As most of you can tell by now I have a special fondness in my heart for the sitcoms from the 80s and the crazy characters than inhabited them. So today I thought I would bring to your attention one of my favorites that doesn't get the recognition she deserves.
While a lot of attention is given to the character of Blanche Devereaux, who was portrayed by the brilliant Rue McClanhan, of The Golden Girls fame, not enough is given to Mona Robinson of Who's the Boss?, one of the funniest characters to ever grace a TV screen.
Like Blanche, Mona enjoyed men and would date everyone from a college student to a silver fox who controlled the boardroom and the bedroom. Mona, as played by the vivacious Katherine Helmond, was what could only be called a sexually liberated woman who was comfortable in her own skin and though everyone else should be as well. She was independent of needing a man but she also knew what having a man around added to her life. She never felt the need to apologize for who she was and I have a lot of respect for anyone who is willing to live life without worrying about the judgements of others.
She also never held back while pushing Angela and Tony together or commenting on how the odd situations those two found themselves in would look to anyone else. She was motherly and always good for advice. Both Angela and Samantha would turn to her when they needed someone to talk to, as did Tony. She was the glue that held this family together through the good times and bad. She was the one who brought the laughs and the sage wisdom all at the same time. Mona was a dynamic character who just when you thought you had her figured out, she would surprise you with another layer to her personality.
I can only wish that the current crop of TV writers would begin to pay more attention to characters like Mona, instead of the one dimensional stereotypes that seem to inhabit our screens today.
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