Room for Two

Now that Patricia Heaton has gained fame on another show with an interfering mother, it's worth looking back at this show in which her character was the one whose mother had trouble holding back. Heaton is well suited for a show centered around her and not a husband. The mother/daughter dynamic is much more subtle the the over-the-top shenanigans that went on for six seasons of "The Nanny." How come that show lasted and this one didn't? Sure it needed some tweaking, but that was no reason to pull the plug. (Linda Lavin's character would have become grating over time.) Maybe baby boomers felt old seeing the star of "Alice" playing older, and the mother of one of their own. Who knows. I thought the idea of a TV producer producing a show featuring her mother was as original an idea as any, and even today it would be better than current dreck like "Two and a Half Men," "Yes Dear," and "According to Jim." Maybe now that sitcoms are being cancelled faster than postage stamps, the networks should take a look at what might have worked.