5. Laurie Keller, Cougartown
At first glance, Laurie is everything that I despise about TV females: insipid, focused on looks, bimbo-ish. But she has LAYERS, man. She has fears and issues that I think a lot of women can probably relate to, even if every other word out of her mouth is "Like." (Also, Busy Philipps: Makes me laugh, was in Freaks and Geeks, seems super down to Earth, and, LIKE, a real person, so, she wins.)
4. Kate Beckett, CastleMy favorite moments watching Kate Beckett are when she goes into the interrogation room. That woman is a hard ass! And, not only is she a hard ass, but she traverses a line of hard ass whereas other women in the same position would be seen as bitches. As a female character, she is fabulously feminine will still maintaining the hard ass persona. So, congrats on creating a fabulous character, Marlowe.
3. Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, BonesShe is on, LIKE, every top ten list for female characters, and there is good reason: She is probably one of the most unique female characters on television. She doesn't get jokes because she is so literal and scientific about everything, and when she finally gets them, she makes a bad one in return, and laughs uproariously. Priceless. Also, you can't go wrong putting the (warning: heresy approaching) more interesting (read: less over exposed) Deschanel in that role.
2. Olivia Dunham, FringeOh my goodness, where do I start? Olivia, Olivia, Olivia. A tortured soul that wraps herself in the protective shell of law enforcement. Nothing shakes Olivia—I mean, seriously, NOTHING. I guess that is what happens when you are used as a subject in a variety of traumatic experiments when you were wee. And even when she is shaken, or injured, or just fucked up in general over something, she can still seal the deal (meaning, protect herself with her gun by shooting someone's ass). Additionally, Anna Torv could easily be one of the best actresses on television, period. Easily.
1. Coach Shannon Beiste, GleeFinally, my number one choice of best female TV character is Coach Beiste on Glee. I know, Sue Sylvester seems like such a good, and obvious choice, and I LOVE Sue, but not in the way that I love Beiste. At 6'3" and the coach of the boys football team (and yes, I realize that there are few, if any, high school girls foottball teams, but I used the italics to make a point, see?), she is a woman that you do not fuck with. On the outside, she is masculine as hell, and she puts on a strong front to maintain that power. But, on the inside, she just wants to be a beautiful, petite ballerina that gets some ass. I mean, come on, has there been a character like Shannon Beiste on television? Ever? I. Love. Her. And I love Dot-Marie Jones, especially the more I read about her. World champion arm wrestler by 19, Olympic athlete, one of the only women warriors on the short-lived Knights and Warriors, and was offered a role in professional wrestling but turned it down because it was "too fakey." FUCK YES.
Strong women rock.
