7. Nancy Botwin (Weeds)
Of all the moms on this list, the widowed Nancy is certainly the most, shall we say, modern. Nancy’s risky means of providing for her sons might cause some to label her as irresponsible, and others would anoint her the model of maternity for the twenty-first century. Most people can’t say their mom is a mentally unstable, felonious weed dealer, but most people also can’t say that their mom is a weed dealer who really, really, cares about her kids.
Quote of choice: ‘I’m not a dealer, I’m a mother who happens to distribute illegal products through a sham bakery set up by my ethically questionable CPA and his crooked lawyer friend.’
6. Tara Gregson (The United States of Tara)
Most mothers can agree to having two sides to them, but few can claim to have four. Or maybe five. Yes, the mommy of this Showtime series has dissociative identity disorder, which means in times of stress, an alternate personality will emerge. There’s Alice, but the creepily perfect June Cleaver twin who threatened to wash out Tara’s daughter’s mouth out with soap. Another alternate is Tee, a wild, fun-loving teen who hits on real teenagers and complains about Tara’s ‘muffin-tops’, Most memorable is the alternate personality Buck, Tara’s only male personality, and an incredibly foul, gun-loving one at that. Oh, and there may or may not be a fifth personality called Gimme that pees on beds. Tara, at the center of all this craziness, still tries her best to be a loving and understanding mother and wife. That’s the kind of fortitude that can be celebrated, one personality at a time.
Quote of choice: ‘I didn’t raise you to let boys in pigtails push you around.’
5. Lois (Malcolm In The Middle)
Hard-edged and most likely to have been a berserk assassin in her previous life, Lois runs her boy-filled household with an iron fist. ‘Insane’ might be too judgmental a word to describe her, so let’s just go with the phrases ‘aggressively paranoid’ and ‘vaguely psychotic’. She spends entire episodes on largely single-minded hunts for evidence of her sons misbehaving, and has, on one occasion, answered the door naked. But, like a lioness defending her cubs, Lois will go for the kill when her family is under attack. For most people, this turn of phrase isn’t literal. But for Lois – seriously, keep the knives away.
Quote of choice: ‘Oh, come on, Malcolm. If we only looked at stuff we could afford, all we would ever see is crap.’
4. Joyce Summers (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
Poor Joyce. She not only had to deal with a teenage daughter, she had to deal with a teenage daughter who had a dangerously mystical calling. Joyce was no pushover, though, nor she was ever ashamed of Buffy’s demonic duties. I only say ‘Poor Joyce’ because she was inconveniently saddled with another daughter who was actually magical energy in human form. But hey, Joyce loved her daughters no matter how superhumanly strong or magically energized they were. Plus, she once hit Spike on the head with an axe. Awesome.
Quote of choice: ‘You belong in a good old fashioned college with keg parties and boys. Not here with Hellmouths and vampires.’
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