Recs: Kickass Female Characters in Crime Genre Shows
So I just got done watching two hours of kickass female detectives. This is kind of like those "fuck you, she's awesome" posts, except for the fact that I can't imagine anyone trying to deny these women's awesomenss (then again, I think Ginny and Cho are kickass, and nobody ever seems to agree with me). Oh well, here I go:
So first up was The Closer.
The season premiere of The Closer was on tonight, and Brenda was as awesome as ever. I love her so much! I love how she's hardcore and yet sweet, how she has relatable weaknesses and real world problems while at the same time hunting down killers and intimidating even the most hardcore of suspects.
I love how she's in charge of commanding all of the men around her, how she challenges her boss whenever he makes shitty calls (and sometimes even when he doesn't), how she won't take no as an answer, how she's not afraid of the nitty gritty and doesn't flinch at gore, and how she will not hesitate to let her husband know when he's crossed a line.
I love how Brenda can switch tactics in an interrogation as easily as I can switch shoes, how she loses things like her phone yet remembers tiny details about murder cases, and how she will explore a murder scene in the most fashionable skirts and shoes around.
In short:
Deputy Chief Johnson will pwn you hardcore, and eat a Reese's peanut butter cup while doing so.
And then, then, was the series premiere of Rizzoli & Isles.
OMG. I'm in love. The show started playful and then turned hardcore in a matter of minutes, and I love it for it. Seriously, guys, WATCH THIS SHOW. It passes the Bechdel Test so damned hard, and the main leads are so awesome.
Jane Rizzoli is kickass, has an interesting family and past, has a brother that'll do anything she does, is training/dealing with a n00b partner, has another detective bitter that he can't partner with her, has a best friend that she works with who is funky and awesome, turns down the handsome FBI agent's request for a date, goes out drinking with her best friend looking like hell, and when it comes down to it, not only does she saves others, but she kicks ass and saves herself.
One of the villains says that her problem is that she thinks with her heart and not her head, though Rozzoli certainly manages to outsmart him. Rizzoli also tackles FBI, and will get so pissed at being out of the loop that she cusses in front of Senators and makes them put her on the "Need to Know" list. Once she's on it, Rizzoli figures out something in a matter of minutes that all of the people around her have yet to figure out.
She's also a woman after my own heart: even though she's allergic to dogs, when her friend and ex-partner is nearly killed on the job, she adopts the dog he'd found alongside the road earlier that day. And she's so hardcore that after a hard day on the job, she'll vacuum and clean a lot to give herself a chance to think when she's stressed.
In short:
This is Jane Rizzoli, and she's totally willing to give herself second degree burns if it means kicking your ass.
Maura Isles is incredibly good at her job, is beautiful and a fashionista while still being willing to clean up a trashed apartment and to trudge through nasty wilderness in heels and a cute outfit. Maura will fight hard for her beliefs and for victim's rights, even if it means arguing with her best friend - but she's not so determined that she won't listen to reason.
Isles is incredibly intelligent but doesn't flaunt it - it's just a part of who she is to be scientifically accurate whenever possible. She has a tortoise for a pet, has sleepovers with her best friend, likes tuna for lunch, and is so awesome that the US Government is all about asking for her professional help on national security issues.
Isles loves her friends, but also respects secrets. She's willing to do what she thinks is necessary to protect her friends, and will always be there when they need her. She's the head medical examiner, and she's totally willing to call FBI agents on their bullshit without a second thought, and is so good at it that eventually they cave and beg for her help on their case.
In short:
Maura Isles will examine your corpse and then munch on tuna salad, bitches.
There are also lots of minor female characters in the show, and there's tons of subtext between the two characters - Rizzoli even jokes about it in the first episode.
Well, now that I've raved about those two shows (go watch), I'm gonna set my reminders for the White Collar season premiere tomorrow, and the series premiere of Covert Affairs, which looks like it will have yet another awesome female lead.
It's so fantastic. Usually I'm desperate for any female characters in the male-dominated genre of crime shows (and genre television, in general). And yet here are so many shows that are all about the female awesomeness. I felt honestly giddy afterward, and was already able to look at the male dominated shows and scoff at their ridiculous lack of woman (instead of struggling to convince myself not to examine them from a feminist perspective). I was so happy. Love ♥!
This entry was originally posted at Dreamwidth. It has
comments there.
So first up was The Closer.
The season premiere of The Closer was on tonight, and Brenda was as awesome as ever. I love her so much! I love how she's hardcore and yet sweet, how she has relatable weaknesses and real world problems while at the same time hunting down killers and intimidating even the most hardcore of suspects.
I love how she's in charge of commanding all of the men around her, how she challenges her boss whenever he makes shitty calls (and sometimes even when he doesn't), how she won't take no as an answer, how she's not afraid of the nitty gritty and doesn't flinch at gore, and how she will not hesitate to let her husband know when he's crossed a line.
I love how Brenda can switch tactics in an interrogation as easily as I can switch shoes, how she loses things like her phone yet remembers tiny details about murder cases, and how she will explore a murder scene in the most fashionable skirts and shoes around.
In short:
Deputy Chief Johnson will pwn you hardcore, and eat a Reese's peanut butter cup while doing so.
And then, then, was the series premiere of Rizzoli & Isles.
OMG. I'm in love. The show started playful and then turned hardcore in a matter of minutes, and I love it for it. Seriously, guys, WATCH THIS SHOW. It passes the Bechdel Test so damned hard, and the main leads are so awesome.
Jane Rizzoli is kickass, has an interesting family and past, has a brother that'll do anything she does, is training/dealing with a n00b partner, has another detective bitter that he can't partner with her, has a best friend that she works with who is funky and awesome, turns down the handsome FBI agent's request for a date, goes out drinking with her best friend looking like hell, and when it comes down to it, not only does she saves others, but she kicks ass and saves herself.
One of the villains says that her problem is that she thinks with her heart and not her head, though Rozzoli certainly manages to outsmart him. Rizzoli also tackles FBI, and will get so pissed at being out of the loop that she cusses in front of Senators and makes them put her on the "Need to Know" list. Once she's on it, Rizzoli figures out something in a matter of minutes that all of the people around her have yet to figure out.
She's also a woman after my own heart: even though she's allergic to dogs, when her friend and ex-partner is nearly killed on the job, she adopts the dog he'd found alongside the road earlier that day. And she's so hardcore that after a hard day on the job, she'll vacuum and clean a lot to give herself a chance to think when she's stressed.
In short:
This is Jane Rizzoli, and she's totally willing to give herself second degree burns if it means kicking your ass.
Maura Isles is incredibly good at her job, is beautiful and a fashionista while still being willing to clean up a trashed apartment and to trudge through nasty wilderness in heels and a cute outfit. Maura will fight hard for her beliefs and for victim's rights, even if it means arguing with her best friend - but she's not so determined that she won't listen to reason.
Isles is incredibly intelligent but doesn't flaunt it - it's just a part of who she is to be scientifically accurate whenever possible. She has a tortoise for a pet, has sleepovers with her best friend, likes tuna for lunch, and is so awesome that the US Government is all about asking for her professional help on national security issues.
Isles loves her friends, but also respects secrets. She's willing to do what she thinks is necessary to protect her friends, and will always be there when they need her. She's the head medical examiner, and she's totally willing to call FBI agents on their bullshit without a second thought, and is so good at it that eventually they cave and beg for her help on their case.
In short:
Maura Isles will examine your corpse and then munch on tuna salad, bitches.
There are also lots of minor female characters in the show, and there's tons of subtext between the two characters - Rizzoli even jokes about it in the first episode.
Well, now that I've raved about those two shows (go watch), I'm gonna set my reminders for the White Collar season premiere tomorrow, and the series premiere of Covert Affairs, which looks like it will have yet another awesome female lead.
It's so fantastic. Usually I'm desperate for any female characters in the male-dominated genre of crime shows (and genre television, in general). And yet here are so many shows that are all about the female awesomeness. I felt honestly giddy afterward, and was already able to look at the male dominated shows and scoff at their ridiculous lack of woman (instead of struggling to convince myself not to examine them from a feminist perspective). I was so happy. Love ♥!
This entry was originally posted at Dreamwidth. It has
comments there.