5) Missi Pyle
Even if you don’t know her by name, you’ll recognise Missi when you see her. I think we probably know her more from movies that TV shows, but she has been in her fair share of genre films.
The first thing I remember seeing her in is Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory but she’s also been in:
Galaxy Quest, Josie & The Pussycats, Roswell High, The Tick, Big Fish, Dodgeball, Anchorman, My Name is Earl, Heroes, Pushing Daisies, and American Dad

4) Amanda Tapping

Amanda Tapping will, first and foremost, always be Samantha Carter to me, and to millions of Stargate fans around the globe. I know she splits opinion among some people, but I think Sam Carter is a great character (once the sorted out the first season niggles, and we have Amanda to thank for some of that). It was only after I had seen her as Sam Carter, however, that I realised how much other SF stuff Amanda Tapping has been in. Not only has she been in every Stargate series, from SG-1 to Universe, she’s also appeared in:
Goosebumps, Due South, The X-Files, The Outer Limits, Millennium, Earthsea, Sanctuary, Stargate: Continuum, and Stargate: The Ark of Truth

3) Summer Glau
Summer Glau has only been appearing on our TV screens for about 10 years. Of course, most of us know her as River Tam from Firefly, but a glance back over her filmography on IMDB reveals that right from the start she was appearing in our kind of shows. Let’s take a look at what else you’ll know her from:
Angel, Cold Case, CSI, Serenity, The 4400, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, Chuck, The Big Bang Theory, and Alphas

2) Gina Torres
When Gina walked onto our screens as Zoe in Firefly, I knew I’d seen her in other things before, but couldn’t quite place her. Again, when you start looking back, it becomes apparent that she’s been in a lot of TV that we’ve watched over the years, and a few films as well. Add to this some video game voice over work and you can see that SF and fantasy seems to be one of her mainstays. You’ll have seen Gina in:
Law & Order, Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Cleopatra 2525, Angel, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, CSI, 24, Justice League, Without a Trace, Alias, Pushing Daisies, Flashforward, The Vampire Diaries, and Transformers Prime

1) Lucy Lawless
Known to all of us as Xena, Warrior Princess, Lucy Lawless has carved herself a niche in geek friendly TV. It seems impossible that Xena was first airing almost 20 years ago, but that also shows how long Lucy Lawless has been on our screens.
So, as well as appearing in Warrior Princess, Lucy Lawless has also been in:
Hercules and the Amazon Women, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, The X-Files, Spider-Man, Tarzan, Spider-Man 2, Veronica Mars, Burn Notice, Dragonlance, Justice League, CSI: Miami, The Simpsons, Battlestar Galactica, Flight of the Conchords, American Dad, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, and Spartacus: Blood and Sand

Honourable mentions have to include: Claudia Black (check out how much video game voice over work she’s done), Mary McDonnell, Jewel Staite, Eliza Dushku, Gillian Anderson, and Melinda Clarke.

Related posts:

• Top 5: Mr Sci-Fi
• Top 5: Films From Childhood

The Creepiest Mr Sci-Fi?

5) Zeljko Ivanek
I honestly think that Zeljko Ivanek specialises not only in being Mr Sci-Fi but being creepy Mr Sci-Fi. The first thing I remember seeing him in is 24, where he played a scary as hell terrorist – whose father was played by Dennis Hopper. He’s been in loads of other shows though and you might remember him from the following:
The X-Files, Millennium, Homicide: Life on the Street, Black Hawk Down, The Twilight Zone, The West Wing, Law & Order, CSI, Law & Order: SVU, Die Hard 4, Heroes, True Blood, The Event
 
 
 
 
 
 

He even looks scary when he's smiling

Pretty cunning, don't you think?

The first Mr Sci-Fi?

I think Erick Avari is possibly the first actor I categorised as a “Mr Sci-Fi”. He’s been in loads of stuff that I’ve watched over the years. And he’s awesome in everything he’s been in. I think I first saw him in Stargate, but you may also know him from:
Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, SeaQuest DSV, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Independence Day, The Mummy, The West Wing, Stargate SG-1, Enterprise, The X-Files, Law & Order, Alias, NCIS, Heroes, Law & Order: CI, Burn Notice, Castle, Warehouse 13
 
 
 
 
 
 

Our winner!

The shows and movies I’ve listed for these guys are only a small sample of what they’ve been in – go check their IMDB profiles for a proper idea of how many times you’ll have tagged them as “that guy from that thing”.

It was tough narrowing this list down to five people, so here are the honourable mentions:
Greg Grunberg, Lance Reddick, Clancy Brown, Scott Bakula, Brian Thompson, Michael Ironside

Next up – Top 5 Mrs Sci-Fis.

Related posts:

• Top 5: Mrs Sci-Fi
• Top 5: Films From Childhood
• Top 5: Male TV Characters

5) The Prologue
I think the prologue sequence in FOTR is one of the trilogy’s major successes. Boiling all that back story down into an accessible 15 minute sequences that introduces us to the main thread of the story and some important characters, it’s the perfect way into the world of Middle-earth, especially for new comers. LOTR’s well known attention to the small details is showcased well here too; arrows skim past their own armies catching hair in their wake, the Ring shrinks to fit its owner and Gollum’s cave is nicely realised.
It’s the very start of it I like the most though; I amar prestar aen, Elvish words whispered over a a dark screen; “The world is changed”.

4) Bilbo’s Party
Personally, I don’t like parties. Too many people and often far too loud. But this party looks brilliant. The food all looks fantastic, it has the best firework display ever, lights, music and Merry and Pippin causing trouble. Again, the little details are great; Pippin is playing in the band, Sam is more or less drunk and Bilbo’s speech is exactly how it should be. Best.Birthday.Ever.

3) Elves
Ah, elves. I love Tolkien’s elves, and here they are in all their perfection. I love the way they realised the elves in these films, especially their costumes. There’s a great sequence in the extended edition of FOTR (does anyone watch the theatrical versions any more?) where Sam and Frodo watch a group of elves on their journey to the Grey Havens, leaving Middle-earth forever. Sam remarks “I don’t know why, but it makes me sad”. Me too. Other than that, I just really like elves, so they make my list!

2) Horses
Shadowfax, Asfolath, Arod, Brego, Snowmane, the horses of Rohan and even Bill the pony. LOTR is packed full of horses and that rocks. There are some truly beautiful shots of the horses in the films as well, especially Shadowfax.

1) Bag End
Who wouldn’t want to live here? It looks like the most relaxing place in the world, full of exciting trinkets and treasures and the gorgeous view across Hobbiton. I could be quite happy living in a Hobbit hole like Bag End, away from all the cares of the world and in the quiet of the countryside.

Related posts:

• Top 5: Films From Childhood
• Top 5: Mrs Sci-Fi
• Top 5: Mr Sci-Fi

King of Pride Rock

5) The Lion King
Because?The first time I saw the Lion King was at the cinema for a friend’s birthday. I remember almost being overawed by the animation – it looked fantastic; the colours, the way the characters moved, the detailed backgrounds and even CG.

The songs and the music were great too, I think The Lion King was probably the first film I watched where I wanted to listen to the soundtrack in and of itself after watching the film. Nowadays, I’m still partial to listening to film scores and I daresay that the music from The Lion King had a hand in that.

Of course, part way through it throws you completely by killing off Simba’s father – it still makes me cry to this day. But hey, most children’s films are full of “this is what life is like” lessons and this is no different.

The whole film had an impact on me – I “took it away with me” after I left the cinema. I had Lion King toys, books, the soundtrack, PJs, and I have bought The Lion King magazine for a while. I remember drawing the characters at home and colouring them in.

The Lion King has been embroiled in various controversies about being a rip off and other things since I watched for the first time, but it doesn’t stop if from being a brilliant film and certainly one of my top five childhood films.
 

"I don't think anywhere is safe any more"

4) The Dark Crystal
Because?I clearly remember the first time I saw The Dark Crystal. I was at home (sitting far too close to the TV) and it was the Skeksis that I was fascinated by, especially when one of them died and crumbled into dust. That image was a memorable one to say the least.

The planet the film is set on has three suns, it’s populated by imaginative fantasy creatures and is a real feast for the eyes.

I haven’t seen the film for many years and it’s always on my list of “I should really buy that on DVD”. Still, the memory of it lingers in my mind, never quite going away.

" I have forgotten that men cannot see Unicorns"

Because?I saw the film in the school holidays on a Summer afternoon, drawn in by the title – of course I was going to watch a film about a Unicorn.

It turned out to be somewhat dark, not really a cheerful story and the ending is quite bittersweet. Characters lament for things they’ve lost, times that never happened and the people they were never able to be. All the characters besides the Unicorn appear to believe they are in a story with the Unicorn being the only thing that’s real.

The songs aren’t up to much and some would call the animated “dated” to say the least; but I like the old style animation, it’s part of the film’s charm and adds to its fairy tale feel. It’s a pretty faithful adaptation of the book as well; while a few things are skipped over, the back bones and the essence of the story are there.

The image of the Unicorn being driven towards the sea by the Red Bull and then rallying and chasing her enemy into the waves is one that stuck with me for a very long time.

"You have no power over me"

One of the things that really appeals to me is it’s so easy to imagine yourself in Sarah’s shoes. I would rather have been living in a fairy tale world as well. Unfortunately for her, the fair tale world turns out to be a more treacherous place than she imagined.

The puppet creations, for the most part, look great. The ballroom scene is fantastic, with a dark and creepy under current, as is the bag lady scene that follows it. And of course, it’s got Bowie.

I don’t care what people say about the songs; I love them. Magic Dance is on my iPod and I have the full soundtrack at home.

After a certain point, I didn’t see the film for many years until I finally tracked it down on VHS when I was at 6th form. It’s just as relevant to me now as it was back then. The film’s most important aspect, I think, is that we’re never finished with our childhoods. We’ll always need them and they’ll be there waiting.
 

"All the world will be your enemy"

Like The Last Unicorn, some would call the animation dated, but I think it’s all the better for it. The animation is rich and imaginative, particularly in the opening sequence and the more trippy moments set alongside “Bright Eyes”. Morbid as it may sound, the death sequences are also imaginatively animated and the fights don’t skimp on blood and gore. Heck, the colour pallet is dark as well.

I watched the film over and over as a child, I hunted the book out (still have my first copy, somewhat battered and taped together now), borrowed the audio book from the library and drew lots and lots of pictures of things from the film. Like Labyrinth and The Last Unicorn, several years went past at one point before I saw the film again but when I did come back to it, I found it just as I had remembered it.

The story of Watership Down is one that I’ll come back to again and again; I read it every couple of years and the film sits with all my other DVDs. I have the soundtrack somewhere as well. So yeah, a childhood film so important I’m still carrying it around with me today.

Related posts:

• Top 5: Male TV Characters
• Top 5: Mr Sci-Fi
• Top 5: Albums for Gaming

At Number 5: Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers

Run: 1989-1993

It’s only just sneaking into the 80′s but Chip N Dale was a fantastic cartoon with a really catchy intro. It’s like some kind of low budget power ballad and I really love the kind of spooky, low key initial verse. Just watching the intro reminds me of how much I loved all the characters and the sad realisation that both Chip and Dale’s outfits were stolen, think Indiana Jones and Magnum P.I. Fucked up right? I also love how they managed to get cross dressing Chip N Dale into the intro credits, just awesome.
Check this out too, a full version of the song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Lae8Ln0Xw. Amazing!

At Number 4: Thundercats

Run: 1985-1989

An 80′s cartoon heavyweight Thundercats had a fantastic rock intro, I think the reason I prefer rock music now is because most of the cartoons I used to watch had awesome rock intro’s even if they were a little flamecoat. Simple but effective I get’s your blood pumping and makes you want to be a fucking Thundercat. We have the new Thundercats starting on Cartoon Network very soon. I’m not confident. In case there is not enough rock here check out this link for a metal version of the theme song which is equally as bad ass http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkr2RAC9KDw

At Number 3: Defenders of the Earth

Run: 1986-1986 (so sad!)

Ah unappreciated but entertaining as hell DOTE was a great cartoon but its theme song was really cool. I love the little character intro’s, especially Mandrakes and Wikipedia actually claims Stan Lee wrote these! You learn something new everyday, anyway rocking theme tune with really fun lyrics.

At Number 2: The Real Ghostbusters

Run: 1986-1991

A legendary theme song that’s a bit of cheat since it’s really to a movie but I don’t care :P It’s rocking, it’s cool and it sums up the Ghostbusters well. The Real Ghostbusters was a massively popular cartoon and nothing cheered me up more as a kid than running around with my crappy home-made proton pack shouting “I AIN’T AFRAID OF NO GHOST!” Yeah Ghostbusters, teaching poor grammar since 1986. Your special treat this time is an excellent punk cover of the intro http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inDIfRlAjQE

And Finally, At Number 1: MASK

Run: 1985-1987

MASK has best cartoon theme intro EVER. It’s rocky. It’s electric-y. It’s inspirational. I love it. MASK in itself was a great show but the theme song is always the thing that will stick with me the most. It feels like it sums up 80′s cartoons in general and always makes me want to watch MASK or just be generally full of justice and freedom. The lyrics might be cheesy as hell but that’s what made these cartoons so fun.

Got some suggestions that didn’t make my list? I know I struggled on what to include or not! Also remember I was focusing on 80′s tunes here, clearly Bucky O Hare and Captain Planet both have ace songs but were 90′s and therefore didn’t make it!

In case you still didn’t think the 80′s was the best cartoon period ever I’m going to leave you with this awesome piece by J Scott Campbell because frankley, you’re wrong.

Totally 80's!

Related posts:

• Theme Update
• Top 5 Tim Minchin Songs
• Top 5: Albums for Gaming

As before, this post contains spoilers.

Our favourite archaeologist

5) Daniel Jackson
Show: Stargate SG-1 (also Stargate Atlantis / Stargate Universe)
Because? Daniel’s a geek! Even if he doesn’t like being called a geek, he’s one of us! The man’s got a brain in his head that was always a good counter balance to Jack O’Neill’s more militaristic approach to a situation.

Over the course of the many seasons of Stargate, he went from being the quieter, more naive member of the team to someone who was a bit more worldly and perhaps a bit more world-weary. All the same, he didn’t lose that enthusiasm for discovery or passion for history.

He turned into someone who could be efficient in a fire fight as well and managed to worm his way out of more than a few troublesome situations, like the time he became a Prior. That doesn’t change the fact that he’s probably died and come back to life more times than most of us can remember, mind you. He even died and came back to life in the original film. What kills him makes him stronger!

The massive fan following says something about the popularity of this character and he’s always been one of my personal favourites, which earns him a place in my top 5.

"I always have a plan"

4) Benjamin Linus
Show: Lost
Because? Ben was fascinating to watch. Was he a bad guy or not? How much did he really know about anything that was going on? Was every single word that came out of his mouth a lie?

Our introduction to Ben turned out to be a massive lie and sly manipulation on the part of the character as he set Jack and Locke against each other. And all with that nasty, scheming smile on his face and never less than eloquent way of speaking.

Ben was probably the most complex character on Lost as we struggled to untangle the threads of his life on and off the island. He could be exceedingly cold hearted – for example, the “daughter” whom he had saved/stolen all those years ago, he allowed to be shot while he stood and watched. OK, he did seem pretty shocked by it all, but he still let it happen. And then there was the time he took revenge for the death of his daughter, knowing that doing so was going to cost more people their lives. His response to this -”so?”.

He was willing to switch his loyalties to whomever he could use most at a given time but at the same time did seem to have his own twisted code.

Brilliantly written and acted, Ben is probably one of Lost’s best and most original creations.

"I have no desire to dominate the universe"

3) Scorpius
Show: Farscape
Because? Scorpius was a fantastic example of how to create a villain with layers and depth. He was certainly much, much more than your average mustache twirling bad guy.

One of the things that marks Scorpius out is his patience. He was willing to wait to get what he wanted from John Crichton- a process that involved planting a clone of himself inside Crichton’s brain to burrow around and find what he needed, nearly driving our hero insane in the process. This clone was also responsible for some of the more “out there” moments in the show (which is saying something when it comes to Farscape), essentially giving us two versions of the character.

He carried a lot of hatred around with him as well, particularly for the Scarrans. All of this was for a reason, however, as we saw flash backs to his traumatic early life.

Scorpius’ ability to survive is also one of his defining characteristics. Whether it was the abuse of the Scarrans, being a “half-breed” amongst a race that despises such a thing, the explosive destruction of a massive building or facing a massive army on a ship with no weapons or crew, Scorpius always survives.

Darkly dreaming

2) Dexter Morgan
Show: Dexter
Because? Dexter is likable. Which is odd, when you consider that he’s a multiple murderer and we all know that he’s going to do it again. But he’s a nice guy. Or maybe it’s just that he projects the image that he’s a nice guy. As the seasons have progressed, he’s gone from someone who thought he had no feelings or emotions at all, to someone who has to face up to perhaps developing these emotions after all and not really knowing how to deal with it – the whole situation with Rita, for example.

Dexter is a complex and increasingly conflicted character. It’s impossible not to root for him, but then you remember you’re cheering on a murderer. And even though for the most part he’s offing people who, for one reason or another, “deserve” it, he’s slipped up every now and again and someone’s got caught in the cross fire. Most of the characters in the show who knew his secret have ended up dead – Doakes, his brother, Lila, Miguel and of course Arthur Mitchell.

Then there’s the question that hovers constantly over the show – do we want him to get caught or not? Either way would make for fascinating viewing and everything leading up to the eventual finale of the series will make for magnetic viewing.

"Hello. I'm The Doctor."

1) The Doctor
Show: Doctor Who
Because? “He’s out there, burning through time, facing a thousand dangers across the stars and never giving up. He looks like a man but he’s a legend and his name is the Doctor.” That sounds like someone who’s going to be worthy of being one of my favourite characters.

The Doctor has saved the Earth more times than any other character from, well, probably any show or movie. And to some extent, he’s usually winging it, but there’s always wit and intelligence behind it because he’s got a brain the size of a planet. Not literally, but you know what I mean.

My first Doctor was 3, John Pertwee, but my Doctor is 10, David Tennant. I have happy memories of watching (and being scared by) Doctor Who as a child, but it was the new, more epic and sweeping new series that really stole my heart. The 9th Doctor was still dealing with the aftermath of the Time War and everything that went with that. The 10th Doctor still carried that burden and a lingering sense of lonliness – he was full of energy but could switch from being all smiles to being The Oncoming Storm in a heart beat. The 11th Doctor is more like a child and an old man all at once. And all these traits bound up in the same character.

He’s got reserves of mercy and sympathy but he’s also said he’s not a man to give second chances. He’s let his arrogance run away with him at times but can’t stay away from a cry for help. He’s endlessly enthusiastic, but it’s been implied that, despite all his enemies, no one hates him more than he hates himself.

The Doctor is a fantastic character, endlessly entertaining and intriguing.

Honourable Mentions:
My full list will contain a lot of characters, this lot among them- John Critchton, William Adama, Spike, Jayne Cobb, Malcolm Reynolds, John Mitchell, Jack Harkness, Walter Bishop, Gene Hunt

*****

Another day, another top 5 list completed. Narrowing these lists down isn’t easy!

Related posts:

• Top 5: Female TV Characters
• Top 5: Films From Childhood
• Top 5: Mr Sci-Fi

I’ve split my list in to my favourite male characters and my favourite female characters, mainly
because I have a difficult time narrowing these lists down and this allows me to get more
characters in!

I should probably say at this point that this post contains lots of spoilers. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Now, without further ado, here are my top 5 female TV characters.

Five by five

5) Faith Lehane
Show: Buffy The Vampire Slayer / Angel
Because? Faith shook things up when she waltzed into the Buffy universe. The season before, Buffy met a slayer who was “all work and no play”. Faith was almost the opposite end of that scale; an indication of what could happen to a slayer without the right kind of guidance.

For a while it looked like everything would be fun and games and then there was that accident and someone was killed. From there it was a downward spiral for Faith and it made excellent viewing.

There wasn’t another character like Faith in the Buffyverse. Hell, there wasn’t really another like her on TV at the time. Her arc was excellently written and her gradual descent into self hatred was gut wrenchingly brilliant TV.

We got to see more of this when she crossed over on to Angel and she eventually broke, unable to take what she had become any longer and begged Angel to kill her.

She managed to fight her demons to some degree and ended up fighting on the side of right again before the end, but her whole story, from start to finish, was excellent.

Proudly not believing

4) Dana Scully
Show: The X-Files
Because? During the hay-day of The X-Files, I can’t think that there was a better female
character on TV at the time than Dana Scully. When I was 10 or 11, I pretty much just wanted to be her; she was brainy and she was cool.

She was something of a contradiction at times as well; a scientist who more often than not refused to believe any theory that Mulder came up with, or in anything supernatural, even if it was staring her in the face. Along that belief in science, we saw her struggle with her Catholic faith as well. And gradully, we see her challenging most of her beliefs (science and religion) as the experience of working on the X-Files changes her.

As the series progressed, she was on an equal footing with Mulder as well. I think the main reason I like her though is because the woman has a brain in her head.

Shall we shoot them?

3) Fiona Glenanne
Show: Burn Notice
Because? She’s kick ass, that’s why. Fi is a woman of action, no two ways about it. From almost the moment we meet her, it’s clear as day that’s she’s trigger happy and more than a little keen on blowing things up.

She has a bit of a shady past and is more than willing to take on less than legal work but at heart she’s a good person who looks out for those she cares about.

She looks after herself as well and it’s made clear more than once that when she’s not helping Michael, she’s out doing jobs she hunted out for herself – more often than not selling or buying weapons or blowing things up. Along with some bounty hunting.

In and amongst all that, she manages to make Michael both happy and miserable, torment Sam and placate Michael’s mother. She’s not to be messed with.

President of the 12 Colonies

2) Laura Roslin
Show: Battlestar Galactica
Because? Almost the entire human race is wiped out in the course of a day. What’s left of it is a struggling, ill equiped mess and they’re still being hunted by those who brought destruction down on the colonies. And in the midst of all this, she’s landed with the role of “the one in charge”. An unlooked for promotion, seeing as she was no-where near the rank of president in the chain of command.

So of course, she took on the role and began to sort out what was left of the human race. This included conflict with its military leader and a good number of other politicians. She didn’t pull any punches when it came to dealing with the enemy either- blasting them straight out the airlock became the favourite method, thanks to her example.

She wasn’t afraid to fight dirty either – there was that whole attempt at rigging an election and sometimes just plain ignoring everything that the Quorum wanted. Depending on who you spoke to, she may also have been a mythical figure of prophecy.

And on top of this impossible situation she was dying of cancer. And she just carried on.

Over the course of the series, she was cured of her disese only for it to return later on but she continued fighting until the end. The disappointment of Earth not being all it should have might have come close to breaking her, but the damn fleet needed her so she carried on again.

I think we knew from the start that she probably wouldn’t still be alive come the end of the series, but when it happened it was still hearbreaking, especially given the degree of happiness that she’d found. Best president ever.

"I'm not good at nice"

1) Aeryn Sun
Show: Farscape
Because? Aeryn is my favourite female character in anything, ever. Also one of my favourite characters full stop.

Over the course of four seasons of Farscape, we watch her grow from a cold hearted, no nosense military type who can’t look beyond her training to someone who is caring, dependable and a hell of a tough cookie. And she never loses her edge.

She didn’t have the easiest of lives either – deemed “irreversibly contaminated” by her people, she is cast out and left amongst a gang of prisoners and the alien that’s responsible for landing her in the mess in the first place. But she grows beyond all that to become something more than she was ever going to be with the peacekeepers, and then she dies. It’s a heartbreaking scene as she confesses her feelings and faces her death with dignity. It was shocking as well – I’d not been spoiled before hand so I had no idea it was going to happen.

She came back, of course (this is sci-fi!), but it wasn’t an easy road after that either. When Crichton is duplicated and the two go in different directions, she has to chose one of them, and then has to watch him die. Meeting with the other Crichton later on in the season leads to all kinds of misery. But again she pulls through.

She’s never afraid to make the tough decisions either, be it impossible odds in a fight, or prepared to shoot Crichton during the “Liars, Guns and Money” trilogy.

Add to that she’s kick ass in a fight but is able, eventually, to face her own flaws as well. Her character arc was convincing and well written as she was flung from one painful and impossible situation to another.

And in the Farscape comics, she’s gone on to be the leader of what is left of the Peacekeepers, ready to lead the races of the uncharted territories to war against an almost impossibly poweful enemy. And you know she’ll likely beat the odds again.

Honourable Mentions
A few more character’s who’ll be making it into the full list – Buffy Summers, Sydney Bristow, Kara Thrace, River Song, Kahlan Amnell, Samantha Carter, Vala Mal Doran.

*****

So, that’s my top 5 female characters. My next post will be, surprisingly, my top 5 male characters.

Related posts:

• Top 5: Male TV Characters
• Top 5: Films From Childhood
• Top 5: 80′s Cartoon Theme Songs

It doesn’t really reveal that much but it made me giggle which is a good sign. I always loved the Muppets when I was younger, I used to watch (admittedly re-runs) of The Muppet Show when growing up and was always a big fan of the characters, I had Muppet Babies to see me through when I was really young too.

We also got the movie later on, most of them were excellent too (especially Christmas Carol) so basically I’m pretty excited about this one, I saw some people moan that mentioning the fact this is a Muppets trailer kills the marketing exercise a little (over at Den of Geek where I first heard the news) but to be fair, how many of us would have clicked play of the title was “New Amy Adams Chick Flick?”

Anyone hope you enjoyed the trailer, here’s to a new generation of Muppets movies!

Related posts:

• Full Length Scott Pilgrim Trailer Released
• New Watchmen Trailer Released
• Scott Pilgrim Trailer Looking Awesome

Of course however Hollywood’s principle trade is destroying dreams so as I sat down for the pre-feature trailers I can’t deny I was pretty nervous.

I shouldn’t have been, Edgar Wright delivered on so many levels and pretty much put out the best film this year. I realise this is a pretty big statement especially since Inception has just been and gone but stick with me through this, it’s long but it;s more a purpose in getting all my geekgasm feelings out because a week after I saw the film, I’m still buzzing.

Plot

This section is sans serious spoilers but if you are a really fussy bitch skip it.

If you don’t already know Scott Pilgrim (yeah Plumtree)  is a full time twenty something loser who pretty much sums up the “born in the 80′s” generation, he’s a massive video game and comic nerd, he’s in a crappy garage band, he towing a lot of breakup baggage and he’s actually a bit of a douche.

Some people would question the logic of making the main character “imperfect” but that’s probably the best thing about Scott Pilgrim, that for all the unrealistic explosions and shit that goes off in the film, he is actually a more realistic character than almost ever other hapless romantic comedy character has ever been. Movie Bob over at the Escapist made an especially astute observation on this point regarding the fact that one of the biggest problems with the stereotypical romcom is that the lead characters are often over idealised versions of the directors in their own youth, struggling to make girls understand and appreciated them over the jocks who mistreat them day after day.

This is simply not Scott and I’ve not felt closer to a male main character since reading High Fidelity for the first time back in the late 90s.

OK basic Scott plot; he is in a (tenuous) relationship with a high school-er when he meets the literal girl of his dreams, enter Romona Flowers, hipster skater chick extraordinaire and Scott embarks on a quest to win her heart, unfortunately for Scott, Romona is towing some baggage of her own and her seven evil ex’s are gearing up to wipe Scott out before he and Romona can live happily ever after.

So the stage is set but there’s a twist, see while Scot’s world is very realistic it’s superfueled by video game physics and every fight turns into an epic cross between Dragonball Z and Street Fighter.  In the hands of a lesser director this great comic concept would go to the screen lame but Wright knows exactly what his audience is looking for. Each time a new ex shows up Scott launches into fight mode which ranges from one on one brawls to almost Power-Ranger-esque (or Guyver if your as sad as me and get that reference) amp battles with giant monsters.

Everything about this film is well put together, the soundtrack, the visual effects, the screen play, there is literally no element that I felt was out of place or wrong. The pre credit sequence where we are introduced to Scott and the gang sets an excellent pace and Sex Bob-omb’s half terrible/half genius garage rock is a great opener and apparently all the actors are actually playing, amazing!

As we are slowly introduced to the range of characters it becomes almost obvious about how much both O’Malley and Wright know “get” the people they are writing for, I can put real life names to almost all the characters in Scott Pilgrim and see how they are just like some of the people I grew up with and even still know today.

The story plows on and as we find more about Scott he becomes gradually more likeable but he’s not the only one with flaws and almost every character shows an ugly side somewhere on the way. The ending was significantly changed form the book (probably because it was still being written) but I don’t feel any of the changes took anything away from the film unlike Kick-Ass which massively fucked up.

OK I don’t want to spoil what happens so lets concentrate on the film a little more, first up;

Visuals

As I have already mentioned the visual style of this film is stunning, even the most harsh critic can’t deny the hard work in timing flashes, effects and all sorts of other things alongside the action works perfectly. After the start of the first fight you can see how much love has gone into the various “game” effects and while it’s cheesy I found the “vs.” screens to be really cool to the point where some of them literally had the hairs on my neck standing up (especially Amp vs. Amp). I also really love the way they translated the “visual music” effects form the comic on screen, it’s almost like you can feel the sound waves.

There are also hundreds of little touches (most of them I’m sure we’ll never spot until the DVD extras) like health bars, lighting effects, reactive scenery and the “fun fact” overlay panels from the comics coming and going all the time which work really well and never feel forced in.

Costume and character design is also fantastic to the point where the characters themselves don’t even feel like real movie characters, I’m not sure if it’s make-up or lack of make-up but most of the characters are blemished (spots etc) which you would usually see blitzed from every frame of a movie but help SP seem even more real.

Fight choreography is the best I’ve seen this year (yup even better than Inception antigrav fighting). Most of the actors are young with limited experience yet all of them pull the complex fights scenes off perfectly and Cera in particular does a fantastic job at being beat down on and doing a little ass kicking himself.

Finally the big special effects (explosions, dragons etc) are equally well done, never trying to be too realistic but also keeping at least a little grounded, while no film is immortal to SFX ageing I imagine it will be a while before SP looks old and even then it will still be cool as it will almost fit the theme of the retro gamer image.

Audio

Fantastic use of audio from the opening and as I have already mentioned Sex Bob-omb’s music is a perfect homage to crappy garage rock (think Wyld Stallyns + the Killers) and the choice of music throughtout the film is almost always perfect, for God’s sake even the Spotify promotion play list was ace.

A fantastic audio touch in the film  is the inclusion of “The Voice” (actually done by Bill Hader), the video game voice over who calls out things like “KO!” and “COMBO”, it’s such a tiny touch and technically speaking could have never been included but almost every time it happens I smiled, it’s things like this that I know Wright has overseen and I can’t credit the guy enough for.

If you want an idea of how well sound is used in the film just watch the trailer, it shows you everything you need to know about how sound is used in the film.

To Sum Up

Please go and see Scott Pilgrim at the cinema, whether you are a fan of the comics or not, the only people that I would suggest don’t go to see it are people who genuinely have never played  a single game before or think games and comics are stupid. If you have that attitude then the whole film will seem pointless to you.

It’s a great tribute to our generation and I can’t wait to see the film again especially with the directors commentary.

Related posts:

• Scott Pilgrim Trailer Looking Awesome
• Full Length Scott Pilgrim Trailer Released
• Trailer Released for New Muppets Film

It seems that our favourite detective won’t be back on our screens for another year with the new episodes slated for Autumn 2011. Given the excellent quality of the recent series, this show being back can only be a good thing.

You can read the whole article here.