From the Pioneers of Television Called Funny Ladies to the episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer called Hush women in TV have moved to comical figures to saviors. The funny women in Funny Ladies are hilarious. The film did not need to introduce me to Lucille Ball and I Love Lucy. I have watched every single episode of these 6 season in addition to The Lucy Show. I Love Lucy is my dad’s favorite show. Lucy’s Italian movie with her stomping on grapes and the episode where she and her husband Ricky change jobs and she goes to a chocolate factory are two of the funniest shows I have ever seen on TV. I have probably seen those episodes ten times each. If I ever have children, I suspect that they will watch these episodes as well.

Lucille Ball’s work has and will undoubtedly live on for generations to come. I suspect that some of the other women in this documentary will also live on for generations. Carol Burnett, Mary Tyler Moore, Betty White, and Joan RIvers will have lasting appeal. They not only made their mark in comedy but they paved the way for other women such as Tina Fey and Margaret Cho. What amazed me were the sheer number of women who were successful comedians in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. These women started an era that predated women’s liberation and activist like Gloria Steinem. They were the true revolutionaries. They were writers, actors, directors and studio heads in an era where this was unheard of. They were true pioneers.

Fast forward to late 1990s and we have woman as vampire slayer. As they say “You’ve come along way baby.” Buffy is the hero of the Hush episode she is the person with brains and strength. She is a superhero. She was a superhero long before D.C came up with the film Wonder Women, which was considered groundbreaking. Buffy doesn’t look like a superhero which is a deceit. She is short, thin and petite, yet she is strong and resilient.

In the episode of Hush the characters have their voice taken away by the “Gentlemen.” “The episode is largely silent. Each of the characters have to find a way to communicate. They use white boards, hand gestures, mouth movements and props. The fact that they can’t talk adds additional scare moments to the episode. Not only is it scary, it is amusing. It is a different amusing than I Love Lucy, but there are many of the same facial movements, hand gestures and props as comedy.

“In addition to being one of the scariest episodes of TV ever produced, ‘Hush’ showcases everything that makes ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ one of the best shows of all time,” wrote Jacob Hall in Screen Crush. Hall ranked Hush in the top ten episodes of the series. Indeed writing an episode without words these days is a challenge, and making it both scary and funny is exceptional.