Daleks, Death and Aliens beat Gollum
 

The magazine SFX recently did a series of polls of science fiction and fantasy things such as 'best characters' and 'best ideas' and so on and so forth.
In the category of 'Favourite Monsters, Supernatural Beings & Fantasy Creatures' Gollum came in at number five, behind Death (from the Discworld novels), the Aliens (from the Alien franchise), some character from some TV show, and the winner was The Daleks (from Doctor Who).

In the category of 'Favourite Sages, Mentors And Boffins', Gandalf was denied the top spot by Rupert Giles (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Topher Brink (Dollhouse) But managed to beat Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars)!

Not much else to report from the polls. Though I, personally, was glad to see The Doctor win 'best hero' and couldn't help wondering who would be classed as the 'hero' for The Lord of the Rings? Given how this is a poll of the popular characters, I imagine Aragorn or Frodo would have been put forward. Would the result have been different if, say, Sam or, dare I say it, Gollum had been suggested. ;)

Thoughts?

Well, personally, I'd say that though the main character of LOTR is Frodo, the hero is Sam.


Also, what about villians? Who would be the 'villian' for LOTR? Would you go for Sauron, Saruman, Gollum, or someone else entirely, such as Bill Ferny?

For the main villain, I'd say the Ring. There are really too many people who contributed significantly to the success of the quest to say that there is one hero or central character, IMHO, but for myself (after more than 45 years of being a fan and student of the book), I think of Frodo, Gandalf, and Aragorn as a heroic triad (which is pretty well summed up by Aragorn at his coronation: "By the labour and valour of many I have come into my inheritance. In token of this I would have the Ring-bearer bring the crown to me, and let Mithrandir set it upon my head, if he will; for he has been the mover of all that has been accomplished, and this is his victory.")

*shrugs* Hard to say. Judging by a quick skim of the magazine, it's somewhat more oriented towards SF TV series, such as Doctor Who, than books or movies. So the LotR characters (in any version) are probably starting from behind anyway.

How did Lorne (Angel) get such a high spot in the "Favourite Monsters, Supernatural Beings & Fantasy Creatures" poll? Gollum is a much better character; he played a pivotal role in getting two main characters to their destination, and he fulfilled the quest inadvertently. Lorne just...sings...a lot. (I'm joking.) I'm just glad Jar Jar Binks isn't on that list.

Gandalf and Obi Wan are also better characters than Giles. Oh well, I didn't vote so why am I ranting? Ha!