Wonder Woman

The book of Esther is a diaspora story, as is Daniel. But in Daniel, we see Daniel’s God. In Esther, God is nowhere to be found. No mention of religion. Why is Esther in the Bible at all?

Edie Falco, who played a mob wife on The Sopranos and a junkie on Nurse Jackie, appeared in an eponymous role on “Tommy” as the first female police chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. You may not have caught her in action. The show was cancelled after one season. Still, Falco’s character was in charge for one season. She was the boss.

Female stars, lead detectives or commanding officers on TV shows are not big news. But in 1974, when Angie Dickinson played the policewoman of the show “Police Woman,” the idea of a female police officer sounded bizarre. Weird or not, when Sgt. “Pepper” Anderson yelled, “Freeze, turkey!” at a perp — they froze.

More detective dramas with female leads appeared over the following decades. Like all TV series, some were good and some were bad. You may remember a few of them: Kyra Sedgwick in “The Closer,” Helen Mirren in “Prime Suspect,” Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless...