Recently snicks gave us a list of Our Favorite Action and Fantasy Heroines and that list, combined with a catch-up marathon of Battlestar Galatica, got me thinking of women who are strong and formidable because of their intellects. Strong warrior women have a major presence in the gallery of gay icons, but we also love the women who outsmart the obstacles in their path. Since tonight marks the Battlestar Galatica midseason finale (and the last we'll see of President Roslin until 2009) here are some of sci-fi's smartest and most admirable women.

Mary McDonnell as President Laura Roslin
in Battlestar Galactica

Easily one of the most formidable minds in sci-fi TV is the woman left to keep humanity alive as it faces extinction after 42 people ahead of her for the presidency were killed in the holocaust. Initially she faced an army (almost literally) of skeptics who dismissed her as just a "school teacher" never meant to lead the twelve colonies. However, she quickly proved herself as a woman dangerous to underestimate, especially when she faced down a military insurrection led by Bill Adama. As played by Mary McDonnell, Roslin is someone whose mind is clearly always at work.

Amanda Pays as Theora Jones
in Max Headroom

Max Headroom gave us Theora Jones, who worked as reporter Edison Carter's controller, providing him with information as he questioned subjects and ventured into dangerous territory. Many times, Edison would have been toast if not for Theora's knack for quick research.

Catherine Tate as Donna Noble
in Doctor Who

With smart women like Martha Jones and Sarah Jane Smith, its hard to not make this list heavy on Doctor Who companions. However, Donna stands out for the way her first meeting with The Doctor transformed her. In her first appearance, she came off as intellectually lazy and demanding. However, she's also the first person (since the series was revived, at least) to work with The Doctor and have the insight to find his awesome powers to be something to inspire fear. She also became a stronger person all alone, turning into an investigator in order to reconnect with The Doctor. She's challenged The Doctor and his impulses from her earliest travels with him, contributing to the action instead of deferring to him.

Lisa Hayes
in Robotech (The Macross Saga)

For a lot of gay geeks who grew up in the 80's the animated serial Robotech was our afternoon soap. Not only did Robotech cheesily mix sci-fi and romance (how can you beat a story where aliens invade earth and are literally defeated by a love song?), it gave us plenty of strong women who succeeding by dismissing societal expectations. As the first officer of the SDF-1, Lisa's quick thinking saved the ship on several occasions and her tactical mind helped the ship's fighter pilots turn away various attacks.

Kristen Chenoweth as Olive Snook
in Pushing Daisies

While Ned, Chuck and Emerson go about trying to solve various murders, The Pie Hole's waitress Olive Snook solves the mystery of what those three are up to all on her own, discovers Chuck's family and realizes that she's officially dead. Olive is a sharp interrogator, often forcing Ned and Chuck to change the subject to avoid her questions. As hard as it would be to believe, I wouldn't be surprised if she figures out Ned's secret soon enough.

Stuff you should know about Bryan Fuller: He hates Queer as Folk. He has “a huge lesbian agenda”. His beautifully written, eye-popping pilot for ABC’s Pushing Daisies was named one of the 10 best television broadcasts of 2007 by The Washington Post.

And – boys – he’s totally adorable. Like clean puppies and chocolate birthday cake adorable. Noon on your favorite beach in June with a fistful of nostalgia-laden boardwalk cuisine adorable. Freshly cut Christmas tree, decorated in candy canes and red ribbons with a cute miniature train running through a cute miniature town underneath adorable.

And did we mention – he’s crazy talented. Fuller spoke to us for part two of our special investigative report: "Gays in Primetime", but there just wasn’t enough room for all the wonderfulness that is ... Bryan. So here are more tidbits from our interview. Topics include the gay Star Trek script that never got made, the de-gayed gay dad on Dead Like Me, the big gay character-driven show Fuller dreams of doing, and - *EXCLUSIVE* - his big reveal on the identity of Pushing Daisies’ gay character.

Click on through the jump for the gay spoiler and lots more Fuller!

You might have heard that Mensa, the organization for people with very high IQs, has assembled a list of the Smartest TV Shows of All Time. Frasier makes the list at number 8 (aided, no doubt, by the performance of David Hyde Pierce as natty Niles) and four shows known for occasionally tackling gay themes - The West Wing, Boston Legal, Mad About You and All in the Family - are also included.

The full list:

1. M*A*S*H
2. Cosmos with Carl Sagan
3. CSI
4. House
5. West Wing
6. Boston Legal
7. All in the Family
8. Frasier
9. Mad About You
10. Jeopardy

As always with a list like this, a number of omissions come to mind, ones that makes the inclusion of Boston Legal and Mad About You seem even odder. Seeing Mensa chairman Jim Wardell explain the choices doesn't help things, since there doesn't seem to be on over-arching rationale; CSI and House are considered smart for the way they use science in their stories while Frasier and M*A*S*H are praised for their characters and dialouge.

While a list of this always inspires people to think of their favorite deserving shows (I always go with Wonderfalls, myself) there are a couple general omissions that I find interesting. All of these ten shows originally aired on broadcast television, so critical darling cable networks like HBO and fx are not represented.

Animated and science fiction series don't make the cut, nor do any gritty, emotionally exhausting dramas like Homicide or Six Feet Under. One could almost say that Mensa picked shows that were intellectually challenging but not too intellectually challenging.

The most glaring omission is probably The Simpsons, a show that playfully challenged its audience's attention to detail almost constantly. Does the fact that Lisa Simpson is a high-ranking member of Mensa Springfield mean nothing?

But there are plenty of other gay-inclusive TV shows that could fit on the list. Earlier, I mentioned Homicide (which gave us an unflinchingly realistic look at police work and characters who developed over time, including Kyle Secor's Det. Bayliss becoming comfortable with his bisexuality), Six Feet Under and Wonderfalls, and would also think Oz and The Wire would be deserviing nominations.

What are your favorite examples of smart, gay television? Which shows do you think challenged audiences' brains the most? Let us know in the comments!