Sunday, March 14, 2010

Sunday Ten Spot: TV Moms

The Top Ten TV Moms (as far as I'm concerned)




10. June Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver)

She is the one-the classic TV mom who set the standards impossibly high for every stay at home mom on and off TV. The one who created nostalgia for Super Moms who never existed...and yet no TV Mom list would be complete without her.

Memorable quote: "Once a boy, always a boy."





9. Norma Arnold (The Wonder Years)

A sweet, down to earth woman with a boatload of patience, Norma Arnold was June Cleaver...only not a cyborg.

Memorable quote: "More potatoes, honey?"




8. Lucy Ricardo (I Love Lucy)
The fun and funny mom we all wish we could be, there is a reason that everyone loved Lucy.

Memorable Quote: "Well, I'm your Vitavigavegivat Girl. Are you tired, run down, listless? Do you pop out at parties? Are you unpoopular? "




7. Kitty Foreman (That 70s Show)
Kitty Foreman is the best possible mix of frank and funny. She's not afraid to tell it like it is, but still gives her all into loving and caring for her husband and kids (and her kids' friends). I'd let her be my mom.

Memorable quote: "Red: Pork chops? I thought we agreed to stick to a budget! Pork chops aren't cheap!
Kitty: Well, you know, on the way to the market, I tried to run over a cat. But they are just so darn speedy! "



6. Carol Brady (The Brady Bunch)
Carol was a super cool mom who had it all together (it didn't hurt that she had a housekeeper) and and always had the best advice. Don't play ball in the house? Classic.

Memorable quote: "Carol: What are you going to wear, Mike?

Mike: Oh I don't know... my cowboy boots...

Carol: (in her best John Wayne impression) Well ya better wear somethin' else, or you're gonna get arrested!"


5. Amy Matthews (Boy Meets World)
Okay, I can't have been the only kid growing up in the 90s who sometimes wished Mrs. Matthews was their mom. In the last few seasons of the series she was a rock for her entire family during hard times, and through out the series she was always so understanding and patient and loving...the great picture of motherhood in the 90s.

Memorable Quote: Morgan: Mommy, if my dolly's cold, can I put her in the toaster oven?
Amy: No, honey. That would be a mistake.
Morgan: Mommy?
Amy: Yes?
Morgan: I made a mistake.
Amy: [runs over to toaster oven and pulls out doll] Cory, didn't you smell that?
Cory: Yeah, I just thought we were having plastic for dinner.




4. Lois (Malcolm in the Middle)
Any mom who can withstand five boys bent on destruction deserves a medal (and a vacation). Lois shows us the moms we all are sometimes-full of maternal love, and at the end of our ropes. Plus she gets extra points for super creative disciplinary techniques.

Memorable quote: "Just remember, any kid who makes fun of you is a creepy little loser who will end up working in a car wash."




3. Laura Petrie (The Dick Van Dyke Show)
Mary Tyler Moore created a sweet, funny mom whose love for her husband matched her love for her children. I think that's the thing I love most about her-she portrayed the most realistic relationships at that time (both with her TV husband and TV son). That, and the little rebellious kick that was her iconic capri pants amid a sea of TV moms' skirts, makes me love her.

Memorable quote: "Oh Rob!"




2. Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls)
A single teen mom might not be who some people consider one of the best TV moms, but I love her. In a world where teen moms are used in the media for either after-school-special type lessons (ala 7th Heaven) or for the personification of ghettoness (ala Jerry Springer) she paints what is, to me, a realistic portrait of being a hard working, responsible person who loves their kid and just happened to start a little earlier than her peers. Plus she's super funny.

Memorable quote: "Lorelai: Hey, isn't that your naked guy?
Rory: Oh, yeah. Marty, hey! He's not my naked guy.
Lorelai: Well, you don't really want a communal naked guy, nowadays, you know, it's too sketchy."




1. Marge Simpson (The Simpsons)
Yes, I know she's a cartoon-but she's still the best TV mom ever. She's not super funny (at least not on purpose), she's not super perky, and she's not super human...and that's what I love about her. Marge tries her very best at everything and loves her family absolutely unconditionally, all while the writers use her to poke fun of the Super Mom image. I love neurotic Marge and everything she represents.

Memorable quote: " ...and that's the life of Mozart. Thank God he died young. I gotta get dinner on the stove."

3 comments:

Bossy Betty said...

Great List! I loved watching June Cleaver cook in those heels!

dusty earth mother said...

Great list! Gotta admit, Malcolm in the Middle mom is my absolute fave. Even more than lovely Marge Simpson.

Anonymous said...

I love the Gilmore Girls. She's the best mom ever.