The Mother and Son reboot has fresh things to say about adult children and their ageing parents
For anyone who has cared for an ageing parent – or faced the diminution of their autonomy as they have aged – Mother and Son still strikes a nerve.
- For anyone who has cared for an ageing parent – or faced the diminution of their autonomy as they have aged – Mother and Son still strikes a nerve.
- However, the revival has some fresh things to say about the fraught but loving bonds between adult children and their ageing parents in the 21st century.
The original Mother and Son
- Mother and Son premiered on the ABC in 1984 and ran for six seasons until 1994.
- At the time Mother and Son was first broadcast, Australian sitcoms were thin on the ground.
- Mother and Son represented a significant departure from the sketch comedies, soaps and serial dramas that featured on 1980s television.
Ageing parents and adult children
- Re-watching Mother and Son, (currently available on iView), I was struck by how well it captures the complex emotions of both ageing parents and their adult children.
- The series never shied away from Arthur’s guilt and frustration, or Maggie’s loneliness and feelings of loss.
- In a society where care of children and the elderly was (and still is) typically regarded as “women’s work”, this was significant.
A new mother and son
- In the 2023 Mother and Son, Maggie (Denise Scott) is a free-spirited eccentric who almost burned down the family home while cooking dinner for her grandchildren.
- His mercenary sister, Robbie (a gender flip from the original) wants to move their mother into aged care so they can sell her home: a very 2020s tale.
- The new Mother and Son is likeable, gentle comedy.
- While it can’t hope to match the brilliance of the original, this reimagined Mother and Son offers an sympathetic, honest portrayal of ageing parents and their harried adult children – something we don’t see enough of on our television screens.