Monday, May 16, 2011
Sada Thompson: Best TV Mom Ever?
The Lawrence family, Nancy, Willie, Buddy and their parents Doug and Kate, were on TV in the late seventies and one of the first dramas to deal heavily with issues of the day. The character were flawed and struggled with societal mores of the time. But the love of parents for children, for siblings for each other always triumphed.
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Good TV show. I see Sada died just a couple of weeks ago. RIP.
Nope, I'll opt for Sela Ward's Lily Manning...leaving aside all MILFing, her character was smart and sensitive and reasonable, except when she wasn't reasonable or otherwise was demonstrating her flaws. The FAMILY character was just a little too perfectly maternal to be believed or to be safe around kids, without making them feel horrible (though I might have a bad sense of the series and how it treated/presented her character, since I didn't like nor watch it much). Michael Learned's Walton matriarch likewise. I must have a Thing for aquatic plants, because Regina Taylor's Lilly Harper in I'LL FLY AWAY came to mind next.
I am convinced that you would pick Sela Ward for any category I could come up with. IMHO FAMILY did a good job of showing imperfect people before most other shows did. I'd rate it pretty high.
Well, best badass mother has probably got to be (aside from Sela Ward, of course) Victoria Barkley, of Miss Barbara Stanwyck of THE BIG VALLEY fame. Lena Headey's turn as Sarah Connor in TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, probably puts her in second (not really third) position.
I suspect I'd probably like FAMILY a bit better now than then, but not as much as some of its descendents, such as even FAMILY TIES, much less such more serious series as GILMORE GIRLS and EVERWOOD (even as these weren't entirely serious). It wasn't quite THE FORSYTE SAGA, FAMILY...but it sure beat the hell out of HAPPY DAYS and WHAT'S HAPPENING!?!
I did like FAMILY better than LITTLE HOUSE, if not quite as much as THE WALTONS. (Oddly, or not, one each on each of the big commercial networks.)
AN AMERICAN FAMILY was Definitely Not PBS's correspondent to these.
Sada was good if a little cold for my taste. Patti Lupone on LIFE GOES ON was pretty good too.
In some ways Roseanne was one of the more realistic Mom portrayals. She was certainly more realistic than Donna Reed or Barbara Billingsley or Jane Wyatt, the "Moms" of my generation of kids.
Jeff M.
Best? Really? I always thought Ruth Fisher was fun. Kooky and wrapped a bit tight, yes, but fun.
Couldn't go for her romance with Rainn though. Creepy to the max.
Weirdly enough, I never saw this one.
However, there was a oneoff by Norman Lear, All That Glitters in which gender roles were toyed with, kind of in reverse of the status quo, and so families were also a bit differently protrayed.
I like Roseanne but she drives Phil crazy. Dan (Goodman) was a good balance to her.
My favorite TV mother ever was probably Laura Petrie. Childcare never kept her from looking good, going out on the town, or being zany.
June Cleaver, hands down. If I wanted realistic I wouldn't watch TV.
June Cleaver. No question.
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