Young Love

In honor of Valentine's Day, I'm taking a trip down memory lane and recalling those gals that made my young heart go aflutter.

(And for those who may not know me, I was a kid in the 70s, so it was totally appropriate to have a crush on Tatum O'Neal's Amanda Wurlitzer. Just like it's totally appropriate to be strangely attracted, years later, to the train wreck that is Maggie Gavin. Crushes die hard, y'all).

So, without further ado, let Cupid's arrow fly toward TNRLM's Top 10 Childhood Valentines:

Anne Lockhart as Sheba on Battlestar Galactica (Original Recipe). Not only was she a badass Viper jock, she was also the daughter of Admiral Cain. (Bonus points: Anne came from a geek lineage, as her mom, June, was the matriarch of the Robinson clan on Lost in Space).

Yvonne Craig as Batgirl. Comic book crime fighter in skintight spandex. (Serving as a gateway drug to later efforts by Kate Beckinsale, Angelina Jolie, Famke Janssen and others). 'Nuff said.

Oh, even better? Yvonne Craig was also a green Orion slave girl in the OG Star Trek.

Tatum O'Neal as Amanda Wurlitzer in Bad News Bears. A cute girl that could bring the heat (from a baseball perspective), cuss with the best of 'em and get Buttermaker a cold beer? This Little League shortstop's heart went pitter-patter.

Kim Richards as Tia in Escape to Witch Mountain. One of the first Disney sci-fi movies I remember seeing. And who better for a lonely only child to bond with than a girl that was a bit....alien. (Even the fact that Paris Hilton is now her niece doesn't ruin this childhood memory).

Jessica Lange as Dwan in King Kong. Twas beauty that stirred the beast of puberty.

Jenny Agutter as Jessica in Logan's Run. This movie came out around my birthday, and I thought it was a perfect gift from the geek gods directly to me. After seeing Jessica prance around in that outfit trying to find "Sanctuary," I didn't care if my Lifeclock turned red.

Haley Mills as Sharon and Susan in the original Parent Trap. Ahhhh, young love before Hef would redefine the notion of hanging out with identical twins. This would probably foreshadow my long time love of short hair.

Grace Lee Whitney as Yeoman Janice Rand in Star Trek. My dad introduced me to the show on late night cable reruns when I was 11 or 12, and I was fascinated with the major babeage on the show. Whuppin' Klingon and Romulan ass every week was cool for a starship captain, but as we can see, there were other benefits as well. Plus, Yeoman Rand probably served as a precursor to my love for Cindy from the B-52s.

Farrah Fawcett as, well...Farrah Fawcett. What kid of my generation didn't have this poster in their room?

Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia. What geek collection of hotties would be complete without the Mona Lisa of nerd love? Even without knowing that she would grow up to be a boozy, brilliant slinger of bon mots as a writer, Carrie captured my heart from the moment her sassy princess from Alderran graced the screen with her cinnamon bun hair, lip gloss and gauzy dress (as George Lucas famously said, "there's no underwear in space"). And that was before the slave girl bikini.

Ahhhh, good times, when the heart was young and innocent and unbroken.

Happy Valentine's Day to all the TNRLM readers and their significant others.