Doctor Who vs Ellen Ripley, Han Solo vs Spock – sci-fi has been thrilling us on screen for decades now, but just who do we love the most?

Based on a poll by the British Film Institute, these are the 10 greatest sci-fi characters of all time.

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10. Spock (Star Trek)

Spock's life is defined by conflict, the battle of logic against passion. His Vulcan-human heritage fuels that conflict and puts him at odds with his impulsive, often reckless captain, James T Kirk. But his steadfast loyalty to the man would always win out in the end, creating the genre's most enduring bromance.

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9. Han Solo (Star Wars)

One of two Harrison Ford character to appear in the top 10 is the roguish captain of the Millennium Falcon. Originally indebted to Jabba the Hutt following the loss of valuable cargo, Han Solo was drawn further into the Jedi orbit, motivated (at first) by the reward for the safe return of Princess Leia. But there was nobility behind the bravado, and Han would go on to be an influential general in the Rebel Alliance.

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8. Rick Deckard (Blade Runner)

The second appearance by Harrison Ford. Rick Deckard is a bounty hunter for the police in a dystopian San Francisco. Deckard starts out as a selfish, self-involved man with little consideration for the ‘Andys’ he is stalking. But the story’s emotional core plays out through Deckard, who encounters a deep empathy for all forms of life.

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Photo by Cryteria

7. HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey)

A sentient computer whose physical form is never depicted might struggle to count as a ‘character’ in the strictest sense. But it’s a testament to Arthur C Clarke and Stanley Kubrick’s vision that he/it/she endures. As the antagonist, the Heuristically programmed Algorithmic computer controls all the systems of the spacecraft Discovery One. What could possibly go wrong?

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6. G’Kar (Babylon 5)

G’Kar started off being fuelled by bitterness and hatred, and died as something approaching a God. Throughout the space opera’s saga that explored big themes of war, peace, religion and sacrifice, his storyline was perhaps the biggest. While locked in a revenge battle, G’Kar took a drug that gave him telepathic abilities, but the side-effect made him Messianic. By the end he was a holy figure, and The Book of G’Kar a spiritual tract for the Narn.

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5. Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly)

When it comes to cult television, actor Nathan Fillion is regarded as one of those people who has ‘been in everything’. But without doubt his most iconic role was Mal in Joss Whedon’s short-lived space western, Firefly, and its cinematic spin-off, Serenity. Whedon had wanted a hero who could be “everything that a hero was not,” and Fillion’s performance as a man with little moral purpose other than to keep his crew alive has been heralded as one of the most complex on TV.

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4. Kerr Avon (Blake’s 7)

The BBC’s 1970s space opera was renowned for its bleakness and lack of sympathetic characters. But Paul Darrow’s performance as Avon, perhaps the most villainous of all the show’s renegades, nevertheless became the fans’ favourite. The show started off as an ensemble piece, but Avon quickly became the lead character.

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3. Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader (Star Wars)

There can be no more iconic depiction in the fall of man in all of cinema than the epic journey of young Jedi, Anakin Skywalker. Things started promisingly for the Force-sensitive human male, until a noxious combination of temptation and heartbreak sent him on a downward spiral to the Dark Side, and a reign of terror as the throaty Darth Vader in service to the Galactic Empire.

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2. Ellen Ripley (Alien)

Warrant officer Ellen Ripley, of the spaceship Nostromo, was expecting a calm status trip back to Earth, until the crew were awoken by a mysterious transmission, and a bulb-headed Xenomorph picked off her colleagues. Life would only get worse as Ripley was discredited on return to Earth, and impregnated by a Xenomorph. Sigourney Weaver’s powerhouse performance meant Ripley is rightly considered to be one of the greatest of all female protagonists.

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1. Doctor Who

Ever since he stole a Tardis and fled, the renegade Timelord known only as The Doctor has been thrilling TV audiences and teaching children across the globe about a new kind of heroism. A time-travelling space detective who never uses violence, the BBC’s flagship character has rightly become the longest-running sci-fi hero in history.

The BFI launched its poll to find the nation’s favourite sci-fi character back in August as part of its major nationwide celebration of sci-fi on screen, Days of Fear and Wonder.

Who’s your personal favourite sci-fi character of all time? What do you think is the best sci-fi movie or TV series ever made? Add your comments below.