katherine

[Guest Sheree Dawn]

Did Frank provide Catherine (I believe it was a C not a K yes?) with a secure base? I am struck by those who argue that she was the one to blame for their issues and related relational matrix....not that she is absolved from any sustained analysis, but on the face of it, let us not be blinded to the flaws of our hero...

Vv

Ahhh, I have been misspelling her name, but won't lose sleep over it since I still harbor bitter feelings toward her lack of compassion for Frank and his curse/blessing/ blah blah blah. Hey, ya gotta NOT like someone.

Yes, our beloved Frank had his flaws but I saw that he was doing his best to create as normal a life as he could considering his job, his ability, etc... Catherine was aware of who he was, what he could do, and what his job was. We all have to work, and someone has to do Frank's job; did Catherine expect him to quit his consulting job and mow lawns or serve up burgers at McDonalds. She was always whiney and wanting more, wanting something that could never be had.

Crap, Frank tried to give her a normal vacation at her parents'; he even left his beeper at home. But who was it that drug Frank back into the darkness of his work? Hey, he did all he could do. I just didn't get the sense she was as flexible as he was.

[Guest Sheree Dawn]

Certainly you aren't viewing their monetary situation through the basic 'male breadwinner' lens? Let's not forget that Catherine had a full time job, while Frank quite frankly had an unreliable income- since he was officially a consultant, he would have only been paid when he was working for the MM group- and not any other time. this said, their incomes combined to create the 'cash base' to pay for what they needed.

I never saw money as being a factor in anything in the series; it was always about emotional need and how well that was being met by both Catherine (SEE I CAN SPELL IT RIGHT NOW, HAHA) and Frank

[Guest Sheree Dawn]

I found Catherine far more interesting after she was dead, to be honest. Her role as the saintly figure who sacrificed her life for Jordan's and who talks to her psychic daughter from the other side is a more interesting dramatic role than the one she played in the first season as Frank's long-suffering wife or in the second season as the shrew who couldn't decide whether to divorce him.

Agreed. I will have to add that I found her telling Frank she was moving in with another recently seperated friend rather , well... crappy. Another blow to Frank, who would rather have had her living with him. Shrew was an excellent term for her character in #2.

[Guest Sheree Dawn]

Furthermore, in following episodes she would somehow blame Frank for breaking up their family and being the cause of the emotional turbulence experienced by Jordan!

I welcome your thoughts; it matters not how many times you have posted here or how long you have watched MM.

I personally saw Jordan's emotional turbulence being fueled by Catherine, herself. She could obviously sense the tension between Mom and Dad, and that Mom was being unreasonable (okay, so maybe that part is a bit biased), but the point is that it was as much Catherine's fault, if not more so.