There are the idealized, June Cleaver type, TV moms, venerated for doling out encouragement and unconditional love, and then there are those we dread watching. These are the morose and morbid displays of motherhood that make some of the most thrilling villains on television. Moms are people, too, and sometimes people are as awful as these TV matriarchs gone mad.
'30 Rock': Colleen Murphy Donaghy
" 30 Rock 's" Colleen Murphy Donaghy (Elaine Stritch) qualifies as a deadly mother for, among her many antics, trying to send her son Jack (Alec Baldwin) to Vietnam when he was 12 and causing him to have a heart attack during an argument. Also, her nagging and overbearing nature include blaming her son for JFK's death and forcing him to play the flute in front of his hockey team. Perhaps Jack's ambition and success as a TV executive is a byproduct of her madness.
'The Sopranos': Livia Soprano
Livia Soprano (Nancy Marchand) is a master manipulator and conniver who put a hit out on her son Tony (James Gandolfini) in " The Sopranos ." She lives to torment her children and tries to break up Tony's marriage to Carmela (Edie Falco) on their wedding day. Her sociopathic tendencies are a constant source of misery for her offspring, and even after her death, she manages to torment Tony in his thoughts and dreams.
'Alias': Irina Derevko
Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) is a master of disguise and espionage, and on " Alias " the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Her mother, Irina Derevko (Lena Olin), was a KGB spy that seduced Jack Bristow (Victor Garber) under false pretenses and bore him a child as part of her undercover work. She plots against her daughter, even putting a hit out on her, and is behind many of the near-fatal situations Sydney is caught in. Irina's selfish pursuit of her own agenda makes evident she is not one to foster any maternal instincts.
'The Vampire Diaries': Isobel Flemming
Isobel Flemming (Mia Kirshner) is a deadly, undead, and deadbeat mom on " The Vampire Diaries ." As a teen mom, she abandoned her daughter Elena (Nina Dobrev) and later becomes a destructive force in her daughter's life. Isobel also abandons her new life to become a vampire and reenters Elena's life 17 years later as part of a ploy to raise a curse. Isobel and her vampire minions injure Elena's friends and family, and plot to kill Elena's vampire loves, Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder). Although there are hints Isobel may care for her daughter, she is compelled to kidnap Elena and she eventually commits suicide in front of her.
'The Addams Family,' Morticia Addams
Morticia Addams (Carolyn Jones) may not be neglectful or unfeeling, but she is certainly morbid, sadistic, and lethal. "The Addams Family" matriarch delights in the horrors of life and unwinds by being stretched on a torture rack. Her children Pugsley (Ken Weatherwax) and Wednesday (Lisa Loring) are a source of pride, and she keeps her husband Gomez (John Astin) in a love trance using her vampiric charms. She enjoys gardening, but only to cut the buds off of the stems and to nurture her flesh-eating African Strangler, Cleopatra.
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