A Mother and TV Reunion
Happy Mother's Day to all the mammas! My mom is a rockstar. I don't know what I'd do without her, just saying she's the greatest doesn't do her justice. Being a mom is such hard work, any kind of mom, single, married, working, stay-at-home, younger, older, it doesn't matter--they're all rockstars.
To commemorate this fine spring day, I stumbled on a few links celebrating moms in TV and pop culture.
Check out Biography.com's TV Moms section. Trivia, timelines, quizzes, all celebrating the glory of TV moms. It got me thinking about my favorites. . .
Favorite Non-Technicolor Black-and-White Mom
Laura Petrie, with Morticia Addams a close second
Coolest Mom
Samantha Stevens because of the nose twitch alone!
Favorite Single Mom
I was raised by a single mom, so this one has always been close to home. Lorelai Gilmore rocks socks, but Ann Ramono managed teenaged Julie AND Barbara one day at a time ("so up on your feet, up on your feet"), and was my fave. Sorry Alice, but life will still be so sweeeeet. And Willona Woods, who was all kinds of fabulous providing good times for lil' Penny.
Kookiest Mom
Jessica Tate. Or Mary Campbell. Well, they were sisters. Marion Cunningham could be a little kooky too, but Edith Bunker takes the prize for ditziest mom with the best intentions, though.
Classic '80s Sitcom Mom
As much as I love Elise Keaton, it has to be Claire Huxtable. Law career, five kids, Cliff, and no nanny/housekeeper, she's not a mom, she's a superhero. What did Carol Brady do all day?
'80s Mom with the Most Sass
Roseanne may have been the most realistic snarky mom, but nobody delivered sass like Peggy Bundy.
Fave '90s Sitcom Mom
Well, for me, it can only be Kitty Foreman. She's sassy and kooky too. Hello Wisconsin! Marge Simpson is second because that's the last time I liked watching her grumble over her kids.
Most Understanding Mom
Joyce Summers, because honestly, she coped pretty damn well once she learned her daughter was a vampire slayer. And she completely accepted Dawn as her own even after her brain tumor "revealed" the truth. I still laugh at "Band Candy," and I'm not discussing "The Body" today.
Wow, that was tougher than I thought. A lot of my favorite shows either don't feature mothers (what's up with that, network execs?) or, a lot of times, those broads royally suck at being moms (looking at you, Lianne Mars). I mean, Cordelia gave birth on Angel but it's not like Jasmine was a blessing. And can the Log Lady on Twin Peaks really be considered a mother to her pine bambino?
Sadly, the list leaves off some of my favorite badass moms, those who didn't always fit the mold. Like The O.C. isn't even mentioned on the list (mon dieu!), but Julie Cooper kicked Kiki Cohen's boring booty. She may not have been the best mom with her "marry a rich man, any rich man, even your 'best' friend's father" philosophy, and her career choice as a madame, but she eventually came into her own, and stood on her own (legally), while stealing every scene. And I hate to tell the listmakers, but Cindy Walsh wasn't the only mom on Beverly Hills 90210. Jackie Taylor Silver was much more entertaining than the almost robotic Mrs. Sweetness-n-Light. From snorting coke at the mother-daughter fashion show to shacking up with Mel Silver, Jackie was a skosh self-centered, true, but still awesome to watch, and could never be mistaken as a long lost cast member of Small Wonder (did you know Brian Austin Green was on that show too?). Then there's Emily Gilmore. Catty, stuffy, snobby, spiteful, and sometimes downright mean, she was the perfect foil for Lorelai. Marcia Cross made the list as Deperate Houswives' Bree, but they totally forgot when she stole Jo's baby on Melrose Place as Psycho Kimberly. My favorite baddass mom was Endora from Bewitched. I watched Sam's adventures in mortal domesticity every day in reruns when I was kid, thank you, TBS! As much as I adored Samantha for being able
So who did I forget? Got any to add to the list?
More Momtastic Links
You can vote for your favorite top ten TV moms at TV Land.
Test your noggin with a quiz about Moms in the Movies.
Moviefone will also try to stump you with a pop quiz about Movie Moms and Daughters
And Time lists the Ten Best and Ten Worst Moms Ever in Pop Culture
