women over forty
verstehen has a good rant about good 40+ female characters on TV. With a list. And it just so happens that last week when I was having a long boring train ride to an interview in Bålsta, I started making a list much like that one. That is to say, it started as a list of TV mothers I liked, but soon morphed into 40+ women in general. After that rant, I pretty much had to post it. So here's my top 20, followed by a special mention, followed by a borderline list (of women who turned 40 during the course of the series, or where I can't tell for sure whether they are or aren't). A total of 29 women in 25 fandoms.
The Top 20 Over Forty List
1. Joy Lass, Dead Like Me
Joy is such a fabulous character in so many ways, frail and strong, and above all very much an example of the ”good enough mother”, a character type much too rare on television.
2. Maxine Gray, Judging Amy
If Joy is the good enough mom, Maxine borders on the supermom, but I don't care. For me, JA is largely the Tyne Daly show - I tune in to watch Maxine fight her cases, watch out for her family, sometimes date (she usually seems fairly reluctant to do that). Sometimes the sap factor is high, but often I just sit there wishing she was real. She doesn't always manage to make things better for the kids she has to deal with, but there's never any doubt that she tries.
3. Patti Chase, My So-Called Life
Another good enough mom - Patti was uptight and passive-agressive to a point where I as a Swede found it very easy to relate to her. She was also a loving, responsible parent who sometimes reminded me very much of my own mom.
4. Emily Gilmore, Gilmore Girls
Emily, on the other hand, might qualify as a bad mom, but it's complicated by the fact that Lorelai Gilmore annoys me to no end. If I'd been Emily, I'd be much worse. Besides, I can never resist a good rich bitch. To add to her appeal, Emily is a woman with a lot of feeling under all that polish. I eventually tuned out from the show, but I'll always remember her fondly.
5. Marilla Cuthbert, Anne of Green Gables
I don't think anyone has ever been more right for a part than Colleen Dewhurst was for this one. She embodied Marilla: her strength, her strict exterior, and the humour and heart lurking under the surface. RIP.
6. Livia, I, Claudius
Livia was the ultimate cold-hearted bitch, and how could you not adore her? She's the role model for evil soap bitches throughout television. She kills and manipulates and above all stares at you down her nose in that chilly, superior way. Ooh.
7. Ellen Harvelle, Supernatural
Samantha Ferris has described her character as a ”broad”, which I suppose defines her as well as any other word. She's tough, no-nonsense, protective, accomplished, and she scares Dean, which is always a good thing. :-) Ellen is exactly the kind of woman you want a show like SPN to have - she totally fits into their testosterone universe, while still being both fully womanly and fully awesome.
8. Angela Petrelli, Heroes
Yes, she's shady and quite possibly evil (though you never know on this show). But she's also most definitely interesting. What makes her tick? What was her involvement in whatever happened with the previous generation? And how can she do both ”bereaved widow who steals socks to get excitement” and ”ice-cold schemer who is prepared to let New York go boom” without ever seeming fake even when she's obviously hiding things?
9. Abby Bartlett, West Wing
It's a classic situation: The man rules the world, the woman rules the man. I'm biased to like Stockard Channing, but there was a lot to like with this character. There's a reason I chose her as a Slayer for my multi-crossover, and it wasn't the comedy factor. Abby is accomplished as hell and the kind of woman you'd love to have in charge of just about anything.
10. Mrs. Landingham, West Wing
Mrs. Landingham was kind and polite at most times, and hard as steel in her little-old-woman way when she had to be. Mostly, she was awesome. I think the most touching moment on West Wing, ever, was when she talked to Charlie about the sons she lost in Vietnam. (For those of you who haven't seen it, imagine this said very calmly by a little old woman: "It's hard when that happens so far away, you know, because with the noises and the shooting, they had to be so scared. It's hard not to think that right then they needed their mother. Anyway, I miss my boys.")
11. Claire Meade, Ugly Betty
Bitter, alcoholic, and a murderess. Also, fantastic. Ugly Betty is a rare breed of comedy and soap opera that sometimes shows layers in its characters not associated with either genre. One of those moments is Claire gently-but-frankly letting Betty know that keeping Walter because he loves her is just not a good enough reason.
12. Hetty King, Road to Avonlea
Hetty was stubborn, proud, uptight, and a strong, loveable woman in a very old-maid type of role. My interest in the show faded in and out, but Hetty was always worth watching.
13. Miss Jane Marple, Marple
Miss Marple is someone I have loved dearly in books for many years, so it's no wonder that I love Geraldine McEwan's version as well. (I'd add Joan Hickson to the list too, but a) they are the same character, ish, so it feels like cheating and b) I don't remember Hickson all that well.) Low-key, intelligent, and so much more knowledgeable about the world than you'd think. Certain eps were disastrous, but Miss Marple herself was a darling.
14. President Laura Roslin, Battlestar Galactica
Okay, so I've only ever seen a couple of eps of this show. (It's not that I don't like it, there's just always so much else to do!) Judging from those eps, I really love Roslin. She's the one who dares to take some responsibility and admit what's really going on and what they need to do about it: The Cylons have won and humanity needs to survive. Should be elementary, but what the hell, I'm not military. :-) Neither is she, which might be one of the reasons I like her so much.
15. Kitty Montgomery, Dharma & Greg
Rich bitch ahoy, and so very delightful too. D&G is one of those shows where I love the women much more than the men, and no-one more than Kitty. There's something about the character type that just gives me the good kind of goosebumps all over.
16. Marla Hendricks, Boston Public
The BP eaching staff were an interesting bunch of people, some more interesting than others. Marla was definitely one of the most interesting ones. Passionate, frank, and constantly just one tiny step away from cracking.
17. Lovis, Ronia the Robber's Daughter
Okay, this is borderline cheating, since Ronia isn't exactly a series, but the long version of the story is a TV mini series, so I'm counting her. Surrounded by a gang of robbers with all the emotional maturity of blueberry scones (tm Giles), she has the strength and character to keep everything running, and to give Ronia the space to grow up.
18. Sophia Petrillo, Golden Girls
Obviously I had to have a Golden Girl in here somewhere, and Sophia is just so wonderfully horrible. I loved the scenes between her and Dorothy, they were among the greatest bickering partners I've seen on TV.
19. Helen Girardi, Joan of Arcadia
JoA had a number of fine actors, and Mary Steenburgen was especially good as Helen; subtly touching without going into maudlin territory (which often happened on that show), and always fully believable.
20. Wilhelmina Slater, Ugly Betty
The telenovela traditions of Ugly Betty requires that Wilhelmina is The Enemy who must be stopped. If you think about it in any other way, she should run Mode - no other character is even remotely as qualified for the job. She's evil enough that I'm hoping she won't, and fantastic enough that I'm cheering on her every wicked move. Add to that the softer side, as seen with Nico or Texas Ted, and she's just a fabulously juicy character.
Special Mention
Lydia Grant and Elizabeth Sherwood, Fame
The only reason I didn't add these two to the top 20: I don't have enough specific memories of Fame to know how to rank them. I do remember that they were both great, though, and that Fame was a very rare show in that it managed to raise audience interest in both staff and students, without making it seem like there was some huge war going on between the generations.
The Borderline List (unordered)
Roseanne Connor, Roseanne
How many shows star a fat, loud-mouthed, working class woman? That alone is enough to qualify her. The show being so good qualifies her further. And that she was just so delightful as a character - that would have put her in the top ten if she hadn't been too young during the first few seasons.
Atia of the Julii, Rome
Atia embraced the evil bitch in herself to a glorious level, and almost outdid Sian Phillips as Livia in I, Claudius. (She definitely outdid the Livia on this show.) Yes, the manipulative, oversexual snake-woman is a classical role bordering on the stereotype, but damn, when it's done this well, who can complain?
Lisa Cuddy, House
Cuddy was my favourite character on House, and lack of Cuddy was one reason I stopped watching (though there were others). In general, I haven't seen Lisa Edelstein in anything where I didn't adore her to pieces, but Cuddy is a step above the rest. Smart, funny, and a hell of a boss.
Lou Beckett, Jake 2.0
Speaking of ”a hell of a boss”, Lou really dealt in an admirable way with the problems of having a superpowered computer tech as one of her agents. I loved her cool, her patience, and the occasional hint of humour that was never allowed to crack the surface completely.
Jackie Tyler, Doctor Who
Jackie was kind of stupid, kind of desperate, and all kinds of awesome. I wish she could have been a proper companion. If only RTD wasn't so afraid of Tegan that he automatically shuts out anyone who has serious objections to the Doctor and the way he does things.
Claire Huxtable, The Cosby Show
Claire is one of many examples of the poised, cool sitcom mom who has everything under control, especially her husband. Still, this example is a particularly fine one, maybe because Claire was so fabulously ladylike. Also, TCS was a large part of my childhood, so I'm imprinted on Claire forever.
C.J. Cregg, West Wing
C.J. is yet another of those fabulous West Wing women, played by the wonderful Alison Janney whom I love to see in absolutely everything, and here in particular. C.J. is passionate, intelligent, funny, sometimes clutzy, and always a joy. I wish she could have lived happily ever after with Mark Harmon, because she utterly deserves it.
The Top 20 Over Forty List
1. Joy Lass, Dead Like Me
Joy is such a fabulous character in so many ways, frail and strong, and above all very much an example of the ”good enough mother”, a character type much too rare on television.
2. Maxine Gray, Judging Amy
If Joy is the good enough mom, Maxine borders on the supermom, but I don't care. For me, JA is largely the Tyne Daly show - I tune in to watch Maxine fight her cases, watch out for her family, sometimes date (she usually seems fairly reluctant to do that). Sometimes the sap factor is high, but often I just sit there wishing she was real. She doesn't always manage to make things better for the kids she has to deal with, but there's never any doubt that she tries.
3. Patti Chase, My So-Called Life
Another good enough mom - Patti was uptight and passive-agressive to a point where I as a Swede found it very easy to relate to her. She was also a loving, responsible parent who sometimes reminded me very much of my own mom.
4. Emily Gilmore, Gilmore Girls
Emily, on the other hand, might qualify as a bad mom, but it's complicated by the fact that Lorelai Gilmore annoys me to no end. If I'd been Emily, I'd be much worse. Besides, I can never resist a good rich bitch. To add to her appeal, Emily is a woman with a lot of feeling under all that polish. I eventually tuned out from the show, but I'll always remember her fondly.
5. Marilla Cuthbert, Anne of Green Gables
I don't think anyone has ever been more right for a part than Colleen Dewhurst was for this one. She embodied Marilla: her strength, her strict exterior, and the humour and heart lurking under the surface. RIP.
6. Livia, I, Claudius
Livia was the ultimate cold-hearted bitch, and how could you not adore her? She's the role model for evil soap bitches throughout television. She kills and manipulates and above all stares at you down her nose in that chilly, superior way. Ooh.
7. Ellen Harvelle, Supernatural
Samantha Ferris has described her character as a ”broad”, which I suppose defines her as well as any other word. She's tough, no-nonsense, protective, accomplished, and she scares Dean, which is always a good thing. :-) Ellen is exactly the kind of woman you want a show like SPN to have - she totally fits into their testosterone universe, while still being both fully womanly and fully awesome.
8. Angela Petrelli, Heroes
Yes, she's shady and quite possibly evil (though you never know on this show). But she's also most definitely interesting. What makes her tick? What was her involvement in whatever happened with the previous generation? And how can she do both ”bereaved widow who steals socks to get excitement” and ”ice-cold schemer who is prepared to let New York go boom” without ever seeming fake even when she's obviously hiding things?
9. Abby Bartlett, West Wing
It's a classic situation: The man rules the world, the woman rules the man. I'm biased to like Stockard Channing, but there was a lot to like with this character. There's a reason I chose her as a Slayer for my multi-crossover, and it wasn't the comedy factor. Abby is accomplished as hell and the kind of woman you'd love to have in charge of just about anything.
10. Mrs. Landingham, West Wing
Mrs. Landingham was kind and polite at most times, and hard as steel in her little-old-woman way when she had to be. Mostly, she was awesome. I think the most touching moment on West Wing, ever, was when she talked to Charlie about the sons she lost in Vietnam. (For those of you who haven't seen it, imagine this said very calmly by a little old woman: "It's hard when that happens so far away, you know, because with the noises and the shooting, they had to be so scared. It's hard not to think that right then they needed their mother. Anyway, I miss my boys.")
11. Claire Meade, Ugly Betty
Bitter, alcoholic, and a murderess. Also, fantastic. Ugly Betty is a rare breed of comedy and soap opera that sometimes shows layers in its characters not associated with either genre. One of those moments is Claire gently-but-frankly letting Betty know that keeping Walter because he loves her is just not a good enough reason.
12. Hetty King, Road to Avonlea
Hetty was stubborn, proud, uptight, and a strong, loveable woman in a very old-maid type of role. My interest in the show faded in and out, but Hetty was always worth watching.
13. Miss Jane Marple, Marple
Miss Marple is someone I have loved dearly in books for many years, so it's no wonder that I love Geraldine McEwan's version as well. (I'd add Joan Hickson to the list too, but a) they are the same character, ish, so it feels like cheating and b) I don't remember Hickson all that well.) Low-key, intelligent, and so much more knowledgeable about the world than you'd think. Certain eps were disastrous, but Miss Marple herself was a darling.
14. President Laura Roslin, Battlestar Galactica
Okay, so I've only ever seen a couple of eps of this show. (It's not that I don't like it, there's just always so much else to do!) Judging from those eps, I really love Roslin. She's the one who dares to take some responsibility and admit what's really going on and what they need to do about it: The Cylons have won and humanity needs to survive. Should be elementary, but what the hell, I'm not military. :-) Neither is she, which might be one of the reasons I like her so much.
15. Kitty Montgomery, Dharma & Greg
Rich bitch ahoy, and so very delightful too. D&G is one of those shows where I love the women much more than the men, and no-one more than Kitty. There's something about the character type that just gives me the good kind of goosebumps all over.
16. Marla Hendricks, Boston Public
The BP eaching staff were an interesting bunch of people, some more interesting than others. Marla was definitely one of the most interesting ones. Passionate, frank, and constantly just one tiny step away from cracking.
17. Lovis, Ronia the Robber's Daughter
Okay, this is borderline cheating, since Ronia isn't exactly a series, but the long version of the story is a TV mini series, so I'm counting her. Surrounded by a gang of robbers with all the emotional maturity of blueberry scones (tm Giles), she has the strength and character to keep everything running, and to give Ronia the space to grow up.
18. Sophia Petrillo, Golden Girls
Obviously I had to have a Golden Girl in here somewhere, and Sophia is just so wonderfully horrible. I loved the scenes between her and Dorothy, they were among the greatest bickering partners I've seen on TV.
19. Helen Girardi, Joan of Arcadia
JoA had a number of fine actors, and Mary Steenburgen was especially good as Helen; subtly touching without going into maudlin territory (which often happened on that show), and always fully believable.
20. Wilhelmina Slater, Ugly Betty
The telenovela traditions of Ugly Betty requires that Wilhelmina is The Enemy who must be stopped. If you think about it in any other way, she should run Mode - no other character is even remotely as qualified for the job. She's evil enough that I'm hoping she won't, and fantastic enough that I'm cheering on her every wicked move. Add to that the softer side, as seen with Nico or Texas Ted, and she's just a fabulously juicy character.
Special Mention
Lydia Grant and Elizabeth Sherwood, Fame
The only reason I didn't add these two to the top 20: I don't have enough specific memories of Fame to know how to rank them. I do remember that they were both great, though, and that Fame was a very rare show in that it managed to raise audience interest in both staff and students, without making it seem like there was some huge war going on between the generations.
The Borderline List (unordered)
Roseanne Connor, Roseanne
How many shows star a fat, loud-mouthed, working class woman? That alone is enough to qualify her. The show being so good qualifies her further. And that she was just so delightful as a character - that would have put her in the top ten if she hadn't been too young during the first few seasons.
Atia of the Julii, Rome
Atia embraced the evil bitch in herself to a glorious level, and almost outdid Sian Phillips as Livia in I, Claudius. (She definitely outdid the Livia on this show.) Yes, the manipulative, oversexual snake-woman is a classical role bordering on the stereotype, but damn, when it's done this well, who can complain?
Lisa Cuddy, House
Cuddy was my favourite character on House, and lack of Cuddy was one reason I stopped watching (though there were others). In general, I haven't seen Lisa Edelstein in anything where I didn't adore her to pieces, but Cuddy is a step above the rest. Smart, funny, and a hell of a boss.
Lou Beckett, Jake 2.0
Speaking of ”a hell of a boss”, Lou really dealt in an admirable way with the problems of having a superpowered computer tech as one of her agents. I loved her cool, her patience, and the occasional hint of humour that was never allowed to crack the surface completely.
Jackie Tyler, Doctor Who
Jackie was kind of stupid, kind of desperate, and all kinds of awesome. I wish she could have been a proper companion. If only RTD wasn't so afraid of Tegan that he automatically shuts out anyone who has serious objections to the Doctor and the way he does things.
Claire Huxtable, The Cosby Show
Claire is one of many examples of the poised, cool sitcom mom who has everything under control, especially her husband. Still, this example is a particularly fine one, maybe because Claire was so fabulously ladylike. Also, TCS was a large part of my childhood, so I'm imprinted on Claire forever.
C.J. Cregg, West Wing
C.J. is yet another of those fabulous West Wing women, played by the wonderful Alison Janney whom I love to see in absolutely everything, and here in particular. C.J. is passionate, intelligent, funny, sometimes clutzy, and always a joy. I wish she could have lived happily ever after with Mark Harmon, because she utterly deserves it.