As of 2004, Sydney was named one of the 10 best current characters by "Zap2it". In June 2010, she was ranked No. 42 on "Entertainment Weekly"'s "100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years". UGO.com ranked her the 20th Top TV Character out of 50. Sydney was listed AOL TV's "100 Most Memorable Female TV Characters", ranking at No. 27. and AfterEllen.com's Top 50 Favorite Female TV Characters. Bristow also appeared in "Maxim" list of the Hottest Nerd Crushes. She was also included in "Total Sci-Fi Online"s list of "The 25 Women Who Shook Sci-Fi". "TV Guide" named her one of TV's Toughest Ladies. Her relationship with Michael Vaughn was featured in "TV Guide"s list of the best TV couples of all time.