Saturday, April 11, 2009

Nerd Alert

Dear Friday Night,

Some might argue that I am wasting my youth, sitting on my sofa drinking summer beers, tuning into Fox with religious zeal every week at 8.

These ladies beg to differ.

Eliza Dushku right, plays Echo on Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. Summer Glau, left, plays Cameron, a terminator, on The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

First off, let's get past the obvious "hubba, hubba." They are babes- kind of similar looking babes in black tank tops. They're also role models. Pretty, smart, tough broads who kick ass, and tend to rescue the hapless men around them far more often then they need to be rescued themselves. They're two of the female leads on my two favorite shows, Dollhouse and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

I went to a women's college, and I am proud to say I'm a feminist. A few years ago, after Buffy left the scene, there was a retreat from the strong female protagonist in television. You wound up with your Meredith Grays and your Desperate Housewives. Recently, television as a whole has re-embraced the sassy lady. From Tina Fey's Liz Lemon on 30 Rock to the recently departed and much missed Starbuck of Battlestar Galactica, I'm excited to sit down to TV that offers intelligent, layered portrayals of women.

Fox, in particular, has led this charge. Their line-up is replete with professional women, from Temperance "Bones" Brennan, who heads up a forensic anthropology team at the "Jeffersonian" a fictionalized version of the Smithsonian on Bones to Special Agent Olivia Dunham who is in charge of a special division of the FBI on Fringe. The ladies of Fox are leaders in their fields. They command respect. They're the kind of women you can show your daughters as examples.

On Friday, you get three strong, unique women. Sarah Connor, an untraditional working mother, is the complete package, a woman who has completely transformed herself into guerilla warrior in order to fight androids from the future. Cameron is a machine developing a conscience. Echo...well, Echo is a little difficult to explain in a tidy sentence. All the same, I love Fridays. I am sometimes moved to clap, or to shout "yes!" by the incredible, imaginative plots. I say, good job, Fox. Maybe you can do something about your news now.

Regards,

Lindsay

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