Thursday, June 20, 2013

Reader Top Ten Greatest Science Fiction Characters: Sean McCormack


Friend and fellow North Carolina resident, Sean McCormack, provides his top ten choices for greatest science fiction characters.


He writes: 

"Regarding a  genre that defies logic, is loved by both young and old, and can encompass both the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in all of human spirit, how does one go about making a definitive list of only 10 characters that embody it?:


LIKE THIS!!:

My Top 10 Greatest Science Fiction Film Characters by Sean McCormack:



10) Hal 9000 (2001) - How freaky was Hal? He even made the song "Daisy" scary. No one else could do that (except maybe Taylor Swift)


9) E.T. - In the 6th grade, I would get ridiculed and practically beaten on a daily basis for having once drawn a picture of the friendly Extra-Terrestrial. And you know what? Totally worth it. I still love that squashy little guy.

8) MacReady (The Thing '82) - How did we know Macready wasn't infected with said "thing"? Because he said he wasn't. Got it?

7) Rick Deckard (Blade Runner) - Was Deckard a replicant? Who gives a shit? Harrison Fords early, iconic roles are all amazingly cool (I'm looking at you Han Solo) but none were cooler than Deckard. 

6) Max Rockatansky - The worst part about the downfall of Mel Gibson (with the exception of the many hurt by the anti-Semitic, homophobic, and sexist comments): The shunning of my beloved Mad Max. One can only hope that the Tom Hardy reboot will bring the character back in all of his formal post      apocalyptic glory

5) Sarah Connor - This one was tough. I originally wanted to put the Terminator on the list but when all is said and done, who was left standing (or crawling) after their battles. That's right. Sarah Connor (except in Part 3 but I don't count that one. Does anybody)?

4) Seth Brundle - Not too many characters can be both the Hero & Villain but Brundlefly nicely handles both jobs. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this movie. So much that when I was ready to ask my wife to marry me, I showed it to her to gauge her reaction. When she loved it I knew it was density.

3) Snake Plissken - Why oh why wasn't there more of these films made? Kurt Russells' Clint Eastwood of the future had so much untapped potential. This character was so iconic to me that unlike Mad Max, I NEVER want to see anybody else in his shoes.

2) Ellen Ripley - Like Sarah Connor, Ripley's story really begins and ends for me in the first two installments of the series (the rest is just fan fiction IMO). Going from Horror film "Final Girl" to Badass Warrior Mommy is the only character arc necessary as far as I'm concerned.

1) Yoda - Y.O.D.A. Yoda. The embodiment of all that's right in the Star Wars Universe (Hell, in THE UNIVERSE). I will always gravitate personally to the more organic puppet than the pixel version of the Jedi Master (as a kid of the 70's - the marriage of Star Wars and Muppets was...OMG...there are no words) but Yoda in any form is happiness to me."


Yoda is a great number one selection, in my opinion, and this is the first time he's landed in the number one spot.  Considering how little we actually know about Yoda and where he comes from, it says something about the essence of the Jedi Master that so many people are drawn to him, and his personality.  

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