tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post8893493337782046787..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: A salute to TV momsBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28106626643087531542014-05-13T17:07:13.515-07:002014-05-13T17:07:13.515-07:00Then Frasier falls along those lines with Roz. Then Frasier falls along those lines with Roz. Mike Barerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14447874605833321732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56733406728372242392014-05-11T12:31:29.531-07:002014-05-11T12:31:29.531-07:00The worst is Rachel Green-Geller.
That show is al...The worst is Rachel Green-Geller.<br /><br />That show is almost criminal the way it trivializes being a mom and encourages single parenthood.Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61102673442109092852014-05-10T11:34:17.293-07:002014-05-10T11:34:17.293-07:00I like a lot of those mentioned. I might add Debbi...I like a lot of those mentioned. I might add Debbie Weaver and Jackie Joyner-Kersee on "The Neignbors" (please don't cancel it, ABC).<br /><br />Marie Barone is EXACTLY like my mom. It comes in handy for a shorthand way to explain her to people.Greg Ehrbarhttp://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/category/animation-spin/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-76290796528953134342014-05-10T02:52:04.590-07:002014-05-10T02:52:04.590-07:00My son and I began watching One Day at a Time in t...My son and I began watching One Day at a Time in the late 70's when he was 13. He had a teen crush on Valerie Bertinelli and old Dad watched it for Bonnie Franklin. It is a shame this one has slipped between the cracks as it was on for 9 years. Just checked Netflix and they only had the first season.Barry Traylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14134880916215990198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-66990572242794954952014-05-09T22:28:02.848-07:002014-05-09T22:28:02.848-07:00I'll second the nomination of my first favorit...I'll second the nomination of my first favorite TV mom, June Lockhart in Lassie.<br />But not Lost in Space. I don't remember her being really present in that show.<br /><br />Plus, a vote for Mom Partridge. She sent the kids to bed without supper one day and sang along the next. <br />Rick Spencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09147840937518662183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-76258781620608813742014-05-09T19:31:43.158-07:002014-05-09T19:31:43.158-07:00Mrs. Roper as the best unofficial surrogate mom in...Mrs. Roper as the best unofficial surrogate mom in <i>Three's Company</i>!<br /><br />Cheerio,<br />JeffroJeffrohttp://kenlevine.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-42261416716475488732014-05-09T19:16:58.777-07:002014-05-09T19:16:58.777-07:00Thanks, Anonymous #1, for mentioning Tyne Daly; I ...Thanks, Anonymous #1, for mentioning Tyne Daly; I also loved Maxine on 'Judging Amy' - her character, but also because she's the spitting image of one of my dearest friends.<br /><br />Morticia Addams (Ken mentioned her, Cadavra) and Gomez would have been cool parents. Ida Morgenstern was a stand-out but would have driven me nuts - just like she did Rhoda. I never could relate to the June Cleaver types.RCPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04251247613686669877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-62814663116438405142014-05-09T17:42:11.375-07:002014-05-09T17:42:11.375-07:00Kind of strange Ken says most tv moms are bland, t...Kind of strange Ken says most tv moms are bland, then mentions literally a TON of "exceptions."<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33583160961355770182014-05-09T11:17:46.972-07:002014-05-09T11:17:46.972-07:00If we're including dramas, I liked Joyce Summe...If we're including dramas, I liked Joyce Summers and like Alicia Florrick. As a child, I loved June Lockhart. who seemed a lot easier to get along with than my mother. Although I would not like to be the child of either, I love both Leonard's mom (Christine Baranski) and Sheldon's mom (Laurie Metcalfe) on THE BIG BANG THEORY. <br /><br />I love Debra Jo Rupp in everything she does.<br /><br />wgWendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78328276005540906322014-05-09T06:41:51.913-07:002014-05-09T06:41:51.913-07:00Ken, I like Nancy Travis a lot, too, and would lov...Ken, I like Nancy Travis a lot, too, and would love to see her playing a bigger role again someday; but I'm not sure why you're bashing Last Man Standing. Sure, she's probably overqualified for the second banana role, but I suspect she signed on for the role of her own free will, so slamming the show is, just a little, slamming her as well. And while I know the show isn't Great Television, it's quite likeable and even funny at times. In fact, it's a nice departure from all the 20-something shows making 20 somethings look even more shallow than they really are. Considering the low quality of what's available, Nancy might just be glad to have a steady paycheck on a show that doesn't require her character to have a potty mouth and sleep around.<br /><br />But if you feel so strongly about it, get back in the game and write her a better show to star in. McAlvienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21798689087294363812014-05-09T03:10:39.686-07:002014-05-09T03:10:39.686-07:00Cynthia Harris was brilliant as Sylvia Buchman in ...Cynthia Harris was brilliant as Sylvia Buchman in Mad About You. <br /><br />If anyone can be considered the perfect TV mom, it has to be Claire Huxtable. Intelligent, wise, respectful, and oh so beautiful. dgwphotographyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17457021093344362212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71073935182023829042014-05-09T02:31:46.076-07:002014-05-09T02:31:46.076-07:00My favorite TV mom is Mr. French. Either one.My favorite TV mom is Mr. French. Either one.thirteennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49647240379469707912014-05-08T23:42:26.722-07:002014-05-08T23:42:26.722-07:00Tami Taylor on FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, hands down. Bu...Tami Taylor on FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, hands down. But I also thought of Kathy Baker's character on PICKET FENCES right away. She was all kinds of weird and awesome.<br />Ray32noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63912455237648255802014-05-08T23:19:28.121-07:002014-05-08T23:19:28.121-07:00June Cleaver is #1 with me, but to go back to my e...June Cleaver is #1 with me, but to go back to my earlier years I'll mention Jan Clayton as Jeff's mother on Lassie. Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78894847301729142492014-05-08T22:50:37.264-07:002014-05-08T22:50:37.264-07:0045 posts and no one's mentioned Morticia Addam...45 posts and no one's mentioned Morticia Addams? For shame.<br /><br />Linda Lavin was fabulous on SEAN SAVES THE WORLD, but apparently only six of us were watching it. :-(<br /><br />Ken, I think you're really underestimating your pal Nancy Travis on LAST MAN STANDING. She gets plenty of punch lines, and kudos to Tim Allen for generously being her straight man in the family scenes.<br />cadavranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7788274684925580562014-05-08T20:57:18.623-07:002014-05-08T20:57:18.623-07:00Molly said...
"I have to disagree about Ann R... Molly said...<br />"I have to disagree about Ann Romano from "One Day at a Time". She uprooted her children from their happy life in Logansport and into a run-down apartment because she was "bored" with her marriage (Ann's words, not mine). She could stay bored for a few more years until the kids left home? Selfish woman.<br /><br />In another episode, she finds out the man she is seeing is married, and she decides to keep seeing him, even though her daughters know. NOT a role model."<br /><br /><br />Agreed. Her character seemed based on the political disposition of the writers, i.e., Women are actually strong, and men are actually pussies women could take or leave.<br /><br />I've know quite a few single parents, and the show didn't resonate with any reality I've ever known.<br /><br />The social contract of her character seemed to be for all the others to ignore her constant patronizing, because it was implicitly understood that if she couldn't do that, she was liable to have a meltdown. It's like she was a passive-aggressive emotional bully.<br /><br />I never liked the show because I didn't like the premise of having an angry mental patient for a mom, especially when it's apparently not allowed to be mentioned by any of the people she patronized.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7779085619508082412014-05-08T19:29:11.264-07:002014-05-08T19:29:11.264-07:00I enjoyed Linda Lavin's ALICE. Not only was s...I enjoyed Linda Lavin's ALICE. Not only was she smart and sensitive, but she could crack wise with the best of them.Janicenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13247636763798185972014-05-08T19:22:39.147-07:002014-05-08T19:22:39.147-07:00I.e., Andrea on the Huxtables: No one in my family...I.e., Andrea on the Huxtables: No one in my family ever spoke in anything less than a raised voice and my mother once chased my father several blocks with a golf club over an indiscretion she discovered. The Huxtable household had about as much connection to reality to what I knew in Brooklyn as Munchkinland.Bobbynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19204411964350427452014-05-08T19:21:50.117-07:002014-05-08T19:21:50.117-07:00Moms very TOUGH to have: Livia Soprano and Marie ...Moms very TOUGH to have: Livia Soprano and Marie Barone...both UNFORGETTABLE! Kleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14306497851609490015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12283454961720624622014-05-08T17:47:39.243-07:002014-05-08T17:47:39.243-07:00What about Shirley Partridge? She was a modern mot...What about Shirley Partridge? She was a modern mother, guiding her children to solve their own problems rather than solving them herself. And she was a knockout, too.Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89492884627600197862014-05-08T17:44:31.098-07:002014-05-08T17:44:31.098-07:00I have to disagree about Ann Romano from "One...I have to disagree about Ann Romano from "One Day at a Time". She uprooted her children from their happy life in Logansport and into a run-down apartment because she was "bored" with her marriage (Ann's words, not mine). She could stay bored for a few more years until the kids left home? Selfish woman.<br /><br />In another episode, she finds out the man she is seeing is married, and she decides to keep seeing him, even though her daughters know. NOT a role model.<br /><br />My parents HATED that show when we were growing up and I couldn't understand why. Now I do.Mollynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12223604891540775542014-05-08T17:20:18.847-07:002014-05-08T17:20:18.847-07:00What? No "My Mother the Car" love?What? No "My Mother the Car" love?Jakehttp://www.jslfotografia.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-21018512724434811752014-05-08T16:49:27.330-07:002014-05-08T16:49:27.330-07:00Funny that two of the most famously pregnant sitco...Funny that two of the most famously pregnant sitcom characters - Lucy Ricardo and Murphy Brown - are not mentioned here...Phillip Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08498595633633248863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73904498498136104742014-05-08T16:44:26.739-07:002014-05-08T16:44:26.739-07:00Molly Goldberg, but that was before your time.Molly Goldberg, but that was before your time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59410533912274427132014-05-08T16:14:09.125-07:002014-05-08T16:14:09.125-07:00You named all the best! I also wanted to be Laura...You named all the best! I also wanted to be Laura Petrie-beautiful, talented, and married to OH ROOOOOOB!<br /><br />Let's not overlook the pinnacle of modern bad mothering, Stockard Channing on "The Good Wife!" I've actually never been a fan of hers, but I think she nails this character without turning her into a caricature. SharoneRosenhttp://www.sharonerosen.comnoreply@blogger.com