TV Moms that are Believable

Some moms are just unbelievable. When it comes to TV moms, some have been written better than others. Some TV moms have been portrayed realistically by the actresses in the TV shows. The moms who resonate with audiences are the moms who had moments of seeming to be real. They reacted like a real mom would, or how we would as moms would like to see ourselves react.

Other TV moms have shown us some not so positive reactions and actions that also felt real. There have been plenty of moms on TV who have been believable, and most of them have been portrayed in color, not in black and white.

Black and White Moms

The black and white moms are the suburban housewife moms who were more like Stepford wives than believable moms. In this category would go Donna Reed, Mrs. Ward Cleaver and Lucille Ball.

The exception to this black and white rule is Mary Tyler Moore who portrayed Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. Laura was not the perfect mom or the perfect housewife. Mary Tyler Moore portrayed her as a loving and sometimes frantic housewife. Moms who stay at home know that running a house can make you feel frantic, even when it's just about guests coming for dinner, the laundry, or scratching a husband's new car while out running errands (not me, Laura Petrie).

Most Believable Moms on TV

The most believable moms are not always the best moms.

Most Real TV Mom

Love or hate her, nobody played it more real than Roseanne Barr (later Roseanne Arnold) on Roseanne. She was not glamorous, not rich, and far from agreeable. She sought to run an efficient household with three kids and a near helpless husband, by trying to stay in control of her home. Roseanne learned, as do other new moms that trying to control the family in the house doesn't work.

She showed moms that it's okay to be happy with what you have, whether it's a threadbare couch with a crocheted afghan, a socially misfit son, a chubby hubby, and two teen daughters forced to share a room. She lived through it and made us laugh along the way.

Endearing Mom

Patricia Richardson played the quiet, calm and collected mom dealing with three boys and a husband who acted like a boy on Home Improvement. She knew when to ask questions, and when to let boys be boys. As a woman, she also struggled with the multiple duties of going to work and running the house in some episodes. She also returned to school, which is not only believable, but a it set a good example for other moms who wanted to further their education.

Overbearing Moms

There have been a number of overbearing TV moms who are believable, to anyone who has a real one, as a mom or as a mother-in-law in their life. Both are so believable that they can be hard to watch. This category includes Doris Roberts as Marie Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond, and Estelle Harris as Estelle Costanza on Seinfeld.

Domineering and Crabby

In addition to the overbearing moms there have been the domineering and crabby TV moms. These moms are also endearing TV characters in their own way. The first domineering mom is Ida Morgenstern as played by Nancy Walker on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Ida Morgenstern was Rhoda's mom and she was always riding Rhoda about something.

The other domineering and crabby mom who you couldn't help but like was Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls.

Sources

Everybody Loves Raymond, in syndication

Golden Girls, in syndication

Home Improvement, in syndication

IMDB.com, http://www.imdb.com

Roseanne, original viewings

The Mary Tyler Moore Show in syndication