[picspam] Women of a Certain Age - multifandom

[entwashian]

For the prompt 'destitution'. There's a dearth of good female roles on tv; for women over 50, there is next to nothing. Here are some happy exceptions to that unfortunate rule.

Comments

[veracity]

I'm tired of teens, to be honest. I love the meatier roles. Oh! Don't forget Gran on True Blood.

Probably not your genre, but you have Erika Slezak on One Life to Life. Heck, she was on for 40 years. Of course OLTL is on the tail end, but still. The one good thing about soaps? They have a matriarch that is often over 50: Susan Lucci (Erica Kane, AMC), Francis Reid (Alice Horton, Days), Erika (Viki Buchanan, One Life), Anna Lee (Lila Quartermaine, General Hospital), Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor, Y&R), Deidre Hall (Marlena Evans, Days), Robin Stasser (Dorian Lord Buchanan, OLTL)...

For instance. And those were just on the top of my head. I'm pretty sure more cast are over 50, I just can't say for certain. I'd guess Y&R has a lot. And all BAMFs.

[entwashian]

Lol, yeah, I don't watch any of those shows. Even True Blood. ;) Otherwise, they probably would be on here.

I have a feeling I'd like Chloris Leachman's character on Raising Hope, too, if I liked that show enough to watch it.

[veracity]

Yeah, all those shows? Have a good mix of the older than 35 crowd. Francis Reid had a lifetime contract on Days. She acted on it up until the last 3 or so years of her life, due to health reasons I think. She was around 92 the last time she appeared on screen. Meaning, as the founding family on the show, she was roughly in 51 (1965) to start with.

Talk about epic.

Anna Lee on GH went from 1978 until 2002, when they stupidly sacked the veteran. She was in mid-50s, too. I just love that some of these women start out in their 50s and stick around. They kind of broke some serious barriers.

If I liked the premise of Raising Hope, I'd watch it. I love Chloris, especially when she's working with Betty. Like in that movie You, Again.

[entwashian]

I wonder if a lot of that has to do with the target demographic of soaps. (Which of course then begs the question of why the only shows targeted at women seem to be soaps and teen dramas.)

My parents watch it. I've seen parts of episodes (I really like Garret Dillahunt as well as Chloris), but it just doesn't appeal to my sense of humor.

Oh, Betty! I thought about including her character from Hot in Cleveland, but I've only seen a couple episodes of that, so I can't really use it as a positive portrayal of an older woman... juuuust in case it isn't. XD

[veracity]

Well, the demographic is being cut out like a female fan on SyFy. (Seriously, many of the same comments.) Soaps have loyal fans, which seems to upset TV execs for some unfathomable reason. Hence the cancellation of half in the past 4 years. After January, only GH, Y&R, Days, and B&B will be left. And GH is on the bubble because ABC seems to think women want to watch self-help reality shows.

I've seen the promos of Raising Hope and it just doesn't interest me. I'm more of a Roseanne episode kind of girl.

I've seen a fair amount of Hot in Cleveland. She plays a great role, I think. Spine-filled, spiteful, spunky. She's not your average paint-by-numbers character. Very strong. A nice change. I don't like the rest of the characters when I watch but Betty's character is so much fun.

[entwashian]

Oh, yes. That's the one I forgot. Network execs seem to think that women only watch soaps, teen dramas, & self-help reality shows.

I liked the other characters in the small amount of HiC that I watched, but that might just be because I like the actresses. The only one I don't really grok is Valerie Bertinelli.

[veracity]

Of course. Apparently the "housewife" is gone so the desperate Carrie-lite ones are all at home at 1pm.

Valerie isn't bad. I like her okay. I don't know enough. But the one that was on Just Shoot Me has been a favorite actor for awhile. (Did you know she was in Alvin and the Chipmunks 2?)

[entwashian]

Did you know she was in Alvin and the Chipmunks 2?

LOL! I do now!

[veracity]

Yep! She played the principal in the movie. If you have HBO, I think it's playing now. I saw it on some premium channel. Or Netflix probably has it.

I miss Just Shoot Me, too.