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a point to explore the meaning and relevance of skepticism. Although the series ended on a rather anticlimactic note (the writers never actually had an overarching plan), it shone brightly in its earlier years, inspiring several published novels and turning its main characters into science fiction icons.

4) E.T.

Stephen Spielberg is, to many, a master in the science fiction genre. His most iconic creature was E.T., a skinny-armed blob of brown flesh with a knobbly head, gigantic eyes, and mysterious psychic abilities. After being marooned on earth accidentally by a visiting spacecraft, E.T. made the best of it by following a trail of Reese's Pieces to a new friend, Eliot. The story then follows his adventures in exploring daily human life and the nearly-disastrous attempt by Eliot to send him back home safely.

E.T. is one of the most merchandised and iconic characters of the eighties. Masks, stuffed toys, T-shirts, and more helped popularize the figure. These days, he's one of the most recognizable aliens out there.

5) The Doctor

'Doctor Who' was a multi-decade-spanning British science fiction program, in which the main character, an intelligent alien known only as "the Doctor," traveled across great distances and great spans of time to write wrongs and solve mysteries. His mode of transportation, in agreement with necessary levels of quirkiness for British television, was a ship that looked like a blue phone booth.

Often scary, but still well-loved by children all over the world (especially Europe), Doctor Who was the longest running television series ever, earning special mention in the Guinness Book of World Records.

While the name is classic, don't assume the Doctor's face to be recognizable: he's had ten as actors replaced one another along the course of the series. The changes were explained in the series by his ability to regenerate his body when near death.

6) Doc Brown

What could be cooler than a flying, time-traveling Delorean? A flying, time-traveling steam engine, that's what. Doc Brown, the wild eyed, white haired, endearing entrepreneurial scientist of the 'Back to the Future' trilogy may have looked 'mad,' but he wasn't. He was awesome, and he got awesome things done. Not only was he cool enough to make friends with the teen-aged rocker, Marty McFly, and create the world's first time machine, but he was one of the most morally savvy characters to grace the television screen of my youth. He created his invention for good rather than evil, frowning upon

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