I have a confession to make.
I am a TV junkie. I love TV and
always have. There is literally a TV on
in my house all the time. Growing up TV
was a huge part of my life. I was raised
on sitcoms, soap operas, and game shows.
I remember my whole family sitting in our den watching TV together. On Friday nights we would watch Dallas. Saturday
nights my mom would make popcorn and we would watch Love Boat and Fantasy
Island. Thursdays we would watch Cheers
and Family Ties. It went on and on. TV
was family time. Snacks and cozy blankets were always
involved. It gave us something to laugh
at and something to talk about. TV was different
then. It was better. Don’t you agree?
At some point in my youth my parents allowed me to have a
TV in my bedroom. It was
black & white, very small, and I loved it. My bedtime
was 8:00 but mom would let me watch one show and then at 8:30 I had to turn it
off. When I couldn’t sleep I would quietly turn it back on and watch Johnny
Carson. I did that a lot. Somehow the lack of sleep didn’t bother
me. I was grateful to see Johnny and
whatever movie or TV star he had on his show that night.
Every time I see a rerun of an old show that I used to watch
it brings back such good memories for me.
It seems like there has been a surge of new cable stations that are now
showing “retro” sitcoms and game shows, which makes me so happy. I try to introduce as many as I can to John,
hoping he will love them as much as I do.
When I can tear him away from the
Disney Channel (which is good too) we like to watch Gilligan’s Island,
Bewitched, and I’m thrilled to say he’s already hooked on Family Feud and Match
Game 78! Score! I’m doing my job!
Thinking about my favorite sitcoms got me thinking about the
TV Mom. These are the women that shaped
my perception of what a housewife was. These ladies comforted me and made me
happy. They are burned in my brain for all eternity. Who are your favorite TV
Mom’s? Who was it that you wanted to be
just like? If I could jump into my TV
set and be a TV mom….. Here are my top 5 favorites!
#1 Lucy – This should
come as no shock to anyone. I love
Lucille Ball and always have. I Love
Lucy has been my favorite TV show for as long as I can remember. I wanted to be Lucy Ricardo, and still do!
Her hair! Her perfect lipstick! All
those pretty house dresses and hats! Oh the hats! I still love watching just
for her outfits alone. Lucy was
hilarious! Yes, she loved being a housewife but her true aspiration was to be
in show business. How many times did we
hear “Ricky, can I be in the show?”. He
always said no, and yet she always ended up in show! Lucy and Ricky would fight
(and he would yell “Lucy, you got a lot of splainin’ to do!”). He always forgave her in the end and they
would kiss and make up. One of my
favorite episodes is the one where Lucy talks Ricky into teaching her to
drive. It’s disastrous! But now Lucy
wants to teach her BFF Ethel to drive.
Highinx ensue and my heart sings with joy…I love it so much! Lucy always
wanted to be president of her ladies club. She aspired to impress her friends
and wanted to be the best at everything she could. She was never the best but we love her
anyway. She wasn’t afraid to look silly
or unattractive (although she never was).
Like when she got locked in a walk in freezer and had icicles hanging
from her hair, or had a bucket of paint dumped on her head while she was on a
scaffold spying on Ricky, in a neighbor’s apartment, through a window. Lucy’s home was neat and tidy and she was
always looking for ways to save on her household budget – mostly because she had
spent too much money on a dress or new hat (I don’t blame her). When little Ricky came along we saw Lucy as a
devoted mom who was sad to send her son off to nursery school and spent the
night in the hospital with him when he had his tonsils taken out. Yes , I love Lucy. She’s my favorite TV mom and my favorite TV
everything!
#2 Carol Brady –
Carol is here out of my nostalgia and love for the Brady Bunch. I mean, come
on. I love the Bradys! And who doesn’t want to be Carol? I mean….aside
from her hair (mullet??) she has it all.
Carol was a stay at home mom, but she had something that all the other
mom’s didn’t have…ALICE! Is it just me, or did Alice do everything? Every once
in a while you would see Carol in the kitchen helping make dinner or something,
but for the most part all the household duties went to Alice. Carol spent her time sitting next to Mike, doing
her needlepoint. They would talk about
his day at the office and then one of the children would drop in and need some
advice. Carol would offer her wise words
and then the world would be right again. Carol was president of the PTA, volunteered
in school talent shows, and wasn’t afraid to have fun square dancing or riding
a mule down the Grand Canyon. Family time meant everything to Carol. It was Mike who shelled out the punishments
when needed. Carol could do no
wrong.
#3 Donna Reed –
my TV life change for the better when I was in elementary school. Nick at Nite’s TV Land started showing old
shows that I had never seen before. I
was introduced to The Munsters, The Patty Duke Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave
it to Beaver, and my favorite of the bunch – The Donna Reed Show! At the time Donna Reed was on Dallas playing
Miss Ellie. My little 3rd
grade mind was blown! Anyway, I developed
a love for the Stone family. Donna is
the ideal middle class housewife. She was beautiful and funny. She drove a car, which most TV moms of the
time did not do. She wore pearls and
heels and somehow seemed a little more “hip” that June Cleaver. There was a bit of zaniness to Donna. Every day was an adventure. She gave Mary dating advice and was always
there to give Jeff a pep talk when he got a bad grade in Math. She volunteered at
her fair share of charities, but she also sometimes worked as a nurse. She was
very modern for her time. In one episode
called The Ideal Wife, Donna is annoyed that everyone is calling her perfect
and she sets out to prove that’s not the case…which of course it is! Sorry
Donna…you’re perfect!
#4 Thelma Harper –
Ok, I may be alone in this one but I love Thelma from Mama’s Family. (It all stems back to my devotion to the
Carol Burnett Show!) Thelma loved her family, but she wasn’t afraid to tell
them when they had disappointed her or done something wrong. She told it like it was – no holding
back! Her rants still make me laugh! She
didn’t approve of her daughter in law, but had to live with her and somehow
make that work, which was enjoyable to watch. She took in her juvenile delinquent grandson Bubba,
and tried her hardest to reform him. Sometimes she was successful and sometimes
she was not. But she loved him no matter what. Thelma was president of the
Church Ladies League and mostly palled around with her neighbor and best friend
Iola (the queen of the pink gingham dress).
They would go to bingo or argue over who had the nicer garden. She cooked
a big dinner every Sunday afternoon which everyone had to addend and severed
dishes like pineapple salad and rum balls. She wore house dresses just like
your grandma, delighted in a cold beer, and if you stopped by her house at any time
you would probably find her dusting something…. She was cranky, but loveable at
the same time. There was always a little bit of truth in everything
she said.
#5 Marion Cunningham-
Marion was the glue that held the Cunningham’s together. She was a devoted mom and complete supporter
of her children. Marion always looked
pristine, with and apron around her waist and her hair in a perfect twist. She
also served as a sort of surrogate mom to Fonzie and was the only one allowed
to call him by his full name…Arthur. I
loved their scenes together. In one of
my favorite episodes of Happy Days, Ritchie was playing in a very important
basketball ball game. During a climactic
moment when Ritchie was about to make a rebound shot, Marion screamed (in a
totally silent gymnasium) “Come on Ritchie, you can do it!” Only a mom would be
allowed to do that. You couldn’t get mad
at Mrs. C. In another episode Marion,
feeling unappreciated, has an argument with Howard and decided to get a job as
a waitress at Arnolds. She has one
horrible day of work and realizes that her place is in the home and her family appreciates
her after all. She’s the quintessential 1950’s mom and that’s why I love her!
It was very hard to narrow it down to just 5. If I could list some honorable mentions I
would probably say Elyse Keaton (Family Ties) Edith Bunker (All in the Family),
Shirley Partridge (The Partridge Family), and if we are talking drama’s I have
to name Olivia Walton (The Waltons) but that’s opening up a whole new can of
worms! I could go on about this forever!
So, what do you think of my list? Who are your favorite TV
moms? I would love to hear your favorites!!!
