The Closer

Plainbellied and I have recently become engrossed in watching the first season of The Closer on DVD. In the past three days, we've watched nine episodes, and we'll probably watch the last four tomorrow night (along with the new Psych). As you might remember, we are big fans of procedural dramas. We like having a sense of closure at the end of each episode. As the title suggests, The Closer does just that.

Yet there is something more to the series than just having a conclusion in each episode. The central character, played by Kyra Sedgwick, is everything I think is missing from most of today's actresses. In the old days, there were a lot of very strong female characters. Think of Nora Charles in the Thin Man films, or Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday. Carrie Fisher had a similar presence in the Star Wars movies. They had strength, something many of today's actresses lack. Some of today's actresses mistake shrillness for strength.

I'm thinking specifically of today's young actresses. I find it somewhat odd that in today's society, when women have achieved more social and political power than ever before, the characters being portrayed onscreen have degraded substantially. For instance, what kind of example do the characters in Charlie's Angels teach young women about how to be strong? Perhaps part of the problem is the dialogue being written today, which does not have the same punch as older films or television.

I've wandered a bit. In The Closer, Sedgwick plays a tough, intelligent, and witty investigator. This is the type of character I think we should see more of. Law and Order had a similar character when Jill Hennessy was on the show. They present what I believe to be a very important image for young women to see. When my daughter is old enough for this type of show, I hope they still have this kind of characters for her to see.