60 Second Symposium

By Melissa August, Harriet Barovick, Val Castronovo, Matthew Cooper, Tam Gray, Lina Lofaro, Desa Philadelphia and Chris Taylor

NICE TRICK

This season the networks have given us lots of prostitutes, but how realistic are they? We asked Norma Jean Almodovar, a former L.A. traffic officer turned call girl, who is founder of the International Sex Worker Foundation for Art, Culture and Education. Here's what she thought:

FRASIER: The worst portrayal is the call girl who dated Niles Crane. She is the stereotypical dumb whore. Niles, a psychiatrist, didn't know he was dating a whore. What does that say about his profession? A funny bit for TV, but it wouldn't happen. At least not to someone in our profession.

THE WEST WING: This call girl could be one of the many real-life law students who moonlight as hookers, trying to make ends meet while getting an education. What could be more educational than dating someone in the White House? You don't think it could really happen? Don't bet on it.

ACTION: This character is intelligent, gutsy, funny and by no means beautiful. Despite the occasional lapse into pimp cliches (we don't all have one), the writers have produced a realistic character who is not evil incarnate yet does not have the proverbial heart of gold. Could a prostitute end up as a studio exec? Who says they haven't?