The Mother
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spike71 — 19 years ago(September 23, 2006 08:19 PM)
I don't know that I'd call her depressed however I agree, she didn't smile much. But think of what she was dealing with - she had a very young daughter that was divorced with a young child, a teenager who was very headstrong, the son who was a high school dropout trying to survive in a big world, a husband with his own issues and - Kate also had her own desires to finish her own degree and do her own thing. No wonder all she did was sit at that kitchen table stirring her tea a thousand times.
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dwachte915 — 19 years ago(February 11, 2007 03:19 AM)
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. -
taylorje — 17 years ago(June 10, 2008 06:48 PM)
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. -
isisdawonder — 17 years ago(July 17, 2008 11:39 PM)
I used to think I was NOTHING like my motherhowever the older I get, the more similarities I seehowever we still have MANY differences as well.
With Kate and Buddy I do see similaritiesone of the MAJOR similarities is that like Kate, Buddy is VERY perceptive of others she reads people really wellas does Kate. Kate will call a spade a spade in a minuteand so will Buddy. Often we misjudge Buddy as being a smart@$$ and precoscious or nosey evenwhen in fact she's telling it like it is or digging for the truthKate also DIGS for the truth she just does it in a more subtle mannerand also doesn't hesitate to speak her mind.
I like Kateshe 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 -
phantomfan47 — 17 years ago(September 12, 2008 08:34 AM)
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. -
adam-1589 — 17 years ago(September 18, 2008 01:39 AM)
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 -
isisdawonder — 17 years ago(October 01, 2008 07:32 PM)
I found Kate rather motherly. She hugged her kids when they needed itand gave them a bit of firmness when they needed it. We always saw her hugging Buddyor talking to her about LIFEand 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 hearand she wasn't always tactful about thingsKate 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 -
adam-1589 — 17 years ago(October 02, 2008 02:30 PM)
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