Eureka Dr Allison Blake

Salli Richardson-Whitfield

In the habit of Ankh's posts about POC characters in media, I'm acquaint with up my own pick for a amazing thing that we see far too sporadically on TV nowadays: the nebulous black female. And about I wear no matter which trustworthy rarer to capacity with you: the black female lead.

Sci-fi Good (or basic I say "Syfy "Good...ugh) TV show "Eureka" debuted in the summer of 2006 and I wear to say, I couldn't unite my eyes being I saw Salli Richardson-Whitfield article on my transmit and tart take the option from the show's protagonist Colin Ferguson (Sheriff Jack Carrier). I just wasn't expecting to see a black female lead and proudly acknowledge that her presence-along with the fact that the show is just fifty kinds of awesome-cemented my pious sincerity over the before four seasons.

According to Salli, her character was not freely on paper for a black woman. She has recounted the fact that she was the only WoC in a room full of whitish women being she auditioned, but she was cast in the same way as the creators felt that she had the best chemistry with Ferguson. Add that to the fact that Allison is smart as hell and one-half of the show's OTP*, and I'm some that display wear been supervisor than a few key explosions over the time.

Spoiler Alert!: This list may continue spoilers for persons who wear not yet seen pizzazz 3.0, 4.0 and/or pizzazz 4.5.

Logo PROS

1. Allison is a expert and a doctor three times over (she has an MD and two Ph.Ds). In in every event, her expert IQ is on full view as she earnestly helps anticipate disasters and mound lives with her spectacular smarts.

2. Allison has an active onscreen love/sex life. She has been intensely and shrilly pursued by all of her love interests to the point that display wear been full argumentative rivalries for her affections. She was rapt in pizzazz three (he was killed on their matrimonial day forward the "I do's"), and at the back four long seasons of "will they/won't they", she is finally mixed up in a loving, thoughtful relationship with the show's protagonist (Jack Carrier).

3. Allison has looked undisciplined every week starting day one. Her hair, clothes and make-up are always on point.

4. You won't find any stereotyping or caricaturing with this character. Allison is firm being she needs to be without any "shrill black woman" air, is sexy without being sexualized, doesn't put up with BS, is feminine yet unarmed, and is treated with respect by a person coarsely her.

5. As Controller of International company Dynamics, Allison is inarguably the supreme enticing person in Eureka. All and sundry answers to her and respects her give without question. (Interest one - DoD* liaison; pizzazz two and three - Controller of GD; pizzazz four - Healing Director/acting Controller of GD...this change was due to a steady substitute timeline inspection, not a downgrading.)

6. Allison is a loving close relative (again unconscious onscreen) who would do whatever for her descendants.

Logo CONS

1. All of her love interests wear been whitish. (Why do I wear a feeling there's some fanboy fantasy-fulfilling here?) Perfectly, as extensively as I praise this show, this aim is still gloomy. I be on familiar terms with she was always invented to end up with Jack, but it would wear been nice to see her pair up with a MoC for a change, trustworthy it was for just a as like.

2. As well as the show has treated it's POC characters, it has still fallen into the take prisoner of making squirt a utter non-entity (except for a prodigious exception everyplace it would wear been exposed not to). Co-creator Jamie Paglia had this to say about "Eureka" and race: "We've always been very ache to diversity in our casting, and made an impediment to make Eureka a place everyplace squirt isn't an issue. (source)" This is just a part of a larger quote, but I get what he's trying to say (and what he's trying to do). It sounds in essence nice and all...I just think it's a bit impracticable. We're not blind and zero ignores blackness. Not trustworthy geniuses.

3. We haven't been aspect too extensively of a milieu on Allison's character. Excessively what's been mentioned in preparation (her parents are scientists, her husband died forward their son was natural or rapidly thereafter, she wrote a medical total in the substitute timeline, and she'd had a second marriage), we don't be on familiar terms with extensively about her life forward she came to Eureka. But aspect that the show has a fully enormous set up cast, that's seemingly par for the code. There's only so extensively we be on familiar terms with about any of the characters.

4. However Allison is undeniably black, her characteristics are European-looking adequate to make some viewers feel less ill at ease (whether thoughtfully or unconsciously) about her lead role on the show, her illustrious position, and her unambiguous irresistibility to her whitish love interests. This is with no trouble not a list on Salli Richardson-Whitfield's casting (I can't iffy qualities moreover playing Allison), but it in essence, "in essence" rankles me that networks still feel the need to indulge racists. Balanced Salli has believed that her appeareance seemingly makes it easier for her to get work on TV. So sad.

Ultimate Bestow

Allison is a readily pleasing and well-written character, who is nice, smart as a stir up, meticulous and keeps viewers propitiously regulation in each week. I never wear to question why her coworkers and a person moreover in the town respect and care for her as extensively as they do. I never wear to question what the men in her life see in her that makes them so ga-ga over her or why they fall all over themselves to coat her at all fee, trustworthy to the point of risking their jobs, slow time or their lives to do it. I "get "it. (Another a unfaltering heroine on a vampire-themed limit show I just started surveillance. *cough*"True Blood's" Sookie Stackhouse*cough*)

Alas, the positive portrayal of black women is still no matter which sporadically seen on TV. I wear to give "Eureka's" creators and writers a nod for having the testicular strength to 1) cast a black female lead; and 2) buck the bonus unprepossessing aim that Hollywood has of throwing black women under the bus every accidental it gets. After four pleasantly successful seasons, it's obvious that having a black female lead--and supervisor than one set up black cast member--hasn't encouraged the show's viewers sideways. (Alas, taking into account summer's fifth pizzazz will be it's offer, but it's with no trouble not in the same way as of bad ratings. It's in the same way as of high conscientiousness fee. Damn you, Comcast/NBC Comprehensive merger!).

It's become markedly obvious that people are hankering "supervisor" diversity on TV, not less. There's no longer any confession for the immense bout of whitewashing that's at this time spoils place in Hollywood. None.

*OTP = One True Pairing

*DoD = Bough of Regret

A/N: This article was freely posted on The Blasian Plan on 9/21/11.