I mean, I haven't seen a second of Desperate Housewives, but I understand the romantic entanglements drive most of the plot. Grey's Anatomy has some excellent female characters - Miranda Bailey front and center among them - but there too, the romance drives most of the plot. Meredith herself would be a better character if Derek actually had, you know, character depth, and wasn't slavishly in love with her no matter what.

But blood and action? I doubt somehow that that's really the important part. I figure TV just needs more strong women characters for whom romance is not the primary consideration or worry. Bones comes to mind, or Mrs. Florrick (can't remember her first name) on The Good Wife.

Edit: care about more than just men or women, I should say, just thought of the L-Word. Which was a show with potential that sometimes worked and sometimes very much not, if you ask me. Jodi fits in the mould of strong women characters I mean, though. Possibly Bette as well, but that's more debatable.