But despite all the muck that the average viewer has to sift through, there are still instances of both realistic and empowering female characters that give positive reflections on the gender without sacrificing a sense of realism or the audience’s ability to relate to them. You might find that this list is regrettably short and also that Joss Whedon is responsible for half of the women on it, but a start’s a start.

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Buffy Summers

The name of the show is probably as self-explanatory as one could possibly get (and even if it wasn’t, chances are if you were living in North America in the late 90s, you know pretty much everything there is to know even if you didn’t watch it) so I won’t get too much into the back story; suffice it to say, there is a girl named Buffy, and she happens to slay vampires. She will be your first positive female protagonist for the evening.

Buffy is strong and independent without embodying that very tiring and overcompensating persona of “I am woman; hear me roar”; she can slay demons, sure, and quite effectively too, but she’s not going to be particularly or unrealistically ‘badass’ about it. In the pilot episode she even wants to refuse her “fate” as it were in favor of a normal life where she can interact with people she cares about without fear of endangering their lives. She’s incredibly capable, moreso than any of her other counterparts (she used to slay vampires alone after all), but remains compassionate and loyal, kind and understanding, with a bit of wit and attitude thrown in the mix. She could also kick the ass of anyone she becomes romantically involved with in the show, which is a kind of funny notion to entertain.

What makes her a likable character beyond all the vampire-beating, though, is that she’s grounded; she doesn’t really want the responsibility of a slayer, but she accepts it because she understands the need. If at any time she was asked to lay down the stakes because the world was all right without her, I doubt she would miss the old days. Regardless, the fact that she continues to do it just because she knows she needs to help out is pretty admirable. Most important for our purposes, she doesn’t cry, scream, lose her head or, to be (possibly) irritatingly feminist, lean on a man when the shit hits the fan. In all likelihood, people are crying, screaming losing their heads and leaning on her. She’s also attractive but isn’t used explicitly as a sex symbol; she’s seen as a person, not a vehicle to get people to watch, which is why her boobs aren’t being tossed about while she kicks someone in the face with a leather mini skirt on. Joss Whedon treats his characters with respect, which is why I love him.

2. 30 Rock – Liz Lemon

I’m a sucker for Tina Fey, truth be told. I think she’s as cute as a button and just as funny, and though her departure from SNL was yet another nail in the coffin for that particular show, it allowed her to explore and create her own, for which I am quite grateful as I admittedly adore 30 Rock. This is about 40% because of Jack Donaghy (Alec “some crack about yelling at his daughter” Baldwin), 10% Kenneth Parcell (Jack “this is a really manly name for such a feminine guy” McBrayer) and 50% Liz Lemon (Tina “I don’t have anything to put here” Fey).

Lemon is the head writer of “The Girlie Show”, a sketch comedy show shown on NBC that stars her friend Jenna Maroney, played by Jane Krakowski. Between contending with Jenna’s inane preoccupations, Jack Donaghy’s near-insanity, Tracey Jor(Mor)dan(gan)’s (they’re the same person, trust me) generally insufferable nature and her very complex and disappointing love life (she almost makes out with her cousin, not realizing that they’re related), Liz isn’t exactly the happiest of campers, but if she was, then where would we be? She’s neurotic, incessantly stressed, kind of a bitch, and quite different from most females you might see on the small screen. But why do we love her and why is she positive? Well one, because she’s witty. There is a depressing deficiency of female characters that are used for humor beyond ditziness or shallowness, which is why it’s refreshing to see a woman who is intelligent and capable fire funny stuff off with the best of them. This is of course exemplified by the fact that she’s the head writer of a comedy show (obviously the jokes aren’t exactly sophisticated, but they’re jokes nonetheless).

Related to that, she is in a place of influence; she takes care of and oversees a team of writers and has incredible responsibility over the welfare of the show placed on her shoulders. What makes this even more significant is that, as aforementioned, it is a comedy sketch show. When someone thinks “comedy sketch show” they probably don’t expect the writing team to have a formidable female influence or be predominately female at all, much less be governed explicitly by a woman. She also deals with all the shit that she catches, whether it be from Jack or Tracey or whoever, in stride and with great comedic reverence. She’s the “straight man”, but she does it without being overshadowed or dull.

The biggest bonus, however, is that she’s a nerd; she references Star Wars at least four times throughout the course of the show, ie: “I will cut you open like a Tauntaun!” “But Captain Neida dies!” etc. This is a bonus because it’s nice and also rare to see a fictional girl be geeky in a positive or subtle sense without it having a stigma about it. I can’t really think of any instances in which a girl in some form of popular media is nerdy and it isn’t made the entirety of her character. This is somewhat disappointing because it discourages some girls who would be labeled as such from standing up and saying proudly, “I am nerd” since TV, and other sources of media, like to say in response to that, “You will never get laid.” Liz Lemon represents the witty, neurotic Star Wars lover in all of us.

3. Dead Like Me – George Lass 

Smart, cynical, individualistic, and dead are just a few adjectives that describe Georgia Lass in no particular order of importance. Killed at the age of 18 by a flaming toilet seat that fell from a space-orbiting something or other, George was promptly drafted into the ranks of the Grim Reapers, an existence which, she found to be, in many ways, simply a less finite extension of life. Her misadventures into the realm of the semi-dead encompass the majority, if the not the entirety of the series, which was unfortunately gutted at the end of its second season.

George is, as many of the women on this list are, very intelligent (or at least had the potential to be, despite her disinclination to go to college). Her dry sense of humor and snarky attitude are essential aspects of her character which are largely explored during interactions with the other Reapers. Despite being considerably younger than her counterparts (not that age has much bearing in their position) she manages to hold her own, biting back at every jab and not allowing herself to be pushed around, even by her mentor and resident paternalistic figure, Rube. She harbors the cynicism of a much older woman, which is both funny and endearing in the context of the show, and many of the scenes that you see her in have at least on frame of her looking inescapably bored.

What’s great about George, though, despite the fact that she’s funny and entertaining to watch, is that she embodies a class of younger individuals who aren’t frequently explored by other mediums to any memorable or accurate extent. The girls who are smart and bored and didn’t have a dozen boyfriends or know what they want in life. Seeing how she grows when she’s a Reaper, the chances she takes and the things she learns, is a very optimistic parallel to life that took George dying to understand. Presumably the creators of the show didn’t want you to wait that long. George, as a character, represents change and progress: a carpe diem sort of notion, and a desire for more, which is an idea that a lot of people can and do or should subscribe to.

4. Firefly – Zoe Washburne

Firefly has been described, probably most accurately, by saying that this is what would have happened to The Rebels in Star Wars if Luke hadn’t blown up the Death Star. If that means nothing to you, then it’s like The Civil War and our protagonists are playing the part of the confederates, except you actually like them (unless you’re still rooting for the confederates, in which case; hi, welcome to the 21^st century, please check your racism at the door). Also, it’s a western. In space. Just imagine that there are people fighting for a cause and they lose so they sod off into, you know, the universe, and become mercenaries of sorts. And there are occasionally horses. 

Pretty much all of the female characters in Firefly are positive or at least unconventional in one sense or another. River is a genius and can certainly kick some ass, Kaylee is a horny mechanic with a heart of gold, Inara is a fountain of wisdom and grace, (although when I describe them all like that, they sound like the most uninteresting and typical characters ever conceived; trust me, though, it isn’t the case) but the one that probably sticks out the most is Zoe. One because she’s a soldier, two because she has her husband by the balls, and three (mostly three) she spins an old cliché on its head. Her description may seem to contradict the condemnation of the “I am woman, hear me roar” stereotype, but Zoe’s portrayal is less designed with the intention of being overt and over the top women-empowerment and more an understated sort of soldier of fortune.

Zoe is the type of individual who doesn’t take crap from humans or pseudo-humans or otherwise; she’s combative and driven but she keeps things close to the chest. In fact, her characterization is something that we might expect to see in a hardened, misanthropic male, which is why it’s interesting and (semi)fresh to see it swap genders. And, as is similar with these cool-headed warrior types, she has a love interest to ground her: her lovely husband Wash, in this case. It is shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that Zoe wears the pants in that relationship, which Wash is entirely fine with.

The core of this particular lady’s merit, however, lies in her strength and perseverance; although this may also be considered one of her greatest faults (she may come off cool or unfeeling), it’s obvious through her relationship with Wash and her bantering with her shipmates that she does have a lighter, tenderer side. However, when everything goes to hell, she keeps it together and does what’s needed. There’s one episode in particular where her old war buddy/current Captain, Malcolm, and her husband Wash, are kidnapped and tortured. She confronts their kidnapper obligingly at first with a bag of money to barter for their release, but the sum she carries is, apparently, only enough for one, so she picks her husband. The man that still has Malcolm captive suddenly decides that the money she’s provided is actually worth a bit more than just one man, so he cuts Malcolm’s ear off and hands it to her. What does she do? She looks at it, stuffs it in her bra, walks away, and comes back with buddies to shoot up the place and get back her man. A far cry from a standard subservient housewife no doubt.

5. Doctor Who – Rose Tyler

In all likelihood you’ll hear about this show in the majority, if not all, of my articles, and I would apologize, but I really like it so I won’t. Doctor Who follows the trail of a (mostly) non-violent, time-traveling alien time lord named The Doctor who goes around the universe being quite smart, saving shit, outlining moral necessities for people, etc. He is, however, very lonely (or is at least by the advent of the ninth Doctor, played by the wonderful Christopher Eccleston), and even when he isn’t, has a habit of picking up companions to bring along on his adventures. They are quite frequently human (as we are presumably his favorite species), as is true also in the case of Ms. Rose Tyler, my personal favorite female TARDIS (his ship) passenger.

Rose is a 19-year-old shop girl from London who The Doctor picks up on his first adventure of the new series (Doctor Who [which is a British show, by the way] was first conceived in the 60s, but it had several long hiatuses, the most recent taking place after an unsuccessful TV movie, and was only recently revived in 2005). She’s brave, clever, compassionate, strong, independent, neglectful, naïve, immature and everything in between. Rose is an incredibly layered and developed character, filled with as many faults as she has virtues, which is why I adore her as much as I do. But these flaws only serve to heighten her realism and give the audience an even greater sense of tangibility toward her positive characteristics. She doesn’t need The Doctor to baby her or hold her hand (although he does anyway; the second part, that is, quite literally), and she often happens into trouble because of her curiosity and willingness to be on her own. She is, at once, described by The Doctor to be “jeopardy-friendly”, but this is not at all a negative trait.

Doctor Who is aimed primarily toward children, so what do they see when they see a character like Rose? Someone who asks questions. Someone who stands up for what she believes in, who protects and cares about people, who stops The Doctor (who I know is brilliant and I imagine is intimidating) when he’s doing something morally wrong, someone who is independent and strong, who knows what she wants and goes out to get it. Rose is the antithesis of a positive role model for young girls, teenagers, and adults alike. I belong to the middle category and even I am influenced, both by her and The Doctor, to be a better human being. No screaming or running away in fear or shutting down when things get too rough; Rose puts herself before others and is willing to risk her life for the good of whatever planet, individual or population happens to be at stake in any given circumstance. Rose is, if you ordered some cheese with your article, just what The Doctor ordered.

(If you have a child, regardless of gender, I would highly suggest you show this series to them. Entertain them and instill moral values; everyone wins!)