Yeah, sometimes you get freaky just because you were snatched out of paradise.

From my limited Gilmore Girls knowledge, I agree Lorelai can be too co-dependent, but I think she did a pretty good job for a teenager with little family support. I'm not sure who I'd nominate as a better mom on TV now, though. Maybe Kirsten Cohen.

And I would love to know what Tucker's Brady Bunch issues are.

I think Kirsten's a much better mother, and to keep it in the family, Julie's one of the worst. But unlike most of the worsts -- she's meant to be.

Ma Kent's a decent mom...I'm blanking on all mothers, now.

The only problem with nominating Kirsten is that Seth, though he is witty and charming and adorable, was miserable and badly adjusted for most of his adolescence. I recognize not everything is mom and dad's fault, but it does seem like she and Sandy had been letting that slide more than they maybe should have.

Julie is a terrible mom but an excellent TV character.

But Seth's funny! Doesn't that trump all???

I guess I see Seth as messed up despite his family, the same way Ryan is dreamy despite his.

Also, I love Kirsten.

though he is witty and charming and adorable, was miserable and badly adjusted for most of his adolescence

Wasn't everyone though? If having a miserable adolescence can be blamed on bad parenting, then there are no good parents.

If having a miserable adolescence can be blamed on bad parenting, then there are no good parents.

I'm not saying Kirsten was a bad parent. At all -- from what we've seen, she's a pretty good one. But if we're evaluating someone's parenting, looking at how their kids turned out doesn't strike me as being completely beside the point. I think ita's evaluation of Seth as messed up despite his parents is probably accurate, but it's worth asking the question.

I'd nominate Lois for the 2000s best mom, because most parents would have started drowning their children based on what she's had to face.

If you're looking at dimensional parents, Helen on Joan of Arcadia is pretty good.

I thinking putting Lorelai as the best of the 2000s is a little...pessimistic wrt parents. I would be really uncomfortable with a mother looking up to her as a role model, especially as I don't think her tactic would have worked nearly so well with at least 80% of kids.

I like Kirsten and Sandy, though I don't feel like I have any idea of what kind of parents they were for most of Seth's life, which is a little weird. I just get the sense that their parenting has evolved more than most.

Yeah, Lois is a tough chick. And she knows what it's like to have money problems and rubber checks all over town. My mom didn't quite wear her Stress Face all the time, but it looks like that, when she does.