The Triumphant Return of Hungary's Woman TV Supercop

Law and order may still be a male-dominated calling in Hungary, but for years one of Hungary's toughest cops was a woman. And now she is back, and more hard-hitting than ever. On Sunday, VIASAT3 began re-airing the TV classic "Linda", which ran throughout the 1980s, delighting viewers of all ages and helping a generation of Hungarian women realize that you don't need to be a dude to beat the bad guys. How different was "Linda" from the stuff you see on TV today? "We cannot mention them on the same page," star Nóra Görbe told us last week by phone from her home outside Budapest. "Sometimes we spent two nights shooting a two-minute fight scene." Take that!

According to Görbe, the original idea was for a tall and willowy woman cop, but the writer/director of the show quickly realized that what was really needed was a "tiny" girl who would beat up the bad guys. Nóra was the right size and shape, and, with a bit of tae-kwan-do training, Hungary's last crop of Communist-era crooks never had a chance. And the fans were not just Hungarian. The series was eventually picked up in thirty-seven countries world-wide. "I've heard myself in Japanese and Slovakian," Görbe told us. "And once a Korean diplomat came up to me and told me he had seen me on TV at home. I asked him what he thought about my tae-kwan-do technique and he said he really liked it. I was happy to hear that because I thought I must have looked like a Korean trying to do a Hungarian folk dance."

As for her legions of followers in Hungary, many refused to let go, putting up websites and otherwise making sure the legend of "Linda" never died. And now, with the show being regularly broadcast again - in what Görbe calls a "prominent time slot" - Hungary will again be able to see that kicking ass and taking names isn't just a man's job. Meanwhile, unlike many actors lucky enough to land long-running TV roles, Nóra has been able to outlive "Linda." She is currently starring in "How to Conquer Women (Men)," a play at the IBS Stage, and says she is happy that, after a decade playing a tough gal, she is free to dress as ladylike as she pleases.