Sure to catch hell, but so be it.

1. Willow
2. Darla
3. Drusilla
4. Cordelia
5. Joyce

An honorable mention of that irksome vampire slayer Buffy :)

Madhatter | June 17, 08:36 CET

Just my opinion:

1. Willow
2. River
3. Zoe
4. Echo
5. Joyce

Giles'chainsawchick | June 17, 09:08 CET

In no order: Buffy, Willow, River, Fred/Illyria (that counts as one right?) and Faith.

emmy | June 17, 09:17 CET

Top 5:
Faith
Buffy
Zoe
Joyce
Fred
Probably in that order. This is if we're excluding Dollhouse, right?
Also, honourable mention for Jenny!

BlueSkies | June 17, 09:36 CET

Kaylee, Buffy, Fray, Faith, Illyria (good choice emmy).

archon | June 17, 10:58 CET

In no particular order and subject to change in the next five minutes

Buffy
Fray
Dandelion
Lilah
Adelle

Honorary mentions

Zoe
Darla
Drusilla
Dawn

Simon | June 17, 11:53 CET

Buffy
Adelle
Faith
Willow
Cordelia

Honorable mentions: Lilah, Dawn, Zoe, Dru and Darla.

vampmogs | June 17, 12:39 CET

Current top five characters:

Buffy
Zoe
Drusilla
YoSaffBridge
Dandelion

Honorable mentions: Harmony and River

BreathesStory | June 17, 12:57 CET

For me:
In no order: Cordelia, Buffy, Faith, Darla, Willow.

aradia | June 17, 13:21 CET

There are so, so many ways.

Buffy
River
Dawn
Drusilla
Fray

Honorable mentions: Faith, Anya, Serenity, Mag, Miss Kitty Fantastic, everyone else

Who's this "Dandelion"?

Kairos | June 17, 14:10 CET

Kairos...is a ship really female? I mean it's inanimate...but why are cars, planes, space ships etc referred to as female? It's google time!

Dandelion is from Sugarshock, Joss's online comic, it was great! http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/16-523/Sugarshock-One-Shot

BlueSkies | June 17, 14:28 CET

Buffy
Faith
Cordelia
River
Adelle

Honorable mention: Ellen Ripley.

Simon - I never heard about Dandelion until now. Is it worth reading?

Moscow Watcher | June 17, 14:29 CET

Sugarshock! isn't everyone's cup of tea but there was something so wonderfully punk about the comic strip that led me to really liking the character of Dandelion.

You can read it for free on MySpace

http://www.myspace.com/darkhorsepresents

The story is in three parts, issues 1 - 3 (scroll to the bottom of the page to get to the archives).

Simon | June 17, 14:35 CET

Moscow Watcher, I'm not Simon(obviously!) but I say it absolutely is! It's funny, quirky, amazing dialogue and just fun. Read it if you want entertainment, it's literally out of this world.

BlueSkies | June 17, 14:36 CET

I'd go with:

1. Willow
2. Faith
3. Fred
4. Kaylee
5. River

Honorable mentions: Anya & YoSaffBridge

captain | June 17, 14:40 CET

Buffy
Faith
The slayer in The Chain
Anne, particularly given this thread earlier this year.
Cordelia

Night On My Side | June 17, 14:40 CET

Cordelia
Darla
Faith
Buffy
Adelle

Honorable mentions:

Willow
Jenny
Chantaralle/Lily/Anne
Sierra/Priya
Everyone from Firefly

erendis | June 17, 14:49 CET

Fred/Illyria
Faith
Buffy
Willow
Anya

I would do an honorable mention, but then I would just list all the Whedon women.

mossome | June 17, 15:01 CET

Simon, BlueSkies - thank you, guys!

I need my monthly dose of Joss Whedon stuff...

Moscow Watcher | June 17, 15:07 CET

Top five only, huh? Not an easy thing to do, considering all the options. But...

1) Faith
2) River
3) Buffy
4) Kaylee
5) Illyria

Probably would be slightly different had I answered this last week... and will be different again next week, no doubt!

The Arcane | June 17, 15:32 CET

In no order: Buffy, Willow, River, Faith and Tara.

And honourable mention to Adelle just because I love Olivia Williams.

moley75 | June 17, 17:36 CET

Wow! Only 5? Well, I guess:
1. Buffy
2. Cordy
3. Willow
4. Fred/Illyria
5. River

Calledon | June 17, 18:05 CET

I think people are cheating a bit by throwing in all those "honorable mentions". Part of the fun of this article is being limited to 5 only. Since there are a lot of worthy candidates, this is a way to tie people up and hold them over a volcano (poetically speaking). The writer left Wesley and Angel off the male list, but it would be really hard to pick who would get tossed from her current list.

OneTeV | June 17, 18:09 CET

Top 5: (in no order)
Faith
Anya
Darla
Lilah
Adelle

Honorable mentions: Willow Rosenberg, Cordelia Chase, Claire Saunders (Whiskey), River

benboy606 | June 17, 18:15 CET

Buffy
Willow
Adelle
Fred
Kaylee
... that was easier than I thought it would be. I love so many more characters, but these shine.

Valentyn | June 17, 18:59 CET

1. Adelle
2. Willow
3. Meleka
4. Zoe
5. Tara
Wow, I'm the only one with Tara, that's very interesting.

[ edited by theMidnighter on 2011-06-17 19:32 ]

theMidnighter | June 17, 19:31 CET

As memory serves*, it is believed to have become a tradition due to the fact that professional sailors, going as far back as we know of, where overwhelmingly male and often isolated from the female sex over long stretches of time. It became customary to view one's vessel as a substitute for the things left at home (such as female companionship/home itself) and the parallels of the relationship between a pregnant mother and her unborn child to that of a sailor and his host ship also has a longstanding place in the collective mariner psyche.


* Who needs Google anyway? Phaw!
:)

brinderwalt | June 17, 19:51 CET

In order:

1. Buffy
2. Cordelia
3. Zoe
4. Darla
5. Lilah

Surprisingly easy to do actually.

Leaf | June 17, 20:08 CET

Zoe
Willow
Anne (AKA Chanterelle & Lily)
Fred/Illyria
River (particularly when she is the ship, Serenity)

So many rich wonderful characters I loved a lot... I would mention Ivy but I mostly love her in the new Dollhouse comics!

Oh no, I want Lilah too! Can't we make this a top ten? Actually I love them all.

embers | June 17, 20:14 CET

Cordelia
Willow
Adelle
Buffy
Faith

marvelknight616 | June 17, 22:35 CET

For me, it would have to be:

1. Buffy
2. Willow
3. Illyria
4. Anya
5. Andr Inara

johnsmusicbox | June 17, 22:38 CET

Buffy is my favorite character in the entire 'Verse so of course she's number 1.

Willow is my second favorite female character and after her, it gets impossible to choose only three more.

Cordy, Darla, Zoe, Inara, Joyce, Tara, Dawn, Anya, Faith...

Reddygirl | June 18, 03:29 CET

That list in the link would be fine if they swapped out Zoe, Willow and River for Illyria, Inara and Faith.

I love Willow, but she only gets so much attention because they made her a gay character. River is only popular because she kicked so much butt in Serenity and Zoe is kind of a bland character to me, which isn't to say that I disliked her. I just find Inara to be the most complex and interesting female on Firefly. Faith and Illyria are faaaaaaar more interesting characters than Willow and River

Love seeing Cordy on there though, I think her and Wesley had the greatest character arcs of the entire Buffyverse. Buffy on the list is a given

[ edited by Arkham258 on 2011-06-18 04:28 ]

Arkham258 | June 18, 04:18 CET

Oh, and if I could do six I'd add Echo of course. Honorable mentions for Darla and Drusilla for their awesome arcs in Angel season 2. I was always glued to the screen whenever they were on

Arkham258 | June 18, 04:24 CET

@Arkham258:

I wasn't going to comment, but I had to say I think you are way off base saying Willow only gets so much attention because they made her a gay character. Like she couldn't possibly have made these lists if Buffy ended after season 3. That's absolutely ridiculous.

Just because you didn't appreciate her character as much as others doesn't mean everyone else is blinded by her sexuality. I'm offended by this statement.

/end rant

guidedby | June 18, 06:38 CET

I think Willow was going to be popular regardless of the eventual coming out of her character, just because of how you can't help but like her. I've always loved Willow, pre- and post-coming out, but I figured she'd be shown so much love on here that my own list would be out of everyone else.

archon | June 18, 09:33 CET

Buffy, Faith, Adelle, River, Willow.

Wow, that was incredibly hard to narrow down.

Emmie | June 18, 10:15 CET

Not a single mention of Gloria? Am I the only one who thought she was absolutely fantastic? Or is it just because she was a god and not a woman...?

(My own list: Buffy, Willow, Fred/Illyria, Adele - and a shared fifth place for about five or six other characters... like aforementioned Gloria, Tara, River, Echo, Inara.....)

Puck | June 18, 10:39 CET

I loved Willow from the moment Cordelia ordered her away from the water fountain in the first episode, and I loved Willow more as she began to develop her power and become a strong confident young woman. Her being Gay was just the shiny sprinkles on top of an already perfect cake.

Oh and I always thought that Glorificus was lame, she would never make any list of mine (unless it was for lame characters). Just my own personal opinion of course.

embers | June 18, 13:51 CET

I'd add Fred, but I don't know who I'd bump, so obviously lots of awesome women. Oh, and add Tara too.

redeem147 | June 18, 13:55 CET

Maybe not, but I see Illyria on a lot of lists, so I'm not the only one stretching the rules here. :)

Thanks for the anti-googling, brinderwalt! That was interesting. And for the Sugarshock! link, Simon. Yay, new (to me) Joss work!

Revising my list now without looking back at the last one I wrote, because it really is cheating to keep doing those honorable mentions:

Buffy
River
Drusilla
Anne
Dawn

[ edited by Kairos on 2011-06-18 14:47 ]

Kairos | June 18, 14:45 CET

Mine is the same as Emmie's, I think, though in a different order. And, well, maybe Faith is slightly pushed out for Anya. To round out the top ten, I'd add Darla, Lilah, Zoe, and...Saffron.

I can't speak for others, but my love for Willow and River is not primarily because of their sexuality and ass-kicking, respectively.

[ edited by WilliamTheB on 2011-06-18 18:28 ]

WilliamTheB | June 18, 18:24 CET

Well, the list is "Most Important," and the author has the decency to admit her persoanl favorite is for her the 5th most important.

I'm no critic so I'd never try this. Plus I tend to get confused doing a Personal Favorites because 1- I confuse liking the actress with liking the character, and 2- because I confuse (as the Lieutenant said on _Family Matters_) "thinking thoughts" about the actress with appreciating her acting abilities. Which explains why my 2 favorite female characters are the radically different Tara and Harmony . . . and I wish they made "Smile Time" puppet versions of them.

DaddyCatALSO | June 18, 20:51 CET

Buffy
Willow
Cordelia
Fred/Illyria
Serenity (because a ship is female!)

Slipping About | June 19, 02:54 CET

Buffy
Willow
Anya
Drusilla
Harmony


What can I say? I like the classics.

[ edited by Xane on 2011-06-19 03:57 ]

Xane | June 19, 03:56 CET

WilliamTheB -- it pained me to not include Anya. My order isn't really set here, except you know me -- Buffy's my number one girl.

Emmie | June 19, 04:18 CET

I think people are cheating a bit by throwing in all those honorable mentions.

Of course, OneTeV, you must expect some wiggle room. In fact, think I'll add Anya to the mention. Hey, so many great chartacters! Yeah, I'm so weak :)

Madhatter | June 19, 07:33 CET

Madhatter, I had just re-watched the Office episode "The Fire" (the "desert island book" scene) before seeing people sneak in wiggle room. :-)

Jim: It has to be a book, Dwight.
Dwight: Fine, Physician's Desk Reference-
...hollowed out, inside-waterproof matches, iodine tablets, beet seeds, protein bars, NASA blanket and, in case I get bored, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

OneTeV | June 19, 14:57 CET

Just to elaborate on my last post on this topic

I think coming out is what defined Willow. It made her news worthy and every truly major thing that has happened in her character arc stems back to her relationship with Tara. There was no REAL character growth for her until they decided to have her come out. Willow was pretty much the same character for the first three seasons of the show. It doesn't feel like they really did anything major with her character beyond being one of Buffy's sidekicks until her coming out in season 4 had everyone talking about her and the show.

There's a HUGE part of the fan community that is STILL clamoring for Tara to come back and be re-united with Willow. Their relationship still remains the most talked about event in Willow's entire story. So I DO think being gay is the thing that truly elevated Willow's character and made her more popular than ever. Just as people always talk about Buffy being a feminist icon, people made a huge deal out of Willow and Tara having the first lesbian relationship on tv(though Xena toyed around with this a bit but never committed). Just my opinion

River was always a cool character on Firefly, but Serenity made her into this iconic action heroine with the image of her holding two weapons surrounded by armed Alliance troops and dead reaver bodies. Is it a coincidence that her appearances in both Chuck and Sara Connor Chronicles used her as this scary female who looked like she could kick anyone's butt? She's been kind of type casted since Serenity. The Cape took a different approach with her that was nice, but that show was so bad and doomed to failure unfortunately

Arkham258 | June 19, 22:04 CET

Arkham258 I hear what you say, but I could not disagree more. Willow was a timid little mouse who would have died in the first episode of the first season if Buffy hadn't saved her, but she quickly became someone who had confidence in her abilities and didn't hesitate to stand up to Cordelia, and for what she believed. As her witchy abilities grew she learned the ability to float a pencil, and then used that ability to kill a vampire! It is true she was probably a side kick throughout high school, but she showed real strength and confidence in Season 2's Halloween episode when Buffy was out of commission and Willow was ordering Xander, Giles, and even Cordelia around.

Just because you didn't see her character growth, doesn't mean that the rest of us didn't see and appreciate her growing confidence and strength long before she met Tara.

It is true that River was already a complex, and dangerous, little girl before she was even let out of the box in Firefly, but that isn't character growth.... that was us slowly discovering what happened to her. I agree that in Serenity she had a major break through which allowed her to access her power, but I would still argue that that is less character growth as it is self discovery.

At any rate I don't think the fans appreciation of either of these characters is mutually exclusive: Joss has written a lot of very interesting complex women none of whom are exactly alike (although obviously Cordelia and Jayne were exactly the same).

embers | June 19, 22:26 CET

Thank you so much embers, for saying (much better than I could) what I wanted to about Willow. When I think about Willow, I think about so many things before I get to the fact that, oh yeah, she's a lesbian.

guidedby | June 20, 05:09 CET

River-Have never been more memorized by a character.
Anya-Loved her brand of funny and growth.
Illyra-I could watch a whole series staring Blue.
Gwen-Such potential!
Buffy-A given.

romanceguru | June 22, 18:33 CET