Saturday, June 22, 2013

Reader Top Ten Greatest Science Fiction Film Characters: William Johnson of The Paxton Configuration


William Johnson, my friend and a great blogger at The Paxton Configuration, submits his list of top ten greatest science fiction movie characters.

Will writes:

"10. Peter Venkman, Ghostbusters (has there every been a funnier sci-fi hero?)

9. Commander William T. Riker, TNG (One word: beard)

8. Caesar, Conquest/Battle for the POTA (made one great and one bad movie much better by sheer force of will and an inspired, anti-Cornelius performance by Roddy McDowall)

7. Marty McFly, Back to the Future (my true hero as a kid)

6. Optimus Prime, Animated Transformers/The Movie (not the Bay version. Everyone from my generation needs no explanation)

5. T-1000, T2: Judgment Day (Robert Patrick is so chilling in this role ... and so effective on screen AND off, that he has to be on this list)

4. Ellen Ripley, Alien, Aliens, et al (I think all four Alien films are great ... yes, even Resurrection ... and the main reason for that is the every-woman quality that Ripley is ... she is, essentially, us ... but she can pilot big robot things).

3. Roy Batty, Blade Runner (a truly breathtaking performance by the never-been-better Rutger Hauer who took what could have been a cardboard cutout and created discussion for years)

2. Mike Nelson, MST3K (I originally would put Joel Robinson here but he never got to star in a/the movie. I wouldn't be interested in movies, books, space, comedy, writing, puppetry, politics ... anything ... without Joel or Mike however!)

1. Fox Mulder, The X-Files (hardly any fictional character in ANY genre made me want to believe what he wanted to believe)


I think Fox Mulder is a great choice, a character who continued to develop on the big screen (in 1998 and 2008), and who has come to embody, for many movie and TV fans, a whole belief system.  It's also incredibly cool that Peter Venkman from Ghostbusters made the final tally!

Also, I played with the idea of adding Caesar to my list.  He was close to the top ten for me.  I always thought Roddy McDowall made a special effort to differentiate Caesar from his turns as Cornelius.  He gave two great performances in the role.

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