FOX
Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, you can choose among dozens of TV offerings. There's always ABC's The Bachelor, where Jake Pavelka has winnowed a group of embarrassingly dim-witted beauties down to four finalists.
Don't usually watch House? Me neither. Usually, I prefer frothy Bachelor episodes to this series about the rude, caustic, and yet somehow charming Dr. Gregory House (Emmy nominee Hugh Laurie). Among the underlings, associates and patients who are the reluctant satellites orbiting the cranky doc during his rounds at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, is Dr. Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein).
Well, Cuddy is at the center of the action tonight, with underlings and patients -- and even House -- orbiting her. From the minute she wakes up at 5:00 a.m., we trail this high-powered hospital administrator throughout her day. And while it's a stressful roller coaster of a day, it's also a satisfying ride. Cuddy is a smart, assertive, capable woman with a razor-sharp skill for multi-tasking.
In the span of 12 hours, she wrestles her way through high-stakes negotiations with a money-hungry insurance company; plays referee to some squabbling doctors; fires someone; deals with an irrational patient; fends off another patient's threatening lawyer; and endures several drop-in's from the sarcastic House. All the while, she's trying to reach her MIA nanny to get word about her baby's fever. Not once does she lose her cool, or cry, or throw things. Nor does she back down from challenging situations, like firing the sobbing woman who nonetheless had it coming to her.
As a successful working woman at the top of her game, Cuddy is inspiring to watch. Too bad she's fictional -- but I like to think she's more real than the beauties vying for the Bachelor over on ABC.
Plus: Vote for the most inspirational female character in the iVillage Entertainment Awards!
Which female TV character do you find inspiring?
