For my Top 10 Tuesday this week, I am counting down the Top 10 Mom Characters!
I think Alvin may have ranked higher on my list if I didn't end up liking Bonnie's next beau even better. Alvin was an interesting character who had both funny and sad moments in a nuanced portrayal by Kevin Pollak. His relationship with both Christy and Bonnie was great for character development and his (spoiler) death provided a really great character arc for Bonnie.
9. TAMMY DIFFENDORF
I was not a fan of Tammy at all when she burst onto the scene in Season 5. I thought Kristen Johnson was doing a way too broad portrayal. But over time as Tammy integrated into the group of friends, she became much more tolerable. Never one of my favorites but one who provided some good dynamics in the group of friends and she was a way better character by the end.
Watching the late seasons of Mom, it was hard to remember how the series started out with Christy dealing with her crazy mom and pregnant teen daughter. Said daughter, Violet, drifted in and out of the show after being a main focus in the first season but I always liked the dynamics she brought to the show and her combative attitude.
7. JILL KENDALL
Jill was another character, like Tammy, who grew on me as the series went on. she was also a little bit of a broad caricature at times but she had a lot of funny lines especially because she was so different from the rest of the characters in terms of her background and her wealth. Jamie Pressly found a nice balance as she grew into the character.
6. WENDY HARRIS
An underrated character on the show, Wendy was a bit of a straight woman amongst some much louder and crazier personalities - pretty much all of the rest of the women. She was a necessary character to have in the mix though because she grounded the group and balanced them out. Beth Hall made her very endearing and sweet.
Baxter was a pretty funny character in the early years of Mom as he was first in a perpetual state of arrested development before getting his act together and also providing a lot of laughs that way. He was one of the first characters to really change a lot during the series and I always wished the show didn't get away from his character even though his story came to a natural end. He was just a fun person to have on screen.
4. ADAM JANIKOWSKI
Adam joined the series in Season 3 and became a main character in Season 4. He ultimately proved to be Bonnie's rock and a character who played a big role in her evolution from being incredibly selfish to, well, less selfish. In a series populated almost entirely by women at the end, William Fichtner provided a different type of person in Bonnie's life and for the audience and I always like how they handled the fact that the character was in a wheelchair with a matter-of-fact approach.
Marjorie was a pretty fascinating character throughout the series. There was a side of her that was like a mama bear or grandma to all, but she also had a wild past which meshed oddly with her demeanor as a cat lady. The series gave her a whole lot of character issues to work through a cancer diagnosis, the death of her husband and financial trouble. Mimi Kennedy made us root for her every step of the way.
2. CHRISTY PLUNKETT
I know the series changed so much over its run that it became much more about a group of women than a mother-daughter relationship. But it was still telling that the final season suffered without Anna Faris. She may not have been the show's MVP but she was certainly a valuable character. Christy was such a mess sometimes and so funny other times. I loved her relationships with most of the other characters on the show.
Obviously the MVP of the show is Allison Janney's Bonnie. Even when the series had inconsistent episodes or seasons, Janney could make anything work. Bonnie could be ridiculous and over the top or she could be a dramatic and heartbreaking character. Janney was up to the task. She gave Bonnie tremendous range when the character could have simply gone for laughs with her selfish personality. The fact that Janney was so dynamic in the role played a large role in the evolution of the series.
Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at Princesses!
Next Tuesday: Top 10 I Love Lucy Characters!
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