Heroines & Villainesses
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
No mere damsels in distress, television heroines know how to take care of themselves with cunning, ability, and sex appeal. The heroines always get their men and the villainesses are not quite as lucky.
In the 1950’s we saw a glut of sitcoms where the primary female character dressed up to do housework or westerns where she waited for the hero to rescue her from a precipitous situation. Coinciding with the women’s lib movement of the 1960’s, women’s roles on television expanded in stature, prominence, and responsibility.
Christie Love (Get Christie Love!)
ABC, 1974
Teresa Graves shifted from her comedy in Laugh-In to drama as policewoman Christie Love in the tv-movie Get Christie Love! and the television show of the same name. Documentary specialist David Wolper produced the hour-long drama with great distinction -- it’s the first show to feature a black policewoman.
Based on Dorothy Uhnak’s novel The Ledger, Get Christie Love! attempted to ride the coattails of the popular 1970’s blaxploitation genre. The character used the catch phrase You’re under arrest, sugah!
Julie Barnes (The Mod Squad)
ABC, 1968-73
The Mod Squad derives its descriptive name from an elite undercover LAPD unit comprised of Pete Cochrane, Linc Hayes, and Julie Barnes, played by Michael Cole, Clarence Williams III, and Peggy Lipton respectively.
Where Pete was from a rich Beverly Hills family and Linc was from the projects, Julie was from the streets. She ran away from her prostitute mother and got arrested for vagrancy before joining the squad. The squad members’ bad experiences with the law, diverse backgrounds, and trust of Captain Adam Greer (played by Tige Andrews) gave them non-traditional qualifications. Their youth allowed them entry into places where traditional undercover cops would not be able to maintain cover for very long. They were young. They were effective. They were ‘mod.’ The trio reprised their roles in the 1979 reunion tv-movie The Return of the Mod Squad.
Wonder Woman (Wonder Woman)
ABC/CBS, 1976-79
Charles Moulton’s superheroine debuted in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941). Some thirty-plus years later, Wonder Woman first appeared on television in a tv-movie, played by Cathy Lee Crosby.
When the Wonder Woman series debuted on ABC, Lynda Carter played the superheroine. World War II provided the setting and Wonder Woman helped fight the Nazis. The setting changed to present day when the series moved to CBS in the fall of 1977.
Wonder Woman’s secret identity is Diana Prince, a military intelligence officer whose love interest is co-worker Steve Trevor, played by Lyle Waggoner.
Diana and sister Drusilla come from a mysterious, mystical, magical Amazonian world -- Paradise Island. Future box office star but then unknown actress Debra Winger played Drusilla.
Wonder Woman has the beauty of Aphrodite, wisdom of Athena, strength of Hercules, and speed of Mercury.
In addition to creating Wonder Woman, Moulton also invented the polygraph.
Jamie Somers (The Bionic Woman)
ABC/NBC, 1976-78
Lindsay Wagner plays Jamie Somers in this spinoff of The Six Million Dollar Man. Where Steve Austin received his bionic parts because of a plane crash, Jamie received hers because of a skydiving accident. Jamie’s bionic replacement parts are two bionic legs, a bionic right arm, and a bionic right ear. Like her bionic counterpart and love interest, Jamie worked for the Office of Strategic Information (OSI). OSI gave her a cover teaching job at Ventura Air Force Base school.
The series moved to NBC in the fall of 1977 where it gained a new cast member -- Maximillian, a bionic German shepherd with four bionic legs and a bionic jaw. NBC aired reunion tv-movies in the late 1980’s.
April Dancer (The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.)
NBC, 1966-67
James Bond’s popularity in the 1960’s triggered swarms of imitators in the ‘spy guy’ genre. A successful television series from 1965-69, NBC’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E. used a lighthearted approach with the two lead characters opposites in nature but partners in espionage. NBC sought to duplicate its spy success with The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. Stefanie Powers plays the title role, but the show did not benefit from her charms, talent, or attractiveness. It only lasted one season.
Agent 99 (Get Smart)
NBC/CBS, 1965-1970
Get Smart parodied James Bond. Maxwell Smart (played by Don Adams) was everything James Bond was not -- bumbling, stumbling, awkward. But always, Smart was self-confident. He works for C.O.N.T.R.O.L., the rival spy organization to K.A.O.S., and reports to the ‘Chief.’
Other C.O.N.T.R.O.L. agents assist Smart a.k.a. Agent 86 in his adventures. His primary partner is Agent 99 (played by Barbara Feldon). Her intelligence matches her sex appeal.
Fro some inexplicable reason, Agent 99 tolerates Smart’s antics, ineptitude, and questionable tactics. She also finds him to be a suitor; the agents marry on the November 16, 1968 episode.
Agent 99 remains nameless for all but one Get Smart episode where she reveals her name -- Susan Hilton. Actually, ‘Susan Hilton’ is a code name, so 99’s real identity remains secret.
Feldon and Adams reprised their roles in the 1980 movie The Nude Bomb, the 1989 tv-movie Get Smart Again, and the 1995 FOX show Get Smart. The show updates the characters.
99 is now the ‘Chief’ and a Congresswoman. Smart and 99 spend a great deal of their time helping another mismatched couple -- their son Zack, heir to his father’s skills or lack thereof, and Agent 66, a tough, sultry blonde.
Sabrina, Jill, Kelly (Charlie’s Angels)
ABC, 1976-81
Charlie’s Angels focuses on three former female police officers employed as private detectives by Charles Townsend Associates. The audience only sees ‘Charlie’ from the back, usually with beautiful women at his side. John Forsythe voices Charlie. He communicates with his detectives and his liaison Bosley by phone.
Over the theme music, Charlie explains that he handpicked the trio from the police academy. Sabrina Duncan -- the brainy one. Jill Munroe -- the athletic one. Kelly Garrett -- the one with a past. Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Jaclyn Smith play the ‘angels’ respectively. David Doyle plays Bosley, nicknamed ‘Bos’ by the girls. He helps the trio in their cases, acts as Charlie’s lieutenant, and oversees the day-to-day operations of the agency.
Charlie’s Angels ignited Farrah Fever across the country. It hit a peak soon after the show premiered. Merchandising with Farrah’s name hit store shelves on products ranging from the famous poster to shampoo. Success caused controversy. A lawsuit between Farrah and the producers led to her departure. Cheryl Ladd filled the void as Kris Munroe, Jill’s younger sister. Farrah eventually settled her differences with the producers. She agreed to make recurring appearances.
Jackson left after the 1978-79 season. Shelley Hack replaced her. Hack’s character of Tiffany Welles lasted one season and Tanya Roberts replaced her. Roberts’ character was Julie Rogers.
Honey West (Honey West)
ABC, 1965-66
With a name like Honey West, how could she not be alluring? The mid-1960’s women’s lib movement stimulated several breakthroughs, one being Honey West, a show featuring a strong lead woman character. Goodbye subservience!
Anne Francis plays Honey West, a smart, sexy, and sassy private detective.
Honey takes over her father’s detective business after his death with unquestionable skills. Armed with martial arts training and an array of gadgets James Bond would envy, Honey proves a formidable foe for the criminal element. One of her gadgets is a radio transmitter concealed in lipstick. She also has a pet ocelot!
John Ericson plays her partner, Sam Bolt. Sam never wins Honey’s attention as anything more than a business partner.
Skip and Gloria Fickling created Honey West for novels in the late 1950’s. The character debuted on television in the Burke’s Law episode Who Killed the Jackpot? (ABC, April 21, 1965). Anne Francis played a send-up of the character on an episode of the 1990’s updated version of Burke’s Law.
Catwoman (Batman)
ABC, 1966-68
Three actresses played the sleek, silky, sultry feline villainess in the 1960’s. Eartha Kitt and Julie Newmar played Catwoman on the television series Batman while Lee Meriwether played the role in the 1966 Batman movie.
Where Meriwether had the fame because of her Miss America title and Kitt had the voice with a distinctive purring quality, Newmar had the lure, looks, and legs that reinforced a power of seduction. With sex as a constant undercurrent, Catwoman had a more potent weapon than other Batman villains and villainesses, with the possible exception of Joan Collins’ pre-Dynasty portrayal of Siren. In the 1992 movie Batman Forever, the playful pussycat gains dominant qualities through Michelle Pfieffer’s interpretation.
Catwoman first appeared as The Cat in Batman #1 (Spring 1940). Batman and Robin go undercover as Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson on a yacht party. Mrs. John Travers, a socialite, plans to display her $500,000 emerald necklace at the party. Batman and Robin capture The Cat and her accomplice, Travers’ nephew. They spoil the plans to steal the necklace.
The chemistry between Batman and Catwoman throughout the decades sources back to this primary story. Batman decides to escort The Cat to the police personally via speedboat, with Robin in tow. Batman ‘accidentally’ bumps into Robin and allows The Cat to escape by swimming away. Displeased yet perceptive, Robin challenges his tutor. Too late -- she’s gone! And say, I’ll bet you bumped into me on purpose! That’s why you took her along with us -- so she might try a break!
Batman responds by playing dumb and remarking on The Cat’s lovely eyes.
Princess Ardala (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century)
NBC, 1979-81
Seeking to capitalize on the outer space success of Star Wars in the late 1970’s, NBC revived the dormant Buck Rogers for television. Dating back to the 1920’s, Buck Rogers underwent an update.
Captain William Anthony ‘Buck’ Rogers’ NASA space probe launched in 1987. Lost for 500 years, Rogers remained in suspended animation until 2491 when the Draconians discovered him. Gil Gerard plays Buck Rogers.
The gorgeous, salacious, and seductive Pamela Hensley plays Princess Ardala, the Draconians’ leader. Eventually, Buck helps the Defense Directorate defeat the Draconians. Colonel Wilma Deering, played by Erin Gray, leads the Defense Directorate.
Like Catwoman, Princess Ardala seeks the capture, defeat, and submission of the hero as a personal, professional, and symbolic trophy. In the January 24, 1980 episode Ardala Returns, Princess Ardala tricks Buck into boarding her ship. She then uses him to create Buck Rogers clones as part of her plan to destroy her Earth enemies. Ardala must soon confront the harsh reality that there is nothing like the real thing. She laments her lack of the genuine article.
Despite, Ardala’s outrageously gorgeous looks, eye-popping costume, and terrific efforts, our hero does not succumb, though tempted tremendously. After all, he is mortal.