My parents were always a little sceptical of the ST universe, though they did like Uhura, because the women were so often there to fall in love with Kirk. The women in Who were there to scream, particularly Sarah Jane Smith who screamed for England: as a child I found her tedious. I preferred Blake's 7 - Jenna was a bit of a token blonde, but I liked Dayna, the enigmatic Cally and Servalan, even if she was rather a cartoon villainess: Jacqueline Pearce brought something to the role.

I think it is getting narrower rather than wider; we have discussed this before. Does fantasy serve women better? Pratchett's witches are role models for a generation of pagan women. But urban fantasy relies too much on the feisty female, as I've said before, too. Robin McKinley? Yes. Diana Wynne Jones? Definitely.