How about entertainment we *can*stomach?!

[moofolk]

Inspired by the other thread of feminism ruining TV.

Let's compile some good stuff.

Not too many men, lots of strong female characters, hopefully some lesbians, definitely not loads of women being raped and murdered for male titillation.

I watched The Women with Meg Ryan and Annette Benning recently. It's bubblegum and hardly a feminist manifesto. It has a very strong female cast including Bette Midler and Carrie Fisher and crucially there are no men in it at all.

What have you got?

[scrappydappydoooooo]

That should say (as are the male characters....) not main. Talk about a Freudian slip that I'd type 'main' instead of 'male.' But in the OG series that was certainly the truth with the whole show being exclusively about Heuy, Dewey, Louie and Scrooge. With the females just there.

[scrappydappydoooooo]

@SpeedofaSloth I actually watched The Amazing World of Gumball with his this morning and the mum character definitely has depth and a back story, which was refreshing.

Gumball, for the most parts, is a really smart show with good social commentary. Another great kids animation is the new Ducktales. It's genuinely fantastic and the female characters are really well rounded and real. (As are the main character, with the triplets all having their own distinct personalities and so much more nuance is given to the characters of Scrooge and Donald.) Mrs Beakley and Webby are both excellent characters who both excel in their specialities while also having real flaws. Instead of being 'housekeeping granny' and 'girl' as their 80s versions were. The fate of the triplets' mother, who is never so much as mentioned in the original, is a major, major plotpoint that ends up defining the series. The most recent series introduces Daisy, who again was never part of the original series, and instead of having her usual, 'fancy girl who barely tolerates Donald' personality, she is shown as having a personality, ambitions and genuine reason for liking Donald.

I can't actually believe I'm describing the nuance and personal development of Donald Duck. And recommending a show based on it. But it's a funny, clever, warm cartoon that makes real 'people' out of what have always been one dimensional characters. I absolutely love to watch it with my DS.

[Goosefoot]

@ErrolTheDragon

* I read a while ago that there was some tension between Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan, because KM wasn't keen on the 't&a' aspect of Seven's character.

I agree with KM, but that's hardly JR's fault!*

More the fault of the costume designer. Actually what got me about seven's outfit most was the high heels. Wtf? Anyway, she had a much better look in Picard.

I can't believe this is in my brain taking up room, but as I understand it the whole point of the character was to sex up the show, it wasn't the costume designers idea. Which Mulgrew felt undermined the original vision. There were a lot of problems in production all round, but as time went on, a few people, one being Ryan, had more and more of the stories focused on them and other characters had less and less and a lot of people didn't like that. And at a certain point Ryan had started dating one of the producers which didn't help the bad feeling.

[SpeedofaSloth]

*him

[SpeedofaSloth]

Might look, to show DS.

I actually watched The Amazing World of Gumball with his this morning and the mum character definitely has depth and a back story, which was refreshing.

[Deliriumoftheendless]

Looks like Amazon has it but not free.

[SpeedofaSloth]

Oh yes, I used to like Daria, is it still on?

[Deliriumoftheendless]

I rather liked Daria when I was younger.

I also enjoyed Candy Guard’s Pond Life - certainly made Peppa Pig bearable as Dolly was voiced by Sarah Anne Kennedy aka Jill-of-all-trades Miss Rabbit.

Oh and Roseanne.

[GingerBeverage]

Atypical on Netflix - all the characters are well fleshed out, flaws and all.
I Am Not Okay With This - coming of age lesbian supernatural series with an outstanding female lead
On My Block - teens again, great diverse cast, a loveable comedy drama

[Deliriumoftheendless]

I haven’t watched it for about 12 years but Coronation Street has some iconic women characters and powerhouse performances from Pat Phoenix, Julie Goodyear and Suranne Jone just to mention a handful.

In fact June Brown over on Eastenders is mighty- and the episode with Gretchen Franklin where she (and we) said goodbye to Ethel was outstanding.

In fact looking over at Brookside any story line with Sue Johnston was very strong too.

[ReeseWitherfork]

Oooooo The Marvelous Mrs Maisel!

[ErrolTheDragon]

• I read a while ago that there was some tension between Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan, because KM wasn't keen on the 't&a' aspect of Seven's character.
  
  I agree with KM, but that's hardly JR's fault!*
  
  More the fault of the costume designer. Actually what got me about seven's outfit most was the high heels. Wtf? Anyway, she had a much better look in Picard.

[ReeseWitherfork]

Workin moms on Netflix is good if you’re after something light hearted.

[SydneyCarton]

I used to enjoy a series called Bomb Girls, about four women working in a Canadian munitions factory in WW2 - only two series unfortunately. Lots of female involvement behind the scenes as well - writers, producers, etc

[Ameanstreakamilewide]

@JKRforPM

Ahh I see my suggestion of ST Voyager has already been mentioned!

In an era when female characters on TV were only leads because they had special powers/magic/etc Janeway was an ordinary woman who was Captain of a starship. And she was so well written (and played) she needs a special place in tv history!

I agree about Captain Janeway.

I read a while ago that there was some tension between Kate Mulgrew and Jeri Ryan, because KM wasn't keen on the 't&a' aspect of Seven's character.

I agree with KM, but that's hardly JR's fault!

[Ameanstreakamilewide]

Getting On was great and written by Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine & Joanna Scanlan.

Very dry, clever humour.

[LunaNorth]

Place marking

[Gertiegumboot]

I love Scott and Bailey. You see snapshots of their personal lives and how sexism directly impacts on their work. And there are plenty of examples of dickish male behaviour among colleagues woven in to the plot. Their boss is a wonderful leading female character.

What I like best about it though is that the characters are rounded. They make mistakes. Bad ones sometimes. But like Cagney and Lacey, they are not the archetypal "tough female cops" you often see portrayed on telly who to appear credible apparently have to have a permanent wooden stressed boot face, a crumbling home life, and resemble an emotionless man. They have a sense of humour and "scary" emotions such as love, friendship and loyalty are all fully explored.

[moofolk]

I haven't seen Scott & Bailey but is about two female cops (one is Suranne Jones) and written by Sally Wainwright.

Obvs not the ongoing nature of Cagney & Lacey but don't know how else it compares or not

[colouringindoors]

Reading this and seeing people's suggestions, Cagney & Lacey was amazing and so ahead of its time. Is there anything now to compare?!

[MummBraTheEverLeaking]

Stargate SG1. Samantha Carter is a brilliant astrophysicist, pilot and kicks ass. Such a fantastic female character.

[moofolk]

Also definitely agree on GLOW being fabulous apart from the age difference and WTF does Ruth see in Sam? Just why?!

[moofolk]

@Deliriumoftheendless

Xena Warrior Princess

Oooh xena!

Have nearly finished watching Buffy with DS1 might go for Xena as our Sunday morning viewing for a while

[Totickleamockingbird]

@4minutes33

Mind is bloody blown by the incredibly well-written women leads.

Well put, in a grisly kind of way…

I was sad to see there will only be one more season.

The next season is divided into two chunks of six episodes each. That means there is a solid storyline coming on hopefully.
I can sweat I have guessed it and have exhorted a bet from DH on how it’s going to turn out.

[4minutes33]

Mind is bloody blown by the incredibly well-written women leads.

Well put, in a grisly kind of way…

I was sad to see there will only be one more season.