Change Your Image
MichelleDuMaurier
I saw myself in tomboy Jo Polniaczek, and had a crush on Luke Brower long before he was Romeo or Jack, when the rest of the world caught up. I heard my mother squeal with delight at the end of the Newhart finale before explaining the joke to me. When Clair Huxtable explained Blossom’s period to her by icing a cake, she explained it to me, as well.
As a kid, I longed to have a mother, and ultimately be a wife and mother, like Clair Huxtable or Elyse Keaton. These women were smart, beautiful, engaging, and yet always had time to sit with and explain things to their kids. In reality, I became a mother like Jackie Harris or Frankie Heck- never quite having things together, but definitely always doing my absolute best.
More modern shows I’ve enjoyed and recommend are Monk, Bones, Pushing Up Daisies (which died too soon because of a writer’s strike, but which would have thrived if made today as an original for a streaming service), My Name is Earl (which was groundbreaking when it aired: bringing a cable sensibility of budget, aesthetics, music, etc, to network television. We moved out of the four-six room sets of a home or workplace of a traditional sitcom with Earl and into the fully fleshed out Camden County with cast of recurring characters and a million Easter Eggs for fans