![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grammarwomanMy TV-series killing curse has struck again, humorously enough for the show "Killer Women".
See, I've been meaning to recommend this show for a couple of weeks now. It's not a great show by any means, or probably even a good show. But I found it really entertaining for several reasons.
1. Shades of "Haven", the main character of Molly Parker, a Texas Ranger who is one of the first women in that organization, dresses like a cop, and not the stripper version either. She wears sensible footwear, shirts with sleeves, jeans, and (for TV anyway) little makeup. I could see her doing her job in that outfit, is all I'm saying.
2. It stars Tricia Helfer. I enjoy watching her on my screen, especially in her role as a real human and not an enigmatic Cyclon/projection.
3. It also has another BSG alum, Michael Trucco, as her brother, and BtVS alum Marc Blucas as her love interest. She's got great chemistry with both of them.
4. The premise is that Parker is out to prove herself as a female Ranger, and whaddya know, all of the cases she solves have women involved in them as the perps, though some motivations are more convoluted than outright Bad Guy. This can lead to eye-rolling simple plots, as you know The Woman Did It.
But here is where this show grabbed my attentions: there are women EVERYWHERE in it. Moms, daughters, trophy wives, cops, soldiers, white collars, blue collars...This is not your regular procedural where there's the token woman or two on The Team, who may stumble across a female nosy neighbor or hooker. Two of the exec producers are Sofia Vergara and Hannah Shakespeare, and it felt like their mandate was cram all in the women in it they could. With the Texas setting, a fair portion of the women are Latina as well.
Helfer's Texas accent can be laughable, and the dialogue and stories are sometimes atrocious and cliched, but women! Women with agency! With their own stories and lives all over the place! Surrounded by men who don't blink an eye at the strong women in their lives.
For example, one minor storyline that made me cheer: Parker's boyfriend is recovering from a minor injury and staying at her family's ranch. Her niece sneaks into the room where he's sleeping and paints his nails. When he wakes up and sees it, he laughs, and her dad (Parker's brother) comments that the little girl likes doing nails. Whereupon the girl asks her dad if she can do his again, too. The end scene is the two guys kicking back, drinking beer, sporting colorful manicures. No manly posturing, no patronizing a "sweet thing", simply two guys making a little girl happy.
So of course I find out after watching this week's episode that the series had its 8 episode run shortened to 6, leaving it mid-cliffhanger and canceled. (Which explains the "Previously on" clips that never actually aired.)
I need to stop watching TV shows in their first season. Why do I never learn? (By the way, Sleepy Hollow/Person of Interest/Teen Wolf/Fringe/etc. fans, you're welcome - I specifically steered clear to keep them safe.)
So tell me: are there any new shows that need killing? I've got an opening now.
See, I've been meaning to recommend this show for a couple of weeks now. It's not a great show by any means, or probably even a good show. But I found it really entertaining for several reasons.
1. Shades of "Haven", the main character of Molly Parker, a Texas Ranger who is one of the first women in that organization, dresses like a cop, and not the stripper version either. She wears sensible footwear, shirts with sleeves, jeans, and (for TV anyway) little makeup. I could see her doing her job in that outfit, is all I'm saying.
2. It stars Tricia Helfer. I enjoy watching her on my screen, especially in her role as a real human and not an enigmatic Cyclon/projection.
3. It also has another BSG alum, Michael Trucco, as her brother, and BtVS alum Marc Blucas as her love interest. She's got great chemistry with both of them.
4. The premise is that Parker is out to prove herself as a female Ranger, and whaddya know, all of the cases she solves have women involved in them as the perps, though some motivations are more convoluted than outright Bad Guy. This can lead to eye-rolling simple plots, as you know The Woman Did It.
But here is where this show grabbed my attentions: there are women EVERYWHERE in it. Moms, daughters, trophy wives, cops, soldiers, white collars, blue collars...This is not your regular procedural where there's the token woman or two on The Team, who may stumble across a female nosy neighbor or hooker. Two of the exec producers are Sofia Vergara and Hannah Shakespeare, and it felt like their mandate was cram all in the women in it they could. With the Texas setting, a fair portion of the women are Latina as well.
Helfer's Texas accent can be laughable, and the dialogue and stories are sometimes atrocious and cliched, but women! Women with agency! With their own stories and lives all over the place! Surrounded by men who don't blink an eye at the strong women in their lives.
For example, one minor storyline that made me cheer: Parker's boyfriend is recovering from a minor injury and staying at her family's ranch. Her niece sneaks into the room where he's sleeping and paints his nails. When he wakes up and sees it, he laughs, and her dad (Parker's brother) comments that the little girl likes doing nails. Whereupon the girl asks her dad if she can do his again, too. The end scene is the two guys kicking back, drinking beer, sporting colorful manicures. No manly posturing, no patronizing a "sweet thing", simply two guys making a little girl happy.
So of course I find out after watching this week's episode that the series had its 8 episode run shortened to 6, leaving it mid-cliffhanger and canceled. (Which explains the "Previously on" clips that never actually aired.)
I need to stop watching TV shows in their first season. Why do I never learn? (By the way, Sleepy Hollow/Person of Interest/Teen Wolf/Fringe/etc. fans, you're welcome - I specifically steered clear to keep them safe.)
So tell me: are there any new shows that need killing? I've got an opening now.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-02-20 12:50 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-02-20 04:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-02-20 06:44 pm (UTC)It's okay! Me too! That's why I requested Bunheads and also offered it for rarewomen.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-02-20 05:39 pm (UTC)Mine is 'if i start watching from the first episode' - so I can start in s1, just not at the same time s1 starts.
So: H50, Suits, White Collar, Burn Notice, NCIS, House, etc.... you're welcome! (Sadly, I couldn't watch Royal Pains long enough to kill it - that show was terrible.)
*wanting* to watch a show from the first ep doesn't seem to have an effect, otherwise SG1 would've died a horrible death v. early on, despite the 4-yr contract from Showtime. =) (though, technically, i sort of grudgingly watched that b/c I wasn't a fan of the movie)
So - anything new coming up that someone wants killed - give me a head's up on the first ep and I'll do what I can.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-02-20 06:53 pm (UTC)Let's see what else...Firefly, Ringer, Pushing Daisies, SG-1 (killed two seasons after I started watching it), Moonlight, Zero Hour (not that that was a great loss), Otherworld, Misfits of Science, Werewolf, Wolf Lake, Kindred: The Embraced, The Secret Circle, Hellcats, FlashForward, Eastwick...
Wow. No wonder I'm jaded about new TV.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-02-21 05:30 am (UTC)Ringer was awful, so I don't feel bad about that one. Uh - by s7 - SG1 needed to drift off into the sunset... once RDA left, it just wasn't the same. The Secret Circle - I tried to watch and tried to like, but, omg, I got so *bored*.
But yeah - i give new tv a wide berth until something that looks interesting has a good half season or so under its belt.