was seriously badass, and needs to return to the show ASAP.
But there are so many others that deserve a nod! Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender, definitely. And how about Roxy from Dead Like Me? Ella (and maybe Thelma?) from Hex, and Djaq from Robin Hood (the BBC TV show). Stretching, but what about Miss Parker from The Pretender and Nikita and Madeleine from La Femme Nikita? More adventure/drama than sci-fi/fantasy, but so is Alias, right? (I haven't watched it, so I don't know; that's only my impression based on the ads I've seen)
I tried not to pick characters that have already been mentioned, but man, this list could go on and on. I love this thread!
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06/03/09
But Rose? Nah.
06/02/09
Also, Xena, Sydney Bristow, and Barbarella are all rated too low, while Claire Bennet, Mikaela Banes (dumb name), and Sam Carter (yes, that's right) are all rated much too high. Carter was literally a walking source of exposition and, in the last 15 minutes of every episode, the deus-ex-machina wrap-up and "reset everything back to the status quo" machine. Just because her reproductive organs are on the outside of her body does NOT mean she was a "badass woman."
06/02/09
"It was in Star Trek that Nichols gained popular recognition by being one of the first black women featured in a major television series not playing a servant; her prominent supporting role as a female black bridge officer was unprecedented. During the first year of the series, Nichols was tempted to leave the show, as she felt her role lacked significance; however, a conversation with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. changed her mind. Though specifics of the conversation vary, in generalities she has reported that Dr. King personally encouraged her to stay on the show, telling her that he was a big fan of the series and told her she "could not give up" since she was playing a vital role model for black children and young women across the country.[2] It is also often reported that Dr. King added that "Once that door is opened by someone, no one else can close it again."
Former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison has cited Nichols's role of Lt. Uhura as her inspiration for wanting to become an astronaut and Whoopi Goldberg has also spoken of Nichols's influence."
06/03/09
Um, that's all well and good, but nowhere in that blurb does it specify that Uhura was a _badass_. Just that she was a lesser role compared to the three core characters, she was played by a black woman, and she was a TV character on a show that happened to fall into the sci-fi genre. The most "badass" thing she did in the original series was that fan dance.
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06/03/09
Nah, that's just a robust immune system. I suppose you might claim that she was badass for kissing him while _knowing_ about those 217 VDs, but one should assume that Bones follows the Hippocratic Oath to the letter, and does not draw on the deep reservoir of anecdotes that Kirk inadvertantly provides him with while hanging out in the mess hall. You know, because that would probably be violently harmful to the digestive processes of his fellow diners.
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I'd even throw in Savannah Nix (Helen Buday) as she stood fast as Max Rockatansky took shots at her then took the initiative to lead her fellow tribes people to find a better life.
What did Leia Organa ever do besides whine? Choke Jabba to death as his sail barge burned? Big deal.
06/03/09
I thought it was fairly well established that Aunty Entity just took all the credit, while Master was the real mastermind.
And I guess you didn't watch the SW movies very closely, but in Ep4 she resisted torture, stood her ground in the face of two of the most powerful people in the galaxy, improvised an escape plan by shooting a gun, dove (voluntarily) into a trash compacter, and shoved a Wookiee out of the way while insulting him...all while not wearing a bra. In Ep5, she lived in a room carved from ice (probably wearing a bra this time around), hurled the best insults in the entire SW series, again stood her ground in the face of the remaining "powerful person" from the previous movie, resisted Lando's charms, gave every indication that she was going to let the aforementioned Wookiee choke the life out of Lando, reined that same Wookiee in with but a single command, and walked around in a slug's mouth. In Ep6, she infiltrated an enemy fortress, destroyed their leader's favorite trophy, choked him with her own restraints (while wearing a metal bikini), talked a race of feral teddy bears out of the biggest meal they've probably seen in their entire lives, let her boyfriend grope her up smack in the middle of a firefight (after she'd been shot, no less), found out she's the daughter of the aforementioned "powerful person", and found out that she's capable of outright breaking the laws of physics with her mind.
Not once did she ever whine, though she did object to being called a "committee".
06/03/09
Leia wasn't the whiner in the Skywalker family. That title falls squarely on the shoulders of Luke.
Don't forget that Leia was also a senator and a leader of the Rebellion.
06/03/09
Oh, yes, I forgot. Not once did Leia ever express any desire to go to Tosche Station.
06/02/09
Come on TotalScifi, you're better than that.
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How could they leave her out?
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06/02/09
I demand a recount!
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06/03/09
Definitely. Ivanova needs to be a lot higher on that list, Leeloo needs to get the boot (perhaps they meant to put Leela there?), and seriously, with only two Trek women getting nods they picked Uhura and Janeway? W. T. F? Well, I suppose it could have been worse. They could have opted for Troi and 69.