# Chicks Who Kick Ass on TV shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 21, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895 "2013-05-21T02:38:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Beelzebubba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Beelzebubba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beelzebubba)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/1 "2013-05-21T02:38:37Z")
I feel the need to preface this posting by saying that I am a 38-year old gay guy. I’m not sure if that makes this even stranger or maybe it transcends sexual orientation altogether??? I find it VERY SEXY when female TV characters get into physical fight scenes and kick some major ass! For some reason Buffy didn’t do it for me, but her temporary-replacement Faith (Eliza Dushku) is a whole ‘nother story! Watching her take on four and five super-strong vampires at the same time and punch, kick, flip and stab until she’s the only one left standing- it’s HOT! I also loved that she used the military phrase “Five by Five” which translates into OK! Even on Charmed some of the fight scenes were awesome. But the hottest thing on that show was Piper’s ability to blow shit up, and she had a hair-trigger temper that could turn her into a lethal incinerating machine in the blink of an eye! =) I also have thing for chick with GUNS! I love some of the scenes on CSI:Miami where Calleigh would be faced with one or more men trying to kill her, but she always got the jump on them and wouldn’t hesitate to empty a clip in one of them, not for a second! On the Season 7 finale of Criminal Minds last year, J.J. (AJ Cook) got into her first hardcore hand-to-hand combat scene with an Unsub who was in her home and had JJ’s little boy, Henry, and most likely would have done something awful to him. Mama Bear comes out in full force, amped-up BIG TIME, and the scene almost looks choreographed and like it’s moving in slow motion (which is is in slo-mo a few times). But JJ takes the bitch down! I didn’t even like Desperate Housewives very much, but I do love Felicity Huffman. When she kicked Nora’s front door wide open and almost off the hinges, then looks at her and says “DING DONG!” before trying to jump her. Then she was interrupted by Rosemary’s Baby (Nora & Tom’s brat daughter) and she can’t beat the shit out of her in front of the kid. So she says she just wants to give her a little hug before she leaves, then she (Lynette) whispers into Nora’s ear, “If you ever see my husband or come near my family ever again, I will do to your SPINE what I just did to your front door!” Lynette (Huffman) also attached another woman, played by Carole O’Grady, in the restroom at a PTA meeting because the older woman has been sleeping with Lynette’s teenage son. She slams her into the wall and almost thru it… Then there are women like Ziva David on NCIS, Olivia Benson on SVU, and even Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on ‘The Closer’. And who could ever overlook Fiona on Burn Notice…a girl who always has C4 plastic explosive handy and LOVES to blow shit up, hell yeah! I think I just love to see Chicks Who Kick Ass , male, female, demon, vampire…bring it! I also think one of the most exciting aspects of sense like these are they show that Women can be strong and stand up for themselves and their families…to the point of physical violence if necessary or desired! ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/2 "2013-05-21T11:48:51Z")
Nikita. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/3 "2013-05-21T12:12:14Z")
You don’t sound gay. Olivia Dunham on _Fringe_. Kiera on _Continuum_. Shado on _Arrow_. Parker on _Fringe_. Tatiana Maslany playing everybody on _Orphan Black_. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/4 "2013-05-21T12:18:37Z")
Joss Whedon’s female characters tend to be of the asskicking variety, and I’ve gotten so used to that that when I saw The Aggression Scale last weekend (sort of a grittier Home Alone), the distressed damsel of the story actually annoyed me slightly because I thought she should have been more proactive/aggressive in kicking ass, instead of letting the boy have all the fun. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/5 "2013-05-21T12:30:49Z")
Charlie on Revolution. She’s sort of like if Daryl from The Walking Dead and Kaitness Everdeen from The Hunger Games had a child. Max on Dark Angel Kara “Starbuck” Thrace on Battlestar Galactica The various incarnations of “Number Six” on Battlestar Galactica Brienne on Game of Thrones (although she’s sort of homely and is actually big enough to kick three guys ass with a sword) Ygritte on Game of Thrones. Although we haven’t actually seen her “kick ass”. Mostly she just talks a lot of shit and tells John Snow how much he knows nothing. Of course you had all those 90s and early 2000s scify shows like Xena and Firefly and whatnot. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/6 "2013-05-21T12:34:10Z")
Interesting that this thread was started on the 10th anniversary of the airing of the final episode of _Buffy_. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/7 "2013-05-21T13:11:12Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Of course you had all those 90s and early 2000s scify shows like Xena and Firefly and whatnot. Since I haven’t watched much TV in the past dozen years or so, I was going to mention Xena, and Zoe on _Firefly_. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/8 "2013-05-21T13:11:24Z")
Okay, I’m old: Diana Rigg as Mrs. Peel on _the Avengers_ Anne Francis as Honey West on _Honey West_ Julie Newmar as Catwoman on _Batman_ Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore in _Goldfinger_ ---
**Author:** ![MostlyClueless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MostlyClueless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyClueless)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/9 "2013-05-21T13:26:41Z")
She’s animated, but I’d figure [Korra](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=rbfzZ6_zdDs#t=24s) would be right up your alley. (Please excuse the music) ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/10 "2013-05-21T15:01:12Z")
Fiona on Burn Notice. Not only does she use big, very big, guns, she has a trunk full of awesome to blow stuff up. She can also make stuff blow up MacGyver style. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/11 "2013-05-21T15:09:47Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Parker on _Fringe_. Oops. I meant Parker on _Leverage_. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/12 "2013-05-21T15:28:11Z")
_Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles_ has both an ass kicking Sarah Connor (Lena Hedley) and an ass kicking female terminator (Summer Glau). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/13 "2013-05-21T15:56:10Z")
Max (Jessica Alba) on _Dark Angel_. Brienne and Arya on _Game of Thrones_. Brienne’s fight with Jaime on the bridge was great - by the end, she’s almost offhandedly forcing him to backpedal as she rains blow after blow on him with her sword. Sydney on _Alias_. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/14 "2013-05-21T16:36:43Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Olivia Dunham on _Fringe_. > . You could say that again. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/15 "2013-05-21T17:00:24Z")
Personally, I’d like the pattern to be broken now and then with a 110lb woman delivering a roundhouse kick to a 250lb man, who shrugs it off and flattens her with one punch. Because, y’know… physics. ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/16 "2013-05-21T17:23:49Z")
Sarah on Chuck… ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/17 "2013-05-21T20:51:48Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Personally, I’d like the pattern to be broken now and then with a 110lb woman delivering a roundhouse kick to a 250lb man, who shrugs it off and flattens her with one punch. > Because, y’know… physics. Also because it’s becoming a cliche, and those benefit from being deflated now and then. When the audience knows what’s going to happen…it’s time for something different! That said, I love the ass-kicking femme. (And, yeah, as **Prof. Pepperwinkle** says, I’m old: Diana Rigg as Mrs. Peel was the greatest! And Tasha Yar, on Star Trek: TNG was also a lot of fun.) It appeals to my sense of social justice and feminist empowerment. And, yeah, it’s kinda sexy too. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/18 "2013-05-21T21:06:53Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Personally, I’d like the pattern to be broken now and then with a 110lb woman delivering a roundhouse kick to a 250lb man, who shrugs it off and flattens her with one punch. > Because, y’know… physics. If we’ve going to be realistic about it all, more likely she just pulls a gun and shoots him. Which _would_ be badass in its own way. Big Guy: _\_ "What are you going to do _little girl?_ Hit me? Woman: “No.” _\_ Big Guy: \*\ \*"Hey, _WAIT-"_ _BANG! BANG! BANG!_ ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/19 "2013-05-21T21:31:28Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Personally, I’d like the pattern to be broken now and then with a 110lb woman delivering a roundhouse kick to a 250lb man, who shrugs it off and flattens her with one punch. > Because, y’know… physics. You should take a look at this Youtube video from the funny action series “Chuck”: https://www.youtube.com/embed/L0CVYdO5OJ0?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque The video is only 47 seconds long, but if you want to “cut to the chase”, go to the :30 mark for the action. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895/20 "2013-05-21T21:57:43Z")
Well, it’s what **Bryan Ekers** described… Kinda not fun, and not funny. Like watching the Wermacht do Belgium… But, yeah, kinda realistic, and definitely a counter-cliche. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicks-who-kick-ass-on-tv-shows/658895.md?page=2)