After watching all three seasons of Deadwood on DVD, I’ve now moved on to Firefly. I absolutely love it; it’s like Deadwood meets Star Trek, except nobody has pointy ears, and they don’t say “cocksucker” every two-and-a-half minutes.

Anyway, I’ve realized that Firefly’s female characters are one of the reasons I like the show so much. They are strong women, who were created and written against type.

Zoë Washburne - Woman first mate who wears the pants in her marriage. She may be handle herself like a man, but their aren’t many men who wouldn’t like to handle her (might have to save that for a character description).

Inara Serra - She’s an elegant whore. She’s a hooker who’s the most-cultured, sophisticated resident of the ship.

Kaylee Frye - She’s a woman mechanic. Not only does she dress, think and talk boyish, she knows how to fix stuff better than anyone who stands up to whizz. Still, deep down she’s a girly girl. That’s what makes her seem so real.

I tend to think the best characters are living, breathing ironies, and that’s what all three of those characters are. They are also original and STRONG female characters. And River Tam is just beginning to come into her own. She’s kind of like Rain Man, but younger and hotter. I have a feeling that she’s going to end up being a badass, too. Haven’t gotten that far.

Maybe Joss Whedon created such strong female characters because of his experiences on Roseanne and Buffy? Whatever the reason, Firefly is an excellent example of how men should aim to write women characters. And women writers, too, for that matter.

Extra work can be fun, if you can find the time. Plus, you get to take home a little dough. I’m not sure how good this third season of Friday Night Lights will be, as I loved the first season, but didn’t like the second one nearly as much (kind of like Heroes). Anyway, for info on being an extra on FNL head over to Austin 360’s Movie Blog.