Here at Grizzly Bomb we wanted to do a little something for Mother’s Day, and we’ve decided to share our favorite TV Mom’s, and what makes them great. Some of the videos are NSFW, consider yourself warned.

Dr. Kronner – Morticia Addams

A character originating in the 1930s from New Yorker comic strips, Morticia Addams was the matriarch of the coolest family on TV. Much of my childhood was spent watching the 5-7 pm block on the old Family Channel which contained 2 episodes of Batman, as well as 2 episodes of The Addams Family. This may be why I was the only 8 year old I knew who was really excited for the 1991 movie. Anyhow, I loved that show, and it was all held together by the object of Gomez Addams’ affection – Morticia. Played for 64 episodes between 1964 and 1966 by Carolyn Jones (who was also on the 60s Batman show). She would later reprise her role multiple times, maybe most notably in my favorite 70s cartoon – The New Scooby Doo Movies (Where Jodie Foster voiced Pugsley Addams). 

MichelleLynn61 – Lois Griffin

Lois Griffin is one of the best TV moms of all time for several reasons. First and foremost, I would like to commend her for not being killed yet. Stewie has tried time and time again to eliminate his mother, and yet she stands. Bravo! Also, Lois is a total MILF. She has made out with Meg’s girlfriend, played piano in almost nothing for Peter’s guy friends, and has even been a model and a hooker. She is usually faithful, assuming Bill Clinton is not around to persuade her to stray. She takes great care of her children, with the exception of Meg. She is not perfect, but with her quick wit, sexy cartoon bod and red hair, and sassy attitude, she is everything I hope to one day be when I am a mother.

William Maullace – Gemma Morrow

My favorite TV mom is Gemma Morrow from Sons of Anarchy. This is an odd choice for me because, when they first introduced this character, I hated her. She is manipulative, bossy, and just kind of evil. As the show continued though, these very traits grew on me. This woman is willing to do anything for her family. She is morally reprehensible, and she ends up going through some crazy shit. She is a very strong woman, holding her own in a group of fugitive bikers.

While I wouldn’t say she is a good person, far from it, I find her dedication to her family to be something kind of beautiful and powerful. In some ways, not the immoral criminal ways, she reminds me of my own mother; my mom’s dedication to her family was through hard work, often working 3 part time jobs at once when I was a kid. She made many sacrifices for her family to keep us strong and together. That’s why I chose Gemma as my favorite TV Mom, her dedication and love to keep her family together.

joey123mo – Nancy Botwin

The decision to put Nancy Botwin might be a rather controversial one considering what most people would call “good parenting” definitely doesn’t dare approach a show like “Weeds”. If you’ve never heard of this Showtime cult hit, let me break it down for you. After the sudden death of her husband, suburban housewife and mother Nancy Botwin starts selling pot to provide for her family and pay her hefty mortgage.

Probably not the best choice, right? Well, technically speaking it really isn’t. But at the same time, it’s hard not to feel bad for Nancy, and you really do root for her during the first couple of seasons. Granted when she goes all psycho bitch and starts killing everything in her way, we lose a little bit of the love we’ve had for her, but before then we could actually, in some strange way, relate.  At that point in the show, Nancy is a completely unforgivable piece-of-shit mother that has done nothing but scar her children so badly that one of them is officially a psychopath. But we’re talking about pre-season 4 Nancy here! The Nancy we all know and love! While she’s definitely not the best mother on TV, she’s one of the most devoted, which is why she has a place in my heart and a place on this list.

Abombz – Elyse Keaton

Shes the ex-hippe ying to the preppie yang of Alex P. Keaton. Family Ties’ Elyse Keaton (Meredith Baxter-Birney) was the ideal Mom of the 80’s. Successful as an “independent” architect but still true to her hippie upbringing she was the type of Mom that would be waiting up in the kitchen if you were late from home but wouldn’t keep you from letting your freak flag fly if that was your deal.

And of course Meredith Baxter-Birney was pretty hot in the 80’s and made it believable that she could sire a young Justine Bateman. The biggest question is how she married a dork like Bert Gummer Michael Gross… but I guess they were hippies after all.

MichelleLynn61 – Catelyn Stark

Catelyn Stark is the graceful, yet totally badass mother in the HBO series Game of Thrones. She has been through more than any other character on the show. Her son was nearly killed and crippled, her daughter sent to marry an evil boy, her husband decapitated, she doesn’t know where her youngest girl is, and another son is at war. Catelyn has kept her cool through some of the most horrific scenes I’ve ever seen on television. She is kind, she is gracious, and she is the most beloved person in all of Winterfell.  If any character deserves recognition this Mother’s Day, it is Catelyn Stark.

Joey123mo – The How I Met Your Mother Mother

It’s rather odd to list a person who isn’t strictly speaking “real”, but what better mother can be on this list than the mother from, you guessed it, “How I Met Your Mother”. Okay, okay, I know. We’ve never actually met her. We don’t know her name, what she looks like, her personality, her taste in music, or even if she like Star Wars and Ghostbusters (but I mean, if you’re marrying Ted Mosby that stuff is kind of a given).

If you’re still a little bit skeptical of her addition on this list, allow me to convince you further. We’ve known Ted Mosby now for about eight years. We’ve seen all the women he’s been with. Some of them were awful, some of them were really awful, and some of them were just downright abhorrent. But we also saw a lot of great girlfriends like Victoria and Robin and Stella (who left him at the altar but us fanboys try and forget that part).

My point is, we’ve known Ted Mosby almost as long as the Mother has known Ted Mosby. We’ve watched him grow throughout the past eight years, and we’re comfortable with the notion that when he meets the right girl, he’ll know it. As of late his feelings for Robin have definitely been resurfacing, but in due time, he will meet the woman of his dreams, and when he does, I and all the other devoted fans will be watching, finally looking at the mother of his children.

SupaScoot – Lois Wilkerson

Now you may be going who the hell is Lois Wilkerson? She was the domineering, stubborn, and hard working mother of one of the most dysfunctional families on TV. She works hard to support her family of 6 kids (I include Hal, her husband in this count) and deal with all the problems they bring her. I’m speaking of the mother of the Malcolm in the Middle family, who’s surname is never officially revealed throughout the series. Lois is played brilliantly by Jane Kaczmarek, and is one of the most vocal and authoritative figures on screen, EVER. Her oldest son Francis doesn’t even fear his drill instructor as much as he fears his mother.

So why choose the matriarch of the most dysfunctional family on TV as one of our Best TV Moms? Because she keeps them all together. She manages to rein in all the crazy personalities of her children and her husband and keep them a happy, loving family whether they want to or not. And she does it because she cares. She works 12 hours at the Lucky Aide and then comes home to clean, cook, and take care of her family because she cares.  The only thing keeping her sons out of jail and her husband in clean clothes and her family off the street is her sheer force of will, and the never-ending love she has for her children. What more could anyone ask for?

In some ways Lois Wilkerson reminds me of my mother. My mother raised 3 boys (I’m the youngest) mostly on her own. She worked very hard for us, and she dealt with the insanity we brought her in the best way possible. She may have been strict sometimes, but it was always necessary and was always with love, and my brother’s and I are better for it. My mom passed away 6 months ago, and I have to say putting together this list was a very hard thing for me to do. I (and my family) miss her tremendously, and when Dr. Kronner said we should dedicate this post to her I was very grateful and touched.

But I think we take it a step further. If anybody deserved a list to celebrate the contributions made to humanity, its the Mom’s of the world. So this post is dedicated to all the Mother’s (and Mother-figures) out there who raised us, took care of us, grounded us, and loved us unconditionally. Thank you.

Now go call your Mom’s and make sure you wish them a Happy Mother’s Day.

Check out last year’s Father’s Day list also.