Women in Science (Body of Proof)

"Bones" vs. "Rizzoli and Isles" vs. "Body of Proof"

There are now quite a few women who feature prominently on crime/medical television shows. They are often presented as science brainiac types. Unfortunately, they often have flaws which are far less likely to be present in their male counterparts.

Some of these women are:
*Temperance Brennan (also called Bones) on the television show "Bones"
*Maura Isles on "Rizzoli and Isles"
*and now Megan Hunt on "Body of Proof"

All of these women are presented as being remarkably intelligent. Brennan is a brilliant forensic anthropologist who is better at analyzing bones than (it seems) anyone else in the world of criminal forensics. She is also extraordinarily socially inept, to the point of aspergers. She is also clueless about popular culture, which often makes her seem unintelligent. That is not to say that people who have aspergers or are unaware of popular culture are unintelligent, more often than not it's the exact opposite. But when it's presented on television things often seem black and white, and unfortunately all that shines through the screen is her relative stupidity.


On "Rizzoli and Isles" Dr. Isles plays the medical examiner. She is skilled at her job, and is presented as a kind-hearted woman (she attempts to comfort Detective Rizzoli by showing up at her apartment and offering to spend the night in a non-sexual way. I promise. Well, kind of. Actually, I think it's totally sexual, and so would a lot of viewers, but I don't think that's what the writers were going for. Here's my post on the topic). But Dr. Isles, like Dr. Brennan, lacks social skills, and is unable to read people. For instance, in one episode, involving very wealthy friends of hers she sides with the friends, instead of supporting Rizzoli, and doesn't understand why Rizzoli is hurt. She also doesn't understand why her own wealth is an issue. Seriously? This is a woman who is supposed to be one of the smartest women on television? And she doesn't understand conflicts about social economic status?



Megan Hunt is the newest woman to join the genre. Her show, "Body of Proof", premiered last week on ABC. The show is yet another crime procedural/medical/forensics show. Dr. Hunt is a spectacularly gifted neuroscientist who has had to give up her operating career due to a car-crash related injury. She is now working as a medical examiner (sound like anyone we know?), she is also socially awkward (wait...this sounds kind of familiar), and stated in the series premiere that she "doesn't have any friends". She often finds the key to the whole mystery, but she is unlikable every step of the way.

All of the flaws that these women have frustrate me. I realize that it wouldn't really be watchable television if they were flawless, but the type of flaws that they do have seem to put a damper on their remarkable intelligence. On "House" Dr. House is also an incredibly intelligent yet flawed character, however, his flaws serve to emphasize his intelligence (sure, he doesn't care about morals, but his ways of proving he doesn't care are brilliant schemes...for instance, last week he hid ragweed in Wilson's vents to make him think he was allergic to a cat that House disliked).

Unfortunately, "Body of Proof" is a "Bones"/"Rizzoli & Isles" copycat that lacks any spark. I'm watching "Bones" because it's witty, a little off-kilter, and because the leads have great chemistry. I'm watching "Rizzoli & Isles" because the crimes are interesting, Sasha Alexander is hot, and I'm secretly hoping the title characters will get together. I'm watching "Body of Proof" again tonight...because I want to give it another chance. But honestly, a poorly portrayed genius-yet-flawed female character? I've seen that too many times before. And at least before the show she was in had other things to offer.


"Body of Proof" normally airs on ABC on Tuesdays at 10 pm, but you can also often catch it on Sunday nights at the same time. In fact, it's on in about 3 hours! So, check it out, see if you agree with me, leave a comment etc.

p.s. I'm not going to go on a rant about this, but do you notice that all of the extra-smart women are brunettes? And look how similar their looks/hair length/poses are in those photos.