"Mom" to End With Season 8 on CBS

Jesus! Did it get to 8 seasons! I'm genuinely surprised.

CBS has had several shows that ran longer.

Thanks Anna Farris.

Sounds like they is jus’ plain lazy...

Two and a Half Men ran for 12 seasons, and both Murphy Brown and The Jeffersons ran for 11.

How many lose their jobs thanks to Farris?

I think they’re saying it’s the longest running broadcast series on today. And wow, 8 years? I’ve never seen an episode. Is it any good?

There’s a show called Mom? I’ve honestly never heard of it. I know there’s a sitcom called Mum in the UK, but I’m American and never heard of Mom.

It's sucked this season with Farris gone. Sappy and stupid.

Oh well.

I like both Anna Farris and Alison Janey but this show stunk. Just as Lorre's shows always seem to me. Good riddance.

another here who has never heard of this

Some of you have lived under a rock, then.

It was never a huge hit but it's hardly an obscure title.

I hope Farris comes back for a last episode.

I can see Janney wanting to pack it in. She always works.

I hope the cast finds work and the behind the scenes folks too

I've never even heard of it...

[quote] The decision to end Mom, currently CBS' longest-running scripted comedy series, arrives hours after the network handed out early renewals to Lorre's Bob Hearts Abishola and Jim Reynolds' The Neighborhood. Lorre's Big Bang Theory prequel Young Sheldon is awaiting word on its fifth season; rookie B Positive was picked up for a full season

Mom is better than every one of those other shows they renewed.

Geez, r15, I’ve never heard of any of those shows.

It is because Allison Janney stopped coloring her hair.

R16 you must never watch CBS then because they constantly advertise all of those shows endlessly.

How did they explain the exit of the character played by Farris?

Allison Janney looks great in that picture!

R19, drinking binge. It was a three episode arc that ended with session finale being the character‘a death. This season picked up with everyone picking up the pieces and questioning their own sobriety.

[quote] How did they explain the exit of the character played by Farris?

She got a full scholarship to Georgetown University, the season started right after her mother and stepfather dropped her off at the airport.

It was like Laverne without Shirley

Did the real reason ever emerge for Chris Pratt’s former wife leaving the show?

Still watch every episode. It's fun and Allison Janney carried a lot of weight to make up for Farris leaving.

Btw Allison has a dark comedy out called Breaking News in Yuma County and it's hilarious. It features Wanda Sykes and Ellen Barkin as a lesbian couple.

Yes, r23, yes...thank you! Wonderful comment and very astute. Laverne without a Shirley, The loneliest opening credits ever.

First we had Mom, then Mom without a daughter and now Mom without a network. The sun has finally set on the ‘golden age’ of TV. Goodnight Mom.

Janney loos younger with the white hair than she did with the dyed. I hope she realizes this. You look BETTER, lady!

Maybe it's because I grew up with all kinds of alcoholics in my family, but I really loved this show. Very sad to see it finish.

How was a show about a middle aged alcoholic with a middle aged alcoholic daughter funny?

R29 because they helped each other out, and ultimately you knew they were going to be successful in their journey to sobriety. And there was a great supporting cast.

All those years and they never fell off the wagon?

R31, they did fall off the wagon a few times, but managed to get themselves back up, with help from each other.

The show sucked.

I liked the show, didn't love it. For me the acting made all the difference. Janney, Pressly, Johnston, Kennedy... They are all comedy gold.

Usually sitcoms have a very stable cast throughout their runs. It's quite remarkable how this show ended up with just one regular staying from first to last season. (two if you count Kennedy who was recurring in season 1)

It was too *Golden Girls go 12-step*.

Zero interest in AA Cult shows from Lorre.

Janney deserves a better vehicle. This was like 2.5 Women with some serious dollop of earnestness - in other words: who was the audience for this?? I guess there was one, given that it stayed on the air for 8 seasons.

I’m never even heard of this show. It’s so interesting how people are famous or shows are famous and you’ve never heard of them. It’s either my age or just the sign of the times. Maybe both?

I've never watched a single episode.

For nearly every single person who posted a reference to Anna, her last name is FARIS, not Farris.

Never saw it or even heard of it.

I loved the storyline where Christy met her dad, Alvin, and then Bonnie fell back in love with him. They made a cute, weird couple, and I was sad to see it end. But there were some hilarious scenes at the funeral. That was the great thing about this show; it was able to mix in hilarious scenes with the sad scenes.

[quote] Never saw it or even heard of it.

Lots and lots of people with no TVs on this thread

Lots of AA publicists and handlers on this thread.

Let me be the first to say I've never seen or heard of this show.

Too late, r45

Any time I see a DL thread based on a TV show I've never heard of, I jump right into that thread and post that I've never seen the show. This is critical information that other posters need to know. Once I make that important proclamation, I go back to correcting other posters' grammar.

R47 Me too!

I also make sure that people understand that I *sniff* simply NEVER watch network TV. Why, the very thought!

Evidently, if Schitt's Creek had been on CBS, the network would had begged and begged for the Levys to do another two years.

I'll miss seeing William Fichtner. I think he's kinda hot. Especially in a wheelchair for some reason.

R50, why is he in a wheelchair in the show? In case I haven’t said it, I’ve never watched the show.

It says a lot about how out of touch I am with mainstream culture: I've never heard of Ferris or this show!

I watched a few reruns, but didn't like how they tried to blend the comedy with the drama. I do love Janney in anything!

R51, he was a stuntman who broke his back. I will miss him as well. I find him very sexy.

[quote]The Chuck Lorre comedy ranks as the broadcast network's longest-running half-hour.

CBS had many other longer running series, guess they forgot about 'Gunsmoke"?! This series ran from 1955 to 1975!

[quote] longest-running half-hour.

The claim is wrong R55 but Gunsmoke wasn't a half-hour.

Mom isn't even the longest running Chuck Lorre half hour comedy that would go to The Big Bang Theory with twelve seasons.

Are any of the side characters worth a spin off? I don't think so. The only character I could see grow into its own show would be Tammy/Kristen Johnston. Tammy showed some growth and nuances. I love Jaime Pressly. But I don't need to see more of Jill.

As sad as I was to see the character of Alvin go, I love Janney's chemistry with Fichtner (who is indeed sexy).

R58, I don't think a spinoff would work; the magic comes from Janney's star power and the chemistry of the ensemble cast. I think the best best for a spinoff would be centered on Margery and Tammy, who are unlikely roommates. It could be like a Kate and Allie for recovering addicts. Of course, bring back French Stewart as Tammy's love interest.

I loved this show until Faris left. It was all downhill from there. As a lesbian who attended AA for many years, it was comedy gold to me. I imagine that, even if most of you guys had watched it, you would have found it stupid. But it portrayed straight women in a way that was refreshingly open and natural.

I really miss it, but OTOH, I can watch the re-runs every weekday night.

They couldn't cast a real handicapped transwoman of color to play Janney's ex-husband????

Loved it until they made the kids go away, the point was the struggles of the mom and her mom with staying sober and her keeping it together for her kids and then attempting to better her life. Allison Janney is always gold. They should’ve recast Anna Farris character and continued the show.

This was one of those shows that always flew under the radar so it’s hard to believe it made it to 8 seasons.

One of my favorite low-key funny scenes happened when Christy was sick, and Bonnie went to the grocery store to buy some medicine for Christy. While browsing the medicine shelf, Bonnie ran into another mom who was shopping for medicine for a sick kid.

Mackenzie: I don't know what to get, this one's for cough and this one's for fever, and my son has both.

Bonnie: Yeah, I'm scared about giving a dose of this one to my daughter because she's so tiny.

Mackenzie: I'm just gonna get this one for Declan, it says pediatrician recommended.

Bonnie: Yeah, I'm gonna get this one for Christy, she loves purple flavored. By the way, how old's your son?

Mackenzie: Two. How old's your daughter?

Bonnie: 41.

'Mom' viewers petition to save it from cancellation: 'This show has no doubt saved countless lives'

One of the many long-running shows in CBS history, that for one reason or another ran under the radar. Like King of Queens which ran for 9 years.

M*A*S*H ran for 11 years on CBS...it was a scripted half-hour

I've watched this show from the beginning. It was quite funny at times and there are many amusing episodes I've saved on my DVR since the reruns are packed with commercial breaks more so than the original broadcast. I really like Mimi Kennedy and her character - I remember her from Dharma and Greg and liked her then as well. The show kinda went downhill after season 5 so I haven't watched with any regularity since season 6. I did see a few episodes from season 7 and it was a letdown from prior seasons and Anna Faris was so stick like although they tried to camouflage her gauntness with track suits. Allison is quite talented and I'm sure she will land somewhere else . As another poster noted above she looks FAB-O with her short gray hair.

Anyone know how Anna Faris is doing?

They repeat nothing but season 7 right now, several times a day. It was pretty obvious stick creature Faris was not happy being on the show. She was no longer front and center. Getting rid of the kids made the show into The Bitches of AA. I loved Faris, and Janney will always be a supporting character. She doesn't have it in her to be the lead. Season 8 has been terrible. Absolutely no point to the show anymore. The other girls are not interesting enough to write A stories about.

Hated the dumb kids, glad they are gone but they should have mentioned them a bit like Maris on Frasier.

IMHO later seasons hugely benefit from Kristen Johnston joining the show. Call me totally biased, but she makes any show better. Also, Jaime Pressly is hilarious as the shallow and vain Jill who gets more and more likable with each new storyline she is given.

To me the sitcom is comfort entertainment.

I was surprised when I heard Anna quit the show. Her and Allison had re-upped their contracts for a 7th and 8th season and were making over 350k an episode.

I'm sad(ish) Mom is ending, but I'm happy that Janney won two more Emmys during it's run.

I don't like the show at all. The ex drunk Mother is a bore and the daughter tedious. A show featuring losers is not my idea of how to waste time.

I like this show, although have not watched it religiously. I love the AA concept and the characters it brings into its orbit- one of a kind.

also Janney’s alcoholic boyfriend has major big dick energy.

A lot of CBS shows tend to fly under the radar I wonder if their shows have a non-urban, non-coastal flyover fanbase. This is not the only CBS show that people havent heard much of, tbey had a bunch of long running procedural shows. You would think that the CW shows are super popular because they get written about so much, but hardly anybody watches those either. Do they not advertise outside of CBS or are they not paying hacks to write anout their shows or is it because only old people watch them?

R62: The kids were awful. The daughter was annoying. The son was more plot device than character. The show was much better without them. At least they didn't make that weird looking woman from Big Bang Theory a regular---no comic timing and all she she seems able to do is play pathetic waifs.

r76

1. He's not her boyfriend, he's her husband.

2. He's not an alcoholic.

I can't think of any reason whatsoever that the gay men of this site would ever want to watch Mom, much less enjoy it. But I, as a lesbian, found every season (up until this Faris-less one) hilarious.

So what if you boys didn't watch it -- plenty of other people did.

Too bad, I wonder why Faris wanted out. A post upthread called this a show about losers but I think we need more shows about characters who aren't living the picture perfect suburban life. Tv shows are much more classist then they once were.

There's also The Connors.

Allison Janney Has a Theory Why CBS Pulled the Plug:

Chuck Lorre really has a mixed career in my opinion. His two seasons on Roseanne (Seasons 3 and 4, I think) were the best ones. I think The Big Bang Theory lost a little steam after Penny and Leonard got married, but all the characters were strong and it was consistently good television for 12 years. The show had heart.

But I find Two and a Half Men and Mom to be unwatchable stupidity and filth. Mike and Molly was shit.

I really loved this show. It got me through a difficult time and I'll always have a place in my heart for it. I love that it focuses on "losers" and flawed people just trying to make it through another day. That's relatable and real to me. If you don't want a show about people like that then shame on you. What's the alternative? A show where everyone is rich, beautiful, and has a completely perfect life with no flaws or conflicts? Who the fuck wants to watch that? It sounds boring.

R84 You sexist idiot. Roseanne loathed Chuck Lorre and hated him working on her show. She only allowed him maybe one or two epis per season where he'd get credit. Roseanne always rewrote every episode so she alone gets credit for how good Roseanne was in the first 2-5 seasons.

I love this show and I don't know exactly why;

The characters creates such warm supportive environment for each other while being deeply flawed and struggling with their own demons.

And it has featured older actors that network TV generally ignores...

Mimi Kennedy, Kristen Johnston, Jaime Pressly, Beth Hall, William Fichtner, and Allison Janney (who seems to work regularly in spite of the dearth of good roles for women her age) have all been amazing on this show - and it the later seasons it has felt like a real collaborative effort.

Kristen Johnston has been open about her own struggles with addiction - and about being dismissed by network TV when they deemed her "too old". and "unattractive". Every week Kristen shows how immensely talented she is and how much she has to offer - which feels like a kind of redemption to me.

This show lasting 8 years, going out with such strong writing and a great team - it just feels like a win to me...

Jeez, R86, why don't you chill, think and curb your hyperbole? Saying that Lorre had a good run during Roseanne was not a statement against women. Certainly doesn't make r84 sexist or an idiot.

Love this show, though suspect the time is right to end it. They are all great but Christy’s story was the engine.

Kristen is amazing! What a ridiculous talent. There are so many middling shows where if they plugged her into a supporting role, it would compensate for the mediocrity and we would all watch.

R88 Yes it does. Lorre is the most sexist, woman-hating fuck to ever write for TV.

Women hating? Me you say that because...?

R91 I have nothing to say to you, Janbot. And your single IQ point.

What is this show about? I assume a "mom." I've never heard of it before now.

Yeah, you would assume that. But that premise was abandoned a while ago. By now the 'mother' aspect plays no role at all anymore. Surprisingly, it made the show better. It is now about a group of AA women dealing with their sober life. As dreary as it sounds it's well done with the current season somewhat feeling worn out, but still OK. I am glad it's ending without dying a years long death.

I wonder if Faris will appear on the last episode.

If she does not, clearly there was an issue or rift between either Faris and Janney, or Faris and the creator/producer/et al.

The show spreads a lot of misinformation about AA.

So according to the link at R83 Janney thinks the show was cancelled because of money but I would think without Farris being on the show it would be much cheaper to produce since they are no longer paying her. It isn't like they replaced Farris with someone else and have that added cost.

R97 Faris was undoubtedly an expense but the longer a show runs the more EVERYONE'S salaries increase. Plus things like residuals, etc.

Stupid show.

It's just a sitcom and is weighed down with everything that goes with that. But the writing has generally been good and the actors are all terrific. They have worked together to made a very solid ensemble.

Lots of good work, all the way around. But it's still just a sitcom. I hope everyone involved made a big ol' pile of money.

[quote] The show spreads a lot of misinformation about AA.

I know right? The more you watch the show, the more you get the impression that it's totally fictional, and what you see is made up.

I could never imagine sitting through an AA meeting IRL. When I have had drinking problems in the past, I just quit and never needed a bunch of clowns to share it with. Horrid premise for a show, really. Faris was the core of the show, when she left, it was over. Janney does not have the ability to be a leading actress. Nor any of the other girls.

Tonight’s the big ending. No Christy return.

Interestingly, in an interview about the finale, Chuck Lorre refers to having been “told” last summer that Anna Faris would not be returning. She was under contract so i expected it would be a two-way discussion, not just the show being told that she was out. Doesn’t sound too amicable.

[quote] Some of you have lived under a rock, then.

Yes how true — we should all be sad losers who watch network sitcoms all night!

Jesus wept — if you’re going to sit in front of a glowing box, the box should at least glow semi-intelligently.

I'm gonna miss it. I didn't mind Faris' absence. The final season was still great.

Does AA really have that fucked up concept of making amends? I would never in a trillion years feel the need to revisit low lives from my past, nor do I owe these fuckers anything.

Adam was a welcome distraction from those yentas whining.

To me, amends is as much about giving the transgressor the ability to put the past behind them so they can move on. I’m not in the program, but that’s an important part of moving forward from any trouble in your life. Call it what you will.

[quote] Does AA really have that fucked up concept of making amends?

It's about being able to move on from the past instead of holding on to it. Sometimes guilt prevents people from getting / staying sober, because they feel they believe they deserve to be punished for whatever they did in the past.

Well said, R109

R109 Sounds like a bunch of xtian religious bullshit to me. I have never felt guilt in my life. I loathe religious people.

r111. Are you an alcoholic?

Psychopaths don’t feel remorse, right?

r133, what use would they have for AA?

It was a nice ending.

The End

Why did they introduce two characters in the finale? That felt like a backdoor pilot.

The rest was pretty good. I wish they could've gotten Faris to come back, but that was probably never happening.

Would have been better with just the regulars. More time to have the characters says what needed to be said to each other.

R113. Exactly. Why would you, cunt.

The two guest stars were actors from Lorre's other recent sitcoms. The daughter was Rose from "Two and a Half Men", and the mom was Peggy from "Mike and Molly".

Not necessarily a back door pilot, but a feeling of continuity. Remember the pilot of Mom featured Christy and Bonnie showing up together at the same AA meeting. They were estranged at the time, and their encounter at that meeting led to their becoming close as they worked together towards sobriety. With the appearance of this new mother and daughter pair, you get the feeling that the positive cycle will repeat. And Bonnie's reaching out to the daughter set it in motion.

Allison Janney wanted the show to continue. It’s sad that it couldn’t go on.

R119 Exactly. Jebus Cripe himself could not have written it better.

r119. very well put.

Love the show and I will add it to my other shows I like to re-watch (Golden Girls, Murder She Wrote, Showtime's Queer as Folk) on occasion.

The early seasons of "Mom" are on one of the cable channels like CMT at 8 pm ET.

Interestingly enough, IFC has been showing reruns of Third Rock From the Sun. Kristen Johnson was really good in that as was French Stewart.

Truth. The fat blond was really good in Third Rock.

Why did Faris leave? Really?

I’ll bet Janney’s reps wanted more money for her - as they should - because she was left to carry the show. Probably one reason it was cancelled.

The contracts were up for both, Faris and Janney, at the end of this eighth season. So Faris left before her contractual obligations were up. I am seeing three potential reasons for leaving before a contract is up: 1. Termination for cause - if Faris misbehaved. Doubt that. 2. Misbehavior on the employer's side. Don't really have any indicator for this. 3. Employee is unable to show up based on illness. Don't have indicator for that either.

There were articles about a feud between Faris and Janney. But even if true, I doubt they would let one of them out of a contract. Production would request to suck it up and fulfill the contract.

So in the end: I don't know.

I thought she was on a show about addition, when did she joined this cast? Was she doing two shows at once or was the other show renamed?

Janney was on Faris’s podcast a couple of times, and they seemed to get along great, and Janney has a great rep within the industry so I really doubt she would be part of a feud with her co-star.

I wonder if Faris claimed discomfort with working during COVID, which is a tricky thing legally, and the show ultimately decided that, hey, clearly she’s not going to renew after season eight anyway and we have a talented ensemble plus we could save lots of money, so they allowed her to walk since she was going to sooner or later. (COVID measures increased the episode cost like a half million for the average show, so the salary savings was welcome.)

I listened to Anna’s podcast around the time of her departure and she never said I word about leaving her show. I heard Jamie Presley interviewed after they started filming and she made it sound like there was no drama and they were a big happy family... yet it had been two to three weeks since the cast learned of Faris’s decision and she admitted no one had talked to her. Now, that’s odd to me.

Now "Mom" is canceled. The cancel culture will leave no one unscathed.

Is Faris' face still melting?

Janney said on CBS with Jane Pauley that the cancellation was a surprise. She said she had theories as to why it happened but has been told she should keep them to herself.

[quote] I heard Jamie Presley interviewed after they started filming and she made it sound like there was no drama and they were a big happy family...

I think they have it in the contract that they must not say anything negative about the show.

The great irony is that now, and even more so at the time, is probably the worst time to leave "for other opportunities"? What other opportunities? Granted, production is slowly picking up but absolutely nothing like a pre-pandemic pace.

I can't imagine she had an issue with working with Janney - and it also seems strange that any actor would give up a job where they get to work with Allison Janney every day. I mean, that's nuts.

I am about a third through the last season and, as I thought, once the other actresses found their way without and/or around Faris' absence, they all shine. Kristen Johnson is hilarious. The episode where Bonnie made driftwood furniture made me laugh out loud - which is all I ever wanted from this show. Eight seasons is probably plenty but it seems so odd that Faris choose to end it this way.

Did they even say why it was cancelled? Did the ratings tank after Faris' departure? I find that hard to believe on a network like CBS.

The networks give no fucks for series about a bunch of old coose. That's why it was canceled. Faris couldn't handle the show not being about her. When the girl is done, she's done.

It was funny when they brought Jamie Presley on. I kept on expecting her to say "oh snap"

Allison Janney is a lesbo right?

I suspect CBS wanted a show with greater appeal to youngsters. Also, Janney was due for a new contract, as were a couple others, so the network may have assumed it would become prohibitively expensive.

There are so few shows that are actually funny. They canned this and kept B Positive, with the worst two leads imaginable?

[quote] Truth. The fat blond was really good in Third Rock.

The fat blond Kristen Johnson, and Chef Rudy (French Steward) were both on Third Rock, I wish Chuck Lorre would do a comedy around Chef Rudy, while I find his character unlikable he is funny as hell.

When Kristen Johnson first joined Mom I hated her, she was over acting the character badly but she toned it down and now I think she adds a lot to the show.

I think Faris "just" got paranoid. Her husband got hot, an A-List blockbuster action star, and then he just dumped her. And MOM evolved into something totally different with her no longer being a mom having to deal with her own kids (they were written out) and having to "compete" with new arrivals like Pressely and Johnson, on top of Janney, for laughs. There are rumors that Faris has a drinking problem in real life and I would imagine she was in a really bad place when she decided to leave and Lorre didn't want a repeat of the Charlie Sheen PR drama and let her leave.

Anna Farris was always the weakest link on this show and her character was pretty uninteresting.

Fuck off, R139. Ana was like the Bea Arthur of the show. When she left it completely fell apart. Janney is and can only ever be a supporting actress. She doesn't have it in her to be a lead. And all the other girls on Bitches of AA are paper thin characters.

I don't think the eighth season fell apart. I actually thought it worked surprisingly well considering the loss of Faris. The reason may have been that the show developed the side characters well enough before, so that writers were able to write entire episodes around them. After all it was not the Faris show for a long, long time anymore, maybe in the first two or three seasons. And where Faris' character (what was her name again?) used to be very important to balance Bonnie's outrageousness, this job was taken on very well by her husband and Tammy, and to a lesser degree by Marjorie. I think the show would have suffered a lot more if Janney had left.

Oh, for the love of God. Mom was the longest-running comedy CURRENTLY on the CBS network, not of all time. Geez, people, get a clue.

And for those of you who claim, and some rather proudly, that you have never heard of Mom or ever watched it, you missed seeing one of the best comedy ensembles in years.

Sure, a TV show about addiction and recovery wasn't for everybody, but the writers did a superb job of mixing laughter with pathos. For example, in one episode Bonnie met her mother, the woman who had given her up for adoption, played (by the way) by Ellen Burstyn. The mother asked for forgiveness and a new relationship. The writers chose to have Bonnie reject the overture. It was heart-breaking to watch.

In another story arc, Bonnie reconnected with Christy's father, Alvin. They had a torrid affair and then Alvin died one night in the act. Again, laughter and pain.

And Bonnie's relationship with her wheelchair-bound boyfriend, and then husband, Adam, had its share of realistic ups and downs. William Fichtner's performance garnered him a Best Supporting Actor Emmy nomination for last season. IMHO he should have won.

TV shows come and go and many don't merit a second look. Mom is not one of those shows. It will run in syndication forever because you can drop in on an episode, know who the characters are from the writing and appreciate them for the acting.

Have to admit, I teared up the last three episodes. Only missed Anna the first couple of episodes. Kristin was a great asset to the show. I will miss it

Why does Faris' face always look ashy?

Is Janney an alcoholic in real life?

She's had those heavy lids and eye bags (and jowls) for years, and looks at least 10 years older than her age.

There was also the great arc where a recurring character dies from their addiction, which was quite powerful. Oh, and Regina (octavia spencer) was so much fun in her episodes early on. Lots of great actors came through there, from Kathleen Turner to Yvette Nicole Brown.

I actually missed Christy more than I expected. Her story grounded the show, I thought. She was still a work in progress more than the others.

Last week I watched a Kristen interview where she said that Tammy was originally a cartoon. My issue with the character in the beginning was that she was such a loser who had been through a lot so it was hard to laugh at her, which is why I enjoyed when she began discovering things she was good at. She was a wonderful addition. The women as a whole were a nice mix. And how great for Mimi Kennedy to have such a pivotal role at this point in her career.

R142. If it was such a great show, why did it DEPEND on a laugh track to juice up the "humor"? Yes, there were worse shows, but this was in no way 'one of the best comedy ensembles in years'. Even Everybody Loves Raymond was far better.

"For example, in one episode Bonnie met her mother, the woman who had given her up for adoption, played (by the way) by Ellen Burstyn. The mother asked for forgiveness and a new relationship. The writers chose to have Bonnie reject the overture. It was heart-breaking to watch."

But not nearly as sad as your calling it heartbreaking.

What's heartbreaking is that Ellen Burstyn couldn't cut it in her own show when the made-for-TV version of the role she won an Oscar for ran nine seasons.

“ William Fichtner's performance garnered him a Best Supporting Actor Emmy nomination for last season”

No, r142, it did not. Why must you lie?

I'm surprised they got away with casting William Fichtner in a wheel chair roll. Wouldn't that be abelism?

Is that any worse than trying to pass Geri Jewell off as a heterosexual?

R147 That was pretty funny. Burstyn completely over-acted in her bit role. She sounded like Katherine Hepburn after having a fifth stroke. All shaky and jittery. It was embarrassing. If you know the hatred and bitterness of alcoholics in real life, Bonnie's reaction and rejection was entirely fair.

Bursting wasn’t believable as a character who’d had a rough life.

[quote] one of the best comedy ensembles in years. Even Everybody Loves Raymond was far better.

That's comparing apples to oranges. R142 seems to refer to just the cast as a cohesive group. You seem to say that ELR was the far better show. Do I read that right? So that would compare cast vs show. Mom's ensemble was extremely strong. And while ELR was more successful and had good character driven stories, it came from a different era.

*Burstyn not bursting