TGIT - Women on Top!

A recent journalist posed the thought that it is remarkable that Viola Davis has not been recognized for her acting ability before "How to Get Away With Murder." Ahem...Viola Davis did not become a consummate actor with the debut of "...Murder.."  The real story is that this incredible woman has been discounted because she didn't have the look that the money men believed could make them even more money.  Imagine their shock, which they're probably still in when Shonda Rhimes, a woman, bent reality (their reality, not ours) by penning the blockbuster, "Grey's Anatomy." Yes, a fe-male brought them salivating to the bank week after week after week.

With all of those dollars rolling in from "Grey's...", the money men could only see green, period; so when Ms. Rhimes began to cast actors who had the chops to deliver her vision, the outside of those actors meant next to nothing.  So enter Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope, and now Viola Davis as Annalise Keating. Neither of these women in powerful starring roles fit the previous mold of leading women, and I think that most of us are so happy to see women who look like the rest of us, being judged on the talent that they bring to a project rather than solely on their exteriors.  The clothing and handbags (be still, my heart!) are mind-blowing and I have to nearly physically restrain myself to stay off the Coach.com site, but the show's characters are still relatable because they are not those superficial versions of perfect that we have been spoon-fed for far too long.

Granted, we all enjoy looking at something good (think Denzel Washington), but there has to be something deeper than that to hold my attention; an actor appealing to my idea of Fine is just an added bonus.  I am after all more than a slack-jawed, drooling idiot (yes, I know that idiot-box is another name for the television set). I watch television and movies for entertainment yes, but life is filled with a myriad of colors, shapes, sizes, values, et al; so it's much more than refreshing to find my foray into fictionland peopled with regular characters.