Lois Foutley, A Great Mom
You know, I really do feel guilty of procrastinating sometimes. I mean, here I am, on Father's Day weekend, doing a post that I should have done last month for Mother's Day, but my own laziness is to blame! Well, like I said before, you shouldn't expect me to update this blog frequently, right? RIGHT?!?!?!?!?! I'M WAITING FOR A RESPONSE!!! Sorry. So, on this ironic weekend, in my first Ginger Snaps post since April, I'm going to be giving my praise on possibly the greatest mom ever to appear in a Nicktoon, or any kind of Nickelodeon show. Of course, since this is an As Told by Ginger blog, I couldn't be talking about somebody other than Ginger and Carl's mother, Lois Foutley!
This woman is who Lois Griffin from Family Guy should be! The complete opposite of that worse excuse for a human being than Dodie, Ms. Foutley is one of the best representations of accurate mothers ever in animation. She may not be a bombshell like some other Nicktoon moms (those some men on this show think otherwise), but you know what? That's okay. Lois' excellent parenting skills are supposed to be the focus. Hot cartoon moms praised a bit more for their looks than anything else are kinda overrated, anyway. Oh great, now I sound like a hypocrite, because I'd drool over Mom from Dexter's Laboratory (who I love as a good mother, too). But moms aren't supposed to be seen as just sex objects. They are that one lady in your life who raises you to be how she wants you to be (hopefully as a positive, educated individual), does many sacrifices for your butt, and gives you lessons and advice on life. This is exactly what Lois does here, and she'd nail it!
Lois is a realistic, funny, no-nonsense-at-all, and all-around awesome lady who Ginger and Carl must be grateful to have for a mother. She is the perfect Nicktoon mom to have. She isn't a neglectful nitwit like Timmy Turner's mom, an ambiguous alcoholic like Helga Pataki's mom, nor is she as bland as SpongeBob SquarePants' mom. If there was one flaw about Lois is that she can be (allegedly) hypocritical, as seen in episodes like "Kiss and Make-up", and "Stuff'll Kill Ya". In the former, she bans Ginger from using any makeup, which I do understand, since no 12-year old needs to be walking around school looking like a friggin' Toddlers & Tiaras contestant. In the latter episode, she wants Ginger to stay away from caffeine for energy, even though Lois herself drinks coffee. She excuses herself by saying she's an adult. Some say that she's a hypocrite in both episodes, but I think otherwise. Lois was trying to make that point that nobody's lives (especially young ones) should be perfect with make-up and caffeine and crap.
Oh yeah, and another nitpick about Lois is that she, just like her daughter, can't really see how despicable of a person Dodie Bishop is, so she's never able to tell Ginger to stay the hell away from that Bishop girl!
But, Lois is still wonderful, otherwise.
Here are a few great and inspirational quotes from this cool role-model of a TV mom:
“You have your whole life to grow up. Enjoy what you’ve gotten now and enjoy being yourselves.” ("Kiss and Make-up")
“Being in a relationship just for the sake of being in a relationship is plain crazy. You gotta let your heart lead the way.” ("Ms. Foutley's Boys")
Macie: "Why can't all moms be like you, Ms. F?"
Lois: "Because there isn't enough spandex to go around, Macie." ("Lunatic Lake")
And probably her most famous, most motivational quote:
“You can’t know those kinds of things, you can only trust how you feel in your heart, and take a blind leap of faith. You have to, that’s what life is all about. You know we’re not put on this earth to live perfect lives where we never get hurt and we never make mistakes. We’re put here to hurl ourselves head first into this crazy world and the bruises and scrapes you get along the way, they just mean you’re living life.” ("The Wedding Frame")
Wow, creator Emily Kapnek and the other writers sure do know how to write such a motherly character.
I wonder if Emily based Lois on her own mother somehow. Because there has to be some explaination on how she's so...3-D!
Need I say more? Lois Foutley, for the reasons mentioned above, may be the best mother ever to appear on Nickelodeon! I'm not gonna repeat myself, am I? She is my fourth favorite character on Ginger, next to Ginger herself, Macie, and Courtney. Also, like the show in general, Lois is underrated, and overshadowed by other, not-as-great cartoon mothers, such the other Lois! So, each Mother's Day (or any day you want), why not honor this lady? Why can't more animated moms be more like Lois? Why can't my mom be more like Lois? Well, she is like my own Lois, only ruder.
This is a Paint animation "cel" I drew of Lois, used in Ginger Foutley Goes to the Eye Doctor...Blinded!