Sitcom parents come in all shapes and forms. Sometimes they are loving and caring, and seem to want nothing but the best for their children. Other times, they neglect them altogether and leave the raising to older responsible children. Once in a while, a parent comes around who’s unbearable. When they are not bringing out the crazy in their spouses, they are failing at parenting altogether. In sitcom history, some villain parents have been harsher than the rest. These are the worst of them all:
1. Dr. Beverly Hofstadter (‘The Big Bang Theory’)
When Penny (Kaley Cuoco) first met Leonard’s ( Johnny Galecki) mother, it did not take her too long to put two and two together. Dr. Beverly Hofstadter (Christine Baranski) had a strong analysis of the building in which they lived. Although she was well-learned and extremely smart just like her son, Beverly Hofstadter was distant. She liked her tea served in a very specific way and would make a point to ask if it was done right. Even when Leonard had done his best, Beverly would only take a sip and give the tea back because it was cold. She’d use her knowledge in psychology to give an unsolicited opinion on the lives of Leonard’s friends. Hofstadter seemed to get along better with Sheldon (Jim Parsons), who she was also attracted to. And when it came to giving her son a hug, it was the most uncoordinated, cringe-worthy moment, as if they were worlds apart.
2. Evelyn Harper (‘Two And A Half Men’)
Charlie Harper ( Charlie Sheen) had a dream in which he’d been instructed to ‘take care’ of his mother. He was disturbed for a while, given that he and Evelyn shared a dysfunctional relationship. Evelyn (Holland Taylor) was a self-centered real estate mogul who put her needs above her sons and grandson, scarring them for life. One too many times, Alan and Charlie expressed their dislike for their mother. They called her out for her selfishness, an act that Evelyn didn’t take kindly. Evelyn would go on about how Alan preferred that Jake ( Angus T. Jones) stay with grandparents from his mother’s side, but when the opportunity to stay with him came around, she’d say it was such short notice. She couldn’t bring herself to babysit Jake, and would rather have left him in the hands of Rose ( Melanie Lynskey). It wasn’t a surprise when Alan decided that, should anything have happened to him or the mother of his son, Jake would be left in the hands of someone else.
3. Dr. Leonard Green (‘Friends’)
Known for his strict way of parenting Dr. Leonard Green ( Ron Leibman) was both feared and loved by his daughters. As much as he loved his family and provided for them, the affection came with a hefty price tag. Things in the Green household were supposed to be done the Green way. Rachel was the first one to break protocol when she left to start a life of her own. Try as he would, Dr. Green couldn’t get her to come back home. When Ross (David Schwimmer) tried to have dinner with Dr. Green, he looked displeased the whole time. He was unimpressed by Ross’s jokes and kept referring to him as someone who worked at the library. The night was awful, and it didn’t help that Dr. Green wasn’t so good at tipping. Phoebe also got the worst of Dr. Green when she told him she was a vegetarian. Not only was Dr. Green harsh towards his children’s friends, waiting staff at restaurants were not spared either. He had a ton of hurtful lines up his dictionary, including ‘ Why would you bring me sewage?’,’ Are you an idiot?’ and ‘Is that why you are a waiter?’
4. Jessica Huang (‘Fresh Off The Boat’)
As a mother, Jessica Huang (Constance Wu) swore by love as tough as it came. Jessica was a no-nonsense cheapskate who brought the hard to parenting. “ No one seems to appreciate how I’m good at everything I do,” She’d say. In her books, ‘team player’ was a foreign word. She rode solo, and she did it hard. She mainly didn’t get her eldest son, Eddie (Hudson Yang), who had a strong love for hip-hop and everything basketball. Eddie wanted to be a ‘G’, but Jessica couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that her son wanted to be a ‘letter of the alphabet’. She made it clear to Eddie that she could easily get by with two children. While Jessica Huang had mastered not letting her children get away with nonsense, she had moments where she stood up for them. When Evan (Ian Chen) was too young to get into debating class, Jessica went head-to-head with Evan’s teacher, defending her son’s right to be in the debating class. Jessica’s husband also got the best of her. She had a ton of rules for having female friends, including having pictures of his children around, hanging out with women when the sun was up, and they weren’t supposed to be taller or younger than her.
5. Judy Geller (‘Friends’)
Monica ( Courteney Cox) and Ross’s mom once called Rachel ( Jennifer Aniston) the daughter that she never had. The statement was a true reflection of how she felt about her own daughter. As much as Monica tried to be a perfectionist, she could never be perfect enough for Judy. Judy made a mockery of Monica, every chance she got. She did not try to hide that she had more love for Ross. Judy (Christina Pickles) was proud that her son was a ‘doctor’, and downplayed Monica’s career as a chef. She told people her daughter owned a restaurant to make her look more successful, even though she only worked at one. When she wasn’t making fun of Monica’s career, Judy was going in on her love life, which wasn’t going well until she met Chandler (Matthew Perry). Even when Monica did find the love of her life, she learned that her parents could not fund her wedding because they had spent the money. Monica was always nervous when it was time to meet her mother, unlike Ross who was pampered. It was safe that Monica had amazing friends around her who valued her more than Judy did.
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