Favorite Episodes: The New Adventures of Old Christine

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This is another show that I only heard about in passing and didn't come to watch until it had already ended. The New Adventures of Old Christine just didn't sound like it would be any good... judging only by the title. After I found out who was in it (Wanda Sykes, hello!), I gave it a try one morning when it came on Lifetime after Will & Grace. I ended up getting hooked and was watching reruns for two hours a day. It took me a while to catch all of the episodes, mostly because the reruns came on at inconvenient times and I, for whatever reason, decided not to try collecting them via DVR. This also meant that I saw a lot of things out-of-order, because I was essentially watching two different timelines of episodes that eventually caught up to where the other left off.

The show is actually very funny... and I'm glad that they cast Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the role (for which she won an Emmy, so I'm not the only one who thinks she's great here!), as she's really able to play the craziness of Old Christine well. Her character starts the series divorced with a school-age son. Her brother has moved in with her and she is struggling with her husband having a new, much younger, woman in his life. The five seasons only cranked out 88 episodes, which is on the low side, but there sure are some hilarious episodes! Now, let's take a look at the winners...

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Season 1: "Teach Your Children Well" (S01E08): This was tough to choose, as there are some gems in the short first season, including "The Other F Word" and "Some of My Best Friends are Portuguese." But, in "Teach Your Children Well," Christine wants to have a great party for Ritchie, so he'll fit in more with the other children at his private school. But, she can't afford a fancy party with celebrity cameos, so she has the kids do a craft and clean the house under the guise of a "treasure hunt." She considers the event a success, even if the children didn't receive the elaborate goodie bags to which they've become accustomed at the parties of their peers. Watch episode on Amazon. Buy first season on Amazon.

Season 2: "Faith Off" (S02E19): I really liked the Marly and Lindsay characters throughout the series, and I think this is the second episode where they are the ones making the story hilarious (the first being "Crash," earlier in the season). Lindsay hires Richard to remodel her bathroom, but because he used to be a slacker, Christine is obsessed with making sure that her ex does a good job, fearing being further ostracized from the other mothers at school. But, he's gotten good at what he does, and she winds up ruining it when she tries on Lindsay's clothes. Plus, Matthew visits Home Depot for the first time, in awe at the power of tools. Watch Episode on Amazon. Buy second season on Amazon.

Season 3: "House" (S03E07): [remember, this was the shortest season because of the writer's strike] This episode is a bit over-the-top, but I still like it. Christine is working on being happy, but it becomes increasingly difficult when Richard and New Christine buy a house together - not just any house, either... the one that Christine had dreamed of owning when she and Richard were first married. She tries to keep it together but just can't manage after a while. Watch Episode on Amazon. Buy third season on Amazon.

Season 4: "Too Close for Christine" (S04E17): I had to remember my old rule of not choosing holiday episodes, otherwise "Guess Who's Not Coming to Dinner" may have taken this slot. This episode stands out to me because both storylines are hilarious. On one hand you have Matthew living with Richard and New Christine, only he struggles to live under the many strict rules New Christine imposes, like how fancy they dress for dinner. On the other, you have Barb tired of entertaining Christine, so Christine enjoys entertaining Francie, the mother of one of Ritchie's friends. However, when Francie soon starts being needier than Christine can handle, she turns to Barb for help anyway. View on Lifetime.com. Watch Episode on Amazon. Buy fourth season on Amazon.

Season 5: "Up in the Airport" (S05E17): "Subway, Somehow" makes me laugh SO HARD, but "Up in the Airport" is just a tiny bit better. Christine feels bad when Ritchie hasn't been to nearly as many places as his peers, so she arranges a family vacation to Florida, which she believes is in another country. New Christine, who uses umpteen thousand miles for the trip, forgets her wallet, and Old Christine tries to get her past security anyway. They wind up missing their flight, and their next option involves a very long trip with multiple layovers... on a sober airline. New Christine ends up not getting to go on the trip, joining Barb in peace for only a short while, as the family gives up on the trip. In the end, however, Barb and Christine drive Ritchie to the Mexican border so he'll have a country to "pin."  Watch Episode on Amazon. Buy fifth season on Amazon.

Top 10 Television Democrats

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

With the 2012 Presidential Election upon us, I thought that it would be cool to take a look at some openly political television characters. Today we'll look at Democrats and tomorrow we'll look at Republicans. No special reason that we're doing one before the other.

all images pulled from wikis, except Family Ties from IMDB

10. Joe Quimby, The Simpsons. Mayor Quimby is largely portrayed as an animated collage of political Kennedys, with an accent, a passion for womanizing, and uses money to solve as much as possible.

9. Grace Adler, Will & Grace. She wastes no time in declaring her political affiliation - in the fifth episode, "Boo! Humbug," she says, "I'm a Democrat" when she has to take Harlin's children trick-or-treating and one is dressed as Richard Nixon!

8. Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan, Friends. Though the show never gets very political, it would be difficult to peg Phoebe as conservative! She's a vegetarian, respects the environment, loves all animals (even smelly cats and rat babies!), donates to the homeless, and is really a free spirit in many ways. She's a lover of peace, not a big fan of Western medicine, doesn't like mass-manufactured products, and generally doesn't worry about how others see her. One very liberal thing she does is after she gets married she legally changes her name to Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock for an episode! 

7. Hawkeye Pierce, M*A*S*H. Hawkeye was drafted and opposes the war, often disagreeing with everything the army stands for and disregarding their policies. In "Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde," he sends a telegram to President Truman, asking "Who's Responsible?" for the insanity taking place. Many seasons later, in "Give 'Em Hell, Hawkeye," he writes a letter to Truman, begging for him to stop the Korean war. He explains how dire the situation is and that the peace talks need to take place.

6. Christine Campbell, The New Adventures of Old Christine. For someone who is hardly motivated about anything, Christine founded her college's Democrats group. She doesn't talk about her political beliefs specifically all that much, though in the early season 4 episode "White Like Me," she does point out to Richard that she's a Democrat (and also says that's why she won't take alimony). She also drives a Prius, liberally drinks wine, and marries a woman for a short period of time, if you want to further stereotype a character who thoroughly stereotypes throughout the series.

5. Winnie Cooper, The Wonder Years. Winnie genuinely cares about stopping the war, as it took away her brother far too early. So, she works for the McGovern campaign in 1972 ("Politics as Usual" in season six), and is genuinely sad that there are folks who won't take a leaflet about a guy who wants to end war, poverty, and pollution. She is swept up in wanting to see change in the world, and even meets the Senator, who loses by a landslide. The local head honcho, Mike, depresses Winnie further when he says that McGovern never stood a chance, and Kevin says their political views were forever changed that night. 

4. Dorothy Zbornak, The Golden Girls. Though she never comes out and says it, Dorothy is implied to be a Democrat - she supported both Mondale and Dukakis and planned to "tell off" George H. W. Bush about the educational system's flaws. Dorothy also believes in female independence and allowing immigrants to stay in the country as long as they're productive members of society.

3. Rory & Lorelai Gilmore, Gilmore Girls. In "Dear Emily and Richard," Lorelai thinks back to being pregnant with Rory, when she planned to register as a Democrat because it's so far from her parents' ideals. Multiple times throughout the series, Rory and Lorelai talk about their liberal thinking, solidified toward the end of the series as Rory goes to work as a reporter on Obama's campaign. 

2. Brian Griffin, Family Guy. A supporter of Dennis Kucinich, this dog is anti-religion, hates George W. Bush, served in the Peace Corps, believes that marijuana should be legalized, and supports gay marriage. He considers himself an intellectual (attended Brown University and all) who thinks global warming is man-made, yet he drives a Prius. Surprisingly, he did vote for John McCain.

1. Steven & Elyse Keaton on Family Ties. This show depended on the liberalism of the Keaton parents being contrasted with the conservatism of their children (except maybe Jennifer). They married young, joined the Peace Corps, had their first child, THEN went to college at Berkeley, when they had their second child. They often speak of protesting, Elyse is a hardcore, independent feminist, and Steven works in public television. Imagine his cries as Mitt Romney tries to assassinate Big Bird!


Honorable Mentions include Brian and Joe Hackett from Wings, Mary Richards from Mary Tyler Moore, Lindsey Weir from Freaks and Geeks, Eric Camden from 7th Heaven, and Shirley Feeney from Laverne & Shirley. Am I missing anyone?

Top 10 Single TV Moms

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Since Mother's Day was this past Sunday, I thought that it would be nice to take a look at some great television moms. And, not just any moms, specifically single moms on TV. There are quite a few out there, and in order to excel, they have to work much harder than mothers with more of a support system. I had a fun time thinking of single mothers, and then choosing which ones to feature today. Since I undoubtedly missed some candidates, feel free to suggest other fabulous single moms!

10. Millicent Torkelson, The Torkelsons / Almost Home. Raising five children (three in the second series) is a great deal of work for any parent. Millicent works hard to give her family what they need, and takes on the odd job here and there to make ends meet. She tries to be creative about their issues (like altering thrift store dresses, using recycled bottles to serve bottled water at a party, etc.), and is rather proud to be able to make it on her own (she was shocked that the community donated a box of canned goods to her family). While they do have a boarder to help with expenses, and they later move across the country (Pyramid Corners, Oklahoma to Seattle, Washington!) and move in with another family to keep things going. While the kids weren't in love with their situation, they appreciated everything that their mother did for them, time and time again.

9. Lisa Cuddy, House. Now a mother to Rachel, Cuddy tried for a while to have her own child through IVF, with donor sperm. Then, she tried to adopt with unsuccessful results for a while. Finally, she got Rachel, and she has been an overly caring mother to her. When Social Services came to inspect, Cuddy was so afraid that she'd lose custody because of an old diaper that hadn't been disposed of. Cuddy genuinely cares about her daughter's health and well-being, and despite having such a high-profile job, still makes a lot of time to spend with Rachel, though she does have a part-time caretaker for the toddler.

8. Christine Campbell, The New Adventures of Old Christine. Though she was technically married to her best friend, Barb, in the fourth season, (to keep her in the country) Christine was a singe parent throughout the show. She tried hard, making sure her child went to a good school, that the school was diverse, and that she wrote down everything that might help her son through life. She even volunteered for multiple programs at the school, though she sometimes had to push her ex-husband or her brother to fulfill those obligations if she got slammed at work. 

7. Angela Bower, Who's the Boss? The situation here is a bit different. Though Angela does have her mother living with her, and she hires a live-in male housekeeper, she is still a single mother to Jonathan. Parenting isn't the biggest topic in this series, but Jonathan has his share of issues that Angela must deal with... stolen hubcaps, being bullied, trying to get a girlfriend, etc. Luckily, when Angela knows that she isn't the best person to deal with her son's troubles, she has Tony there to help her out and lend a manly ear to whatever is going on.

6. Jackie Harris, Roseanne. Jackie was a doting mother to little Andy. She was paranoid about what he'd eat and how he'd play, which was a big change from the way her sister raised her own kids. Jackie wanted Andy to have a good life, and that even meant breastfeeding at the altar. But, the marriage (to Andy's father) didn't last long, and Jackie went back to being a single mother, who continued to pay much closer attention to her child than anyone else paid to theirs on that show (with perhaps the exception of David & Darlene's little Harris, since she was so premature).

5.  Amy Juergens, The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Of all the women on my list, this one is the hardest to argue for, since she has a great support system when you look at it. Peers at school found a daycare for her son, a job for Amy, and throw her a shower. Her family provides her with a car, helps her with household chores, and even gives her the opportunity of a lifetime to attend a summer music camp - by watching her son while she's away for several weeks. Nonetheless, Amy started the ninth grade pregnant, and conceived during her very first intercourse, so she definitely faces a difficult life ahead of her, as her child will practically be reading when she starts college!

4. Murphy Brown, Murphy Brown. It would be wrong not to include Murphy Brown, as she made such strides for single mothers both on and off the screen. While it was heavily criticized for a woman to willingly take on becoming a single parent (perhaps you remember Dan Quayle's issues with Murphy Brown?), Murphy did it in stride. She chaperoned field trips, hunted down the hot Christmas toy, stressed over how to talk to her son about death, and even dealt with having cancer while being a single mother.

3. Ms. Tonitini, The Weekenders. Tito's mom doesn't have a first name from what I can remember. Her ex-husband lives on the other side of the country, and only appears once throughout the run of the series. She has some very great characteristics for single motherhood... she's really into cooking healthy meals (tofu and seaweed often appear in their household), she has a very open relationship with Tino (it's clear that she knows a lot about his past problems, as she finishes sentences for him when he tells stories), and she gives very sensible advice without sounding overbearing and matronly. While she's not a major character, she appears frequently, and is always saying or doing something interesting.

2. Reba Hart, Reba. She is perhaps one of the most memorable single moms out there. It's not a bed of roses for her, as she deals with her oldest daughter's teenage pregnancy immediately after getting left by her husband for a younger woman, but she tries. Nobody knows how bad things are (she takes out a second mortgage on the house that nobody knows about for a while), and she eventually takes a job working for her ex-husband before starting a business with her son-in-law. While parenting Jake isn't a problem often, Reba often has to deal with helping Cheyenne to make good decisions and steering Kyra in the right direction. And, she does this all while her ex-husband's new wife continually pops in on her and her family.

1. Lorelai Gilmore, Gilmore Girls. Clearly, Lorelai is a wonderful single mother. She left home as a teen mom, and made her entire life out of nothing. Her wealthy parents offered her support, but she chose to ignore them completely for many years. Instead, Lorelai worked as a maid while she a Rory lived in a small guest house. She eventually bought a jeep and a house, and eventually went to night school, got a degree, and opened an inn. Rory is delightfully well-adjusted, an ambitious academic, and very cautious in all of her endeavors. The relationship that Lorelai and Rory share is enviable in many ways - from hanging out on weekends watching movies to sharing bits of personal experiences to just being a phone call away at all times. Lorelai Gilmore, winner!

For those who missed this post when it was first published, my apologies. It was one of the many lost in Blogger's maintenance problems. I was waiting it out for Blogger to correct the problem, but it's been a week and I'm just going to move on.