Why are men collecting old girls' comics these days?

[DavidKW]

I was thinking - I was watching the Stargate Sg1 series on Sky (even though I'm not much into US shows) & the character of Sam Carter is about the last good all-action kick-ass female character on Tv I can think of. She always kept a cool head & when coming out of/rescued (and then she more than hiolds her own till the others come) from a tight situation she just picks up a gun and let's kill the baddies like nothing's happened.

She flies planes & is an astronaut - no need to be skimpily dressed.

One show that riled me about women & portrayal is in the disappointing dire series "Chuck" (should've binned this at the pilot) - a good idea done bad. The Sarah Walker character does fight & knock out the baddies - but still she's almost always having to be rescued by the others & there's always a reliance on her being semi-naked all the time even when unecessary. Oh and the relationship story with her & Chuck dominates & strangles the show & she's so wussy in just wanting kids & not any career.

I had the first 2 series on DVD bought in faith & bargain - went straight to Cex soon after.

[DavidKW]

Been set off here- will say Doctor Who still sexist after these years - not watched (don't rate Matt Smith), but have read Amy Pond always in little clothing, is dominated by relationship story with Rory & is also ditzy.

[Phoenix]

went straight to Cex soon after.

Lucky you!

[Lew Stringer]

Been set off here- will say Doctor Who still sexist after these years - not watched (don't rate Matt Smith), but have read Amy Pond always in little clothing, is dominated by relationship story with Rory & is also ditzy.

I don't know where you read that, but you'd be better off watching the show and finding out for yourself because that scenario is completely wrong. (Plus Amy & Rory left last year.)

[philcom55]

I really do think Doctor Who has lost some vital spark since Russell T. Davies left though: a shame considering it's such an important export for the BBC. I actually fell asleep during last night's episode and found I wasn't bothered to have missed the end at all!

- Phil R.

[Phoenix]

I actually fell asleep during last night's episode and found I wasn't bothered to have missed the end at all!

Look on the bright side. There's always the iPlayer if you get tired again tonight.

[philcom55]

...Unfortunately it doesn't work on my ancient computer!

[Digifiend]

I was thinking - I was watching the Stargate Sg1 series on Sky (even though I'm not much into US shows) & the character of Sam Carter is about the last good all-action kick-ass female character on Tv I can think of. She always kept a cool head & when coming out of/rescued (and then she more than hiolds her own till the others come) from a tight situation she just picks up a gun and let's kill the baddies like nothing's happened.

She flies planes & is an astronaut - no need to be skimpily dressed.

Astronaut? She's in the USAF, not NASA. Even though she does fly a spaceship at one point, she's actually a pilot rather than an astronaut.

And as for Doctor Who, just how behind are you, David? Amy was not a ditz and as stated, she and Rory are gone now. All the episodes shown in the past month are on iPlayer. Maybe you'll like Clara better.

[big bad bri]

...Unfortunately it doesn't work on my ancient computer!

if you have sky or freesat iplayer is available on those as well i hate watching films or shows on computer anyway & im glad my new one has hdmi so i can hook it up to my tv.

[philcom55]

I know they're trying to follow Russell T. Davies's lead in portraying the Doctor's female companions as strong feminist role models, but I do kind of agree with DavidKW that there was something a bit dodgy about that sexy policewoman outfit. Also, they never succeeding in making me believe that Rory could have witnessed two thousand years of British history without being fundamentally changed.

It's not the actors' fault - nor that of individual scriptwriters - just evidence of a shaky hand on the tiller; IMHO of course - I'm well aware that some people think Steven Moffat walks on water.

if you have sky or freesat iplayer is available on those as well i hate watching films or shows on computer anyway & im glad my new one has hdmi so i can hook it up to my tv.

Afraid I don't have those either. :-/

- Phil Rushton

[DavidKW]

Ah I'm standing corrected on 2 counts:

I thought of astronaut with Sam Carter as she had donned a suit & spacewalked at end of season nine, hence wires crossed.

Ok ditz may not be right word for Amy Pond - was word to describe said to & also rad on net buy me. But do dislike & feel character was a big step back - the description on the Tiger Beatdown says (just type I hae Amy Pond to search engine) a lot of what's felt - just a character who pouts and is just the female character who is the sexyone who just lthere to look good & is romantic lead and also often the damsel in distress - usual female stereotypes.

(also don't lke Rory - i feel & keep saying male companions don't work (Jamie & The Brigadeer excepted).

Yes I know Amy & Rory are long gone - I do read the papers. As for Doctor Who I first gave up when that Catherine Tate came in, but returned to give MAtt Smith a chance - but I gave up watching before the final season ended, as I also don't rate Matt Smith at all & so just keep informed by papers & net medis instead.

Clara will not be getting a chance as I don't rate Smith & dislike the shows directions (too soap opery for my tastes). Have other things I can do on a Saturday night - Match Of The Day?Football League only shows on Saturday I now watch.

Have just about given up on all today's current UK & US Tv dramacomedy.

[DavidKW]

Just to get back on the original subject:

When I a few months back was buying an almost mint 1969 Diana annual I chatted to the stallholder & said on my interest/research on the strip "The Girls From NOODLES". She said she wished there would be more things about girls being & thus making girls aspire to be action girls/secret agents like the Noodles are.

She agreed with me that girls should not aspire to be pink & princessy & and to go on to be a model/footballers wife & be obsessed about appearance like much of today's media. Said it's great there's none of that in these comics - just good action with heroines & hardly any soap opera-esque background stories dominating.

Any action adventure can be good if well written & good characters be it male or female in lead. But I don't know why somehow it seems all the more special when it is females in the lead (perhaps its because of the lack of them)

[felneymike]

Ok ditz may not be right word for Amy Pond - was word to describe said to & also rad on net buy me. But do dislike & feel character was a big step back - the description on the Tiger Beatdown says (just type I hae Amy Pond to search engine) a lot of what's felt - just a character who pouts and is just the female character who is the sexyone who just lthere to look good & is romantic lead and also often the damsel in distress - usual female stereotypes.

Are you Inspector Spearing?

I can't really see how Doctor Who can't have "stupid" companions, as he's been travelling the universe for centuries and knows everything, while they need it all explaining to them (unless they're timelords). Many more complaints and we'll no doubt have a "sex change regeneration" and a female Doctor for a while. Though I think I'm switching off after the 50th anniversary show anyway, it's getting too Americanised. Defeating monsters with "positive thinking" indeed! Makes the Sonic Screwdriver look positively McGuyver-ish.

[Lew Stringer]

Yes I know Amy & Rory are long gone - I do read the papers. As for Doctor Who I first gave up when that Catherine Tate came in, but returned to give MAtt Smith a chance - but I gave up watching before the final season ended, as I also don't rate Matt Smith at all & so just keep informed by papers & net medis instead.

So you have actually seen episodes with Amy in then, contrary to your earlier comment. Fair enough.

I don't think Doctor Who has been "sexist" since the camera lingered on Peri in a pink bikini back in the early 1980s. (Which, personally speaking, was a highpoint of the show for me as a viewer back then.) Overall, The Doctor's female companions have often been intelligent, strong-willed women, even in the first episode in 1963 with Susan and Barbara. Even more so since the series returned in 2005. These days it's often the companion who saves the day, to the point of repetition if anything.

[tony ingram]

Ah I'm standing corrected on 2 counts:

I thought of astronaut with Sam Carter as she had donned a suit & spacewalked at end of season nine, hence wires crossed.

Ok ditz may not be right word for Amy Pond - was word to describe said to & also rad on net buy me. But do dislike & feel character was a big step back - the description on the Tiger Beatdown says (just type I hae Amy Pond to search engine) a lot of what's felt - just a character who pouts and is just the female character who is the sexyone who just lthere to look good & is romantic lead and also often the damsel in distress - usual female stereotypes.

I'm sorry, but I can't help feeling that those people who looked at Amy Pond and just saw a pouting sex object missed a lot of what was put into that character. She was, for me, one of the most well rounded, well thought out and well developed companions ever: a young woman with unresolved abandonment issues who used a flirty persona and outrageous behaviour to mask her insecurity, and who treated traveling with the Doctor as a way of escaping the responsibility of making a (for her) terrifying commitment to the man she actually loved. But you had to actually follow her story to get that. I don't think a lot of people give the show the level of attention and investment that the current writing style demands.