Image: Everett Collection
The sci-fi genre has been filled with many heroines throughout the decades... and across the galaxy!. Here are a few who led the way on our TV screens in the '70s.
1
Jaime Sommers - The Bionic Woman
Image: The Everett Collection
Originally introduced in The Six Million Dollar Man series, Jaime Sommers was Colonel Steve Austin's fiance and a premiere tennis player. After a near-fatal sky-diving accident, Jaime was implanted with many of the same bionic parts as Steve, becoming the Bionic Woman. Throughout the series, Jaime goes on many missions for the OSI as a covert agent while also juggling her other job as a teacher at a local airbase. Some standout episodes for Jaime include working along with Steve to save the Director of the OSI from an army of female androids and a weather machine, as well as saving the world from a rampant super computer.
2
Lieutenant Nyota Uhura - Star Trek: The Animated Series
Image: The Everett Collection
Lieutentant Nyota Uhura was one of the core characters in the original Star Trek series, thanks in no small part to her portrayal by the late Nichelle Nichols. The Enterprise's communications officer returns in the animated series serving as a leading member of the crew. Some standout episodes for Uhura include taking charge when the men of the crew are incapacitated by a species of sirens and stopping an ancient weapon from falling into the hands of the Federation's enemies.
3
Dr. Abby Lawrence - Gemini Man
Image: The Everett Collection
A brilliant scientist for the government agency known as Intersect, Dr. Abby Lawrence was the mind behind the DNA Stabilizer watch that allowed Agent Sam Casey to regain visibility after being exposed to radiation after an underwater explosion. Standout episodes for Abby include helping Sam clear his name when he was framed for killing another agent of Intersect and helping Sam infiltrate the LAPD to stop a Soviet assassin.
4
Jessica - Logan's Run
Image: The Everett Collection
In Logan's Run, the world has been decimated by nuclear war and the survivors must take shelter inside domed cities to survive. Jessica and her companion, Logan are "runners", people who try to escape the oppressive regime of the domed cities and find Sanctuary — the promised land. Some standout episodes for Jessica include trying to stop a time traveler from changing history, potentially destroying their world and trying to save Logan after he loses his memory and is captured by the city's police force — The Sandmen.
5
Liana - The Fantastic Journey
Image: The Everett Collection
The daughter of an Atlantean father and an alien mother, Liana is a powerhouse on The Fantastic Journey. With super-strength and psychic abilities, Liana joins a team of travelers who got lost in the Bermuda Triangle and are desperate to return to their own time. Standout episodes for Liana include her meeting Jonathan Willoway, an enigmatic scientist and later member of the group after being stranded in a strange storm, as well as seemingly joining an uprising of women who are treated like second class citizens and banishing her male companions to a strange black void.
6
Dr. Helena Russell - Space: 1999
Image: The Everett Collection
The Chief Medical Officer of Moonbase: Alpha, Dr. Helena Russell became a doctor to follow in the footsteps of her father and became a top practitioner of space medicine. Played by Barbara Bain, Dr. Russell retreats into her work until she meets the new commanding officer John Koenig, played by her then-husband and former Mission: Impossible co-star Martin Landau. Some standout episodes for Helena include trying to find the cure to a mysterious illness on the Moonbase and trying to find the real Koenig after he is replaced by an alien duplicate.
7
Colonel Wilma Deering - Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Image: The Everett Collection
A colonel in the Earth Defense Directive forces in the 25th Century, Wilma Deering is not someone to be messed with. Initally the person to bring Buck Rogers into the EDD after his awakening from 504 years of cryosleep, a relationship would blossom between the two that would be one of the defining dynamics of the series. Standout episodes for Wilma include recruiting a legendary squadron to stop a gun-runner in possession of a dangerous nerve agent and being stalked by an alien mummy after going to an uncharted planet for power crystals.
8
Lieutenant Athena- Battlestar Galactica
Image: The Everett Colelction
The daughter of the Galactica's commanding officer, Adama, Lieutenant Athena was a jack-of-all trades. Assisting the crew of the Galactica in various tasks including directing air-traffic around the ship and flying the Viper fighters in space battles. Standout episodes for the Lieutenant include helping to quell a mutiny on the Galactica and helping to discover home planet of the Kobol.