I watched Alice growing up and always found Vera spacey, but watching as an adult it's actually sad seeing just how mentally unwell she acts. I'm watching an episode now where she finds a baby and actually goes to an adoption agency to try and adopt it for herself.

And when the agency person says she doesn't have to adopt a baby she already has because it's hers, she beams and says "OK!" and leaves.

I don't know why they wrote her as such a mental case. A person like this shouldn't be out in society without a 24 hour caretaker at her side. Her actions are dangerous and frightening.

She reminds me of Rose on the Golden Girls, but at least Rose was living in reality. Vera is a schizophrenic nut case living in her own fantasy world.

I watched Alice growing up and always found Vera spacey, but watching as an adult it's actually sad seeing just how mentally unwell she acts. I'm watching an episode now where she finds a baby and actually goes to an adoption agency to try and adopt it for herself.

And when the agency person says she doesn't have to adopt a baby she already has because it's hers, she beams and says "OK!" and leaves.

I don't know why they wrote her as such a mental case. A person like this shouldn't be out in society without a 24 hour caretaker at her side. Her actions are dangerous and frightening.

She reminds me of Rose on the Golden Girls, but at least Rose was living in reality. Vera is a schizophrenic nut case living in her own fantasy world.

I do indeed think Vera probably was a schizophrenic and/or bipolar. But I find your comments absolutely disgusting, and I'm far from the most politically correct person here. The mentally challenged and depressed are by far the most discriminated people in America. Were talking about a country so corrupt, they bring in countless immigrants from countries that literally hate the USA because those government officials bringing them in make money doing so, despite the fact that America suffers from those rapists and murderers. Schizophrenic people are the least of our worries cfr.

I really don't think Vera was at all schitzophrenuc or bipolar. Have you ever met anyone who is scitzophrenic? That is a truly severe mental illness, and bipolar isn't much better , I have known both, Vera certainly did not have either! She was just as Mel put it , dingy. She was a sweet, naive, goofy girl but far from being mentally ill, perfect word to describe Vera is eccentric !;)

I do indeed think Vera probably was a schizophrenic and/or bipolar. But I find your comments absolutely disgusting, and I'm far from the most politically correct person here. The mentally challenged and depressed are by far the most discriminated people in America. Were talking about a country so corrupt, they bring in countless immigrants from countries that literally hate the USA because those government officials bringing them in make money doing so, despite the fact that America suffers from those rapists and murderers. Schizophrenic people are the least of our worries cfr.

Woah! Calm down there. I'm not making an insult on all mentally ill people. Relax! It's just the more I watch Vera, the more mentally unstable she seems. And since you agree, your anger at me is misdirected because the show was playing that for laughs.

I agree mental illness is not funny at all and like I stated in my post, the baby episode was not funny but disturbing. It wasn't comedy material IMO.

I truly believe they took her character's mental instability a bit too far by making it comedic when it came off as more tragic instead.

I'm sorry you found my comments disgusting. Again, my intention was certainly not to offend the mentally ill.

PC has completely ruined people's capability to discuss things like this without getting personally offended. Be offended with 'Alice', not me. I don't find mental illness comedy material, but the writers apparently did.

I really don't think Vera was at all schitzophrenuc or bipolar. Have you ever met anyone who is scitzophrenic? That is a truly severe mental illness, and bipolar isn't much better , I have known both, Vera certainly did not have either! She was just as Mel put it , dingy. She was a sweet, naive, goofy girl but far from being mentally ill, perfect word to describe Vera is eccentric !;)

But she was actually going to keep the baby in that episode, honestly thinking it was hers just because the adoption person said she could keep it. No sane person would think like that. I found the whole episode disturbing.

Woah! Calm down there. I'm not making an insult on all mentally ill people. Relax! It's just the more I watch Vera, the more mentally unstable she seems. And since you agree, your anger at me is misdirected because the show was playing that for laughs.

I agree mental illness is not funny at all and like I stated in my post, the baby episode was not funny but disturbing. It wasn't comedy material IMO.

I truly believe they took her character's mental instability a bit too far by making it comedic when it came off as more tragic instead.

I'm sorry you found my comments disgusting. Again, my intention was certainly not to offend the mentally ill.

PC has completely ruined people's capability to discuss things like this without getting personally offended. Be offended with 'Alice', not me. I don't find mental illness comedy material, but the writers apparently did.
Fair enough. It's just a sore spot with me, especially since 90% of the American mental health doctors are frauds and cons. I wasn't mad at you, but I do think your comment about not being out in society without a care giver was a bit much.

Fair enough. It's just a sore spot with me, especially since 90% of the American mental health doctors are frauds and cons. I wasn't mad at you, but I do think your comment about not being out in society without a care giver was a bit much.

What I meant with the caregiver remark was in regard to Vera not living in reality. It was like she was living in an entirely separate world of existence in her head from everyone else.
For example, she truly believed that George Burns was literally God and that the people on her soap operas were real...and her friends. Then the baby episode I watched tonight just made me think just what is wrong with this woman?!

Chrissy Snow of Threes Company and Rose Nylund of Golden Girls were spacy, naive and childlike characters, but both stayed inside the realm of reality while Vera was just out there in another Universe it seemed.

In any case, I meant no personal offense to anyone and I apologize if it did offend.

What I meant with the caregiver remark was in regard to Vera not living in reality. It was like she was living in an entirely separate world of existence in her head from everyone else.
For example, she truly believed that George Burns was literally God and that the people on her soap operas were real...and her friends. Then the baby episode I watched tonight just made me think just what is wrong with this woman?!

Chrissy Snow of Threes Company and Rose Nylund of Golden Girls were spacy, naive and childlike characters, but both stayed inside the realm of reality while Vera was just out there in another Universe it seemed.

In any case, I meant no personal offense to anyone and I apologize if it did offend.
We're cool. And now that I think about it, Vera was definitely out there. But it's hard to judge her I guess because she meant well and had a heart of gold. Oh, and you forgot to mention she had pet rats and almost gave up her apartment to keep them. ;)

We're cool. And now that I think about it, Vera was definitely out there. But it's hard to judge her I guess because she meant well and had a heart of gold. Oh, and you forgot to mention she had pet rats and almost gave up her apartment to keep them. ;)

Actually I find her owning those little pet rats to be normal. Maybe because I had hamsters growing up. And if I lived in an apartment and they said I couldn't keep my beloved bird (who's in my avatar), i'd give up the apartment and move too. Pets always come first with me...so I guess I have that in common with Vera.

But I never believed George Burns was God. :)

Vera was tv character on a show. After hearing all this, I will pass on watching this show.

Vera was tv character on a show. After hearing all this, I will pass on watching this show.

If you've never seen the show before, don't judge it just from this thread and pass on it. It's a good show and the first couple of seasons are definitely worthy of viewing.
It got kind of stale as the series progressed, but those first couple of seasons are pretty good. Vera was a nutty character, but don't pass on watching the whole series just because of that.

I find the topic of this thread kind of disturbing. I have never in 40 years have ever heard anyone describe Vera as mentally ill. She was very naive, childlike and did have her share of quirks. For goodness sake this is a comedy, someone who is mentally ill or unstable would never be played for laughs.

I think a good part of it may be that since 40 years have passed, some things are seen differently today and what may or may not be humorous changes also.

What may have been funny decades ago, does not always come across as being funny today. The humor today is vastly different in sitcoms, compared to years past.

I find the topic of this thread kind of disturbing. I have never in 40 years have ever heard anyone describe Vera as mentally ill. She was very naive, childlike and did have her share of quirks. For goodness sake this is a comedy, someone who is mentally ill or unstable would never be played for laughs.

I think a good part of it may be that since 40 years have passed, some things are seen differently today and what may or may not be humorous changes also.

What may have been funny decades ago, does not always come across as being funny today. The humor today is vastly different in sitcoms, compared to years past.


You're right and I completely agree. Vera was written in many instances where she comes across as mentally unstable. Perhaps back then it was acceptable to laugh at that, but viewing it today it's more serious and disturbing than it is funny.

This is why I came here to bring it up when I created the thread. I don't believe a character like Vera could (or should) be written for laughs like that today. She displays (to me at least) a serious mental deficiency that should never be laughed at.

You're right and I completely agree. Vera was written in many instances where she comes across as mentally unstable. Perhaps back then it was acceptable to laugh at that, but viewing it today it's more serious and disturbing than it is funny.

This is why I came here to bring it up when I created the thread. I don't believe a character like Vera could (or should) be written for laughs like that today. She displays (to me at least) a serious mental deficiency that should never be laughed at.

Yes, thanks. I can see where some may think that the character appeared to be mentally unstable at least at times, but I cannot imagine that the show's personnel at the time (writers, producers, directors, actors and so on) were trying to portray her as mentally unstable, but instead as goofy, naive, bewildered, childlike and so on. I grew up with the show and it seems that people watching it decades later will see it differently, especially if they are watching for the first time. I get that some people may think she is unstable, it's just I never thought of her that way.

Chrissy Snow of Threes Company and Rose Nylund of Golden Girls were spacy, naive and childlike characters, but both stayed inside the realm of reality while Vera was just out there in another Universe it seemed.


Chrissy Snow was just super goofy and naive. Nothing about her seemed mentally ill. Rose Nylund was very, very dumb, but certainly not mentally ill either. Vera was a total space cadet and behaved like a mentally ill person quite a few times.

Only a complete loony tune would think it is acceptable to just keep some abandoned baby they found at a laundromat. Vera is the type of person that might think it's OK to just take some random toddler or infant in a supermarket. She may mean well, have a kind heart or whatever, but she is actually inadvertently dangerous. She also truly believes that the actors on soap operas are real, that George Burns is God, so much so that she actually quit her job so she could do "God's" work like some sort of cult weirdo. Kinda scary. She's actually dingier than Edith Bunker. At least Edith didn't live in a fantasy world of her own. She was just super flaky and dopey. Vera is a mental case.

None of these characters would fly today.

Chrissy Snow was just super goofy and naive. Nothing about her seemed mentally ill. Rose Nylund was very, very dumb, but certainly not mentally ill either. Vera was a total space cadet and behaved like a mentally ill person quite a few times.

Only a complete loony tune would think it is acceptable to just keep some abandoned baby they found at a laundromat. Vera is the type of person that might think it's OK to just take some random toddler or infant in a supermarket. She may mean well, have a kind heart or whatever, but she is actually inadvertently dangerous. She also truly believes that the actors on soap operas are real, that George Burns is God, so much so that she actually quit her job so she could do "God's" work like some sort of cult weirdo. Kinda scary. She's actually dingier than Edith Bunker. At least Edith didn't live in a fantasy world of her own. She was just super flaky and dopey. Vera is a mental case.

It was that baby episode that made me take notice of just how severe Vera's mental state was, and the fact the show played this for comedy is disturbing through today's eyes. Vera obviously needed serious professional help but everyone around her didn't notice.

Rose Nylund, Chrissy Snow and Edith Bunker would never have been so out there as to keep a baby from a laundromat or believe George Burns was really God....(Rose Nylund did believe Bob Hope was her father at one point, but she actually had a plausible story behind it for her to believe it.)

All 3 of those ditzy characters of the other shows were written as being grounded in reality no matter how spacy they got. Vera was just way too out there and unattached from reality.

As stated above, Vera believed the people she saw on TV were real and quit her job for them. So this was my original point of the post. It's never comedic to make fun of mentally ill people, but Vera did display signs of being a danger to society.

I could actually see her picking a child out of a shopping cart in a supermarket and taking it home to be hers. And I agree this kind of character would never fly today.

Any adults who would make a career out of being a waitress has to be mentally messed up lol So they all was weird but I know its a tv show and not reality

No way in hell would any grown person not make an effort to get a better job after 2 years

It was that baby episode that made me take notice of just how severe Vera's mental state was, and the fact the show played this for comedy is disturbing through today's eyes. Vera obviously needed serious professional help but everyone around her didn't notice.

Rose Nylund, Chrissy Snow and Edith Bunker would never have been so out there as to keep a baby from a laundromat or believe George Burns was really God....(Rose Nylund did believe Bob Hope was her father at one point, but she actually had a plausible story behind it for her to believe it.)

All 3 of those ditzy characters of the other shows were written as being grounded in reality no matter how spacy they got. Vera was just way too out there and unattached from reality.

As stated above, Vera believed the people she saw on TV were real and quit her job for them. So this was my original point of the post. It's never comedic to make fun of mentally ill people, but Vera did display signs of being a danger to society.

I could actually see her picking a child out of a shopping cart in a supermarket and taking it home to be hers. And I agree this kind of character would never fly today.


It also means the actress did a good job of playing someone looney lol

It also means the actress did a good job of playing someone looney lol

True, Beth Howland did a terrific job in acting as "Vera."

True, Beth Howland did a terrific job in acting as "Vera."

Agreed. She was more child-like than mentally ill. Reminded me a lot of Edith on All In The Family. Beth was NOTHING like the character, much like Jean Stapleton.

Agreed. She was more child-like than mentally ill. Reminded me a lot of Edith on All In The Family. Beth was NOTHING like the character, much like Jean Stapleton.

What was Beth like in real life?

Agreed. She was more child-like than mentally ill. Reminded me a lot of Edith on All In The Family. Beth was NOTHING like the character, much like Jean Stapleton.

Edith was a lot more normal than Vera:lol:

None of these characters would fly today.

Yes they would.

Characters that wouldn't fly today is the main cast of Three's Company because nobody cares if a guy lives with a girl or girls outside marriage anymore.

Edith was a lot more normal than Vera:lol:

Edith was Einstein compared to Vera

Edith was Einstein compared to Vera

At least Vera used her real voice. They changed the voice of Jean Stapleton for the character of Edith.

At least Vera used her real voice. They changed the voice of Jean Stapleton for the character of Edith.

And that has what to do with mental illness :crazy:

Vera showed some brains in the episode the other night when she was stealing the girls tips everyday to take it to the bank and open up a savings account lol

Vera would be today considered mildly special needs.

None of them were mentally strong to be working at a diner for 10 years:lol:


Aside from FLO who took an opportunity to become her own boss, the rest of them was content with serving food:lol:

None of them were mentally strong to be working at a diner for 10 years:lol:


Aside from FLO who took an opportunity to become her own boss, the rest of them was content with serving food:lol:

I think it was implied or understood that they lived at a time(fictional) when jobs were hard to come by.

I think it was implied or understood that they lived at a time(fictional) when jobs were hard to come by.

it also implied they all typed 2 words a min:lol::lol::lol::lol: