The 1980s was a big decade for the world, and possibly an even bigger decade for TV. Sitcoms weren't going anywhere on network television, and some of them paved the way for the comedy of the 90s and beyond.
It is natural for times to change, for people to develop, for societies to grow. The humor of a day gone by is not always viable for a new age. The 80s are a great example of that. In a time of ever-changing roles for women, here are ten female sitcoms characters from the 1980s that would never fly today.
10 Carol Seaver
On Growing Pains, mom Maggie Seaver is a loving mom who also works as a reporter. The show wouldn't be the same without Maggie and Jason's four children, Mike, Carol, Ben, and (much later) Chrissy.
Carol has some nice moments, but she sometimes comes off as a pretty aggressive character who puts others down. The show aired from 1985 to 1992, so we'd like to think that some television children have progressed since then. Sadly, that's not always true.
9 Diane Chambers
Diane Chambers from Cheers is loved by some fans and despised by others. Played by Shelley Long, the character is beautiful, brainy, and usually resourceful. Unfortunately, she often uses her intelligence to put others down. Her friends and colleagues at the bar are not as well versed as she is in the humanities, and she lets them know it.
While it is good to pay attention to classic literature, film, and music on a television show, knowledge of those topics should never be used to make others feel inferior.
8 Carla Tortelli
Carla Tortelli and Diane Chambers are like night and day. Carla is smart, too, though. Her issues are not tied to haughtiness or flightiness.
Carla is down to Earth and is a dedicated mother, but she is quite crass. Some of her jokes and anecdotes are a little inappropriate or insensitive on Cheers. If this character existed on a show today, she would likely be met with some criticism.
7 Elyse Keaton
This one might surprise some people. After all, the character of Elyse was a pretty progressive mother for the 1980s. She clearly loves her family and values her time both inside and outside of the home.
The writers of Family Ties never let you forget that Elyse and Steven Keaton are former hippies. That past life wouldn't really make sense for a character today. Also, the political division of American could complicate the issues presented on the show in its run from 1982 to 1989.
6 Marion Cunningham
Happy Days is a special sitcom, and Mrs. C. is a special lady. So what's the problem? Well, Happy Days is an early example of nostalgia on TV. Though the show ran from 1974 to 1984, it looks back on American life in the 1950s and 60s.
Mrs. Cunningham reflects the traditional role of women in that time period. She may not be as restricted as a June Cleaver, but she is still a character that would not wind up on a modern television program.
5 Roseanne Conner
The proof is in the pudding with this one. Roseanne began in 1988 and originally ran through 1997. In 2018, the show got the reboot treatment, but Roseanne Barr got fired from her own show.
Now it's just The Conners. Her termination was not related to her portrayal of Roseanne Conner, but one might wonder just how well it would have gone if the loudmouthed TV mom had lived on.
4 Thelma Harper (Mama)
Mama's Family made a name for itself from 1983 to 1990. The series starred Vickie Lawrence as Thelma, also known as Mama. The character and show were based on Lawrence's Mama character in "The Family" skits on The Carol Burnett Show.
The Southern Mama, Thelma Harper, gets a load of laughs, and the show has done well in syndication. Unfortunately, Thelma's wisecracks frequently are meant to make fun of others. She also is known for calling her family members mean names. This is not the direction that a sitcom should look to nowadays.
3 Katherine Papadopolis
This sitcom mom is from Webster, an 80s ABC show. Webster is an adorable little boy who is adopted by George and Katherine Papadopolis when his parents are killed in a car accident. It is more of a stereotype than anything else for Katherine--she is a high-class 80s socialite.
Her dated profile is one thing, and it is another that she is a white woman taking care of an African-American child (with her white husband). NBC's Diff'rent Strokes operated under a similar premise. While this adoption situation happens, it would have to be done extremely carefully on television today so as to take every measure of equality for the actors on set and the characters on screen.
2 Evelyn Bluedhorn
This mother is a recurring character on the 1982-'87 show Silver Spoons. Her name already sounds pretentious, and she doesn't have a great track record. She is married for one week but doesn't tell her ex-husband about their son, Ricky. Ricky does that by showing up at his father's house years later.
Evelyn has remarried and sent her son off to military school before the action of the show. The "shipping the kid away" thing is not so stylish these days, so Ms. Bluedhorn wouldn't work now.
1 Peggy Bundy
The mom from Married... With Children is Peggy Bundy. Nothing about her would fly today. She is incredibly lazy, spends the family's money mostly on herself, and continually mocks her husband, Al.
To be fair, he's not great either. The kids take after the parents on this show, which makes it all even worse. Let's hope there's no chance of that one getting a reboot.
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