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First up is are a few vidcaps from 'Kojak'. This series is almost unique for the police/crime genre in that the number of female villains is virtually zero. I managed to come across the following episode which breaks the mould for the series and featured a woman who murders her mob connected husband in order to take up with her mob connected lover. When they too fall out she decides to add him to her tally.
One of the most endearing TV shows of recent years is 'Charmed'. OK it is not a FF genre series and it doesn't feature gun toting gals to any degree. One episode 'Ms Hellfire' did feature a hitwoman who was sent to wipe out the latter day witches but she didn't last long. Here are a few vidcaps.
A recent UK effort at the thriller genre is 'Spooks'. This series has deservedly had two series already and whilst it lacks the action sequences in many of it's American equivalents it is still a refreshing piece of drama in a TV world which is becoming increasingly given over to soaps, quiz shows and reality TV shows. Once again you wouldn't watch this show primarily for FF content but if the machinations of the UK spy services are of interest then this,admittedly over-glamourous, depiction of them is well worth watching. In the vidcaps there is an episode from season one where Balkan terrorists have taken over an embassy and one from season two which featured a deadly money launderer.
Carrying on the 'spy' theme we come to '24'. The first series was a ground breaking, very taut thriller series featuring the very nearly superhuman Jack Bauer (Keiffer Sutherland) saving an American presidential candidate from assasination in a 24 hour time period. I loved this totally implausible tale of murder, memory loss, low life LA scum, skullduggery, double cross and shoot outs. The organization Jack works for (CT) is probably the most inept security organisation in the whole world, but hey if you have Jack Bauer working for you who needs the rest of the no hopers. I think I won't be spoiling anything to say that the final twist in this tale had Jack's wife being murdered by Jack's partner Nina (Sarah Clarke) who was really an enemy spy and who wasn't taking any prisoners when effecting her escape.
The second series has just about lived up to the standard of the original, this time Jack is saving the USA from nuclear attack. . The vidcaps show the dastardly Nina in action again (she made a repeat appearence in the second series) and a silencer toting middle class bad girl Marie Warner (played by Laura Harris) just about to murder the guy she was going to marry later in the day. All this so she can help plant a nuclear bomb in LA. Oh, her sister would have joined Marie's fiance if Jack hadn't been around to stop her. Quite a gal. (Apologies for the quality of some of these vidcaps - problems with my ex capture card - the not so wonderful ATI AIW). There will be a third series but I'm not sure that is such a good idea - even my incredulity can only be stretched so far.
'The Prisoner' is a cult TV series from the 1960s. Well over 30 years since it's first broadcast it is still viewed by many as a classic of British TV production. Little understood at the time (it ran for only one series) it still has the ability to fascinate and frustrate in equal measure. Though frequently pitted against a female No. 2 (you'll have to see the series to understand what I am talking about) the only episode featuring a bona fide gun toting adversary was the 'The Woman who was Death', a somewhat unusual but enjoyable story all the same. The woman is Justine Lord.
