The 15 Best Sci-Fi TV Characters Of All Time, Ranked

The sci-fi genre is home to some of TV's most iconic characters, which may not be surprising as sci-fi has so much scope for imagination and creativity. The typical tropes and elements found in the greatest sci-fi TV shows can often repeat themselves, which can offer writers the opportunity to avoid stereotyping by putting a new spin on these often-repeated elements. Just by giving viewers something unexpected, a character who is originally introduced as a classic archetype can become one of the best in their series.

While inspiration is easy to find in the world of genre TV, sci-fi has had a role in some of the most progressive movements in society, making it an underrated and underestimated genre. Star Trek regularly made viewers question subjects like racism and gender, while The X-Files inspired a generation of women. The greatest sci-fi TV characters of all time are icons in their respective TV shows, and while some have changed the world, others have put a spotlight on the skill of their writers.

15 Arnold Rimmer

Red Dwarf

The underrated British sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf parodied virtually every major sci-fi franchise popular at the time, without merely being a spoof. The show centers on the four remaining inhabitants of the titular mining ship after a radiation leak killed virtually everyone onboard. Red Dwarf is one of the most quotable TV shows of all time, and this is thanks to the pedantic hologram, Arnold Rimmer (Chris Barrie.)

Sci-fi is not usually thought of as a funny genre, generally featuring spaceships populated by competent humans and aliens. Rimmer goes against virtually all of these stereotypes by being the ultimate comedy antihero. He is incompetent, lazy, outwardly arrogant, but revealed to be surprisingly deep as a character when the show explores his backstory. His combination of neuroses and self-doubt, combated through his alter-ego, Ace Rimmer, makes him a perfect character in both sci-fi and comedy.

14 Bender

Futurama

It is a testament to Futurama's success as a sci-fi, a comedy, and a sitcom that the show is still releasing episodes today, as one of the longest-running sci-fi franchises of all time. Sharing the same creator, Matt Groening, Futurama shares much of its comedic style with The Simpsons, turning typical genre tropes upside down. Bender is one of these. In an era during which robots in sci-fi were generally either household helpers or evil, Bender was a new type of character altogether.

Bender satirizes humanity through his extremely flawed and human-like behavior, and remains the lovable heart of the show. Futurama has aired over 150 episodes, during which Bender has had some very different roles, including as a friend, a father, a force for evil, and even a god. His spiritual journey in the episode "Godfellas" cements his status as one of the best sci-fi characters of all time, as the episode's emotional punches makes it easy to forget that he is supposed to be a machine.

13 Mia

Humans

Rewatching Humans can be an unsettling experience, as the show appears to foreshadow aspects of AI in a way that other sci-fi TV shows have not. The series explores androids known as "synths," who are often indistinguishable from their human employers, and the growing movement against their existence. Mia (Gemma Chan) is one of these, and the show follows her journey as she tries to become a force for good.

Robots acting with more humanity than human characters is not a new idea for sci-fi, but Chan's performance is much more complex and nuanced than most other shows that feature this kind of character. While Humans is not as well-known as some of the major franchises, she gives one of the greatest acting performances in sci-fi, and Mia's final scene is heartbreaking, as the character comes to embody a conflict in ethics where there is no easy answer.

12 Poe

Altered Carbon

Netflix created a perfect sci-fi show but destroyed it in the second season, with season 2 of Altered Carbon being largely forgettable and a drastic change in pace from the incredible first season. However, any time Poe appears onscreen makes the series better, as the character is a perfect blend of sci-fi and classic literature. Poe is a unique character, being an AI hotel, with the humanoid appearance serving as its avatar.

Obsessed with the gothic poet Edgar Allen Poe, Poe styles himself on the writer, names his hotel "The Raven" after the popular poem, and carries himself with the manners of a sophisticated gentleman, even when obliterating unwanted guests with machine guns. His love of humanity, sense of mischief, unconventional therapy techniques, and occasionally chilling display of cold technology make him one of the most complex but lovable sci-fi characters of all time.

11 Maeve Millay

Westworld

Westworld is a perfect blend of the sci-fi and Western genres, and among a cast of world-renowned veteran actors, Thandiwe Newton stands out for her portrayal of Maeve Millay. Maeve begins Westworld as a programmable blank canvas of a character, as the show follows her journey towards consciousness. While many stories of this kind show the AI or robot character being guided by another person, Maeve's character arc feels extremely personal, as she is driven by her own curiosity.

In a way rarely shown in any work of sci-fi, Maeve takes control of her own programming, commanding technicians to boost her core skills, while at the same time developing empathy. This makes her character development feel multifaceted, with the character evolving both as a robot and on a human level too. Despite eventually reaching a godlike status, Newton portrays her with wit and personality, keeping her from becoming another typical "robot" stereotype.

10 Walter Bishop

Fringe

Walter Bishop sometimes feels like an alternative version of John Noble's other most famous character, Lord Denethor in The Lord of the Rings, representing some of the same characteristics and showing what could have happened if these had been used for good. Both characters are grieving for a son, deeply unstable, and go to extreme lengths to protect their legacy. No other actor could have played Walter, with Noble giving him the perfect blend of vulnerability and intensity.

What makes Walter one of the best sci-fi characters of all time is his relationship to his own scientific work. While the "mad scientist" is a very well-used trope, a character taking accountability is less common. Walter has caused immense pain, but he spends much of the series on a journey of redemption, and by the time Fringe comes to a truly devastating finale, he has become a fan favorite, with one of the most tragic final fates of any sci-fi character.

9 Captain Mal Reynolds

Firefly

Firefly has one of the best ensemble casts of any sci-fi show, but while all of the characters in Firefly have key roles to play, Mal is the heart of the show. Some roguish "space cowboy" characters have no other development, hiding behind witty one liners and a sense of style. On the other hand, Mal is deeply flawed, reliant on his relationships with his crew members, makes mistakes, and yet refuses to leave his crew behind, proving that in true danger, he is the person they want on their side.

A harsh reality of rewatching Firefly is that the show has not always aged well, but Nathan Fillion's charm and chemistry with the other cast members has helped to carry the series past these issues, and into an upcoming reboot. It will be interesting to see how the Firefly reboot will treat him, as Mal's status as a war veteran and his PTSD are a major part of his character, and this attention to real-world issues have made him an unforgettable and relatable sci-fi legend.

8 Kara "Starbuck" Thrace

Battlestar Galactica

In the original Battlestar Galactica series, Starbuck was a more typical character, as a rogue and hard-drinking pilot with a heart of gold. When the series was remade, recasting Starbuck as a woman was the producers' plan to avoid the character being a cliche. While this was met with considerable outcry from fans at first, Katee Sackhoff's portrayal made both her and Starbuck into sci-fi legends by defying gender stereotypes and bringing a more authentic messy side to the strong female character archetype.

Starbuck's troubled past make her both volatile and destructive at times, which is relatable to many viewers, and her character became a symbol of survival over the course of the series. With her character arc being one of the most mysterious and significant in the lore of Battlestar Galactica, Starbuck is a masterclass in both character writing and plot development in the sci-fi genre.

7 Londo Mollari

Babylon 5

As half of one of sci-fi's best double acts, Londo Mollari is both hilarious and a deeply nuanced character. His rivalry with G'Kar is one of the most entertaining parts of Babylon 5, but while Mollari is originally presented as a largely comedic character, the show is much more complex. Mollari's main storyline takes him from an arrogant buffoon to a conflicted leader and a tragic figure in the series.

There are very few one-dimensional characters in Babylon 5 as the show's greatest strength is in its political theme, presenting each character in the manner that a diplomat would. However, Mollari is one of the most well-written, and more fascinating due to his start as the series original comic relief. Even his transition to a villain is more complicated than it might seem, with his every action both ill-informed and also understandable, making the fandom sympathise with him even as he destroys everything he tried to save.

6 Ahsoka Tano

Ahsoka

While many great sci-fi characters seem desined to become icons, winning viewers over immediately, Ahsoka Tano was not one of them. However, despite beginning her story as an unpopular character, she won viewers over with her journey from an impulsive, defiant, and somewhat rude teenager to a much wiser person that some have even considered "Star Wars' best character."

Since being introduced in 2008, Ahsoka's storyline has spanned decades, yet although she has become one of the most experienced and mature characters in Star Wars, she is far from a typical Jedi. Ahsoka's sense of fun allows viewers to see her as a real person rather than the more removed and almost-godlike personalities that some of Star Wars' mentor characters have. The fact that Ahsoka occasionally fails helps keep her both relatable and a breath of fresh air for the franchise, which is occasionally too reliant on expected tropes.