meademusic
Mama's Family may not be "Masterpiece Theatre" but hey- its not supposed to be!Its just great Southern fried comedy. As Carol Burnette once remarked about the original sketches: Tennessee Williams on acid! Being from The South (Virginia), I can sure relate to the family dynamic. There are lots of Harpers in my neck of the woods. The cast did change from a more serious flavored dysfunctional family- to the more typical joke line/punch line and almost cartooned flavor (when they added Bubba and Iola in the Syndicated version). Both the NBC episodes and the Syndicated shows work well for me. I love them all. Mama's Family went through changes- including an whole new cast. The core has always been lovable "Thelma Harper" - a widow head of the Harper clan, her nit wit son "Vinton" and he sleazy daughter-in-law "Naomi" who works as a checker at "Food Circus". The original series was a bit more campy and theatrical, and toned down and more subdued during the "Syndicated Version" which dropped Aunt Fran, Ellen, and guest appearances by Eunice, and added Bubba- Mama's reform school dropout grandson, and Iola- Mama's quirky neighbor.Mama is really clever and I love it when she says "Well, Good Lord!" or "Horsefreathers!" and other country expressions, all the while pursing her lips in dismay. Some of my favorite episodes include "Mama Gets A Job", "The Love Letter", Roshamama", and "Supermarket"- but all of the episodes (with the possible exception of the "Hawaii" ones), are hi-larious to me. I love the fact that Mama's Family plays up the provincial of the characters and location and isn't afraid of this. They live in "Raytown"- so every landmark and business has the name "Ray " in it. Such as "Ray-Mart" or "McRay's" Its all so funny to me. I don't see how people can bemoan and belittle this classic gem of a TV Show. People have gone as far to say its one of the worst shows. They must not have a sense of humor in their entire being. Its a very funny and under-rated TV shows. The actors are superb. No other TV show can lift me out of a slump or depression like Mama's Family can.
kwilliams11-1
I think it is funny that prior to Bubba, there were 4 bedrooms upstairs plus the basement (one for Mama, Fran, Sonja and Buzz - one of which turned from Fran's studio into a bedroom for one of the kids). Then, once Bubba arrives and the other kids mysteriously disappear, there are only 2 upstairs bedrooms plus the basement. Then many of the shows refer to Vint & Naomi battling to get "out of the basement" and into a real bedroom, but if the house hadn't changed, there would still be 2 upstairs bedrooms available.... leading me to believe that the kids and the bedrooms were abducted by aliens.I love the show in some "kitchy" way... no matter how many reruns I see, I don't seem to tire of them.
Studioart81
Before "Roseanne" and during the height of "The Golden Girls", one perhaps lesser known sitcom made it big. It was none other than "Mama's Family." I was a die-hard fan of this show when it aired in syndication in the late 80s and early 90s. While not as realistically funny as say "Roseanne", I liked "Mama's Family" for its down-home Southern humor. My grandmother and I seemed to never tire of this show. I taped nearly all episodes in syndication. Naturally, I am pleased that the first season has finally been released on DVD. Yet, it needs more in the way of special features, even if the original uncut episodes are not available.The series concerned the Harper family situated in Raytown, part of the "tri-state area" as Mama often said. Presumably, it was based on the real-life city of Raytown, Missouri. Vicki Lawrence is Mama, better known as Thelma Harper. Thelma is an unemployed, widowed, sarcastic, but lovable person who, in the original NBC series, shares her small house with her journalist sister Fran, played by Rue McClanahan. Ken Berry is her dim-witted, locksmith son Vinton, who moves into her house with his children Buzz and Sonja from his first marriage. He soon marries next-door neighbor Naomi, whom he knew in high school but never dated. Naomi is a cashier at the local store Food Circus, and like Vinton, has been married before. Plans to live on their own do not work out, so Vint and Naomi move into Thelma's house and live in her basement. Adding more tension and humor to the plot are Mama's daughters: the drunken, argumentative Eunice, played by Carol Burnett, and rich, stuck-up Ellen, played by Betty White. Harvey Korman is Eunice's husband Ed. Ellen's husband Bruce is mentioned but never seen; they eventually divorce. Thelma is often seen as manipulative, bossy, and difficult to work and live with. Fortunately though, she has a caring anf loving side. This makes her a humorous and likable character. On a side note, "Mama's Family" was originally based on characters and stories from "The Carol Burnett Show."The NBC series ran for two seasons (35 episodes) from early 1983 to mid 1985, and was then canceled. Initially, it looked like the end of the series, but that was short-lived. In 1986, an updated version of "Mama's Family" was picked up by CBS and sold into first-run syndication for four seasons. Only Thelma, Vint, and Naomi from the NBC cast remained in the syndicated series. Fran was written out as having passed away, Buzz and Sonja had graduated high school and moved out (no explanation was given as to their whereabouts, but they may have gone out West to be closer to their mother), and Ed and Eunice had relocated to Florida. Ellen makes one guest appearance, but otherwise fades. Ed and Eunice's son Bubba is in reform school in Raytown for stealing a car, and moves in with Mama after serving his sentence. Neighbor Iola Boyland makes frequent appearances at Mama's house and has a crush on Vint. Iola is unemployed, not married, and lives with her domineering parents. She is also very into arts and crafts, and designs many treasures. Later on, Vint and Naomi have a baby girl named Tiffany Thelma.In my opinion, the syndicated edition of "Mama's Family" was much better than the NBC edition. The first edition, while good, was too dramatic and tense at times (i.e. they do a lot of yelling and screaming). The house interior also has a different design, with a large window between the stairs and the closet, darker wallpaper, and darker stage lighting as well. Mama, Vint, and Naomi are not as funny either, as all three have a tougher edge to their characters. They are made funnier and grow into themselves much more in the syndicated series. In syndication, the interior design of the house is better. The window between the stairs and the closet is removed, the wallpaper is a much brighter flower-like color, the doors are painted yellow, and the lighting is much brighter. The symbolism here I believe is that the show was supposed to be funnier in syndication, and it definitely was! My only hope is that enough consumers purchase the first season DVD set, and future seasons are released and have special features. Live on "Mama's Family"!
