'The Office': Is Pam's Mother a 'Cougar'?

Last night's episode of “The Office” was a perfect demonstration of the problem that many older women have when dating much younger men. Of course the term for such women these days is “cougar.” (See related stories for “The Truth about Dating” column.)
Helene Beesly, Pam's mother (played by Linda Purl) is a very attractive 58 year old woman who has been having a fling with Pam's boss, the infamous Michael Scott, ever since they met at Jim and Pam's wedding. Related Stories
As socially oblivious as Michael is, he is not a bad looking guy and has had no problem bedding down various “girl” friends over the course of the show's six seasons. At his core, though, Michael is very lonely and yearns to start his own family. (We learn at the end of the episode that Michael's dream family includes a wife and four kids who play with Jim and Pam's kids outside of his “hover house.”)
So without thinking of the consequences of his actions (which Michael rarely if ever does), he jumped at the chance to start a relationship with Helene. And he couldn't help but inappropriately comment many times over the past several episodes what a great sexual relationship he and Helene were having.
But last night it was Helene's birthday. Naturally Michael went overboard planning her birthday lunch at a ritzy restaurant. The table was lavishly decorated, he had already given Helene an expensive necklace, and he had spent hours putting together a scrapbook of memories from their brief relationship. The scrapbook included a poem in which Michael professed his love for Helene.
When we first met Helene at the rehearsal dinner the night before Pam's wedding, she was depressed, as her husband had left her for a much younger woman. But now, as they sat in the restaurant, Helene was full of joy, smiling at every silly comment Michael made.
But then, the “s__” hit the fan, as after Pam asked “So mom, what birthday are we celebrating, Helene kiddingly said that she was “sticking with 49.” Pam then mentioned that this was the ninth time she was celebrating that particular birthday.
Sharp as a tack, Michael immediately picked up on Pam's comment and added nine to 49 on an envelope and said with a grimace, “So you're 54?” To which Helene responded, “No, I'm 58.”
I believe in a previous episode it was determined that Michael is around 41 and that he very much wants his own children. So from that moment on, he became determined to end his relationship with Helene.
Like a ton of bricks, it hit Michael that the life he would like to live with the things he would like to do (such as participating in a triathlon as soon as he learns how to swim) would be very difficult to accomplish with a woman approaching 60.
And he commented to the ever present camera in his totally inappropriate way that by dating Helene he was “robbing the grave.”
All humor aside, unfortunately this is the eventual outcome of most relationships that cougars have with much younger men. Of course there are many, many very active 58 year old women, and I am sure that some of them have even competed in and won triathlons.
But the one obstacle they cannot overcome is the starting a family hurdle. As Michael stated in his own bumbling way, “Its Mother Nature and even mother has very strict rules about fer (pause) tility.” (I won't bother to explain the pause.)

Which Show Was Worse...'Cougar Town' or 'Mercy?'

I tried. I really tried.
Since I write a regular dating column and occasionally write about television shows, I figured I would watch the premier episode of ABC’s “Cougar Town” on Wednesday night.
I usually don’t like scripted shows on broadcast networks, but occasionally a gem slips past the knuckleheads who produce them. After all, I love “The Office” and am passionate about “Lost.”
Well, Courtney Cox’s show is more of a lump of coal than one of those gems. The premise of a 40 year old divorcee trying to date younger men, partially because men her own age usually want to (and can get away with) dating younger women is not a bad one.
But there were so many things wrong with “Cougar Town,” I couldn’t wait until it finally ended. Yes, a half hour show seemed to drag on forever.
First of all, while the opening credits showed a woman looking in the mirror and squeezing her loose flesh, when we finally saw Courtney’s whole body (and we saw a lot of it), there didn’t appear to be a scintilla of flab anywhere.
One must wonder how many hours a day Ms. Cox worked out with a personal Tinseltown trainer to get that body. Once again Hollywood is portraying an unrealistic image of women for female viewers to try and emulate. The (dual) messages “Cougar Town” sends to men of all ages are that it’s OK to date women over 40 (a great, positive one), as long as they have the body of a 22 year old (a really, really bad one).
Moreover, the rest of the show contained the usually insipid sit-com whacky characters and silly plot lines. Enough already of Courtney’s character lusting after her teenage sons high school friends; or a middle school adolescent stealing posters that showed off Courtney’s cleavage. Frankly, after a while the show became absolutely creepy!
Overall, let’s just hope that “Cougar Town” is one of the first cancellations of the fall season!
Since I had decided to watch that show, I also caught two other premieres Wednesday evening. If ever a show demonstrates the superiority of cable network shows over broadcast network shows, it is NBC’s “Mercy," a show about nurses working together at a hospital.
Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie” which aired this summer was absolutely brilliant, with interesting plot lines and drama infused with pathos and humor. The NBC version of a show about nurses quickly dissolved into classic sit-com clichés. I think it will be a close race to see whether “Mercy” is canceled before “Cougar Town.”
I also decided to watch the highly praised “Modern Family,” on ABC. Every review I read about this season’s new shows acclaimed this show as the absolute best one to debut.
The show is about three related families, and it deals with the problems and situations that many families face today. Issues such as a gay couple adopting a Vietnamese baby and parents fighting with their teenage daughters over texting and dressing too provocatively are very “2009.” Of course they had to include a divorced father (“Married With Children’s” Ed O’Neill) wed to a much younger and extremely sexy Columbian woman.
I can easily picture the memo from the lecherous balding, pot-bellied network executives at ABC giving their okay to the show, ONLY if it would include one of their personal fantasies.
“Modern Family” may very well be the best of the broadcast network’s new fall shows, but that’s like saying that a Double A minor league outfielder with a 300 batting average belongs in the majors.
Before I come across as a cynical critic who dislikes all scripted broadcast network shows, I have to point out one fantastic debut that aired this week.
The two-hour season premiere of Fox’s “House” was absolutely one of the best episodes of television I have EVER viewed. I have always enjoyed watching Dr. House, although most episodes of this medical drama have a peculiar sameness.
Not this one!
The dramatization of House’s journey to self awareness during his stay at a mental hospital was so well done and fascinating that I have no problem stating that it compares favorably with the classic Oscar-winning movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” And that’s saying a lot!
I can’t wait for next week’s episode of “House,” to see how “Gregory’s” new self awareness translates into interactions with his colleagues when he returns to his regular position at Princeton General Hospital!
I guess the old adage that “every blind squirrel occasionally finds an acorn” fittingly applies to the first week of broadcast television’s new season.