My TV Mums

My favourite TV mums, were any of them yours?

So I loved a lot of TV mums as I was growing up, all for different reasons and for different times in my life, did you too?

When I was little, they had to be the mums who were kind and caring with a wonderfully pleasant sense of humour; in my teens I was still liking the nice ones but found I was looking for more in the humour department; then as a young mum I was looking for inspiration in my ‘TV Mum’!

Then my children turned into teenagers and my need for a role model ‘TV Mum’ changed direction, she needed to be mean and funny, whilst remaining caring! Not too much to ask for? 🙂

Early childhood

1. Lucy Ricardo was probably the funniest mum. Innocently trying her hardest to be successful and always trying to trick her husband Ricky so she could get on his show. From stomping grapes, to packing chocolates to selling vitamins Lucy has had several strange side jobs.  She also managed to raise a son who was a musical genius, little Ricky, and be great friends with her neighbors Fred and Ethel. Lucy was creative, entertaining and a favourite mum for many years and I still love to watch re-runs, my oldest grandchildren have had to watch episodes as well!
2. The Partridge Family – Shirley Partridge (Shirley Jones) she seemed so cool and easy-going and her children were all so talented and happy.  Music, travelling and comedy combined to make her and the show another favourite of mine and oh, how I used to dream of being in that family!

In my Teens and as a Young Mum

1. Family Ties – Elyse Keaton (Meredith Baxter) Elyse Keaton made the role of a working mum look almost too easy. As the mother of Alex (a young Michael J. Fox), Mallory, and Tina, Elyse spent each episode of Family Ties trying to juggle the life of a working mum. She was able to work from home as an architect which made the working mum role look a lot easier and we all know that’s not the case and particularly in that era? I loved her caring nature, her total commitment and undying love for her children/family, she was a big favourite!
2.  Cosby Show – Clair Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad) Clair Huxtable taught us many lessons on motherhood over the 8 years The Cosby Show was a comedy hit. As Cliff Huxtable’s lovely and beautiful wife, and mother to their children Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy. The classy Clair had a successful career as a lawyer, teaching her children good moral values and making sure they were all well-educated all the while putting up with and managing her comedic husband’s behaviour!

As a Mum of teenagers… I needed the big guns though!!!

1. Home Improvement – Jill Taylor (Patricia Richardson)As wife of Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor (played by comedian Tim Allen), Jill spent most of her time keeping her accident-prone husband in check, she had her hands full with their three boys Brad, Randy, and Mark. She had a beautiful home and excelled at caring for her boys but she lacked any skills in the kitchen!  I found this refreshing, why were women expected to be good in the kitchen? I loved watching each and every episode!
2. Roseanne – Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) Who could forget Roseanne? While often not the caring mother type, she never failed to teach a lesson, sometimes the hard way, but nonetheless she got the job done. Living in a low-income often troubled household, Roseanne made the best out of every situation while her dysfunctional family, led by husband Dan (played by actor John Goodman) children Becky, Darlene and D.J.,  challenging her every step of the way!

As an older Mum and just for the fun of it!

1. Absolutely Fabulous -An absolutely brilliant show with its uncensored bad behavior and satirical humor, the series features Edina and Patsy, two hard-drinking, drug-taking, completely outrageous and  selfish middle-aged women. Their sometimes cruel humor focused on the hypocrisy of today’s society; Edina’s moral and conservative daughter, Saffron was constantly dismayed by Edina and Patsy’s bad behaviour. Hilarious though and a favourite – I am sure my more sarcastic moments can be attributed to watching way too many episodes!

 

So these were my favourite TV Mums. Hope you enjoyed the memories and like me are reminded of how each of the TV mums in their own way may have influenced us over the years….

p.s., Just got the Absolutely Fabulous Movie for a Christmas Present too, make sure you watch it!

Retro63