# Which of television's fair female cops do you actually buy as a police officer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 7, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013 "2012-10-07T19:26:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LadyMadonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb8c5e/32.png) [@LadyMadonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LadyMadonna)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/41 "2012-10-08T20:01:01Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’ve been seeing a lot of ads for a new series _Chicago Fire_ (which is firefighters rather than police but the same principle applies). Here’s a promo [picture](http://www.trbimg.com/img-4faafdf1/turbine/redeye-chicago-fire-nbc-news-tv-series-2012050-002/600) of the cast. > > Seriously? Is the Chicago Fire Department really made up of fashion models? That promo photo isn’t too bad. At least the women aren’t overly gorgeous or have their boobs hanging out. I am actually looking forward to the premiere of Chicago Fire! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/42 "2012-10-08T20:21:10Z")
> [@LadyMadonna](#): > > That promo photo isn’t too bad. At least the women aren’t overly gorgeous or have their boobs hanging out. I am actually looking forward to the premiere of Chicago Fire! But the commercials I saw showed the two women (both model beautiful) responding to an emergency and getting out of their paramedic vehicle with their long hair down and wearing tight t-shirts with no uniform coats. They may not have been running around in bikinis but that isn’t at all realistic. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/43 "2012-10-08T20:50:24Z")
CSI: Miami isn’t trying to be realistic. My contribution: Emily Prentiss from **Criminal Minds**. Reason: pretty sure she could kick my ass. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/44 "2012-10-08T21:23:22Z")
Definitely agree with Mariska Hargitay - she can look like she \*could \*be beautiful, but prefers to look tough and pissed off. I’ll also add in Angie Harmon from \*Rizzoli and Isles \*- silly show, sure, but she does an excellent job of making her awesomely beautiful face and body look tomboyish and tough, while still being bonerrific at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Rhaegar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/51bf81/32.png) [@Rhaegar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhaegar)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/45 "2012-10-08T21:42:35Z")
Jennifer Esposito on Blue bloods? AJ Cook? Poppy Montgomery? Although I have never had the good fortune to encounter a super model police woman in real life, so I have to doubt their existence. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/46 "2012-10-08T22:28:18Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Does Maria Bello count? She’s 45 but still smokin’, and I totally bought her as a tough gritty cop in “Prime Suspect”. Came to say this. That was a decent cop show and I’m not a fan of the genre. I think it was already cancelled when I first saw it. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/47 "2012-10-08T22:31:41Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > **The Wire** had two excellent and believable female cops: Amy Ryan as Beadie Russell and Sonja Sohn as Det. Kima Greggs. Agree! ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/48 "2012-10-08T23:44:09Z")
> [@LadyMadonna](#): > > I > And since I have the floor, I’ve GOT to vent about the way many female police officers are portrayed on TV. I’m referring to female cop characters that spend their time out in the field, not in an office. Every time I see a show where a female cop answers a call or shows up at a crime scene wearing a damn skirt and heels, carrying a purse, wearing ultra-fashionable clothing, showing cleavage, (ugh!), or wearing her long hair down & curled with a curling iron, I’m tempted to change the channel. > > Am I the only one disgusted by these portrayals? I know, sex sells and the producers have to sell the show. But couldn’t they work in the sexiness in some other scenes?? Agreed. And not only tv cops are showing cleavage, but all sorts of females who are supposed to be professionals in their fields. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/49 "2012-10-09T00:06:22Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Thinking _only_ of the remarkably beautiful (i.e., leaving out women like Tyne Daly or the wonderful S. Epatha Merkerson), what actresses in such roles are most believable to you, and why? > [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > Some good nominations (CCH Pounder, Helen Mirren, Betty Thomas, and the wonderful Laurie Metcalf). I’ll throw in the 2 actress on Without a Trace who weren’t Poppy Montgomery (don’t find her very believable in anything). They were Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Roslyn Sanchez. I found them both gorgeous and believable,each in their own way. > > Another nom for most unbelievable - Teresa Lisbon on “The Mentalist”. I think every other character is played very well. But she stinks up the place, sorry. Sticking to the premise of the OP “Thinking _only_ of the remarkably beautiful”, I’d say there are a bunch of names that don’t belong (although I’ll grant that beauty is in the eye of the beholder). CCH Pounder (_Shield_) I think is a lock for exclusion. Laurie Metcalf (_Roseanne_) and Melissa Leo (_Homicide: Life on the Street_), IMNSHO, were just plain and average. Helen Mirren (_Prime Suspect_) may have been something back in the day, but that was back before my day. Catherine Dent (_Shield_) and Betty Thomas (_Hill Street Blues_) are borderline regarding the OPs premise, again IMNSHO. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/50 "2012-10-09T01:51:10Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Definitely agree with Mariska Hargitay - she can look like she \*could \*be beautiful, but prefers to look tough and pissed off. Wait, we’re explicitly talking about her looks and neglecting to mention that she’s frigging [_Jayne Mansfield’s_](http://answersto.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/jayne_mansfield.jpg?w=482&h=499) daughter? Admirable restraint. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/51 "2012-10-09T02:05:13Z")
How about **Anna Torv** on **Fringe**? She also does a good American accent. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/52 "2012-10-09T13:43:02Z")
Liz White (DC Cartwright) from\* Life On Mars\* Mina Anwar (Constable Habib) from\* Thin Blue Line\* and “Fie!” on anyone who does not consider them fair. Also I have to disagree with whoever was dissing Robin Tunney, she works for me. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/53 "2012-10-09T13:46:17Z")
I think Anna Torv has been quite believable as an FBI agent, or whatever she was in the first couple years. I liked the monster-of-the-week Fringe better than when the mythology/arc took over. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/54 "2012-10-09T15:31:06Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I’ll also add in Angie Harmon from \*Rizzoli and Isles \*- silly show, sure, but she does an excellent job of making her awesomely beautiful face and body look tomboyish and tough, while still being bonerrific at the same time. Really? Because – although nothing to do with her clothes or general appearance – the way she spoke on _Law and Order_was so extremely obviously not-a-lawyer that in every episode my suspension of disbelief gets punched right in the face. Then poked in the arm with annoying pointy things the rest of the episode. I mean, all the other ADAs were ridiculously attractive, but I could at least go along with believing they made it through law school. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/55 "2012-10-09T15:50:28Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > Based purely on the commercials, none of them are believable. Are you saying that you’ve never seen any of the shows, and yet feel competent to snark on them? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/56 "2012-10-09T15:53:02Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’ve been seeing a lot of ads for a new series _Chicago Fire_ (which is firefighters rather than police but the same principle applies). Here’s a promo [picture](http://www.trbimg.com/img-4faafdf1/turbine/redeye-chicago-fire-nbc-news-tv-series-2012050-002/600) of the cast. > > Seriously? Is the Chicago Fire Department really made up of fashion models? > [@LadyMadonna](#): > > That promo photo isn’t too bad. At least the women aren’t overly gorgeous or have their boobs hanging out. I am actually looking forward to the premiere of Chicago Fire! As an amusing tangent, [Alexandra Paul](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_Paul), of Baywatch fame, has a twin sister named [Caroline](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Paul), who was a firefighter in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/57 "2012-10-09T15:59:23Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Liz White (DC Cartwright) from\* Life On Mars\* > Mina Anwar (Constable Habib) from\* Thin Blue Line\* > and “Fie!” on anyone who does not consider them fair. > > Also I have to disagree with whoever was dissing Robin Tunney, she works for me. I like Tunney’s performance in the Mentalist. I can buy her as a cop, especially as she never, ever relies on brawn to take down offenders. That’s what tasers are for, after all. But I go back and forth in my assessment of her hotness. She has great legs, though. Her co-star Amanda Righetti I do not buy as a cop. No, that’s not quite right. It’s not Righetti’s performance that distresses me; it’s the way the Grace Van Pelt character is written. Too credulous. > [@Quercus](#): > > Really? Because – although nothing to do with her clothes or general appearance – the way she spoke on _Law and Order_was so extremely obviously not-a-lawyer that in every episode my suspension of disbelief gets punched right in the face. Then poked in the arm with annoying pointy things the rest of the episode. > I mean, all the other ADAs were ridiculously attractive, but I could at least go along with believing they made it through law school. I’m going to need you to take that back. Abby Carmichael, in her unrepentant self-righteous bitchery, was by far the most entertaining of the ADAs. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/58 "2012-10-09T16:53:35Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > As an amusing tangent, [Alexandra Paul](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_Paul), of Baywatch fame, has a twin sister named [Caroline](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Paul), who was a firefighter in real life. Yeah, but she was know as being the “realistic one” (kindest possible terms) on Baywatch, so that’s really a wash. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/59 "2012-10-09T17:11:28Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > As an amusing tangent, [Alexandra Paul](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_Paul), of Baywatch fame, has a twin sister named [Caroline](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Paul), who was a firefighter in real life. I’m not saying it’s unrealistic for an attractive woman to work in the police or fire departments. I’m saying having them responding with long hair and t-shirts is unrealistic. Here’s a picture of [Caroline Paul](http://www.blogcdn.com/jobs.aol.com/articles/media/2011/02/caroline-paul-sffd-293.jpg) at work. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013/60 "2012-10-09T17:18:45Z")
> [@LadyMadonna](#): > > If I HAD to choose, I would go with BubbaDog’s vote for Holly Hunter’s character on Saving Grace. The problem with that character is that she was so damn tiny. Yeah I know, on the show she took down large perps with ease, but I don’t know if that would happen in real life. Some huge muscular guy would be able to pick her up with one hand. I once got pulled over by a tiny female cop to tell me one of my tires looked like it needed more air (her partner looked medium-height and wide, but he didn’t leave the car). She seemed to be on the lower limit for height, which would put her at something like 5’0", but she was one of those wiry brunettes who are a lot stronger than idiots who haven’t looked at their arms think. By the training conditions of the police branch to which she belonged, she had to pass the exact same physical as the guys, included being able to lift more than her own weight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-televisions-fair-female-cops-do-you-actually-buy-as-a-police-officer/637013.md?page=4)