Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

Mama's Family - General Discussion


  • Reply
  • Start Topic

Recommended Posts

I think Roshomama is probably my favorite episode; the one where Eunice, Ellen, and Naomi are each telling their version of how Mama got hit with the pot. "Take care Eunice, next time you won't be so lucky" is a regular inside joke with members of my family. Even though the non-syndicated episodes are my least favorite, that one is just hysterical.

I also have a special place for the wrestling episode and the run of Jeopardy episodes. Something about Vicky Lawrence's line reading on "The only other Ed I know is my daughter Eunice's useless husband" sends me into fits of laughter.

  • Love 3

MeTV, weeknights at 6 and 6:30. It just started, so we're just now 4 eps in. Vint and Naomi just got married and then got scammed out of the trailer park in Arizona, so it's all set up now.

 

It cracked me up to see Betty White and Rue McClanahan together, only this time Rue played Betty's Aunt Fran! I know Fran was Thelma's "baby sister," but dang. Blanche Devereaux would have been horrified!

  • Love 2

They played the one where Thelma got a job at Food Circus and ended up replacing Naomi as cashier. It's weird remembering that the price scanners were new at the time. This was followed by the one where Vint and Naomi got a room at a cheap hotel for thier belated honeymoon but their slutty matador roleplaying was interupted by Mama, who was sppsd to be visiting Aunt Effy. I remember seeing hotels with "closed circuit TV" signs as a young child and asking my parents what that meant.

  • Love 2

MEtv must not be playing them in order because they played the one in which Thelma discovered she'd been visiting the wrong grave for many years instead of her dead husband's. This was followed by the appearance of Iola and Bubba and Vint's kids mysteriously vanishing. I think this is when the show went into syndication, which I assume is why everyone from the Carol Burnett Show stopped appearing.

  • Love 2

Iola must have been in her mid-40s in the present time (since she was Vint's peer), and I'll assume Thelma was mid-60s during the show's run. I actually don't find it all that weird that they'd be close. It's a good 20 year gap in age, but at those two ages, it's hardly severe like it would be with 20 versus 40. Besides, Iola stayed at home and took care of her parents and was a homemaker. She had the same interests as Thelma and her friends. Though they may have been the same age, she had less in common with the married and working Vint and Naomi.

  • Love 3

I watched the ep in which Iola recalled the time Eunice humiliated her mother by showing up drunk to the church mother-daughter luncheon after Bubba came home drunk. The actress playing Eunice didn't look anything like her but she got nailed her behavior well. Apaprently, even as a child, Iola was into arts 'n' crafts things with her felt board rendition of "Mothers Throughout History".

  • Love 2

Just want to chime in to join the MAMA'S love! I started watching this show almost by accident (of course I knew it from the Carol Burnett show but just assumed the spinoff wouldn't be any good). It used to come on every morning as I was getting ready for work and I just became hooked. I don't know where it's showing on my local cable but I will have to find it...right now I could use a good laugh or two!

 

And "thousand year old hush puppies" is a classic.

  • Love 1

I just realized that two different houses were used in the opening credits.  I may have noticed it before and just forgot, but I just started re-watching an episode from season 1 and it immediately jumped out at me. I had to Google it to make sure I wasn't losing my mind. :) I just knew it wasn't the same outside of the house I so nostalgically remember. 

I've been watching Mama's Family ever since I found out it was on my local MeTV channel and have been enjoying it immensely. I've also been a longtime fan of the Golden Girls as well and I couldn't help but notice some interesting similarities between plot/characters on both shows. Because Mama's Family was on earlier, it looks as if the writers for the Golden Girls "borrowed" some of Mama's plots.

Some examples:

Mama's babysitting a neighbor's baby and sings "Mr. Sandman" to the baby. The Golden Girls babysit a friend's baby and sing same song.

On one episode, Mama appears on Jeopardy!  Ditto for Golden Girls. Dorothy's dying to get on the show and has a dream about competing with Rose.

Mama has a variety show. Ditto for the Golden Girls. (the episode with Bob Hope).

Mama goes to night school to finish getting her H.S. Diploma.  Ditto for Rose, she goes too.

Bubba videotapes Mama, Vint & Naomi for filmmaking project at school.  While working at a TV station, Rose videotapes the Girls for a work project.

And while watching Mama's Family, some of the same actors  are used in both shows. For example:

Mama's Family - Rev. Meecham. Golden Girls' -  the priest officiating at Phil's funeral and Dorothy's wedding.

Mama's Family - Uncle Roy the sailor. On Golden Girls, he was the first Big Daddy.

Mama's Family - in the Hawaiian vacation episode big business tycoon R.W. is the Cheeseman on the Golden Girls.

Mama's Family Vinton Harper was Thor Anderson on the Golden Girls.

And of course, Aunt Fran and Ellen Harper went on to be Blanche and Rose on the Golden Girls.

I'm sure there's probably a few more I couldn't think of offhand. But it sure is fun to spot the similarities between the two. Anyone else know of any others?

  • Love 3

So I just saw the episode where Bubba enlisted in the Army because of some...girl. What shocked me was how did I not remember that Eunice and Ed are his parents! Despite her bitterness over not being the favored one, I never really thought they'd be parents who didn't give a farthing for their son. I say this because they didn't bother to show up for his high school graduation, which really upset Bubba.

But then again, this is the show where those two teens that were Vinton's children disappeared to never have existed when they got rid of them and introduced Bubba. Or did I miss something, and they went off to live with their mama?

  • Love 2

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...