You know I think you are dead right there. I hadn't thought of it. But they don't just have a character 'who happens to be a woman'. They are basically either babe or bitch (frequently both). The only question is to which degree of each.
I was disappointed with the direction Cath's character was being taken with her position of shift supervisor.
They ended up deciding - on the hard as nails, 'bitch' by the end of the season. I'm thinking here of her treatment of Brass - which was totally out of order. They should have included him in the plans.
Here again shows the TV cliched cop show emerging. Simple formula to add drama by upping the character arguments and conflict.
I agree, especially about the lack of creating strong, female characters. I think writers of all tv shows struggle because they think the audience is comprised of young, teenage boys with surging hormones.
I remember listening to Dustin Lee Abraham bemoaning about how the main audience of CSI was 50 something year old women and that is a problem:wtf:..seriously..these writers, the networks and the rest of the crew need to get a grip!!:scream:
Sad to say, this goes to show that CSI is just one of many shows run by sexist and ageist..morons!
Not to distract from the blatant sexism going on on the show, but I don't think he meant that in a sexist way. 50+ women (specifically women over 48) just aren't worth as much money to advertisers, and I'm sure that this is what Dustin was complaining about.
Also, my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong, is that boards like this one tend to draw more from those viewers who are proportionately more interested in the characters, as opposed to those viewers who watch more for the cases. Based on my understanding of theoretical gender differences, the character-focused viewers would be more likely to be female. I always just assumed that for every woman on Talk who is a big fan of Nick, Greg or GSR, there is at least one man who is equally devoted to the show but more into the cases and who is not on this board.
That all said, I hate how CSI keeps knocking out female characters.
Holly Gribbs
Jacqui Franco
Mia Dickinson
Sofia Curtis
Ronnie Lake
Riley Adams
All relatively complex female characters who weren't defined by being 'somebody's girlfriend'. And all booted off. Wendy used to be one of those characters. Then they made half of her role 'Hodges almost-girlfriend', and now she's getting booted.
Sara started out as a complex, funny, intriguing and strong woman, but then they turned her into an emotionally needy wannabe Grissom girlfriend, though it is nice to see her returning to her humorous, strong, intelligent and independent roots.
Honestly, if Wendy isn't back next season, I am done with this show. 30 Rock definitely knows how to do feminism a LOT better. And I know someone said that we don't know the showrunners personally and all that, but I still have to say that I expect better from a female showrunner and feel particularly let down by CM. Historically, men, when left to their own devices, have not always taken feminism far. Personally, I think it's every woman's job to at least do something to correct this when given the opportunity.