The "RUDE" Guy presents:
Science fiction has provided
the world with some of the most beautiful woman known to man. First there
were the "screamers." You know the type. The girl next door that screamed
at the drop of a hat. Being chased by aliens? The "screamer" is the
one tripping over her own feet. This was fine until the Women's Liberation
Movement of the 60's. Slowly, the women in science fiction took on a different
role. Not quite super heroes, nor oxygenated cerebral fluff. Trying to make
the shift from weak screamers to testosterone-enhanced gonad crushers was
a difficult chore; especially for Hollywood. An example of the early attempts
to change came with the 1968 classic space tale BARBARELLA; starring the
pre-"Hanoi Jane" Fonda. (Click on Jane for a larger version of this
image.)
Following BARBARELLA, the role of the Space Girl began to change. Television shows like BATTLESTAR GALACTICA began to use women in new ways. Sure, they looked good. But they could also fight. They became a larger part of the story than the airhead who couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time. Here were two of the key players in BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, Maren Jensen and "pre-Doctor Mike" Jane Seymour.
The brains, the beauty and the
ability to kick butt all rolled into one. About the same time that the Galactica
was on its quest to find a new home, safe from the Cylon terror, another
sci-fi show further defined the role of women. BUCK ROGERS in the 25th CENTURY
introduced Erin Gray as Colonel Wilma Deering, a hot-shot space jockey that
feared nothing. The same show also put to the test the nasty qualities of
Princess Ardala (Pamela Hensley). To see these lovely ladies, click on the
arrow.
E-mail me your comments and
ideas.