List-or-Treat: Five Good Reasons to Watch TV

Maybe it's the chilly breeze in L.A. these past couple of days, but lately I've been feeling very holiday spirited (ghost pun intended). I've wanted to get out of my routine and do something lighthearted. The downside to running a feminist blog is that you sometimes feel like a big critical, negative jerk (or at least I do, on occasion). It's not that what I usually point out isn't in the wrong, it's just you need a cheerful break full of positivity to give a little contrast. So, in celebration of Halloween, I'm giving you a list of my five favorite female characters on television. These ladies aren't just sex symbols, aren't just splendid mothers, and aren't just a 2-d version of women. They're not in any specific order because I don't have that kind of dedication, but enjoy this Halloween treat from yours truly.

1. Nancy Botwin from Weeds (photo from yahooTV)

Ever since the first season with this pot-dealing suburban widow, I've not been able to get Nancy Botwin's twisted path through middle-life and the world of illegal substances out of my mind. Nancy is a mother figure who could be debated to be good or bad for her children as the seasons progress, and a morally-gray-area kind of gal in all of her weed-dealing shenanigans. Nancy isn't cookie cutter in any sense of the word, and I think it's Nancy's complexity which makes her so compelling. I think Nancy defies any stereotype that's placed on her. Nancy may not be the best role model for young girls to look up to, but Nancy is an example of how a character can just be a wonderful, complex character (and protagonist!) without having to be a token woman on a show about men.

2. Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show (photo from imdb)

So maybe it's been a couple year since I've seen an episode of The Cosby Show, but I still remember the soothing presence of Mrs. Huxtable in a house that sometimes seemed it had gone mad. I also remember that, unlike so many TV moms, Mrs. Huxtable had a job of just as much prestige as her husband, and spent just as much time worried about/working at her job as did her husband. Mrs. Huxtable was a figure equal to her husband in every way. Both would care for their children in sometimes sweet ways, sometimes in a more tough-love fashion, but always as a team. Mrs. Huxtable, and The Cosby Show in general, gave me hope for all sitcoms to be as hilarious and endearing as The Cosby Show was.

3. Agent Dana Scully from The X-Files (photo from yahooTV)

I just love Agent Scully. I do. She was the brains of the Mulder/Scully team, and the logical voice that the audience always had in their head, saying "Really, Mulder? Aliens? Again?" Scully wasn't just a pretty girl hanging out on Mulder's side. She showed strength when Mulder couldn't, and showed compassion for those who she and Mulder could help. She wasn't a boring, character-less love interest, but was a multidimensional character, with belief in both science and religion, but rarely in extraterrestrials.

4. Elaine Benes from Seinfeld (photo from Netster's blog)

In a show that may be ripe with misogyny at times, Elaine is a balance to all that testosterone. Elaine is always willing to speak her mind, and doesn't back down when confronted. Elaine is Jerry's equivalent on the show, and probably dates just as many people as Jerry does throughout the series' run. Even though I'm new to the show, Elaine is one of the funniest characters I've seen on television, if just for the way she occasionally flubs a word and refuses to admit it when questioned. She's startlingly real and always makes me laugh.

5. Buffy Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (photo from skyrock)

Ok, I won't do that babbling on about Buffy thing I'm so wont to do. You know why she's here. She kicked vampire butt in high school. She was the antidote to scaredy-blondes in every horror film ever made. You can't make this list without Buffy. Sorry, but you must have seen this one coming.

So there it is! A list of wonderful characters you can enjoy on these brisk fall nights, even though all but one of them are off the air now. Happy Halloween everyone!