We’re continuing our look at 2011′s fictional femmes with the cable networks…
I’m starting to think that, if we want more complex female characters with a decent diversity in age, ethnicity, and overall look, cable is the place.
Maybe because cable networks don’t have to appeal to the same broad audience that the networks have to capture. Maybe they don’t have to automatically default to “teen to mid-twenties, white”.
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I love these women. All of them. They’re all so unrepentantly badass and not to be trifled with. They have to be because, as Cersei Lanister told Stupid Ned Stark, “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die.” Even Sansa, the one who follows the rules and does what’s expected of her, has her own strength.
True Blood
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And then there are these lame ass, moony eyed, perpetual victims. Sookie ruins everything. Tara can’t do anything without having to be bailed out by Sookie. And so on. True Blood has a terrible track record with female characters and has a clear cut agenda in terms of the value of women: Sookie (a pretty young white girl who only bangs vampires) and Jessica (a pretty young white girl who is an eternal virgin) are good and sympathetic. Meanwhile, Holly (single mom), Marnie (single older woman), Debbie Pelt (a pretty young white girl, but a drug addict and cheat), Tommy’s mom and Mrs. Fortenberry (bad mothers) are all presented as bad or the enemy. Tara (a single black woman) is only on the good side when she’s in league with Sookie, otherwise, she’s also the enemy. It’s gross.
The only woman worth a damn on True Blood is Awesome Pam, but even she’s slavishly devoted to Eric.
Doctor Who
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As far as I can see, Amy Pond and River Song are damn near perfect.
Camelot
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Guinivere and Igraine are expected, to say the least. Dutiful wives, easily given over to love, attraction, and duty.
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Morgan, Sybil, and Vivien, however, are fantastic. Morgan only does what a man would do and she’s called evil for it. For all anyone knows for her entire life, she’s the rightful heir, then suddenly, Merlin shows up with some farm boy to take it all from her. I’d be righteously pissed and vengeful, too. Throughout the series, Morgan, Sybil, and Vivien never indulge in typical ladylike cattiness, nor do they have conversations about men and relationships. They steadfastly support one another until the bitter end.
While it was on, I enjoyed this show, but I could never remember the names of the female leads. It’s always “Lady Doc, Forgotten Girlfriend, Rape Survivor, and Jesus Girl”. None of them are particularly well developed and make decisions that, while logical for them, are predictable because they’re all stock female characters.
- Dr. Glass
Dr. Glass is a pediatrician (or as Mattel’s Barbie would put it, a “baby doctor”), immediately marking her as a maternal carer, as the ladies should be.
- Maggie
Maggie is the woman toughened by being repeatedly raped. (BTW, Falling Skies, are you ever gonna make Pope answer for that? Even if he didn’t participate, he let it happen).
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Karen and Lourdes only matter so long as Hal wants them. Poor Karen was abducted and never spoken of again until the end of the season. Meanwhile, Hal was getting close to Lourdes, Maggie, and any other teenage girl who wandered into the screen.
Falling Skies, I like you, but you’ve got to do better.
Alphas
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My love for Alphas is documented. The female leads, Rachel and Nina, are surprisingly well done and consistent for a Syfy show. They don’t make stupid, emotionally based decisions (unless the team is being influenced that way by someone’s alpha ability). They don’t fall into bickering and competition with one another, instead being unlikely, but genuine friends.
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What a wonderful bunch of deeply flawed, fully realized women. I love AHS for giving us something we don’t normally see on television: women who look age appropriate. There’s no attempt to hide that Connie Britton is in her mid-40s, Frances Conroy is pushing 60, and Jessica Lange is 62. Taissa Farmiga is the same age as her character, Violet – there’s no substituting a 25 year old for a teenager or a 32 year old for a middle aged mom.
Alexandra Breckenridge and Kate Mara are what’s typically expected in TV women (conventionally pretty, under 30), but their characters are subversive. Young Moira is a ghostly expression of the hetero male mind and Hayden is a psychopath.
Stargate: Universe
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Chloe started off being looked at as useless and, by the end of the series, embodies the idea that knowledge and education makes a woman dangerous. Camille (like Sookie) ruins everything and was constantly shown as a meddler who is always wrong. TJ started out very promisingly, but having broken one of the 8 Simple Rules for Surviving Sci-Fi (rule #1: Keep your panties on) she had to suffer.
Merlin
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Gwen exists purely as Arthur’s appendage. There’s little more than that to her.
Then there’s Morgana. Everyone lied to her for years, she gets poisoned by and flung down the stairs by Merlin, and her own father would execute her for her magical talents. Of course, Morgana is lashing out.
The Walking Dead
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I’ve got mixed feelings about this bunch. From season one to season two they shifted from having resolve to being unreasonable drama queens.
Torchwood: Miracle Day
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WHAT A MESS. Gwen Cooper is suddenly not very Gwen Cooper-like at all. Ester finally comes around to her inner awesome then DIES. Dr. Jaurez was always awesome, faking her way into government panels and camps and telling some middle-management bureaucrat pigdog where to shove it. Then she DIES. Jilly, the soulless PR pro without a moral code, gets to LIVE. WTF, Russell T. Davies?
The rest of these shows, I tried. I really tried and, for one reason or another, have not been able to keep up with the goings-on. The most common reason include being bored or the show being ridiculous. Often, a combination of the two.
So, I’m putting it to you, dear readers. What are your thoughts on these characters?
Being Human
- Sally
Warehouse 13
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Haven
- Audrey Parker
Sanctuary
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Eureka
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Tomorrow! Movies!
Related Stuff:
Lisa Fary's earliest influences are Princess Leia, Rainbow Bright, Astronaut Barbie, and her 6th grade teacher, Ms. Palmer. She's angry that it's 2011 and she still doesn't have a hovercraft, but will accept a jetpack as consolation. That jetpack had better be pink with a rhinestone monogram. 
I agree with you mostly on True Blood, with the exception of Jessica. I actually think she’s a great character that struggles with her newfound vampireyness in a real, nuanced way. She’s ended things with Hoyt to be true to herself and her vampire nature. I think that’s huge. Also, I like the thing about her being a perpetual virgin, just because that’s a logistical vampire thing that you don’t really think about, but makes a lot of sense. If you’re turned a vampire before your hymen breaks…then it’s going to heal over every single time. I actually really like that detail. When I first saw that happen to her, I was like “OMG, sucks to be you!” But then I thought I was cool that they’d even thought of that as an issue.
Also, I have to disagree with you re: Torchwood. I LOVED Gwen in this, particularly when she’s like “Jack, if it comes down to you or my baby, I will TOTALLY KILL YOU.” That was such an intense moment, and it’s something that’s been in Gwen all along. Yes, she LOVES being in Torchwood, which is why she came back, but she’s ALWAYS put her family first, and her relationship with Rhys has always been all-important to her. Even when she tried to cheat. I love that she’s such a powerful mother (and buys her baby earmuffs that will drown out the sound of gunshots!), and that it doesn’t make her any less badass on the field. Gwen is a complete, real, multi-faceted character. She’s not just a “kick ass” chick in leather pants. I love that about her.
Also, I love Jilly – mostly because I’ve worked in PR and can relate to her. I’ve met people like her. Hell, I’ve come close to BEING like her (which is why I left PR). She was hateful, to be sure, but she was also written in a really honest way. While I don’t like the person, I like the character, if that makes sense. Because she DID struggle with her morals, and we got to see that, but in the end, her PR nature was what ruled her decisions. She was written realistically. And in life, someone like that WOULD survive. Much as it sucks that bad things happen to good people, and vice-versa, that IS the way it often happens.
Jessica, along with Awesome Pam, is my favorite character on TB, for a lot of the reasons you listed. With the perpetual virgin issue, I like that it’s not played for titillation and is considered to be an annoyance to all parties, especially her.