I like practical shoes. They don’t have to be ungainly, or ugly, or orthopedic* but I do like it when shoes are sturdy yet still attractive, appropriate to the task, and preferably waterproof. A help rather than a hindrance.
Sadly, women in TV Land do not often get all of those things. Or even some of those things.
Let’s take a non-random sampling of TV shows as one small example. One of the very first things I noticed** about the private detective show King & Maxwell was that Maxwell, played by Rebecca Romijn, wears practical shoes. Finally! I said to myself (and Mr. Man and the cats, none of whom care much about shoes but should), a show that does not feel the need to undermine its own plausibility by putting its female star in impossibly impractical footwear. Who chases bad guys in stilettos? Who can possibly sneak up on a secret lair in clompy clompy shoes? No one, that’s who.***
Now, I love Castle. Love Nathan Fillion (of course, and may Serenity fly forever, but he’s carved out a nice new niche for himself… one in which he gets to wear practical shoes:p), love the writing, love the humor, but Beckett (played by Stana Katic) should get an Emmy just for being able to walk in the shoes those costumers put her in, much less run and chase and fight and snare baddies.
A frikking Emmy.
And that’s my “thing I like” for today.
.
.
* Updated because I just received an objection to this bit because the commenter likes their orthopedic shoes, which is fine, I’m just saying that shoes can be practical without being medical. So enjoy your posturally and otherwise functional footwear, people, whatever type they may be!
** Well, after I noticed the kick-ass intro they used for the premiere, complete with great music and a car chase and a man in a furry suit. Sadly, it was followed by the snooze-inducing actual intro which, while stylish in a sedentary way, should be updated as soon as possible. Why put your audience to sleep before they have a chance to appreciate the show?
*** Well, maybe RuPaul, but she’s just that fabulous.
J.R. Johnson 
Leave a Reply!