Was it me or was the mother ALWAYS depressed. That bothered me more than anything. UGH
shareI wouldn't say that Kate was depressed. Kate was a low-key, mellow kind of person who kept most of her emotions under control and didn't allow too much to get her agitated.
shareShe just seems tough to me but not a bitch. She reminds me a lot of the mother (played by Tyne Daly) on "Judging Amy".
Grrrrrr!!Aaargh!!
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The mother was always a drip. Back in the 70's we used to find her a bit rigid not only in her manner and body language but in her house rules. Now looking back on the show on DVD, I think that Sada Thompson played Kate in a way that slowly draws us into her character. I always thought it interesting when Kate tells Buddy that Buddy is so much like her, which is not true. Buddy is free, complex, full of emotion, and full of life. Kate seems to have a huge wall up and her emotions kind of seep out. And Kate is nothing like her mother, played by Mildred Natwick, who is also free and full of life.
I love that episode where Kate has the chance to find out about her long lost aunt through a psychic. At the end of the show, she chooses not to find out anything more. Very strange conclusion to choose not to discover more about a long lost relative.
Yeah, that episode about the psychic always bothered me. Kate was on the verge of finding out about her aunt, she knew her aunt was alive because the psychic had told her so, then in one second she just cut him off and chose not to find out anymore. After telling Doug earlier that her mother had died calling her aunt's name!
Many daughters are nothing like their mothers. I'm not like mine and my daughter isn't like me. However, my daughter and my mother are alike in some ways.
I used to think I was NOTHING like my mother...however the older I get, the more similarities I see...however we still have MANY differences as well.
With Kate and Buddy I do see similarities...one of the MAJOR similarities is that like Kate, Buddy is VERY perceptive of others she reads people really well...as does Kate. Kate will call a spade a spade in a minute...and so will Buddy. Often we misjudge Buddy as being a smart@$$ and precoscious or nosey even...when in fact she's telling it like it is or digging for the truth...Kate also DIGS for the truth she just does it in a more subtle manner...and also doesn't hesitate to speak her mind.
I like Kate...she will admit to not knowing all the answers but yet she's very profound. Hey isn't that what Kate once told Buddy *or something similar*
Ok, I've only watched a few episodes of the first season, but I have to say that if I had a mother like Kate, I'd have run away a long time ago.
She comes across to me as an tight-laced, judgmental, cold woman. The scene in the third episode where Buddy comes in and tells her that she was a snoop made me think "What kind of a mother ignores her child when she has a problem? Is sleep more important to you, especially when your husband is already up and going? Get out of bed, you lazy idiot and give your kid some needed attention."
She's the one reason why I'm not really enjoying the show. I think she could be a bit more "motherly" towards her kids. Enough of the "tough love" and show that you have some affection to them.
My mom was hardly like her in the 70's. She was a warm, loving mother. Kate could have taken lessons from her.
Btw, I think Willie dropped out of school because he doesn't have all of his oars in the water. I also think his elevator is stuck between floors.
I remember having that general impression too, that Kate was always depressed. But that was when I was watching it at 9 years old in the seventies.
Now, upon watching seasons 1 and 2 again, I see her as wise and witty. Her character is very well observed and acted; so poignant. Sada Thompson was a rare bird – she understood her character to the core and never over acted. Bring back that style of acting I say!
Wellington, New Zealand
I found Kate rather motherly. She hugged her kids when they needed it...and gave them a bit of firmness when they needed it. We always saw her hugging Buddy...or talking to her about LIFE...and she was VERY perceptive of her kids and KNEW when something was awry with one of them.
While she may not have always said what they wanted to hear...and she wasn't always tactful about things...Kate was pretty much always ON POINT with what she told them.
“Success is nothing without someone you love to share it with” –Brian to Tracy in Mahogany
So true how you describe the mother. Kate practised beautifully the essential precept spoken by the emperor Justinian who formulated the Roman law:
"Live honestly, harm no man and render to each his due."
Wellington, New Zealand
Well put!
“Success is nothing without someone you love to share it with” –Brian to Tracy in Mahogany
She seemed pretty normal to me. I guess everything is relative.
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