Our Top 12 Bad Girls of Television(By Les and That Long-Haired Creepy Guy)

Greetings, Manic Fans.  Les here to update an older blog from the other site with my good friend That Long-Haired Creepy Guy. We did a top 12 list to take a look at bad girls of television.  However, we’ve both had new perspective from more great bad girls to choose from since we posted that first blog, so we’ve decided to update the list and do this again from scratch.

SOOOOOOO.

You’re probably wondering, “What do we mean by BAD?”…..Well, it could be a number of things.  We’re talking about those women of the small screen who cause trouble for their co-stars by being calculatingly promiscuous, calculatingly mean, or just plain evil.  They do what they do in the grand tradition of any villain, but are so much fun to watch, you actually root for them whenever they’re in the story.  Sigh….bad girls, we love to hate you….and we’ve come here today to acknowledge our favorite 12.

 

Warning: Spoilers and Baaaaaaad girls ahead…

 

However, before we begin, help me welcome back That Long-Haired Creepy Guy.

LES:  Hi Creepy. Long time, no see. You look great, my friend. Welcome back to my blog.

CG: Thanks, Les. It’s been a while. To start things off, I feel as though there is one particular Bad Girl of not just television, but also comic and video game adaptation that I regrettably overlooked the first time. In order to regain some of my lost Geek, she will be supplementing one of my personal spots on the list. However, that spot does not belong to the six spot. In keeping with the previous list, I devote Number Six to…

 

#6.  Faith, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel

CG:  Yes, I’m sticking with my old pick for this spot. I still love this girl. Faith burst onto the Buffyverse near the beginning of season three by casually borrowing a stake and sticking it to a random bloodsucker. As the storyline progressed, however, Faith’s wild streak was revealed to mask a deeply troubled and morally ambiguous soul. Her history of violence and trauma, while only hinted at, nevertheless shaped Faith into an unpredictable wild child. Her betrayal in season three rocked the airwaves, and her body swap with Buffy in season 4 showed the character with new depth and vulnerability. From there, Faith made the jump over to Buffy’s brother spin-off, Angel, where her real character growth and road to redemption began.

LES: Nope, still haven’t seen this show. I’ll put it on my list. Sorry.

CG: What?! For shame, sir! SHAME!
*wags finger disapprovingly*
*ahem* Anyway, on to my next stop. At Number Five, we have…

 

#5.  Shego, from Kim Possible

CG:  An episode of Kim Possible with Shego in it is pretty guaranteed to be good.. Shego began as a superhero working alongside her long list of brothers fighting crime in Go City (re: Chicago. See what they did there?) However, years of putting up with her brothers’ petty squabbling drove Shego to quit and turn evil, eventually joining Dr. Drakken in his mad schemes for world domination. Shego has a long-standing rivalry with the titular character, Kim Possible. If Drakken is involved, Kim and Shego will fight. Plain and simple.
Shego is a badass fighter with energy hand powers and tons of sass. She’s intelligent, glamorous, athletic, and packs a wallop whether it’s hand-to-hand combat or sarcasm. She might be on the wrong side of the law, but Shego makes being bad look like fun!

LES: YEP! Now THAT’S a winner. Shego was awesome and deliciously sinister. Great pick, I’m sure Moviefan12 will agree with, my friend. Who’s next?

CG: Next on the list is a bad girl that many a comic book nerd grew up dreaming about. I speak, of course, of the incomparable…

 

Number Four: Selena Kyle/Catwoman

CG:  Whether a vinyl-clad Michelle Pfeiffer or a sultry-voiced spandex animation, Catwoman evolved from a Golden Age comic villain into one of the modern anti-hero femme fatales. Often considered by some to be Batman’s opposite and his true love, Catwoman lives by her own rules in a world where being neither hero nor villain can get very lonely. Nevertheless, Catwoman is the cat who walks by herself. While she fights and robs the wealthy to serve her own ends, helping others is not always beneath her. Armed with a whip, razor-sharp claws, and perhaps a four-legged furry helper or two, Catwoman is one black cat you definitely shouldn’t cross, but wouldn’t mind cuddling up with on a cold night with a nice warm glass of cream.

LES: Great pick, my friend. Catwoman is one of the all-time great femme fatales. In addition to your examples, I’d add Julie Newmarr, Lee Meriweather and Eartha Kitt from the Adam West TV show. MROWR!!!!!!! I see you moved her from your #2 to your Number 4….I can’t wait to see who you’ve got next 🙂

 

CG: Number 3… is a tie!

 

#3.  Evil-Lyn

and Shadow Weaver,

from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and She-Ra: Princess of Power!

 

CG:  Whether or not you were for the Skeletor Administration on Eternia, one could not deny the brilliant cruelty of Evil-Lyn. Depending on which canon of the franchise you follow, Evil-Lyn was either an astronaut rival of Queen Marlena who learned magic after crashing on the strange alien world, or a native Eternian rebelling against her father. Either origin works, for Evil-Lyn remains one of the smartest and craftiest of Skeletor’s minions (though that’s unfortunately not saying much!). Evil-Lyn often schemes behind Skeletor’s back to take power for herself, but the dark sorcerer keeps her around for her usefulness, and because there are no other brains around in Snake Mountain besides him (and that’s debatable at times).

 

Shadow Weaver, on the other hand, hails from the alien world of Etheria. Once a force for good, she joined the Evil Horde for power and used her mystic skills to help keep Princess Audora under Hordak’s control. Even after Audora freed herself from Shadow Weaver’s control and joined the Great Rebellion, Shadow Weaver continued to serve Hordak. Known for her spooky attire, gravelly voice, and rather impressive figure, Shadow Weaver made an excellent mystical right hand for the otherwise techno-centric Horde. She and Evil-Lyn both were both so very good and being bad, and that makes them both good enough in my opinion for the number three spot.

 

LES: Well, I can’t argue with Evil-Lyn, who was my old list #5. She was magnificently diabolical and quite brilliant at using her mind to manipulate her enemies and her boss, Skeletor. I’ll have to take your word for it on Shadow Weaver, as I didn’t cross over to watching She-Ra back in the day. She sounds awesomely bad assed, though. Who’ve you got for your #2?

 

CG: Number Two…

 

#2. Blackarachnia, from Beast Wars

CG:  The time is prehistoric Earth, and the next generation of Transformers, the Maximals and the Predacons, are at war over Energon and their very futures. To build up their numbers, the Predacons reprogram several Maximal protoforms (think robot capsule babies) into Predacons to serve as soldiers. One such reprogrammed Maximal is Blackarachnia, created to aid the treacherous Tarantulas.
Blackarachnia herself is as much a cunning spider as Tarantulas, however. She constantly schemes to seize power herself and take control of the Golden Disks, artifacts that contain crucial knowledge of the future. However, the most intriguing aspect of her character is her love for the virtuous and noble Maximal, Silverbolt. These two could not be more opposite, but while Silverbolt hopes to redeem Blackarachnia, she herself thinks that he prefers her as a bad girl.
And you know what? So do we!

 

LES: Damn right, we prefer her as a bad girl LOL! Wow…that was your former #1….Who’s badder than Blackarachnia?

 

CG: And my Number One Bad Girl of Television is….

 

#1.  Harley Quinn aka Harlene Quinzel, from Batman: The Animated Series!

Once, there was a young woman in Gotham who went to work at Arkham Asylum. Her name was Harlene Quinzel, and she had studied to be a doctor of psychology. She was a studious woman with few friends from a dysfunctional family, and hoped to cash in on the numerous hardcore psychotics locked away at the infamous mental institution.

Enticed by an off-hand comment made by the Joker, Batman’s arch-foe and Gotham’s most notorious criminal, Harley spent months setting up a session in the hopes of probing the Joker’s mind. The Joker, however, quickly took advantage of Harley’s naiveté and began an elaborate game of seduction and manipulation with her. Some time later, after a battle with the Batman, the Joker was returned to Arkham. Seeing the man she loved beaten and broken, Harley’s mind snapped. She then raided a costume and prop store, then broke the Joker out, who laughed maniacally the whole time at how easy it had been to twist Harley’s mind. From there, Harley became Joker’s henchgirl, doing whatever she could to keep the Joker’s interest in her from waining. Little did Harley know, the Joker was only using her for his amusement, and as a means to an end.

Though Harley never stopped being devoted to the Joker, he was not the only person in her life. Harley had an off-on relationship with Poison Ivy that was both professional and personal. The duo teamed up multiple times as Gotham’s Queens of Crime, painting the town red both figuratively and otherwise.

Harley Quinn was an original creation of the Batman: The Animated Series. People responded so favorably to her that DC Comics made her a part of the official cannon. Though she has had success in the comic storyline, fans still remember fondly the place where the Harlequinade began!
Your move, Les. 😛

 

LES: HARLEY! I can’t believe I didn’t think of her! You just scored 50 geek points for that one. She is a magnificent bad girl. So, my move, huh?

As you included some great animated bad girls, I’m going to do some as well. Since becoming a Brony, I knew I was going to include a villainess from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, but had a hard time deciding which one. Chrysalis is an obvious choice for almost preventing the marriage of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor and enslaving all Equestria in the process…then I thought of the “Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie!” who wanted to humiliate all in her quest to be “The greatest” at magic….Then I almost went with Sunset Shimmer for stealing Twilight’s crown and attempting to use the element of harmony for magic to create an army of zombie highschoolers to cross over and take over Equestria….but concluded that the most evil pony in all of Equestria is…

 

#6.  Diamond Tiara(Chantal Strand-MLP: FIM)

This privileged upper class meanie is in a class by herself. As Madhog thy Master once remarked, any entrance she makes should be accompanied with the opening chorus from Carmina Burana.

Carmina Burana

She is the perfect schoolyard bully. She is selfish, nasty and downright cruel as one of the most consistent bullies that ever invaded a classroom. She lives to put down the Cutie Mark Crusaders for being “blank flanks,” and has her own henchpony(Silver Spoon) to help her with the teasing taunts. More than any other villain in the MLP universe, this one, I really want to see shamed, shunned and disgraced. She’s got it coming.

 

CG: I still haven’t watched the new MLP series. It’s on my to-do list, though. As you yourself know, though, Les, I hate bullies with a passion. However, when a series manages to do a bully character WELL, I have to give them their props. There’s something morbidly fascinating about these types of characters that manage to make being cruel seem almost enticing. Let’s give a solid punch–to-the-face to Diamond Tiara!

 

LES: LOL! To be sure. But, definitely give the series a shot, my friend…the herd is calling you, Creepy 😉 Onwards to my next pick.

 

#5.  Mom(Tress MacNeille-Futurama)

LES: This bad girl from the year 3,000 is the leader of Momcorp, the outfit that builds all robots and sells all robot oil. She’s just soooo sweet and “Motherly”….all plump and wholesome with a smile and voice that could make you melt…until the cameras are off, and she steps out of the “fat” suit, lights up a cigarette and starts cussing and abusing her 3 sons while plotting to destroy her next conquest. She’s ruthless, without morals or conscience and strikes fear into whoever crosses her. She’s magnificent.

 

CG: This was a series I didn’t initially “get”. Looking back on it, I can see the merits it has, and the things it has brought to the table since first airing. I’m still not a huge follower of it, but I do get a chuckle occasionally from some of the satirical humor. Mom is a Freudian pop psychiatrist’s wet dream. You may not blame your mother, but the rest of the universe could definitely blame her for a few things!

 

LES: Indeed, they could LOL. Next up…

 

#4.  Amanda Woodward(Heather Locklear-Melrose Place)

LES: I used a Beverly Hills 90210 bad girl on the last list, so I’m going with a great bad girl from Melrose Place this time. What can I say about Amanda? She’s deliciously diabolical at keeping her subordinates under her thumb whether it’s as the boss at D&D advertising or her tenants at Melrose Place. She’s smart, sassy and just bad using her wiles and sex to get ahead and stay ahead. Being portrayed by Heather Locklear(WHOM, I’ve SLEPT with-(Jon Lovitz voice)) doesn’t hurt, either.

 

CG: My hat tips off to you. Amanda Woodward was one of the most infamous bad girls of primetime during the 90s. From starting messy love triangles to having someone convicted of murder, Amanda seemed to have no limits. Oddly enough, she was one of the people from Melrose Place to get a happy ending in the finale. I guess being bad can pay off in the end!

 

LES: *thinks for a moment….WOW! You just blew my mind…she DID GET A HAPPY ENDING! Alright…moving on. My #3 is unchanged because even after almost 30 years, I still remember how great she was. My #3 is

 

#3.  Angela Channing(Jane Wyman-Falcon Crest)

LES: Played by the incomparable Jane Wyman, Angela Channing was the matriarch of the Falcon Crest Winery in California.  Unlike some of the other ladies on my list, Angela Channing had class without resorting to seduction to get what she wanted.  She was a bad girl who used her formidable intellect to outsmart her enemies and a ruthlessness to carry through her plans.  For all intent and purposes, she was the mental match to J.R. Ewing(Larry Hagman) from Dallas without his libido.

 

CG: Ah, Falcon Crest! The most evil vineyard in all of primetime television. My memories of this series are hazy, but Angela Channing does ring a bell. I think what stands out to me most where she is concerned is the speech she gave during the last moments of the series finale. For all her scheming, ruthlessness, and awe-inspiring ability to instill fear, Channing did love Falcon Crest. I think the speech and subsequent toast reflected that well. She was a bad girl with a soft spot for family and tradition, however horribly she treated her relatives. Here’s to you, Angela Channing, and to you, Falcon Crest.

 

LES: HEAR! HEAR! And I’ll be damned if I’m going to change my #2, either….

 

#2.  Alexis Carrington(Joan Collins-Dynasty)

LES: OMG…where to begin?…Alexis Carrington(Joan Collins) elevated the prime time soap opera Bitch to new heights(or is that lows?) when she joined the cast of Dynasty.  With a condescending attitude and ruthless penchant for ruining the lives of others(particularly Krystle Carrington(Linda Evans) in her bid to gain power, money and as many affairs as she could,  She broke up marriages, stole the Carrington fortune and mansion out from under Blake Carrington(William Forsythe) and had some memorable catfights with Krystle….Lily Pond, anyone?……

 

CG: Remember the time when they both picked out the same dress at that department store? Rather than fight it out right there, Alexis calmly suggested that they flip a coin to decide who would wear said dress to the gala that evening. And lo and behold, Alexis lost… GRACIOUSLY! I think we all knew then that it was only a matter of time before that came back to bite Krystle in the ass. Alexis was never known for being a gracious loser, and she never lost to Krystle for very long. And yes, we all remember the Lily Pond. 🙂

 

LES: Oh, yes, Alexis always one-upped Krystle HEE! HEE!…and, predictably, like last time,And who’s badder than Alexis?

 

#1.  Safron(Christina Hendricks-Firefly)

LES: Christina Hendricks plays the demurely sensuous little waif in 2 episodes of the brilliant Science Fiction/Western TV series, Firefly(Best damn show ever cancelled by those imbecilic Network Executives at FOX…oh, I’m coming for you, you gorram piles of Gosset!!!!!!….but I digress….)  As I was saying, Safron is wholesome, pure and inexperienced in the ways of the world in a coyly virginal kind of way…that is, until she marries you…THEN she reveals her true stripes and springs whatever con she’s working against you.

 

When she’s not playing innocent sweet and demure, then she’s bad assed with a capital B.  She lies, she steals, she kills, she ruins whole lives, she sabotages Serenity not once but TWICE!….she kicks ass without remorse of second thoughts.  She’s the perfect sociopath marrying most of her marks and then stealing all their stuff and leaving them high and dry.  With a streak of naughty and a list of aliases miles long, DAMN! is this girl BAD!!!!!! I think I’m in love……

 

CG: Joss Whedon does know his Bad Girls well. Makes one wonder if he doesn’t have a bad girl crush somewhere. Firefly was a marvelous series with loads of fun, adventurous characters set against a space cowboy backdrop with an anti-authoritarian vibe. I loved this show, even if I sadly wasn’t one of the few who watched it during the original airing. I think the Mrs. Reynolds subplot is one of the best and most remembered episodes (two-parter, really) of the tragically cut-short series.

 

LES: Unquestionably. Well, thanks again for coming over to update our list, my friend.

 

CG: Hey, it was fun! See you next time, Les.

 

And thank you Manic Fans for giving us some of your time, as well.  Did we miss any of your favorite Bad girls of television?  We’d love to hear which ones gave you a thrill, my friends.  Peace.