While pundits have long pondered the “shifting roles of women in contemporary society,” a parade of working mother characters has marched before us during prime time.  Long before we had Drs Miranda Bailey of Grey’s Anatomy, Abigail Bartlett of The West Wing, desperate housewife, ad exec Lynette Scavo, and Geena Davis as Commander in Chief Mackensie Allen, Shirley Partridge was singing with her family and managing the group, divorced Ann Romano was working to support her two teenage daughters on One Day At A Time, Kate and Allie were single working mothers sharing a house and bringing up their kids, and Carla Tortelli was making wise cracks and wiping the bar at Cheers. Indeed, one of the longest running jokes on Cheers had to do with Carla’s seven kids.   But no matter how many she spawned and how many husbands she went through, without explanation or apology, she still kept working. And while Carla cleaned up and mouthed off, mother of two Roseanne quit her factory job to run her own diner.