THE 25 GREATEST TV MOMS: THE FINAL 5

We've reached the grand finale of our countdown of the 25 Greatest TV Moms!  The last five ladies on the list are all near and dear to my heart and have provided hours of entertainment over the years.  Let's see if you agree with my choices--enjoy!

5. Emily Gilmore
Show: Gilmore Girls

Lorelai Gilmore may be the cool mom who you want to be friends with, but Emily Gilmore is the TV mom I most want to watch.  Yes, she has firm ideas about what’s right and wrong, proper and improper.  But it’s the strength of her convictions that make Emily so entertaining, whether she’s bossing around maids or planning one of her famous parties.  Emily was the one who engineered the show’s Friday Night Dinners as a way of reaffirming her relationship with her daughter and granddaughter, and more than once she displayed her softer side in her efforts to connect with free-spirited Lorelai.  She’s the perfect combination of bitchy and tender, a sharp dresser with an even sharper tongue.  That’s my kind of mother!

Episode to Watch: “Emily in Wonderland”
Emily visits her daughter and granddaughter on their home turf of Stars Hollow.

4. Edina Monsoon
Show: Absolutely Fabulous

Edina, trapped in a state of perpetual adolescence, is mothered by her own daughter.  Saffron provides the lectures, cleans up Eddy’s messes, and reminds her to pay the bills.  There isn’t a holiday or birthday that Eddy doesn’t forget, and she’s never shy about insulting Saffy’s appearance, choice of friends, or life path.  Eddy and Saffy’s screwed-up mother-daughter dynamic is one of the best ever shown on screen, hilarious and dysfunctional but not lacking in love.  Eddy’s a mess but she still loves Saffy, and Saffy still loves Eddy despite her years of neglect, and it’s this undercurrent (however faint) of love that redeems them both.

Episode to Watch: “Paris”
Eddy and Saffy head to Paris for a mother-daughter fashion shoot, but their different styles of tourism clash.

3. Ida Morgenstern
Show: The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Ida was a strong contender for the number one spot on this list.  Few actresses have ever better epitomized the Jewish mother archetype than Nancy Walker.  Ida was fiercely loving of her daughters (and her daughter’s friend Mary).  She was also overbearing, constantly matchmaking and a master of the guilt trip.  Only Ida could gift and then guilt Mary into wearing two scarves at once to prove she liked both equally, or barge into Lou Grant’s office (and mistake him for Murray).  Her diminutive size didn’t prevent her from bulldozing everyone around her—but she just wants you to be happy, okay?  And she knows a very nice man who would be perfect for you…

Episode to Watch: “Support Your Local Mother”
Rhoda refuses to see her mom when she visits, so Ida stays with Mary instead and quickly drives her crazy by treating her like a surrogate daughter

2. Roseanne Conner
Show: Roseanne

Roseanne may not be refined, or soft, or sweet but what she was was real.  She stressed over having enough money to pay the bills.  She worked a series of crappy jobs (waitress, telemarketer, hair sweeper-upper) to make ends meet.  Her house wasn’t the cleanest or her kids super well behaved.  She wasn’t above playing Halloween pranks on her own family or yelling at them. She was also the kind of mom you could count on to forgive your mistakes and always welcome you back home.  We would all be lucky to have a mom like Roseanne, warts and all.

Episode to Watch: “Home Ec”
Roseanne gives Becky’s home ec class a lesson in real world household management (it involves meatloaf).

1. Marie Barone
Show: Everybody Loves Raymond

I’ve noticed a running theme with all of my top five choices.  All of them manage to be both maddening and entirely lovable at the same time. All of them would be overbearing in real life but make for great TV viewing.  I debated over making Roseanne or Ida my number one choice, but when I remembered Marie Barone there was no hesitation.  Marie is the ultimate mother in all senses of the word.  She doesn’t just love her family—she smothers them in love.  She inserts herself into every aspects of their lives and voices her opinion on everything.  She does all of the above with a certain lack of self-awareness, so it becomes nearly impossible for her family to call her out on her actions.  After all, she’s doing it all in the name of love!  And despite their protestations, countless episodes proved that everyone in the Barone clan was ultimately jockeying for her approval.  She’s the unquestioned matriarch, the sun around which the family revolves and the reason why Everybody Loves Raymond was such a classic.

Episode to Watch: “Marie’s Vision”
When Marie gets glasses she starts to notice little things about her family—and they scramble to try and escape her criticisms.  

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, real and fictional!

THE 25 GREATEST TV MOMS, PART 2

Welcome back to Part 2 of my list of the 25 Greatest TV Moms!  Without further ado, let's get to the list...

15. Phyllis Lindstrom
Show: The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Long before Amy Poehler played the “cool mom” in Mean Girls, there was Phyllis Lindstrom.  Phyllis was an enlightened 70s supermom: she had her daughter Bess call her by her first name, talked openly about their feelings, and even let Bess perform in a middle school production of Hair (they played the nude scenes with their clothes on).  But the real joke was that behind her efforts to play it cool Phyllis was as neurotic and overprotective as any other mother.

Episode to Watch: “The Birds…and…um…Bess”  
Phyllis turns to Mary when it comes time to tell daughter Bess about the facts of life.

14.Thelma Harper
Show: Mama’s Family & The Carol Burnett Show

After posting her picture online in honor of Mother’s Day, I was thrilled to discover how much people still love and remember Mama.  Spinning out the popular Carol Burnett Show skits, Mother Harper (played by the significantly younger and uber-talented Vicki Lawrence) ruled the roost.  She was constantly putting her children, daughter-in-law and nephew in their place but when the chips are down who wouldn’t want Mama on their side?  Her particular brand of crotchety common sense reminds me of another icon of mine: Judge Judy!

Episode to Watch: “Mama Gets Goosed”
Mama plans on killing a live goose for Christmas dinner, much to her family’s dismay.

13. Endora
Show: Bewitched

If I was doing a list of TV’s greatest mother-in-laws Endora would have to be number one.  While she gave her son-in-law hell, Endora was actually a great mother to daughter Samantha.  She always challenged Samantha to aim higher and not to abandon her magical heritage.  Think of what a boring show Bewitched would have been without Endora causing trouble! She was also separated (divorced?) from Sam’s father Maurice, making her something of a feminist TV pioneer: a powerful, liberated, single mother.

Episode to Watch: “Trick or Treat”
On Halloween Endora transforms herself into a trick-or-treater (played by a young Maureen McCormick!) and curses what’s-his-name.

12. Aunt Bee
Show: The Andy Griffith Show

Aunt Bee is the second “mom” on the list who isn’t biologically a mother, but anyone who watched The Andy Griffith Show knows just how wonderful a surrogate mother she was to Andy, Opie and even Barney.  Slightly ditzy but full of heart, Bee was the beating heart of Mayberry.  I for one would kill to be invited to one of her Sunday suppers… minus the pickles, of course.

Episode to Watch: “The Pickle Story”
Aunt Bee’s loved ones can’t bring themselves to tell her that her homemade pickles taste atrocious and go to great lengths to protect her feelings.

11. Lorelai Gilmore
Show: Gilmore Girls

Lorelai Gilmore is the cool mom that Phyllis Lindstrom longed to be.  Of all the moms on this list Lorelai is probably closest to her kid; their relationship was more like that of sisters than mother and daughter.  At times Lorelai’s expectations and attempts to keep others out of their lives bordered on the pathological, but at the end of the day she’s a model single mother who got her daughter to the Ivy League and simultaneously became a successful businesswoman, and she did it (mostly) on her own terms.  

Episode to Watch: “Road Trip to Harvard”
After ditching her fiancé Lorelai takes daughter Rory on an inspirational trip to Harvard.

10. Lucille Bluth
Show: Arrested Development

Don’t get me wrong: Lucille Bluth is a terrible mother.  She’s monstrously selfish, hard-drinking, and highly critical.  Her adult children are a mess of neuroses, insecurities, and resentment as a result of her “style” of parenting.  Still, Lucille makes for some damn good TV, as she’ll stop at nothing to get her way and her children are her favorite pawns.  The most recent season of Arrested Development hinted at some growth for Lucille, but I personally hope she keeps up her evil ways in the future.

Episode to Watch: “My Mother the Car”
In which Lucille exploits her own son’s head injury to guilt him into getting closer to her and turn him against his siblings.

9. Charlotte Pickles
Show: Rugrats

Rugrats showed us several different modes of motherhood, as displayed by child-psychology addict Didi and feminist bruiser Betty.  However workaholic Charlotte will always be my favorite.  Charlotte always had her cell phone glued to her ear, barking orders at beleaguered assistant Jonathan and doing her mothering in short, concentrated bursts.  She left the majority of the parenting to her husband, which I always thought was rather neat.  Plus she wore a really killer blazer-skirt combo that Ally McBeal herself would lust after.

Episode to Watch: “Mommy’s Little Assets”
Charlotte brings Angelica and the babies to work with her, with both disastrous and surprising results.

8. Kate Gosselin
Shows: Jon & Kate Plus 8 & Kate Plus 8

Okay, I know Kate Gosselin is probably going to my most controversial choice, especially at #8.  I’m not endorsing her televised exploitation of her children or her bitchy behavior, but I also just can’t get enough of watching of her.  I’ve written before that Kate’s brand of suburb bitchery is right up my alley and no one can deny that when it comes to motherhood or her marriage, Kate makes for some memorable not-so-guilty pleasure TV.  I can't wait to see her on Celebrity Apprentice (I'll feel actually guilty about watching that one, but I can't stay away!).

Episode to Watch: “Shopping for Ten”
Kate memorably emasculates then-husband Jon while Christmas shopping at Toys’r’Us.

7. Sophia Petrillo
Show: Golden Girls

If Kate Gosselin’s inclusion on this list proves controversial, Sophia Petrillo not making the Top 5 may also rub some people the wrong way.  Despite her tiny frame Sophia dominated her daughter Dorothy; she was the ultimate truth teller, and her little old lady appearance let her get away with saying and doing a lot of otherwise shocking things.  Despite being described as a “vindictive little sea monkey” by her own daughter, you never once doubted the fierce maternal love that lay beneath Sophia’s acid disposition.  

Episode to Watch: “The Housekeeper”
Sophia is actually absent for most of this episode, which shows that things can go quickly go off the rails without her around.  When she does arrive back home she quickly cuts through the bullshit.

6. Helen Morgendorffer
Show: Daria

Like Charlotte Pickles, Helen Morgendorffer does not have a good work-life balance.  Also like Charlotte, Helen is usually seen on the phone or on her way out the door, heading to her job as a lawyer (maybe she worked at one point with Clair Huxtable?!). Unlike Charlotte, however, Helen makes more of an effort to connect to her two teen daughters, whether it’s mandated family dinners (with frozen lasagnas or husband Jake doing the cooking) or concentrated interrogations.  At the end of the day, however, Helen really was a great mom who genuinely cared for her family and managed to be there for them when it counted, despite her heavy workload. 

Episode to Watch: “Psycho Therapy”
Up for partner at her firm, Helen drags her family for a weekend of psychoanalysis, where she must own up to some of her failings as a mother.

Check back tomorrow when I reveal the Top 5!

THE 25 GREATEST TV MOMS, Part 1

In addition to my usual episode spotlights, in honor of Mother’s Day I created a list of my 25 Greatest TV Moms.  I am an obsessive, consummate list maker.  I am always making lists and have lists at the ready: my 100 Favorite Movies, 500 Favorite Songs (subdivided into Upbeat and Mellow categories), 100 Greatest Villains of All Time, and the list of lists goes on.  This 25 Greatest TV Moms list is a new creation and rather than do my usual alphabetization I actually ranked the characters (a painstaking process, I assure you).

Before you delve in, a disclaimer: this is NOT a list of the most motherly mothers, or best mothers, but rather my favorite TV mom characters.  Hence some of the moms in this list are actually rather monstrous (which is oftentimes their appeal).  A couple aren’t even technically mothers!  Also, there are some amazing TV characters who also happen to be moms that didn't make this list.  I love Lucy and Samantha Stevens too, but motherhood wasn't necessarily their most winning aspect-- but never fear, Lucy makes my Best TV Characters of All Time List and someone else from Bewitched may just make an appearance somewhere on this list...  That said, I strongly encourage debate, suggestions, and indignant outrage in the form of comments, so let your opinions fly.  And now, on to the list!

25. Cherry Cherry
Show: Popular

Delta Burke is best known for playing larger-than-life Suzanne Sugarbaker on Designing Women, but if Suzanne was even wealthier, crazier, Texan, and had a daughter she’d be the even more outrageous Cherry Cherry.  Mother to the show’s best and most bizarre character, Mary Cherry, the aptly named Cherry made several appearances, whether she was insulting her daughter, marrying Erik Estrada, or temporarily teaching home-ec/transgender tolerance.

Episode to Watch: “Queen B.”  
Cherry Cherry makes her first appearance, coaching her daughter when she’s nominated for Prom Queen.

24. Norma Arnold
Show: The Wonder Years

Norma was the ultimate 60s stay-at-home wife and mother: caring, perky and just a little bit restless.  She eventually went back to college and got a career in addition to being the kind of sweet and sensitive mom every kid wants.  Bonus points for actress Alley Mills, who also portrayed lesbian mom Robin John on the aforementioned Popular!

Episode to Watch: “The Ties That Bind”  
When Jack is forced to be away for the holiday, Norma channels her feelings into making a lavish Thanksgiving dinner.

23. Edna Payne
Show: Martin

All of the best characters on Martin were the ones that Martin Lawrence played himself, including his own mother, Edna Payne.  She was frumpy, lumpy, gray-haired and yet still sported Lawrence’s mustache.  Mama Payne doted on her little boy but didn’t hide her dislike of his girlfriend Gina, offering up insults in her trademark high-pitched squeal.

Episode to Watch: “Feast or Famine”  
Mama Payne shows up at Gina’s door to help her prepare Thanksgiving dinner (and sings the “Pass the Peas” song!).

22. Martha Generic
Show: Bobby’s World

Bobby’s mom deserves a spot on this list for her unforgettable Midwestern accent alone!  She also had major mom style, sporting a blue jogging suit and bright orange-red hair.  In the course of the series she gave birth to twins in addition to playing mom to Bobby, Derek and Kelly and was clearly the glue that held the Generic (“it’s pronounced JEN-a-rick”) family together.

Episode to Watch: “I Want My Mommy”  
The Generics surprise Martha with a trip to an amusement park for Mother’s Day.

21. Sara Blank
Show: Strangers with Candy

Sarah Blank, played by the brilliant Deborah Rush, is the definitive wicked stepmother.  Racist, drunken Sara dotes on her biological son Derrick and does everything in her power to insult and drive away her adult stepdaughter Jerri. Also: she has a special relationship with Stew, the family’s meat delivery man.

Episode to Watch: “Dreams on the Rocks”  
Stepmom Sara develops a drinking problem just in time for Jerri’s stage debut.

20. Agnes Skinner
Show: The Simpsons

Originally I had Marge Simpson on this list but upon reflection I decided that Agnes, elderly mother to Principal Skinner, outmothers Marge.  Overbearing and controlling Agnes is a harridan with a memorably cantankerous voice.  She collects pictures of cakes—but she doesn’t eat them.  They’re too sweet for her taste.

Episode to Watch: “Last Exit to Springfield”  
Agnes only makes a cameo in this episode, but utters one of my all time favorite lines: “Seymour needs the toilet.  His bladder’s full.  Full of urine!”

19. Regina Newly
Show: Samantha Who?

Jean Smart brings life to every role she plays but her true standout is Regina Newly, from the short-lived and criminally overlooked Samantha Who?  When amnesiac daughter Samantha is first reintroduced to her mom Regina, she seems like a doting parent.  But slowly Regina’s pettiness and pecadillos are revealed and the true nature of their strained relationship emerges.  Jean Smart also gave voice to another great, non-traditional mom, the animated Pickles Oblong in The Oblongs.

Episode to Watch: “Pilot”  
Upon awakening from a coma and suffering amnesia, Samantha quickly learns not to trust her mother’s twisted version of their past.

18. Nanny 
Show: Muppet Babies

Okay, Nanny is not the biological mother of any of the Muppet Babies.  But her face is never seen, so above the shoulders she could look like Gonzo for all we know.  As kids, my sister and I debated a lot over what Nanny really looked like and what exactly was her relationship to the Muppet Babies.  Were they all orphans and she their adoptive mother, or was she just hired help?  Regardless, Nanny was the loving, slightly mysterious authority figure every baby needs.  And she was voiced by Barbara Billingsley, June Cleaver herself!

Episode to Watch: “My Muppet Valentine”  
Rolf is dismayed when it appears that Nanny made all of the Muppet Babies personalized cookies for Valentine’s Day cookie—except for him.

17. Clair Huxtable
Show: The Cosby Show

Clair Huxtable was a full-time mom to a big brood of kids of all ages—but she was also a successful lawyer and extremely stylish.  In the 80s Claire proved women could have it all and set the bar impossibly high.  Her more no-nonsense approach to parenting paired well with hubby Cliff’s goofier demeanor, but you never doubted the love between them.  A true class act. 

Episode to Watch: “Clair’s Liberation”  
Claire messes with her family after discovering that they are wary of her going through menopause.

16. Joyce Summers
Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

In a show teeming with vampires and demons, suburban mom Joyce would be easy to overlook.  But she kept daughter Buffy rooted to the real world and while she started out oblivious, eventually she clued in and joined the good fight, most memorably wielding a fire axe and uttering the line “No one lays a hand on my little girl.”  Joyce even has her own action figure, but the character was only truly appreciated once she was gone—Joyce’s death marked the show’s descent into real world darkness and the Buffyverse has always been a slightly sadder place without her.

Episode to Watch: “School Hard”  
Joyce comes to Buffy’s rescue with ax in hand during the worst parent-teacher night ever.

That wraps it up for now, but stayed tuned to see if your favorites will show up in the next installment of the 25 Greatest TV Moms!