Sheena

I have recently found myself watching this TV show (the 2000's version) as it is one of the few things worth watching in local television these days. And I'm quite surprised. Because this series is GOOD. Considering it's about a female Tarzan, I had very low expectations for it- I thought it was going to be all about fanservice, with excuse plots thrown in. But the level of writing and acting in it are better than in many adventure TV series I've seen.

Oh there's fanservice, alright. I mean it stars a gorgeous blonde (though her costume isn't as stripperiffic as I expected it to be.) But her character is played completely straight- she isn't a bimbo or a seductress- she's very much a hero, smart and courageous. She's unfamiliar with some aspects of modern civilization, but not naive. And she kicks ass! She also has the power to transform into animals, which at first I thought was tacked on to make the series more fantastic, but the writers actually made it work in the context of the show.

The series seems in fact dedicated to female empowerment, since Sheena's mentor is herself formidable, in her own way (she's a wise shaman). However both characters do commit errors and learn from them, preventing them from being Mary Sues.

There's also two regular male characters, though one is basically a sidekick for Sheena and the other is comedy relief, yet neither is a parody either. It keeps the show from being TOO female centric. Best of all, Sheena and her friend are NOT lovers, as is typical, thought there is some UST between them.

The writing is the best part: it tends to tackle issues that you would find in real modern Africa, such as dictators, diseases and subjugation of women. And it treats them seriously; you can tell they did do the research. Of course some stuff must be made up, especially regarding the lost tribe, but it feels respectful of the culture overall.

Oh, there's humor too. Just not to the point of the whole thing being silly.

The only weak part, I'd say, are the special effects, but the show obviously didn't have a big budget. It still looks more than decent enough.

Seriously, I haven't enjoyed a show like this since the days of Xena. If they made a new Wonder Woman Tv show, this is how I'd hope they handled it.

edited 15th Dec '11 8:57:30 PM by Sijo

Sheena definitely was a late night guilty pleasure show.

The show really didn't have any sense of arch to it, as romance was always spotty, and the whole Distressed Dude thing seemed to always be in play.

Not to mention, Baywatch alums definitely let us know they were Baywatch alums. When the storyline didn't have anything, it would make up with skin.