'Mom' Review

Once not so very long ago, the most consistent lineup on TV was NBC's Thursday. It consistently presented the most hysterical comedies, even though after a while, they were among the least viewed. Now, however, after a period of building, the most ingenious lineup of humor can be found on CBS. And surprisingly, most of the material is attributable to Chuck Lorre, who has the most watched sitcom on TV now going into its tenth season, Big Bang Theory.

However, the more intriguing line up comes one hour later in one of the most entertaining and enjoyable series, Mom, now entering its fourth season. Considering how messy it was initially, its rather remarkable that it has improved substantially after each season, much like its reluctantly pushy heroine, Christy (Anna Faris) Now more than three years sober, she is trying to push herself in ways even she wouldn't have thought possible. After completing her GED program in the climax of last season, she has now decided to try and push ahead towards college and hopefully law school beyond it. It has been a major struggle for her, and she has been tempted to take shortcuts, particularly in last night's episode when her mother's former lover (Rosie O'Donnell - yep, you read that right) also a recovering alcoholic offered her a job selling real estate. She was clearly tempted by it, but decided that she was determined to finish something for once.

Meanwhile, Bonnie (the always remarkable Allison Janney) has been making some progress to.  After dallying with a man in a wheelchair, Walter (William Fichtner, displaying a surprising aptitude for comedy) have decided to begin a real relationship - the first serious one Bonnie has had since Christy's father died in the middle of Season 2. After some surprisingly off-balance remarks, they have increasingly become one of the more well-matched couples in this series. They seem to have the ability to mock each other, and their insults seem more perfectly timed than usual. When Walter learned that for awhile, Bonnie was a lesbian, first he chose to question her while she was fixing the washing machine, and then went through a similar interrogation with perfectly timed pauses where Bonnie just said: "Don't picture it."

Surprisingly, given the situation, the AA meetings often have the funniest moments. By this time, the writer have brought together a remarkable combination of women actresses who have developed brilliant comedic timing to their addictions. Mary Kay Place's Marjorie has become the source of strength for the group, as well the most obvious source of mockery. Whenever they show up late, Christy and Bonnie refer to it as Marjorie's sheep face, which seems to fall on Bonnie more than Christy. And during a particular delightful meeting, when Bonnie's ex-lover gave all the details of their relationship, Christy's reaction were among the most delightful I've seen yet from her.

It's still having trouble getting up to normal in some ways. We have yet to see the presence of Christy's children this season, even though they're going to show up later. But over and over, Mom continues to prove itself - dare I make the pun - addictive in both its humor, its character study, and the way it handles serious situations in a way we haven't seen the typical broadcast comedy do in quite some time.

My score: 4.25 stars.