Oct. 15th - Nov. 15th, 2008 ENTERTAINMENT tc. Nov. 1st - Dec. 1st, 2007 PAGE 04 f.i.l.e.s.
TV’s Top 10 Kickass Girl Heroes
Erica Kane, “All My Children” What can you say about the scheming soap firecracker played for decades by the lovely Susan Lucci? She’s married almost everyone in Pine Valley, and there might be a few bodies strewn in her wake. She’s not the warm and fuzzy kind of kickass girl, but stand in her way at your peril. (And hint to the Daytime Emmy Awards people: that one measly statue isn’t going to do. Get busy.) Olivia Benson, “Law & Order: SVU” Mariska Hargitay is one of the best and most underrated TV actresses working today. She — and tortured hunky costar Chris Meloni — are the glue of the strongest “L&O” franchise on right now. She’s fearless, indefatigable (does she even have an apartment?), gentle, trustworthy and feels the pain but picks herself up and dusts herself off. This is the girl I want at my back (and I want that cool little gold necklace she wears, too.) Oprah Winfrey Is there anything she’s afraid of? Well, OK, yes — asking celebrities the tough questions (“Tom, will you get off my couch? Stop touching me; you’ve clearly lost your mind!”). But aside from that, she’s got nerves of steel, surro u n d e d by a gracious aura. If Oprah says it’ll be OK, it probably will. Oprah for president, anyone?
TV has long been home to great kick-ass heroines — you know, the gal who’s got your back, who comes through in the clinch, who’d toss you her 9mm and her new Jimmy Choos in the blink of an eye. She’s resourceful, witty if not always graceful under pressure, and refuses to back down. Here are our favorite kick-ass girls of all time, some who’d save you — “a lot,” like Buffy — and some who might only kick your ass ... in a good way.
Lassie OK, we all now know Lassie was played by some Screen Actors Guild female-impersonating boy dog, but still, we know her as “Girl,” and she saved that hapless Timmy (and his family, and the fire chief, and the sheriff) so much that you sort of feared for Timmy as an adult, unless he were to work in a dog-friendly workplace. BFF. Lt. Uhura, “Star Trek” original series Now, Lt. Uhura was not one of the showier roles on “Star Trek,” but this lieutenant played by Nichelle Nichols was always cool in the face of any alien threat. Who would you have turned to as the hideous bad guys were attacking — the hyperventilating Scotty? The “I’m a doctor, so don’t ask me to do anything” McCoy? Nah, it was Lt. Uhura who stayed clear-eyed during unfathomable danger. Where no man has gone before, remember? OK, so we wouldn’t totally trust Evangeline Lilly’s Kate — yet. But kick ass? This girl has outsmarted the U.S. marshals, been an international fugitive, packs a piece with the ease of Jesse James and faces off the jungle critters, Sawyer, hatch madness and the rest with the cool assurance of a girl who only needs a little spritz in the Hawaiian sun to look gorgeous. Jack may be the nominal hero of the castaways, but Kate is the one you want at your back . . . with one eye on her, of course. Runners-up: Lorelai Gilmore, “Gilmore Girls”; “Wonder Woman”; Sabrina on “Charlie’s Angels”; Nancy Grace; Dr. Molly Caffrey, “Threshold”; “Roseanne”; President Mackenzie Allen, “Commander in Chief”
Veronica Mars Kristen Bell’s heroine owes a lot to Buffy (read on), but she’s much more of a loner and even more resourceful in battling bad guys of the venal everyday variety. Veronica can crack a case, while cracking wise — she’s Phyllis Marlowe, in low-slung jeans. “Here’s what you do: You get tough, you get even — works for me.” Sydney Bristow, “Alias” Jennifer Garner’s super spy is brilliant and brutal, and those fight scenes look like they hurt. No wonder Vaughn and most of the bad guys fall for her. The wigs, the cheekbones, the steely glare, the fist to the squishy part right under the terrorist’s chin ... I’m all happy for the coming baby and everything, but personally I can’t wait ‘til Sydney’s back in fighting shape.
DANCING WITH THE STARS Entertainment Pro Spotlight
Inna Brayer
ACHIEVEMENTS: · 2007 - Current US Amateur 10 Dance Champion STATS: Style: Latin Nationality: Russian Based in: Brooklyn Status: Competes with partner Pavel Pashkov Emma Peel, “The Avengers” She’s Sydney Bristow’s plucky great auntie, paving the way for sexy, smart super agents for decades. As the star of the English ’60s series, Diana Rigg as Mrs. Peel was sleek, unflappable and unafraid to plant a karate kick in the sweet spot. BACKGROUND: Born in Moscow and raised in America since the age of 2, Inna has been dancing since the age of 7. Her life has been a whirlwind of events from the very beginning, from travelling around the world to compete to practicing long hours on a daily basis. Dancing was never just a hobby for her, but more of a lifestyle. Inna and her partner, Pavel, placed 11th at the World Championship in Tokyo, and placed 9th at the World Cup in Vancouver. The couple represented the U.S. at 6 world championships and are 3 time U.S. Amateur Champions. Taliat and Marina Tarsinov have been a major impact on their career together. They are still competing after 5 years, and are the current representatives to the worlds. Pavel Pashkov & Inna Brayer started dancing together in 2003 as Youth Currently they are registered as a couple in USA. They dance in Amateur.
Buffy, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” This show was all about female strength and friends as the new nuclear family — the Higher Power of the ’90s. No challenge was too small for Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy, including dying a couple of times and battling everything that leapt out of that dadblasted Hellmouth. It actually helped her martial-arts skills to have been a cheerleader — did you notice that? Runner-up: Witchy Willow, the soft-spoken brainiac whose real superpower was being the Best. Friend. Ever.
Dorothy, “The Golden Girls” This ensemble older-girl-power series was the blueprint for a lot of shows that followed, including “Sex and the City,” “Girlfriends,” “Sisters,” “Related” and more. And as Dorothy, Bea Arthur was the hard-nosed, big-hearted, tough-talking center around which the other girls swirled. She was there in the clinch but ready with a snappy putdown. Favorite exchange: Rose: “Can I ask a dumb question?” Dorothy: “Like no one else.”
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