#5 Marion Cunningham (Happy Days)
Happy Days is corny as heck, but the actors on it did a great job making their characters fun to watch despite the corny dialogue and silly stories. Marion is a prime example; Marion Ross gave a very memorable character who I wish had been seen a little more. Usually when you think of mom's from the 50's you think of the type played by Alley Mills in The Wonder Years. Perfect with a smile which never broke for anything. Marion was a little more realistic, believe it or not. She could be calm when she needed to be and tough when she needed to be. She was the only character who had the nerve to stand up to the Fonz, even calling him by his real name. She tended to be a mother to all the cast no just her kids. There is one moment where Chachi says he has to marry Joanie, and misunderstanding Marion goes over and starts to strangle him! Great mother played by a great actress.
#4. Claire Huxtable (The Cosby Show)
What can I say about Claire that I haven't said before? She
was strong, intelligent, and never afraid to speak her mind. She was fun
loving, but you sure didn't want to cross the line with her. She was strict,
but firm. The best example of her mothering probably comes in the episode about
Vanessa wearing make-up after she had been told not to. Claire is very tough,
but fair. First she gives herself a chance to cool off, and then when she does
talk to Vanessa it isn’t yelling and screaming. She explains that she and Cliff
make rules and expect them to be followed, simple as that. Phylicia Rashad
bought enough class to the character so she didn’t come off as a snob. And it
was the cool, calm way she would deal with her kids that was amazing. It shows
her kids really respected her, and didn’t want to do anything to make her mad. Unlike
previous mothers like Edith Bunker, Claire was smart and able to stand on her
own.
#3.Carol Brady (The Brady Bunch)
You have to respect a mother who has to be in charge of six
kids. Yeah, sure she had help with Alice, but still! Carol was the perfect
mother, but you know she could lay down the law when she had to. In the episode
where the kids chase Alice away after a series of misunderstandings, Carol
really chews them out over it. I know I was hard on her in a previous article,
but the truth is Carol really tries to be there for her family and Florence
Henderson did a great job of creating a character that wasn’t just a cartoon
cut out (despite what those dumb movies would have you believe). Yeah, she
worried a lot but isn’t that what mothers are supposed to do? Besides I always
thought Maggie on Growing Pains was worst, every time she whined “Oh Jason!” I
wanted to tear my hair out. Carol may have worried about her kids but she also
them them grow and evolve.
#2. Elyse Keaton (Family Ties)
This is the one mother I knew I wanted on this list. She
does not get the appreciation she deserves because of course when most people
think Family Ties they of course think of Michael J.Fox. But she was a great
mother, always there for her kids. She was amazing at bringing Alex down to
Earth when he started getting arrogant, pushing Mallory when she needed a
little motivation, or being there for Jennifer as she dealt with growing up.
She also had her husband, and Elyse was great at letting him go off the deep
end and knowing when to reel him back. Unlike some sitcom mothers, she didn’t
go running to her husband when problems arise she will deal with it directly. In
one episode When Alex defies her she drives miles just to yell at him and bring
him home. Or Take the episode where Mallory is seduced by a friend of the
family, she literally hunts the guy down and comes close to beating him up! You
don’t mess with her kids! In the series finale she is the only one who can’t handle
her son leaving for New York. Her first baby leaving the nest, of course that
would be hard. Why can’t other shows be as honest as that?
#1. Jill Taylor (Home Improvement)
What makes Jill special enough to be #1 on my list? Of all
these women, she was the one mother who was allowed to have actual problems. I
don't just mean her inability to cook or keep a job either. She was a flawed
person, with all kinds of personality quirks. She could never admit when she
was wrong, had trouble dealing with her parents, and could often be a little
over analytical. I think these flaws make her more real, and we relate to that.
She also did the frustrated housewife bit great, being angry when she needed to
but without it becoming her whole character (like a certain other mom named
Debra who yelled so much it became a regular joke). She was a great mother who
was always there for her kids, and when they did something to make her unhappy
she had no trouble expressing that. Take the episode where Tim finds Marijuana
in the house, Jill is protective of her kids at first but when Brad turns out
to be the culprit she had no problem getting upset with him, even being the one
to bust him. She is also honest with him in the scene, explaining that she had
tried the stuff before which is why she didn’t want her kids doing it. How many
moms are honest like that?
Honorable Mentions:
June Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver)
If anyone set the standard all these women follow, it's
Barbara Billingsley's character on this classic sitcom. She was the quintessential
TV mom.
Murphy Brown
It may be hard to believe, but Murphy Brown was
a bit of a pioneer. In the past when we meet our single mothers, they
are
already single mothers and we accept that. With Murphy, we got to see
her
become a single mother, step by step, and had a front row seat at the
controversy that can be caused in the public domain when a woman who is
not
married and has a high profile job has a baby. I'll never understand why
this
is such a taboo, but it was enough for then Vice President Dan Quayle to
mock it in a speech. Single
mothers, and single fathers, are just as strong and important as
mother's who
do have families. They have the same struggles and same hope for their
children, and whether by choice or circumstance they are still mother's
in
every sense of the word. That is what Murphy Brown reminded us.
Roseanne Arnold
Roseanne
deserves special mention because she, like Murphy Brown, broke a taboo
about mothers. In the past, only single mothers had to work. Roseanne
was the first mother who had to work, she didn't have a choice. This
show was a much more realistic look at families then we had seen in the
past, which is what makes it so memorable. Sure you can nitpick the way
she picks on her kids (I have in another article), but deep down you
know that she loves her family and would do anything for them.
I know people will comment on the mother’s not on
here. Where’s
Lois from Malcolm in the Middle? Or Samantha from Bewitched? Or
Florence from Good Times? Or Peg from Married...With Children? Or Edith
from All in the Family? Or even Marge from The Simpsons? There are lots
of sitcom
mom’s out there, but these are the five I like the best. Please free to
comment
if you think someone else deserves to be here.
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