Has anybody else noticed how it has suddenly become terribly unfashionable to have an imagination?

It used to be a real point of pride among the terminally smug that they never enjoyed movies nearly as much as the books they were based on -

“because the books allow you to use your own imagination.”

If you were to read books like “To Kill a Mockingbird”, you’d discover the subtle joys of learning to walk a little in someone else’s shoes. You’d see how much both you and that other person might grow as a result, and how much richer the world might appear - not necessarily nicer, or easier, but undoubtedly a richer place for hearts and imaginations to roam.

The sequence at the end, where Scout discovers the strange, lost soul of Boo Radley, remains one of my favourite pieces of understated storytelling.

Where did that all go?

Sure, there are zombie-wasters and vampire-slayers aplenty in fiction. There are girls who can leap across tall buildings and scour the cosmic wastes for new worlds, pilot starfighters and face off alien invaders. Heck, we even have heroines who can mend themselves after being burned to a crisp. That kind of imagination is cool, and we get oodles of extra portions with each new movie, each new TV series - but remember that these are just stories. Watch them, enjoy them, but try to remember your place in the Universe when the real world floods back in.

Just lately, it seems to have become almost offensive to suggest we might be able to imagine ourselves in any clothes but the ones we were wearing… in any skin other than the one we were born with.

How dare we assume we could walk in another person’s shoes, or see through any eyes other than the ones our limited little life-experience would allow us?

I always used to baulk slightly when people described something as being “beyond imagination”. It always seemed, at least to me, to miss the point of actually having an imagination.

But just lately, such phrases appear to have become somewhat ubiquitous. We are told on a fairly regular basis about situations which most of us, apparently, “cannot even begin to imagine.” We are reminded that certain attitudes have been “hard wired” into us, and we are lectured about the fragility of our world view.

To lose all sense of meaning, we need simply to step beyond the comfort zone of our dominant cultural ideology - yes, that’s right, we don’t even have to leave the planet, let alone the star system.

Maybe it really is arrogant of us to defy the prevailing wisdom, to take the Atticus Finch route and show some faith in our ability to empathise with those souls who walk the other side of the street.

But what else is there?

Our world only becomes precious when we see beyond it, when we take it out of the test tube and spend some time with its textures - the way Jane Eyre would have done, when a woman’s heroism was defined by her ability to reach beyond herself, and the walls that others built around her.

Perhaps there’s a panel of experts disproving this even as I speak, calibrating the limits of our imagination to the nearest decimal point so that we can slip back safely into mediocrity, secure in the knowledge that those pesky spiritual aspirations were wrong all along, and our souls really are this small.

Resist them. The moment you let anybody other than yourself define the limits of your imagination, you will have lost the world in the test tube. You will have let small voices into your soul, where they have no right to be.

John is the writer behind Matterings where he writes about stuff.

In the original Donkey Kong game you play a character named Jumpman (who later became known as Mario) whose job it is to rescue ‘the Lady’ (later known as Pauline). This is one of the early if not first example of the now classic damsel in distress scenarios, Pauline (I’m not going to continue referring to her as ‘the Lady’) dressed in her pink dress calls out to her hero to rescue her with the word HELP appearing next to her periodically.

Flash forward ten years and a lot can happen in a decade! In the Capcom game Street Fighter II one of the very first playable female characters that I remember from the gaming world was introduced.

Chun-Li, the International Criminal Police Organization agent who receives an invitation to the World Warrior tournament and enters in the hopes of reaching its host M. Bison who killed Chun-Li’s father.

Chun-Li’s signature move was the Hyakuretsu Kyaku which is quick series of kicks performed whilst standing on one leg. Not too bad considering up to this point most female characters in video games were relegated to the sidelines or the dreaded damsel-in-distress position.

I don’t know any female gamers of my age group so I’m hoping some of you might leave a comment or even write a piece on your own experience with characters like Chun-Li. I imagine though that Chun-Li was quite popular as she appears in the later Street Fighter games. It could also be said that she led the way for female characters to make more than just appearances in future fighting games. The women of Mortal Kombat come to mind for example.

The other thing that comes to mind as I remember her character is that you are not limited in any way, she isn’t weaker because she’s a woman, she doesn’t have lessor moves or less effective strikes. You have just as much chance to beat M. Bison as any of the male characters and if I remember correctly I’ve completed Street Fighter II with Chun Li (I’m reasonably sure I’ve completed it with all the characters actually).

So I’m interested, all you gaming heroines out there, do you prefer playing female characters when playing fighter games or does it not really matter?

Lee is a a huge popular culture freak, loves comic books, science fiction, soundtracks and writes for Quit Your Day Job.

Pretty much every time I see a new heroine emerge on a movie or TV series these days, I notice the same kind of buzzwords creeping in - she’s feisty, she’s independent, she does thing on her own terms…

I read interviews with the actress, all of which confirm that her character is indeed feisty, independent and likes to do things on her own terms. It’s a good thing, we’re all reminded, to be your own person (honestly, there’s a certificate you can get and everything), to take no crap from anybody and not to be afraid of getting in people’s faces. The last one is particularly perplexing - why exactly do I need or want this person in my face again? Last time I checked, my face needed space.

I’m over-egging it here, I know, but there is a definite cultural phenomenon here - and one that sometimes overwhelms subtler stuff that might actually do the same job better.

I guess it’s like the big speech bit in a blockbuster movie, when the hero or heroine rallies a stout-hearted bunch of followers with some rousing words about freedom and honour and the spirit of whatever… Often, these are the bits that feel a little forced, or even a little annoying. They only work when you really believe the truth behind them, rather than feeling it’s just a handy way of getting people stirred up for a big fight with lots of swordplay and explosions.

Often enough, you find the truth of the heroic cause through fairly small things - a sudden moment of understanding or empathy between two characters, perhaps, or the heroine’s dawning realisation that every damn thing she does is going to have consequences… and that some of them are going to hurt much more than she realised. They’re moments of guilt and uncertainty, doubt and fear…

Whatever it is that sets our heroine on her cause, however brash of vibrant her style, it is often something far more fragile that draws us into her story.

How do you find the strength to carry on when you’ve just had to send the tortured vampire-boy of your dreams into hell, just at the moment he gets his soul back? How do you carry on working for an organisation that you know is evil, knowing that the man you work with thinks he’s one of the good guys?

I love the fun of a good bit of kick-ass vampire slaying as much as the next person. I think daring escapes and leap-of-faith stunts across flaming gorges are really cool, and I love it when the heroine decides it’s time to ditch the touchy-feely nonsense and kick some alien butt.

“Get away from her, you bitch!” - damn right, Ripley.

But I care more about that stuff when I know what it means to the heroine, when I feel what she’s been through to get there.

In the final season of Buffy, there’s a lovely exchange between Xander and Dawn, who’s just discovered that she’s not potential slayer material after all. It’s a quiet moment for all the non-heroes out there who find themselves having to get on with stuff anyway, without any special powers to help bolster their resolve.

This is us, the audience, the people in scaredy-cat land, where a lonesome ride home in a train carriage can be far more terrifying, dispiriting or even soul-destroying than any vampire monster.

This is us, finding our way through a world that all-too-often conspires to make us vulnerable.

This is us, wondering from each day to the next just how much of a distance we should keep to protect ourselves from the unspoken terror around us.

In this world, vulnerability is not really a sign of weakness at all. To allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to risk empathy with others, to reveal some part of ourselves and share what we have learned with those we care about - these are the qualities that pass for courage in the world that most of us live in.

This is for all the heroines I have known, real and imaginary, who have conquered such fears.

John is the writer behind Matterings where he writes about stuff.

Nerd, Witch, Lesbian, Evil Incarnate - Willow Rosenberg certainly developed enough material for three characters. She is off centre, quirky and sweet - the go-to girl for all kinds of knowledge and the
shoulder to lean on. Willow is all these things, but her most important role on Buffy is playing ‘Old Reliable’ (not to be mistaken for Old Yeller..) But whilst she sees this as being a fault, we see it as being an integral part of her character. She is the stability in world gone mad, the rock that never strays. Without Willow, Buffy loses her main anchor of support and strength.

Willow starts off in Season 1 as a bundle of nerves and lost self-esteem but may have unknowingly developed into the ultimate Joss character - the epitome of teenage life is depicted through Willow and not Xander as most people suppose. She morphs from a struggling teen to confident woman, marking her journey through huge pitfalls and self discovery. She is nothing if not resilient.

Willow understands her role as a support to the Slayer, but she often questions how important she is to Buffy. Buffy in turn, seems to take advantage of Willow’s presence. This issue comes up repeatedly
throughout the series and it may be the reason for her frequent ‘life changes’. Always playing second fiddle to Buffy, Willow morphs into witch. This grants her more power in the group but this newfound
ability is always viewed with precaution from the Scoobies (and with good reason!). Her relationship with Oz over, Willow plunges into the depths of despair and unable to turn to Buffy, finds a soulmate in Tara.

The underlying pattern with Willow is her constant need to be liked, wanted and chosen. As she grows, this need diminishes but never disappears. The culmination of this ends up in Willow wiping Tara’s
memory to ensure she forgets the fight they had about her use of magic. Unable to control her magical powers or Tara’s love for her, Willow begins to unravel. I believe that the seeds of unrest were
planted in her long before Tara’s murder. The most telling moment for Willow’s character is during her face - off with Buffy. She asks, ‘What does it feel like to finally fight someone with real power?’, Willow’s old resentments come bubbling up to the surface.

But, like all of Joss’ characters, Willow is saved by love. Corny, but ultimately a reinforcing of the central BTVS themes. Without Willow, the story line would have surely lacked. There would be no rich back story between Willow and Xander, Cordelia would have had one less person to pick on, and Buffy would have lost her one and only Goddess.

Jessica describes herself as Writer, Editor, Bookstore Owner, Lover of lit.pop - read her blog at Tattling On

Faith Lehane is arguably one of the more powerful female characters in living television history. Created as an antagonist to Buffy Summers, Faith not only added an extra dimension to the Slayer lore but also changed and challenged the show’s fundamental principle – that the Slayer is inherently good.

Faith does more than play opposites to Buffy’s hero, she also demonstrates a depth of humanity that is sometimes lacking in Buffy’s demeanour. Faith’s flaws ultimately serve to mature her – another trait that Buffy doesn’t possess in her earlier years. Her strength lies in the core of her personality and background, she is rough, aggressive and wise with street smarts. She is also a sexually charged character, but this can be argued to be more of a channelling of her anger than a sense of needing love or affection. This sexuality is raw and powerful – much like the vampires she hunts, she is driven by the thirst of the physical.

Faith is a heroine built from the mould of Classical Greek Literature. She is flawed, she falls and she overcomes. The accidental taking of a human life transforms her into a girl lost and ultimately drives her to seek out more blood, revenge and destruction. But the beauty of Faith, even in her downfall, was the vulnerability and pain she showed as she tried to struggle with her personal demons. Whilst her behaviour can be traced back to an abusive childhood, her choices are made based on what she lacks in her present life. She views Buffy with her mentor, her mother and a secure circle of friends as a pariah, taking what Faith never had. In this mindset she seeks out an ally and finds a warm father figure in the Mayor. To Faith, his being ‘bad’ does not detract from his pure love for her. Why then take the more arduous path of penalty that Buffy demands when she can live in comfort somebody else’s love? Faith’s weakness here is obvious, she is blinded by the need to be guided and loved and will ultimately choose this path over one of justice at her own expense.

Angel plays a crucial role in Faith’s development. Through him she learns the power of friendship, the importance of seeking redemption and the overwhelming desire to do good in the face of adversity. I believe her turning point was not capitulating to Angel when he urges her to turn herself in, but instead in her willingness to sacrifice herself to save Angel’s life. Faith finally learns the lesson Buffy has always known, that she cannot survive without the love and sacrifice of her friends.

She returns to Sunnydale in Season 7 of Buffy to stand side by side with her fellow Slayer. In taking over leadership from Buffy she learns about Buffy’s strengths in a way she never before understood – not even when she was in Buffy’s body – and begins to respect her former foe for the difficult and sometimes fatal decisions she makes for the good of her team. That she returns to Sunnydale and seeks out Buffy indicates her new found for conquering her fears, facing up to her sins and fighting for the good of the world.

This article first appeared at Tattling On

Jessica describes herself as Writer, Editor, Bookstore Owner, Lover of lit.pop - read her blog at Tattling On

This article first appeared at No Smoking in the Skull Cave. If you have an article or review that you’d like to contribute please contact us.

For those of you who don’t know Lynda Carter was not originally cast as Wonder Woman, no that honor went to the more than dull Cathy Lee Crosby and the first pilot for show was aired in 1974. It failed and anyone whose seen the original pilot can tell you there is just something missing, honestly it’s not Worth talking about so I’ve decided to skip ahead to the second pilot with Lynda Carter.

The second all-star pilot starts off with cheesy narration and an over-the-top montage of black & white photos from WWII and culminates in the narrator’s best (but very bad) FDR impersonation saying “The only hope for America is…” he stops talking just as the theme song cuts in with it’s cry of “Wonder Woman!” Man this show has one of the best theme songs ever!

We open on what is supposed to be a Nazi castle or something hidden deep within the black jungles of Argentina. Chicago born Kenneth Mars doing yet another German accent plays Col. Oberst Von Blasko who actually asks his minions to “speak English for secrecy” huh? HUH? Why would Nazis in the center of their Nazi fortress need to speak English for secrecy? Yep that’s the kind of logic we’ll be working with here folks.

In any case Von Blasko and one of his underlings Nickolas played by Henry Gibson are heading an air mission to destroy the Brooklyn Navy Yard where the Americans are hard at work building some vague secret weapon. How the Nazis plan to get an enemy plane over the US during the height of WWII is beyond me but hey these are the Nazis who want to speak English for secrecy… By the way can a fighter plane make it all the way from Argentina to Brooklyn and back without refueling? Yeah…didn’t think so.

In any case the Americans get wind of this attack and send their best man Major Steve Trevor brought to life by Carol Burnett show regular and Playgirl’s first centerfold; sexy, sexy Lyle Waggoner to take out the Nazi invader. “Do your best Steve” Says General Blankenship as he sends Trevor off to board his plane. “General I can only do my best” he responds cockily. This show has such brilliant dialogue!

The two planes face off somewhere over the Bermuda Triangle (of course) in the stupidest dogfight ever! Ultra-close, close-ups on the faces of the two men are inter cut with color and black & white stock footage of fighting planes. Eventually their planes explode at about the same time…I can only assume they gunned each other down…and the men escape the burning wrecks via parachute. An even stupider scene follows where Steve gives the Nazi pilot a smile and a thumbs up, then the Nazi draws his gun and Steve suddenly remembering he’s at war does the same. This is all happening mid-air while parachuting to the ground mind you. Steve is wounded but has this ridiculous ‘ouch you shot me that hurt a little’ reaction and in return shoots down the Nazi pilot.

It’s 14 minutes into the pilot when you finally meet Princess Diana/ Wonder Woman played by the amazingly beautiful Lynda Carter. There is a story that Carter received a standing ovation from the cast and crew the very first time she walked onto the set wearing the Wonder Woman costume and who could blame them. Of course looking at Lynda who was a beauty queen you can’t help but think about how by today’s standards she’d probably be considered too chubby! That’s so wrong Carter is one of the most amazing looking women ever! Still is!

In any case Diana discovers Steve washed ashore on the beaches of her home Paradise Island and lots of wow I’ve never seen a man in the flesh before gushing ensues. Poor bastard it’s the first time she sees a man and it’s Lyle Waggoner (click the link if you haven’t yet…sorry). Diana takes Steve to the hospital where his wounds are treated by an Amazonian doctor played by Fried Green Tomatoes author Fannie Flagg…seriously…no joke. I told you this was all star folks!

I guess it’s a pretty big deal to have a man on the island so Hippolyte the queen and Diana’s mum, an amazing looking Cloris Leachman, comes down to visit. They question Steve who is half passed out and boy howdy does he spill his guts like a little baby. Who he is, where he’s from and what he was doing. Didn’t he see any of the SNAFU cartoons? Loose lips sink ships!

Once Trevor is doing better the Amazons of Paradise Island hold an athletic games to see who is worthy of escorting the “savage” Trevor back to the outside world. It’s been centuries since any of them have stepped off the island so who knows how much the world has changed in all that time, not to mention the power of the island makes the Amazons immortal. Stepping off the island may make them mortal and it will take a heroic Amazon to face this possibility. Diana wants to compete but the queen forbids her. A question, why bother to have a successor on an island full of immortals? Just wondering. Diana doesn’t take no for an answer, disguises herself in a blonde wig and secretly competes. Dude you can see through almost every athlete’s costume.

The competition comes down to Diana and another young Amazon tying for the win (no surprises here folks) and to settle the tie the two must face off in a bullets and bracelets competition. A contest where the two women must deflect bullets from a gun using only their specially crafted metal bracelets…HEY! wait a minute? They have guns on Paradise Island? But they’ve been isolated from the rest of the world since the time of the Greeks and Romans according to Queen Hippolyte. Hmmm guess I shouldn’t worry so much about it since they have signs all over the contest in English.

Needless to say Diana wins. She is given the classic Wonder Woman belt and golden lasso as her prize. The lasso of course which compels folks to tell the truth. She chooses this moment to reveal herself to her shocked, but supportive mother, who lets her go but first but first creates the famous Wonder Woman costume for Diana to wear. Hippolyte also wins the prize for cornily coining the name Wonder Woman, calling her daughter “a wonder woman in a world of mortals” in their farewells. Of course Hippolyte can be forgiven for that corny line since she made such a great costume for her daughter!

After a quick stop at the Argentinian Nazi headquarters where they mispronounce the word gestapo, a German word (they must be saying it with an English accent for secrecy). We go back to Wonder Woman who is driving Steve home in her invisible plane…wait the Amazons have planes too? Okay someone had to be visiting the mortal world! But seriously the plane is actually a pretty cool effect for a low budget TV show.

Wonder Woman drops Steve off at a hospital and takes off to explore the modern world. After a quick stop in a dress shop “you certainly use a lot of material in your dresses” she stops a bank robbery and gets noticed by theatrical agent Ashley Norman played by the awesome Red Buttons whose business card reads “Dogs, Dwarves and Daredevils”. He offers he to make her star with her bracelets and bullets trick. She will eventually give in when she realizes she needs money to make it in the modern world. But it turns out Red Buttons is a Nazi spy!

Meanwhile Steve gets out of the hospital just in time to try and stop another Nazi plane from flying over the US but not in time to realize his pants are way too tight. Actually he never even makes it to his fighter, instead he gets ambushed by Nazi spies led by Red Buttons. Red Buttons tries to kill Steve after calling him a shweinhund…there’s actually something very funny about the Jewish Buttons playing a Nazi spy, but not quite as funny as his pronunciation of schweinhund.

They take Steve to their secret lair and drug him. Shock! Steve’s secretary Marcia played by the beautiful blonde Playboy centerfold Stella Stevens is also a Nazi their leader! Appalling! Of course what’s more appalling is that Steve spills the beans again and gives the Nazi’s the safe combination they need for some important document. A document so important that up til now no one in the episode has mentioned it! Marcia takes off to get the document but not before telling Red Buttons to kill Steve if she’s not back in an hour. He agrees and she’s on her way.

Maricia cracks the safe…well just opens it she has the combination after all. Steve we really need to have a chat…but before she can get away Wonder Woman appears! Marcia mocks her and twists into this ridiculous martial arts pose. “I was Nuremberg Judo Champ” she announces before we are treated to the catfight of the century! Of course the doubles are really obvious, so obvious in fact you expect their wigs to come flying off at any moment. Luckily her defeat of Marcia coincides with the arrival of the second Nazi bomber which she is able to stop with the help of her invisible plane. Victorious through air power she rushes to save Steve and beats the crap out of Red Buttons. Wondy saving Steve is a constant in this series twice in this episode 3 times in the next, I think I’m going to keep a running count.

The General and Steve end the episode by discussing the hiring of Steve’s new secretary. They’ve interviewed quite a few candidates but in the end have decided to hire a Navy Wav named Diana Prince since she’s unattractive since that pertty former secretary Marcia turned out to be a spy an ugly gal should be “safe”. Of course the audience is not fooled by hair pulled back into a bun and big glasses so we know that Diana Prince is actually Wonder Woman in “disguise”. Steve is so perceptive.

Overall the episode is a lot of fun, but there is no denying without Lynda Carter’s energetic performance it wouldn’t be worth watching. The memorable cat fight sequence between Lynda Carter and Stella Stevens was a considered a milestone in TV action, and was later used as a reference between the similar fights that took place between Krystle and Alexis in Dynasty. The pilot’s director however, Leonard Horn, suffered a heart attack during shooting and died shortly after completion. Airing November 7, 1975, it was a huge ratings success and ABC quickly authorized the production of two one-hour specials which aired the following April.

4 out of 5 stars

TV Totals:
8 on screen Nazis
6 Heil Hitlers
5 Glass doors broken in cat fight
4 separate scenes with bullets and bracelets
1 athletic competition in skimpy/ see through costumes
1 gun fight
1 cat fight
1 invisible plane
1 instance of lasso wielding
1 instance of Wonder Woman throwing a man
1 Anne Ramsey cameo (hooray!)
1 Spin Change from Diana to Wonder Woman
1 Wonder Woman in a nurses costume

Becca is the author of No Smoking in the Skull Cave a blog dedicated to pop culture, movies and more.

I thought whilst we wait on some more articles I would celebrate a particularly important date that is often overlooked:

On this day in 1978 “NASA introduced its first female astronauts when it named the eighth class of astronaut candidates. This class of 35 included six women: Anna Fisher, Shannon Lucid, Judith Resnik, Sally Ride, Rhea Seddon and Kathryn Sullivan. All six eventually flew on the space shuttle. And Shannon Lucid set an endurance record for American astronauts with a six-month stay on Russia’s Mir space station.” (source)

Lee is a a huge popular culture freak, loves comic books, science fiction, soundtracks and writes for Quit Your Day Job.

Character Overview

“You’re worse than a traitor Nina. You don’t even have a cause. You don’t believe in anything. You would sell anyone and anything out to the highest bidder.”

Nina Myers (Sarah Clarke) could have forged a successful career working for her government and her country within the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU), and for a while she did seemingly follow this path. However she eventually succumbed to the temptation of quick money and seduced by the power of secretive dealings with powerful partners. While the motives for all Nina’s actions are not entirely clear, she does seem to enjoy leading a double life and becomes a victim of her own self-inflated importance.

Working her way up into a position of influence as second-in-command of the Los Angeles CTU, Nina reported to Jack Bauer and established herself as a close personal confidant. For someone held in such high esteem and deeply trusted by even the normally impossible-to-deceive Jack Bauer, it comes as a shocking surprise when Nina’s true traitorous character is revealed.

Educational Background

“I trusted you, Nina.”

Nina has an impressive educational resume, however given her questionable loyalties and talent for deception, perhaps not all is as it seems. However if we decide to trust official records, Nina completed a Bachelor of Arts at Harvard University with a double major in Middle Eastern Studies and History. Following completion of her undergraduate degree Nina then went on to receive a Master of Arts in Criminal Investigative Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of International Relations, Tufts University. Nina displayed her multilingual abilities, and aside from English she has been heard to speak Serbian, German and Arabic.

Characterisation

“I’ll only get the pardon, why wouldn’t I do everything I can?”

Regardless of her motivations or whether we agree with the decisions which Nina makes, she can never be faulted for her unwavering commitment to complete an assigned task. Perhaps for this reason, Nina is somewhat of a tragic chameleon, you can never be too sure of who she is going to be, who she is working for or what she is trying to achieve at any given time. While her moral compass may be set significantly askew, her work ethic is strong enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best of them.

Born in Boston in 1975, Nina (also known as Yelena and Sarah Berkeley) embodies the consummate cool, calm thirty-something professional. Balanced against her formidable intellect and ruthless tenacity, Nina is also a physically striking woman with dark hair and angular features, exuding an arrogant air and comfortable elegance. Nina mostly dresses in non-descript, practical clothing and takes a no-fuss approach to grooming, further highlighting her ability to solely focus on the task at hand rather than be distracted by such fickle things.

Character Development

“You’re going to have to kill him. No mistakes. If he finds out I’ve lied to him, my cover will be blown.”

Given the focus of 24 on work related activity, we primarily come to know Nina through her work for, and connection with CTU. Her duplicitous nature is gradually uncovered, but she always manages to keep us guessing; just when you think you have her all figured out she moves off in a completely different direction. There is no denying that regardless of how much we wish Nina would be revealed to all as a traitor and that people (especially Jack) would stop trusting her so much, there is something utterly compelling and captivating about a person who acts completely outside a values system that most of society abides by.

Apart from the fact that she seems to genuinely enjoy her work, whatever that may entail, Nina also seems to be heavily motivated by money - whoever pays her the highest price will get her service regardless of their affiliations, beliefs or ultimate goals. While many people would be happy with the progress she made in her legitimate professional career, Nina wanted so much more. Inevitably this hunger led to her CTU career being cut short and introduced a great deal more drama, danger and excitement into her life and the lives of those around her. In the time we’ve known her, Nina has been exposed as a mole, a traitor, and a killer, crimes that led to her eventual capture and arrest. Despite these obstacles Nina never loses sight of once again gaining her freedom and getting back to what she loves best. True to form and much to Jack’s disgust, Nina does gain presidential pardon and immunity from her crimes in exchange for information.

While she then could have chosen to disappear into obscurity and follow a different career path, Nina just can’t help herself and once more she almost unbelievably reappears while Jack is working undercover in Mexico. Not one to be re-captured easily or quietly, Jack does manage to take Nina into custody where she makes a dramatic, chaotic and ultimately fatal return to CTU.

Relationships

“Don’t talk to me, Nina. I’m here because I have to be, not because I’m your friend.”

While Nina seems to be at her best when acting alone, sometimes her needs align with the needs of another, and she finds herself in a relationship. Following a short separation from his wife, Jack becomes involved with Nina in a relationship that is largely kept under wraps from the rest of the world. The relationship did become serious to some degree, at least on a physical level with the two enjoying a weekend trip to Santa Barbara. When Jack re-solidifies his relationship with his wife Teri, his liaison with Nina is abruptly broken off. Nina later becomes involved with another of her CTU colleagues, Tony Almeida. With Nina’s ultimate exposure as a traitor this relationship is not given the chance to develop into anything long-term.

Current status

“You don’t have any more useful information, do you, Nina?”

As interesting and exciting as it was to follow the various betrayals, lies and manipulations committed by Nina Myers there was most certainly a high level of satisfaction in seeing justice come her way. It was especially fitting that Jack Bauer was the one to deliver this justice. Just as every good romantic comedy should eventually lead to a relationship, every good villain needs an ending and a good one at that. Fighting to the end, Nina never surrendered herself easily to capture and always sought her freedom, even when this quest for freedom would cost her life.

Believability

With the revelation of her traitorous betrayal and the murder of Jack’s wife Teri, Nina Myers very quickly took the mantle of 24’s number one villain. Sarah Clarke portrays Nina with perfect reserve and beautifully concealed deceptiveness, ensuring that Nina’s character never stoops to become a clichéd one-dimensional villain. Quite clearly this girl has some seriously complex layers that we never truly get to the bottom of. Nina is able to maintain her professional expertise and technical knowledge in the office of CTU, while also demonstrating her proficiency at working in murkier professional waters.

Stereotype rating

Low. Nina is that mysterious type of character that we never really understand and perhaps never really want to. She is controlling, deceptive and wickedly manipulative. It was however particularly interesting to watch her character play against the unerringly loyal and upstanding persona that is Jack Bauer, never could there be a more entertaining clash of opposites. Nina shows that not only can she think, work hard and charm men, she is also a dab hand at fighting, escaping and killing.

Heart or Hate

Heart to hate.

Agree or disagree? Let me know your thoughts.

Tracey is the author of Quiet Paws

It can be argued that the ultimate act that a hero can perform is that of sacrifice. Sacrificing oneself for the greater good or for something of higher value. It was inevitable then that during the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer that at some stage Buffy would be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice. It was the season five finale that Buffy gives her life to safe her ‘adopted’ sister and close the rift opening between a hell dimension that threatens to engulf the Earth.

She sacrifices herself for family and friends and she is satisfied in doing so, her mind is made up as she calmly, almost gracefully swan dives into the opening dimensional tear and proves that Dawn is as much her sister as if she had not been mystically created and thrust upon them (if you haven’t seen the series this will make very little sense, all I can say then is go out and watch it!!!).

This was possibly going to be the final season for the series and thus very well could have been the literal end for Buffy. But a move to a new network saw the return of Buffy from death.

So what does this say about her sacrifice?

Does the fact that she returns from death, as admittedly she has done before lessen the impact or the significance of her sacrifice?

It possibly would have had it not been for the very carefully handled story around her return from the afterlife. There is of course the ‘why don’t we save everyone’ clause that speaks of Buffy’s death at the hands of mystical power but this is an important loophole that needs to be mentioned so the fans don’t just roll their eyes and demand characters be returned from the dead.

Buffy doesn’t come back right.

She is resurrected in her casket and has to claw her way out and then dig through the grave the same way her prey, the vampires have to. Buffy is distant and out of touch with the world around her and most importantly her friends.

It is her friends in thinking that they were doing the right thing who have forced the greatest sacrifice onto our hero. They have torn her out of her final peaceful resting place, they have dragged her out of heaven.

Greek mythology is full of heroes fighting their way out of Hades to return to the land of the living but I can’t think of an example of a hero being plucked from heaven. Perhaps the resurrection of Jesus? Though I think the argument might be that he wasn’t forced, then again maybe he was.

Jump forward to the end of season seven and we now know how important it was for Buffy to return and by this time she has resolved to remain living in this world. It is interesting that leaping to her death to save Dawn and close the dimensional rift may have been the easier of the two sacrifices. The act of going on regardless despite the unfairness of circumstance. This is mirrored in the lives of other heroes such as Ripley from the Alien series and Sarah Connor from the Terminator franchise. Heroines who haven’t chosen to be so, but at the same time have had to make a choice to persevere rather than give up.

There are real life heroines who face this idea of a forced sacrifice each and every day. Women who may be challenged by circumstance but go on despite it and don’t even realise that they themselves are heroes.

Was Buffy’s sacrifice diminished by the return of her character?

Maybe but the sacrifice that she had forced onto her in order to come back certainly makes up for it!

Lee is a a huge popular culture freak, loves comic books, science fiction, soundtracks and writes for Quit Your Day Job.

Hermione Granger is a political activist. She is the girl that has her homework done on Friday night, when it is really due in two weeks. Not one to be intimated by peer pressure, she is always first to eagerly raise her hand in class. Unlike many high school students, she isn’t overly concerned with her appearance. She is the daughter of two dentists and realizes the value of the private school education she is receiving. She was invited to enroll in an exclusive school that specializes in her major study of interest, magic.

In an ordinary school, she would be an exceptional student and possibly class president. But she is not an ordinary student in an ordinary school. Hermione is a witch and she is enrolled in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The first day of class she was the only one who had read the history book, allowing her to know how the passageways work and who the ghosts were. Much to the dismay of her professor, Snape, she performs perfect potions. She has organized SPEW, the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare after seeing the working conditions of the house elves that live at Hogwarts. The house elves don’t really want her help, but that doesn’t stop her. She has found a cause and is determined.

Her determination has helped one of her best friends, Harry Potter many times. She gets offended if Harry assumes she does not want to come along on his quests. The first time Harry has to fight He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Hermione proves instrumental. She makes the Polyjuice potion that allows Ron and Harry to pose as their enemies and gain information about the location of the Sorcerers’ Stone. Later, as the go through the labyrinth, Ron becomes entangled in a plant that Hermione correctly identifies and saves Ron’s life.

As the story progresses she becomes more and more instrumental to Harry. When the Ministry of Magic is trying to declare Harry Potter a liar and murderer, Hermione stands beside him. She never doubts him. She is one of the first students to say Voldemort’s name out loud. There is such fear of him that he has been referred to as ‘He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named’. Hermione dismisses this and states; ‘If Harry can fight him, I can at least be brave enough to say his name out loud.’

Realizing the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is a failure (again), Hermione decided to organize a group of students to practice spells outside of class. For a high school student this is not only organized, but very aware of social conditions within her world. Even after the school labels it illegal to have such an organization, she persists. Eventually that fact that her and her friends have practiced necessary defense spells saves their lives against the Death Eaters.

She is consistently an impressive heroine. She is the voice of reason, encouraging her friends to study and practice. And no Ron, Quidditch doesn’t count.

This is Karalea's first article on Pop Culture Heroines