I'll Be in My Bunk...(*)

Check out these great advance promo pics for the new season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:

I know I'm married and twice her age13 years older than she is, but I think I'm in love with Summer Glau:

(More below the fold).

Lena Headey (Sarah Connor) is quite easy on the eyes, too, and doesn't make me feel like quite so much a dirty old man:

Here's a piccie of all the major characters:

I liked the show last season, despite a slight tapering in quality toward the end. I might blog some more about it after the new season premieres on September 8.

(*)Wrong franchise, I know.

Via Agent Bedhead.

Professional SF Babe Blogging

There is nothing quite like being humbled by a master.

I used to have this regular feature around here, an SF Babe poll every Tuesday. I was actually pretty proud of it, and thought I did a pretty good job making it entertaining and easy on the eyes.

Well, I've been kind of meaning to revive it, just to find something to engage me on this blog. But I doubt that will ever happen, since published writer E.E. Knight has created the most perfect SF Babe poll you will ever witness, in honor of the great Shat's birthday.

Feast your eyes, for this is as good as it gets. That will be a very tough act to follow...

Trendsetting SF Babe Blogger

That's me. Geeze. On the whole SF Babe thing, I've been WAY ahead of the curve.

First, everyone seems to be noticing fellow Planoite Anousheh Ansari now that she's going into orbit and has her own blog. Me? I noticed her two years ago and even named her an honorary SF babe for helping fund the X-Prize.

Female Stormtrooper costumes? Again, on the absolute bleeding edge.

That makes me think I need to revive the whole SF Babe Poll thing again, to stay on the cutting edge. I know I need to re-run the Firefly poll, since I didn't include "Our Mrs. Reynolds" (Saffron) the first time around. Any other suggestions?

Rising to Robert's Bait

Like lunches at McDonald's, the Ardala-Deering debate comes back at an inopportune time. Inopportune, as I would like to devote more time to this argument than I can afford right now.

Nevertheless, in a nutshell:

Ardala - sultry princess of the powerful Draconian empire. She donned a golden bikini years before Princess Leia. Her hat has horns, for TANJ sake. Her main goals are to conquer Earth and seduce Buck Rogers.

What more would you want, were you Buck Rogers??

Wilma - icy colonel in the Earth Defense Directorate - the incompetent military arm of the Computer Council. Before Buck came along, the pilots relied exclusively on their overrated computer overlords to aim their lasers. Nobody on this emasculated future earth seems ashamed that they are the pets of Speak-and-Spell toys hanging around the necks of diminutive robots.

I would rather deal with a hot-blooded princess than an oppressed bureaucrat any day. Sheesh.

SciFi Babes

Again, in the absence of original content hereabouts, go have a look at this worthy gallery of SFnal babes.

They're even kind enough to link to my (stale) gallery (as well as this SF cheesecake site).

Never fear -- one of my resolutions in this new year is to revive the SF Babe poll, so check back soon.

SF Babes Brainstorming

OK. It's been more than four months since the last poll.

I'm not sure where to take this thing. I am planning to do the definitive Ardala better than Deering post (complete with dialogue excerpts and vidcaps from the movie/TV pilot) sometime during my Christmas vacation (I'm taking a couple of well-deserved weeks off at the end of the year). I'm also trying to figure out how to score an email interview with Pamela Hensley (i.e., "Ardala"), who put out a cookbook recently (Jewish-Sicilian cuisine? Cool).

Leave me a comment on what you would like to see, if anything. Some thoughts for discussion:

1. Should I have some sort of "Hall of Fame?"


2. Should I run less frequent contests (weekly was pretty challenging).


3. Are there any egregious omissions from prior polls (be sure to check the category listing and the gallery before answering).


4. Any other thoughts?

Thanks!

SF Babes Poll (Stargate Atlantis)

Well, after more than 400 votes, it was time to close down the incredibly close Incredibles poll. Results are posted here and in the Gallery.

With our new house, we finally got standard cable TV, including the Sci Fi channel. As a consequence, I've now gotten a chance to see a few episodes of Stargate Atlantis. Decent enough SF drama featuring a couple of nice-looking ladies, who feature in the new poll:

Teyla Emmagan (portrayed by Rachel Luttrell):

Dr. Elizabeth Weir (portrayed by Torri Higginson):

Results (Posted 1 December 2005):

Teyla 139 of 350 votes for 40%
Dr. Weir 211 of 350 votes for 60% -- WINNER!

SF Babes [Not Quite] Weekly Poll (The Incredibles)

Well, I finally saw The Incredibles this past weekend. Pixar sure modeled a couple of nice-looking virtual female leads, who will feature in this week's poll:

Mrs. Incredible a/k/a Elastigirl (voiced by Holly Hunter):

And Mirage (voiced by Elizabeth Pena):

Vote early and often and check back next week here for the results.

Results (Posted 2 August 2005):

Elastigirl: 204 of 411 votes for 49.6%
Mirage: 207 of 411 votes for 50.4% -- WINNER!

SF Babes Weekly Poll (Odd Women Out)

This week's poll is yet another variation on the Star Trek theme.

Though the odd-numbered Trek films are commonly considered inferior to the even-numbered ones (at least for the first 6 or so), they did feature some striking ladies.

From Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Lieutenant Ilia (portrayed by Persis Khambatta):

From Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, the other Lieutenant Saavik (portrayed by Robin Curtis):

And finally from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Romulan Caithlin Dar (portrayed by Cynthia Gouw):

(P.S. I'm taking nominations for future poll candidates and themes. I'm also thinking about giving the poll a summer hiatus, since it takes about an hour or two to put each one together. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Thanks!)

Results (Posted 17 May 2005):

Ilia: 16 of 57 votes for 28%
Saavik: 16 of 57 votes for 28%
Dar: 25 of 57 votes for 44% -- WINNER!

SF Babes Poll Quote-of-the-Month

I get a few regular commenters, whose input I really value (please keep it up, folks!). But I really love getting comments from readers I didn't even know I have (ahem), and "BadLiberal" left this great gem in the comments of last week's SF Babe Poll pitting Lt. Marlena Moreau against Lt. Marla McGivers:

You've gotta be f'-in kidding.

One [sic] the one hand we have a woman who's slept her way to the top while incinerating entire planets, and on the other we have a woman who gets all googly eyed over fine Corinthian leather.

Lt. Moreau walks away with this one. Probably after leaving McGivers at the bottom of a convenient river.

Very nice generational joke there about "fine Corinthian leather" -- most people much younger than I wouldn't catch the reference. I couldn't have agreed more with the other sentiments and was quite pleased with the outcome of the poll. (And for what it's worth, note well that I included McGivers at the request of another so-far-one-time commenter, "Ishy.")

A neat thing that's showing up in some of the polls is how the personality attributes of the characters influence certain voters more than just surface appearances. That's how I usually vote and also why I try to make the poll pics purely of the characters "in character." The Gallery is where I sometimes feature more flattering pictures of the actresses "out of character."

SF Babes Weekly Poll (Is There A Point To This?)

Don't let the existentialist title fool you. There is a point to all of this. Oh yes, there is. A few points, in fact.

This week's poll was inspired by Rob at the Llamabutchers (see post here), who urged a write-in campaign for pointy-eared previous poll loser Lieutenant Saavik (of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan):

Interesting idea, I thought, to run another previous "loser": the sometimes pointy-hatted Princess Ardala (of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century) (who only "won" her earlier poll against Colonel Deering thanks to the machinations of a corrupt poll author):

Vote early and often (and for Ardala, of course).

Enjoy!

Results (Posted 10 May 2005):

Princess Ardala: 41 of 69 votes for 59% -- WINNER!
Lieutenant Saavik: 28 of 69 votes for 41%

SF Babes Weekly Poll (Lusty Lieutenants of Star Trek)

This week's poll offers a choice between two lovely, lusty lieutenants from the original Star Trek:

Lieutenant Marlena Moreau, the ruthless "Captain's woman" in the Bearded Spock universe of Mirror, Mirror (played by Barbara Luna):

And Lieutenant Marla McGivers, who fell hard for genetically-enhanced superman Khan Noonian Singh in Space Seed (portrayed by Madlyn Rhue):

Have fun, and check out the Gallery of previous winners.

Results (Posted 3 May 2005):

Lt. Marlena Moreau - 44 of 68 votes for 65% -- WINNER!
Lt. Marla McGivers - 24 of 68 votes for 35%

SF Babes Weekly Poll (The Stepford Wives)

This week's poll visits a classic semi-SF movie from 30 years ago, The Stepford Wives. Watching this movie with my wife, we couldn't help commenting on how ugly the mid-70s were. However, our candidates this week are anything but ugly:

First up is Katharine Ross, playing the housewife/photographer Joanne Eberhart, who misses the sounds of the big city and discovers the deadly secret of Stepford Village too late:

Next up is Texan Paula Prentiss, who portrays the outspoken Bobbie Markowe ("upwardly mobile for Markowitz"):

Finally, everyone's favorite castaway Tina Louise plays the frustrated housewife Charmaine Wimperis:

Enjoy!

Results (posted 26 April 2005):

Joanne 21 of 58 votes for 36%
Bobbie 12 of 58 votes for 21%
Charmaine 25 of 58 votes for 43% -- WINNER!

SF Babes Weekly Poll (More Trek Women)

For this week's poll, there's no real unifying theme, just a small selection from the many lovely ladies who appeared in the original Star Trek.

I know there are many, many worthy candidates, so if you don't see your favorite, name her in the comments. But please review earlier polls and the Winners' Gallery before criticizing me for the presence or absence of some candidate or another. The fields of Star Trek are fertile, and we will eventually take the many poll finalists and pit them against one another in a "Sweet 16"-style tournament. Without further ado:

From A Private Little War, the sexy but deceitful healer Nona (portrayed by Nancy Kovack):

From The Omega Glory, the Yang warrior Sirah (portrayed by Irene Kelly):

And from The Paradise Syndrome, Captain Kirk's only wife, Miramanee (played by Sabrina Scharf):

(All pre-cropped images courtesy of AllYourTrekAreBelongTo.us)

Results (Posted 19 April 2005):

Nona 21 of 71 votes for 30%
Sirah 38 of 71 votes for 53% -- WINNER
Miramanee 12 of 71 votes for 17%

SF Babes Weekly Poll (Farscape)

This week's poll continues to highlight some of the lesser-known SF actresses who have starred in more obscure SF series -- in this case, Farscape.

Claudia Black portrays Aeryn Sun, a tough former soldier of the Peacekeeper corps:

Tammy McIntosh plays the part of Joolushko Tunai Fenta Hovalis (or, more simply, "Jool"), an intelligent but fiery scientist:

Raelee Hill's character is Sikozu Svala Shanti Sugaysi Shanu, a member of the Kalish species who can walk on walls and ceilings:

Finally, Gigi Edgley portrays Chiana, a sarcastic survivor:

Results (Posted 13 April 2005):

Claudia Black (as Aeryn Sun) 34 of 86 votes for 40% (WINNER)
Tammy McIntosh (as Jool) 4 of 86 votes for 5%
Raelee Hill (as Sikozu) 26 of 86 votes for 30%
Gigi Edgley (as Chiana) 22 of 86 votes for 25%

SF Babes Weekly Poll (Andromeda)

A commenter on last week's poll noted that I had been neglecting competitors from some of the (to me) more obscure SF series from the 1990s on. For this week's poll, we'll start to remedy that by pitting the ladies from Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda against one another.

Full disclosure: I haven't seen a complete episode of this series, so I have to rely on hearsay for the following descriptions. I've gotten all images and descriptions featured here from the official site cited above (click on thumbnails for larger pics).

Lexa Doig portrays Andromeda Ascendant (aka "Rommie"), the AI of the starship of the same name:

Brandy Ledford plays Doyle, the ship's loyal android (and she would have been a worthy addition to our earlier cyborg poll!)

Lisa Ryder stars as Beka Valentine, commander of the salvage ship, Eureka Maru:

Laura Bertram portrays the semi-psionic alien Trance Gemini:

You can vote once a day in the poll, so have fun. And remember to check out previous winners in the Gallery.

Results (Posted 5 April 2005):

Andromeda Ascendant (Lexa Doig) 69 of 118 votes for 58% -- WINNER!
Doyle (Brandy Ledford) 21 of 118 votes for 18%
Beka Valentine (Lisa Ryder) 10 of 118 votes for 8%
Trance Gemini (Laura Bertram) 18 of 118 votes for 15%

SF Babes Weekly Poll (Fox's Foxes Finale)

"FFF" in organ music means "all stops out." And when it comes to this week's poll among Fox's Foxy Finalists, we are indeed pulling all the stops out. So far, we have seen competitors from Firefly, The X-Files, Space: Above and Beyond, and Dark Angel battle it out in three previous polls.

Now we pit the finalists from those polls against one another. It's like March Madness! So vote early and often and check back next week for the winner.

First up is Kaylee Frye (portrayed by Jewel Staite) from Firefly:

Next up is Max Guevera (portrayed by Jessica Alba) from Dark Angel:

Last, but far from least, is Kendra Maibaum (portrayed by Jennifer Blanc), also from Dark Angel:

Check the Gallery for previous winners.

Results (Posted 29 March 2005):

Kaylee Frye (Jewel Staite) 33 of 72 votes for 46% -WINNER
Max Guevera (Jessica Alba) 32 of 72 votes for 44%
Kendra Maibaum (Jennifer Blanc) 7 of 72 votes for 10%

Well, it was close-fought, and after the controversy surrounding the electoral vote in the Ardala/Deering contest, I simply cannot throw this election to my favorite, Alba, as much as I would like to do otherwise.

Shameless Self-Promotion

[Deleted]

Update: I guess I have some shame after all.

SF Babes Weekly Poll (Fox's Foxes, Part II)

This week's poll features the supporting actresses from the same FOX science fiction shows whose leading ladies faced off last time. The next poll will pit the winner of this poll against last week's winner and the winner of the Firefly poll, so that we can crown the champion FOX fox.

During the ninth season of The X-Files, the T2 android teamed up with Special Agent Monica Reyes (portrayed by Annabeth Gish) in a sort of bizarro-world Mulder/Scully arrangement:

On Space: Above and Beyond, the lovely Lanei Chapman portrays Lt. Damphousse:

Finally, on Dark Angel, Jennifer Blanc (portraying the character Kendra Maibaum) challenged Jessica Alba's overall hubbaliciousness (to borrow a Lileks coinage):

As always, vote early and often, and thanks for your continued patronage!

Results (Posted 22 March 2005):

Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) 17 of 47 votes for 36%
Vanessa Damphousse (Lanei Chapman) 10 of 47 votes for 21%
Kendra (Jennifer Blanc) 20 of 47 votes for 43% -- WINNER

SF Babes Weekly Poll (Fox's Foxes, Part I - RETRY)

Go figure. Leave town for several days and not only does your direct link to the main page crap out, but Pollhost.com drops all of your polls for no apparent reason. So, we will now retry the same poll from last week, unaltered, and pretend that nothing happened:

This week's poll pits the leading ladies from three of Fox's SF series against one another. Next week, certain supporting actresses from these same series will face off. The week after that, we will have a championship, featuring the two winners, together with the winner of the already-conducted Firefly poll. On with the show...

One of my favorite female characters in all of science fiction is Dana Scully (portrayed by Gillian Anderson) of the X-Files. I am not normally partial to redheads, but I make an exception for this character. Tough, sceptical, and rational, she tries to reconcile her reason with the faith of her childhood and the bizarre phenomena she encounters. Scully is truly one of SF's super-heroines. And a babe, to boot:

I was a new dad and new lawyer when Space: Above and Beyond first aired, so I only managed to see a couple of episodes. I'll have to give it another try someday. The lovely Kristen Cloke portrayed Captain Shane Vansen:

And finally, yet another series that I must catch up on now that the DVDs are out, is the James Cameron-created Dark Angel. The beautiful Jessica Alba portrays the genetically-enhanced Max Guevera in this dystopian SF drama:

Results (posted 15 March 2005):

Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) 39% (28 of 71 votes)
Captain Shane Vansen (Kristen Cloke) 14% (10 of 71 votes)
Max Guevera (Jessica Alba) 46% (33 of 71 votes) WINNER!

SF Babes Weekly Poll (Fox's Foxes, Part I)

Moved here.

SF Babes (Battlestar Babes II)

My regular readers will remember that one of the first SF Babe polls was based on the original Battlestar Galactica. Sheba won, as you can verify in the Gallery.

I still haven't seen the "re-imagined" Battlestar Galactica, but I can tell from the various trailers and onsite reviews that this newer, grittier Battlestar can be just as easy on the eyes as the original one.

Instead of cigar-chomping Dirk Benedict playing Starbuck, cigar-chomping Katee Sackhoff pilots her Viper against the dreaded Cylons:

And Starbuck's not the only one who got a sex change for the new series. Boomer (originally portrayed by Herb Jefferson Jr.) is now played by the beautiful Grace Park:

Cast your votes here [link disabled - ed.].

(You may also want to cast a vote in Annika's android poll. I don't know how long she'll keep it up on her front page, but it coordinates nicely with last week's SF Babe poll).

Results (Posted 1 March 2005):

Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff): 26% (15 of 58 votes)
Boomer (Grace Park): 74% (43 of 58 votes) WINNER!

SF Babes - I For One Welcome Our New Cyborg Overlordsladies

This week's poll features the lovely ladies who have portrayed some of SciFi's most seductively deadly robots:

Trish Helfer portrays the Cylon bombshell Number 6 in the new Battlestar Galactica miniseries and series (pic found here):

Kristanna Loken played the lethal Terminator model T-X in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines:

Finally, Jeri Ryan portrayed the recovering Borg 7 of 9 in Star Trek - Voyager:

Vote often and check the Gallery for previous winners.

Update: The Country Pundit and Maximum Leader know of what they speak. Rob the Llamabutcher, on the other hand, got some silicone in his eyes and is not a reliable witness.

Results (Posted 22 February 2005):

Trish Helfer (Number 6) 54% (51 of 95 votes) -- WINNER
Kristanna Loken (Terminator T-X) 13% (12 of 95 votes)
Jeri Ryan (7 of 9) 34% (32 of 95 votes)

Sci Fi Hunks

For those of you who would like to vote for SF-based beefcake rather than (or in addition to) cheesecake, Sadie has the opportunity for you.

I don't know if she plans to make it a regular feature or not, but go check out her poll. She's got some cool candidates in the running.

I don't size guys up by their looks, but can recognize what I would call "charisma" -- some indefinable projection of confidence and competence. Using those criteria, the Terminator character Reese, portrayed by Michael Biehn, would get my vote. My wife, on the other hand, is casting her vote for Keanu Reeves as Neo in The Matrix.

Weekly SF Babe Poll (The Sky Is Falling!)

"Hot Fudge Sundae falls on a Tuesdae this week."

That's right folks. Rogue comets + wayward asteroids = this week's poll of cheesy SF cheesecake goodness.

First, the original 1970s disaster movie incarnation Meteor with the beautiful Natalie Wood portraying Russian translator Tatiana Nikolaevna Donskaya:

Next up, the disappointingly shallow Deep Impact with the quirky and cute Tea Leoni playing jerk reporter Jenny Lerner:

The truly rotten Armageddon had me rooting for the asteroid to obliterate everything. About the only redeeming feature of this movie was Liv Tyler's visage in her portrayal of Grace Stamper:

Last up is Asteroid, a made-for-TV also-ran, which I didn't manage to watch. The lovely Annabella Sciorra makes an appearance here as Dr. Lily McKee:

Disclaimer: Unlike previous polls, I couldn't find enough good pics of all contestants in character. So some of the pictures are merely contemporaneous with the movies, and not from the movies themselves. False, but accurate. (Good enough for CBS!)

Results (Posted 15 February 2005):

Natalie Wood in Meteor 13% (9 of 69 votes)
Tea Leoni in Deep Impact 35% (24 of 69 votes) -- WINNER!
Liv Tyler in Armageddon 30% (21 of 69 votes)
Annabella Sciorra in Asteroid 22% (15 of 69 votes)

Weekly SF Babe Poll (Star Trek "Cage" Match)

Most self-respecting (and self-loathing?) Star Trek fans know that there were two different pilots for the original series. The first pilot, entitled The Cage, never aired on TV in its intended original form. NBC executives rejected it, deeming it "too cerebral."

During the course of this pilot, Captain Christopher Pike finds himself in a zoo cage on the desert planet Talos IV, where his captors are attempting to match him up with an ideal mate to repopulate the surface of their war-ravaged globe. That particular scene sets up this week's "Cage" match:

Yeoman J.M. Colt (portrayed by Laurel Goodwin) is a new member of Pike's crew. The Talosians describe her advantages to Pike as "...youth and strength, plus unusually -- strong -- female drives." I'm sure Kirk would approve:

Vina, (portrayed by Susan Oliver) is a woman disfigured in a shipwreck on Talos IV and cobbled together again by the Talosians. She was the bait in the trap set by the Talosians to attract Captain Pike and the Enterprise to their planet. Using their powerful skills of psychic illusion, they make her appear as a beautiful young woman:

Number One (portrayed by Majel Barrett, nee M. Leigh Hudec), is the Enterprise's First Officer. The Talosians describe her virtues to Pike: "The female you call Number One has the superior mind and would produce highly intelligent children. Although she seems to lack emotion, this is largely a pretense; she often has fantasies involving you..." Number One saves Pike from slavery (and, in the process, the Enterprise from destruction). A real woman before her time in SF:

As always, vote up to once a day in the main poll, and check out the Gallery for previous weekly poll winners.

COMING SOON: Runoffs among the 2004 weekly winners, so that we can name the 2004 SF Babe of the Year.

Results (posted 8 February 2005):

Yeoman Colt (Laurel Goodwin) 51% (44 of 86 votes) - WINNER!
Vina (Susan Oliver) 34% (29 of 86 votes)
Number One (Majel Barrett) 15% (13 of 86 votes)

SF Babe Poll (Dr Who Companions)

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback to help nominate this week's candidates. To reward your participation, I am going to change the original terms of the poll a bit. Instead of limiting it to four candidates, this week's poll will be a five-way contest, to accommodate the candidates who received more than one recommendation.

Without further ado, this week's contestants:

Perpugilliam "Peri" Brown (portrayed by Nicola Bryant):

Leela (portrayed by Louise Jameson):

Romana II (portrayed by Lalla Ward):

Rose Tyler (portrayed by Billie Piper) - the newest sidekick, and one whose name seems to be a delightful play on "Tyler Rose," which Texans should recognize (since the town of Tyler, Texas is famous for its roses, which are often sold by drifters and cultists at various traffic intersections):

And last but far from least, Zoe (portrayed by Wendy Padbury):

Update: Welcome, Instapundit readers! Please feel free to make yourselves at home here. Please also check out some of the fine bloggers you may not be familiar with in my blogrolls to the right.

Be sure to check out the Gallery of previous SF Babe poll winners, and be assured that I am keeping track of your recommendations for future candidates. I update the poll weekly, and plan to have some "best of" polls pitting the winners against one another. The permanent link for the poll is http://texasbestgrok.mu.nu/index.php#SFBabePoll. Thanks!

Results (Posted 1 February 2005):

Peri - 62 of 318 votes (19%)
Leela - 107 of 318 votes (34%) WINNER
Romana II - 41 of 318 votes (13%)
Rose - 41 of 318 votes (13%)
Zoe - 67 of 318 votes (21%)

Dr Who SF Babe Nominations

I only watched Dr Who for a couple of seasons on the local PBS affiliate back in the mid-1980s. Tom Baker is the only doctor I ever saw, and I remember well the episode where he picked up Leela (Louise Jameson) as his sidekick. After doing some research, I'm not sure how best to screen out the contestants for the Dr Who babe poll, so I will leave it to you, dear readers, to help me with nominations.

Here are the rules:

1. This will be a four-way poll.

2. Please submit your top four picks to be included in the poll via comments or email. They must be female (sorry, ladies and differently-inclined gentlemen). If you can remember a particular companion, wonderful. Otherwise, have a browse through this page. I will take the top two vote-getters that are neither Leela nor Rose Tyler (see rule number 3).

3. I will be including Leela and the Doctor's new companion, Rose Tyler (played by Billie Piper), in the final poll notwithstanding stronger showings by other reader-nominated candidates. Sorry, but it's my poll and this is not a true democracy!

4. Nominations will close 12:00 noon Central Standard Time (GMT -6) on Monday, January 24, 2005.

We'll be extending the Spock's Girlfriends poll for another week to allow plenty of time for nominations.

I'm looking forward to reading your suggestions. Thanks!

SF Babe Poll (Spock's Girlfriends)

This week's poll returns us to the universe of the original Star Trek series, featuring two repeat candidates -- T'Pring and Nurse Chapel -- along with three new contenders. All of these ladies had some sort of romantic encounter (even if rebuffed in a couple of instances) with Commender Spock at some point during the three-season run of the original series.

First up, the Romulan Commander (portrayed by Joanne Linville) from The Enterprise Incident:

T'Pring (portrayed by Arlene Martel) in Amok Time:

Nurse Chapel (portrayed by Majel Barrett) in The Naked Time:

Zarabeth (portrayed by Mariette Hartley) in All Our Yesterdays:

Leila Kolomi (portrayed by Jill Ireland), from This Side of Paradise:

Be sure to check out the Gallery for last week's winner.

Results (Posted 25 January 2005):

Romulan Commander - 11 of 86 votes (13%)
T'Pring - 13 of 86 votes (15%)
Nurse Chapel - 3 of 86 votes (3%)
Zarabeth - 30 of 86 votes (35%) (WINNER)
Leila Kolomi - 29 of 86 votes (34%)

SF Babes Poll (Firefly)

I've never seen a single episode of Firefly, but the synopsis at Amazon of this short-lived SF series is impressive. Old West and SF: a killer combination. Star Trek was originally pitched as "Wagon Train" in space. Battlestar Galactica featured Starbuck in an episode versus a gunslinging Cylon.

I think I'll be checking Firefly out soon. In the meantime, reviewing the many websites devoted to this show, it's apparent that Firefly provides some outstanding competitors in this week's poll:

First up is Gina Torres portraying Zoe Warren, a soldier:

Next is Jewel Staite portraying Kaylee Frye, engineer:

Texan Summer Glau, portrays River Tam, a psychic:

Finally, the beautiful Brazilian Morena Baccarin portrays Inara Serra, a professional "companion" (wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more...):

Update: The SF Babe poll is on my main page and updated weekly. Click "Main" above and vote, or go here. You can click the SFBabe category link in the left column on the main page to see previous polls, and check out the Gallery of previous winners.

Results (Posted 11 January 2005):
Zoe -- 11 of 57 votes for 19%
Kaylee -- 23 of 57 votes for 40% (WINNER)
River -- 1 of 57 votes for 2%
Inara -- 22 of 57 votes for 39%

SF Babe Poll (Buck Rogers Guest Stars)

I'm loving my new Christmas present. Cheesy plots, a lot of bad writing, and silly acting, but extremely entertaining nevertheless. My kids have been enjoying it, too (especially my eight-year-old son). One thing that's been really fun for me is to identify the various guest stars who appeared -- Jack Palance and Roddy McDowall, among others.

An early episode featured the lovely Markie Post in one of the first appearances of her career, which led me to go searching through IMDB for other recognizable guest stars. Then I popped the DVDs in for some fresh screen caps and -- voila! A new poll for this week (click the thumbs for a full-size image of each candidate):

First up, the aforementioned Markie Post portraying Joella Cameron, in "The Plot to Kill a City," episodes 1.6 and 1.7:

Next, a young Jamie Lee Curtis portraying Jen Burton in "Unchained Woman," episode 1.9:

Finally, a more mature candidate, the original Catwoman Julie Newmar portraying the dangerously seductive Zarina in "Flight of the War Witch," episodes 1.23 and 1.24:

Enjoy! (As always check out the Gallery for previous winners, including last week's).

Results (Posted 4 January 2005):

Joella (Markie Post) 25 votes (69%) WINNER
Jen Burton (Jamie Lee Curtis) 7 votes (19%)
Zarina (Julie Newmar) 4 votes (11%)

36 votes total

SF Babes (Babylon 5 Supporting Cast)

Well, I think we'll stick with this theme for another week at least.

Our candidates:

Lise Hampton Edgars (portrayed by Denise Gentile)

Talia Winters (portrayed by Andrea Thompson)

and Number One (portrayed by Marjorie Monaghan)

Results (Posted 28 December 2004):

SF Babes (Babylon 5 Main Cast)

Last week's poll was a real squeaker - a one-vote difference (I think the young Joan Collins should have won, but I don't know how to allocate the electoral votes this time).

This week's poll comes courtesy of an idea from commenter Robin. I never watched much of Babylon 5, so I missed the whole multi-season story arc that made the show a must-see event for Sci Fi fans. I still plan to rent or buy the DVDs someday and watch the series.

First up is Susan Ivanova (as portrayed by Claudia Christian):

Next is telepath Lyta Alexander (as portrayed by Patricia Tallman):

Finally up is Captain Elizabeth Lochley (portrayed by Tracy Scoggins):

Not that I would try to sway the vote, but Lochley is portrayed by a Native Texan.

Results (Posted 21 December 2004):

SF Babes Poll (Star Trek TOS: Earth's Past)

I have to apologize that these polls have turned into something of a Star Trek dorkle-jerk, but I'm running out of original ideas (I can mine Star Trek for many weeks to come, so if you have a different SF movie or series that you would like to see featured, please let me know!)

In any case, I rather like both candidates in this week's contest. These women were extras playing the roles of women in Earth's past. Both went on to greater fame.

First up is Edith Keeler, from City on the Edge of Forever, a Harlan Ellison-penned episode. Portrayed by the beautiful and youthful Joan Collins:

Our second candidate, from the failed spin-off pilot Assignment: Earth, is Roberta Lincoln as portrayed by the quirky and cute Teri Garr:

Enjoy!

Results (Posted 14 December 2004):

SF Babes Poll (Vulcan Edition)

Between guest-blogging and Thanksgiving last week, I completely failed to tally the votes from our last poll, update the Gallery, and set a new poll up Thursday. I was getting tired of that time-slot anyway, so we'll start running this little feature every Tuesday, beginning tonight.

This week we have a trio of Vulcan lovelies from the Star Trek universe:

T'Pring, portrayed by Arlene Martel in the original series episode Amok Time.

Lieutenant Saavik, portrayed by a young Kirstie Alley in the best Star Trek movie of all time, The Wrath of Khan.

T'Pol, portrayed by Jolene Blalock in the current series Enterprise.

Results (Posted 7 December 2004):

SF Babes Poll Number 9

This week's poll takes us back to a velveetalicious Irwin Allen Sci Fi series that premiered the year I was born: The Land of the Giants.

I loved this show as a kid.

The two contenders are Valerie Scott (portrayed by the still-quite-attractive Deanna Lund) and Betty Hamilton (portrayed by Heather Young).

Check out last week's results and the updated entry to the Gallery of the Babes.

Results (Posted 30 November 2004):

SF Babes: The Land of the Giants
	Valerie Scott 31 votes 67%
	Betty Hamilton 15 votes 33%

SF Babes Poll Number 9

"Harcourt! Harcourt Fenton Mudd!"

Ok, Ok. That quote was from the later episode I, Mudd. This week's poll pits the three lovely ladies from the fourth episode of the first season of the classic Star Trek series, Mudd's Women: Eve McHuron (Karen Steele), Ruth Bonaventure (Maggie Thrett), and Magda Kovacs (Susan Denberg).

Remember to check out previous winners at the "all new" Gallery of the SF Babes.

Results (Posted 18 November 2004):

Star Trek: Mudd's Women
	Eve McHuron 4 votes 6%
	Ruth Bonaventure 35 votes 51%
	Magda Kovas 30 votes 43%

SF Babes Poll Number 8

This week we leave the vast wasteland of TV and venture into the cinema house, where the classic Blade Runner is playing.

If you've got Vangelis' atmospheric synthesizer soundtrack, put it in the player and consider this week's candidates: the lithe (and deadly) Pris (Daryl Hannah), the lovely (if dim) Rachel (Sean Young), or the exotic (but deadly) Zhora (Joanna Cassidy).

Be sure to check out last week's winner, along with all previous winners at the new Gallery of the SF Babe Weekly Poll Winners.

Results (Posted 11 November 2004):

SF Babes - Blade Runner
	Pris 16 votes 23%
	Rachel 30 votes 42%
	Zhora 25 votes 35%

SF Babes Poll Number 7

Well, I see from last week's results that the "soft" Leia in a metal bikini made just as strong an impression on my fellow geeks as she did on me. She claimed 50% of the popular vote. Not sure if either major party candidate will do that this year...

Politics aside, this week's poll celebrates the distinctive beauty of five passengers/crewmembers on Jean Wuss Picard's Enterprise: Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden), Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby), Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), and Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett, for any of you milf types out there).

Vote often and early. I hope that we will know the final results of our presidential election by the time we know the results of this poll next week. Enjoy!

Results (Posted 4 November 2004):

	Dr. Beverly Crusher 22 votes 27%
	Deanna Troi 41 votes 49%
	Tasha Yar 19 votes 23%
	Guinan 1 vote 1%
	Lwaxana Troi 0 votes 0%