Mama’s Family Appreciation

I sure loved that shit!

That’s not from Mama’s Family R1/OP.

Why does it feel like you went to Wikipedia and did MF research??

I watched for Bubba and his tight jeans.

The hell it isn’t you asshat

Bitch please. It was great as a recurring skit on The Carol Burnett Show, but as a stand-alone series, it fucking sucked.

One of the funniest DL threads was something along the lines of "what if the Exorcist occurred in Mama's Family" - some of the dialogue people came up with was hysterical

Wrong R5! You’re just mad because you’re limited.

R4…it’s not. I think a true MF fan would know that.

p.s. if you’re such a fan, what’s the next line and who says it??? I bet everyone else knows.

It’s from the NBC series episode where Vint and Naomi get married. Eunice makes an ass of herself at the wedding.

Now you’re just gaslighting R7. You’re a troll and an obvious one.

Btw… I have not memorized the script dialogue for the entire series, asshole, R8. If you’re wanting to split hairs today go jump in a toilet!!

Meant R9.

Hey suck my ass!

That theme song should have words . . . .

Eunice/OP, you know something…you are really nuts. One of these days they’re going to come over here and lock you up! You ain’t playing with a full deck OP! I think somebody blew your pilot light out! You know what..you’ve got splinters in the windmills of your mind. You’re playing hockey with a warped puck,

It’s too bad Buzz and Bubba weren’t on at the same time.

Buzz and Sonja were shit to me.

R16: Kissing cousins. Who also helped each other out of those tight jeans, up in the attic when no one was around.......

R17: Buzz was so much better looking than Bubba. And also OP, your first post is crap. It's Fran CROWLEY, as she was an unmarried spinster. And it was Ellen Harper JACKSON, as she married Bruce Jackson, the most successful car salesman in all of Ray-Town. Big fan, my ass!!! And I only cared for the NBC show, the syndicated one was pretty bad.

Any Effie’s snatch reeked. She never washed ‘down there’.

R18 seek help.

I know this is not a hot take

but I love Bubba Higgins hot ass

Poor Thelma Harper has outlived her daughter Ellen

I hope this won't keep this from doing a reunion show

R1, you forgot the comeback.

Eunice: All I ever do is cook and clean

Mama: Hell, you can't even do that.

Eunice: You're on thin ice old lady

Bubba Harper was a walking streak of sex...

Allan Kayser is still hot

R11 he cannot jump in the toilet, because it’s occupied by you!

Sorreeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Ring-alingalingalingalinga.

[quote] "Wrong [R5]! You’re just mad because you’re limited."

[quote] —Op

Apparently, due to an odd but plausible crossover, OP/R7 is actually Barbara Thorndyke.

I absolutely love these sketches. I discovered them a few years ago (I hadn't been born when they were being made), and I had never seen such impeccably written and performed comedy ever: unlikeable characters whose many vulnerabilities explode into the screen with pathetic melodramatism, but remain incredibly funny and engaging all throughout. There is only one way to describe them: they're BRILLIANT.

I particularly like how well portrayed Eunice is: sensitive, egocentric, of dubious talent, devoted to her evil mother and family and yet, perpetually regarded with contempt and unloved by those for whom she constantly sacrifices herself. Ed is a well-intentioned boor, Thelma is an outright cunt, Phillip is exasperated by his faimly's stupidity and Ellen is a horrid, self-centered and cold bitch. And yet, they're all lovable and hilarious throughout the series.

I particularly like the sketch 'Ellen's Anniversary;, when Thelma and Eunice visit her right before her birthday party, only to aggravate Ellen with their endless bickering and bitter criticisms, as well as reproaches over the fact that they have not been invited to the party. In the end, Ellen kicks the both of them out because she cannot take their cuntiness anymore. It is so mordacious and cruel and yet, it remains extremely funny all throughout.

Still, it's impossible to find a single sketch that stands above the reast: all of them are outstanding.

Not to discount Bubba, but Buzz (Eric Brown) was pretty hot in his jeans as well.

link retry

Gosh, I am reading my comments on R29 and I cannot help but to be embarrassed - sorry for all the typographic errors and repetitions. All I can do in order to excuse myself, is say that I am recovering from a cold... Sorry!

Kayser's Bubba was the perfect combination of naive/adorable, and hot-as-fuck. Kudos to the late, great gay costume designer Ret Turner for creating Bubba's look. And kudos to Kayser for leaning into it.

Sadly, Bubba only wore a crop top once.

I certainly appreciated Bubba's huge basket.

I can’t appreciate that show. I found it awful.

Bubba's beautiful moundage #1.

Bubba's beautiful moundage #2

Bitch stole my act.

LouannnFayette gave Bubba a blowjob. Lucky gal.

Eunice represented the quintessential adult child who wants to have a do over of their childhood instead of just accepting her family as they were and are and learning to live with them.

That’s me in a nutshell r40

R22, not only has Thelma lost her daughter Ellen, but her son Vint as well. Poor Thelma, afraid of being stuck in that house alone with Eunice, has let Naomi continue to live in the basement.

R30/R31: YES!!!! He can sit on me any time he wants. His face was much cuter as well.

R40: Ellen was the 180 of that, she was the adult who accepted that her family was trash and so she needed to marry out and rich, which she did. And Vinton was the dumbass mama's boy who wouldn't know the difference.

I loved Mama's Family; but then I come from hillbilly trash, so it resonated for me. And like Ellen I ran the other way, found a rich husband, and did not live happily ever after.

Might as well use the thread to mark the differences between NBC and syndication.

Vinton becomes a complete retard for syndication. He wasn't smart on NBC but he had some sense. That disappears.

Two teens become one because the writers couldn't handle writing for a teenage girl I guess. In the last season, Buzz and Sonia are retconned to have never existed.

Namoi becomes dumber and larger (she puts on some weight compared to NBC) but most of all, she's pale as a sheet! I've wondered if Dorothy Lyman had a skin cancer scare because she tanned as leather for NBC.

Iola is the replacement for Fran, only she is fleshed out with a personality and, not being family, a longing for Vinton as a side joke through the series. Fran was screwed up when Naomi became the original foil to Thelma, and Rue said she didn't know how to play this role after the last minute change.

They also had a new set because the NBC one was destroyed after that show was cancelled. So Thelma gets a smaller, bluer, uglier house compared to the original one.

Any other changes between the 2? Personally, I was more of an NBC fan than syndication. I know that's minority opinion around here because of Hung Higgins but Booty-ful Buzz is the one that lights my fire.

I skip nbc episodes whenever they are on, except the Karate episode and Roshomama.

I say fuck you to r45 and r46

Rashomama is my favorite of all. I watched it for Betty last week

Iola alone makes the syndicated shows better than the early ones. She's not just a caricature like the rest of the cast.

I like NBC Naomi much better than syndicated Naomi. Slyer and sexier.

I found it depressing - never liked it.

It hit too close to your shitty home life r51

Mama = my grandmother

Ellen = my aunt

Vint = my uncle

Eunice = my mother

We're from New England, but otherwise it's art reflecting life.

Syndicated episodes are much more fun than the original run. It is a lot less dark. I like how campy it is. I like that Mama is less of a bitch. The only thing I like better about the original is that Naomi isn’t as much of a bimbo and as such is a better foil for Mama.

The original has some good episodes, like when Mama gets a job at Naomi’s grocery store, and when she gets a job at the Travel Agency (I think both of those are the original run).

I remember obsessing over Bubba and his jeans before I even knew why

Ok, MF fans, can anyone answer this question for me. My partner and I have noticed several repeat extras (actors) on the show that were on both the original and syndicated series. One of them is an older woman who has to be in at least 15-20 episodes. She even has lines in at least two of them. She’s never credited though. She is the woman who Mama keeps harassing at the Country Club. Anyone know who she is?? My partner and I are guessing Vicki’s grandma or more likely Roselle Friedland, the show’s wig curator.

Also, we’ve noticed in Mama Takes Stock (Season 6) when Mama brings a group of ladies claiming to be Beatrice stock holders over to Kwik Keys, one of them is an old man in a dress? Watch for it next time.

As a kid I never understood why Buz and Sandra were replaced by Buzz. I don’t think I ever noticed the difference in the house. Where do you all see reruns?

Tiffany Thelma, known to her close friends as Tee-Tee, died in a tragic mechanical bull accident down at the Bigger Jigger on her 21st birthday. They used to have a bikini bull-riding memorial fundraiser every Thursday closest to the 24th of February until the Jigger was sold and converted to a Red Robin in 2015.

METV + weekdays at 9 and 930 am Central. I work from home and have it on in the background every day, R58.

R59, I hope the Red Robin continues to let Shecky Lewis perform there.

Logo shows it on Fridays and Sundays in marathons.

Silly and goofy, but still entertaining. I too watched for Bubba and his tight jeans, a cute unassuming guy with sex appeal. I was a young gay closeted teen, and he filled my head with naughty ideas, but in a good way.

I agree, r50, plus her voice wasn’t shrill like it was in the syndicated version.

It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who preferred Buzz over Bubba (although Bubba was gorgeous).

You LA DLers, take a run over to 1027 Montrose Ave. in South Pasadena and you'll see the Mama's Family house.

I like Naomi better in the NBC seasons too, R64, but I laugh every time she shrieks in the syndicated years. By the end of the series, it almost seems like a game for Dorothy Lyman to be shriller and louder every episode. I think she was trying to get Vicki to lose it.

I’m Eunice 100%

R66, it wouldn’t surprise me if Dorothy shrieked to get Vicki (or anyone else) to break.

Vicki got Dorothy to break in Have it Mama’s Way. That’s the one where she and Bubba work at McRays. She flips out at the customers yelling and slamming styrofoam and turns to Dorothy who quickly covers her face to hide her laughter.

R66 Yes, while NBC Naomi is better, I love the shrill way she screams Ms Harper! Sometimes I will scream this around the house as shrill as possible, much to the confusion of my Japanese husband who has never even seen the show.

Another of my favorite non-scripted moments is when Naomi and Vint break up over the Sensubite fishing pole. They’re eating dinner, but Vint and Naomi refuse to eat at the table together. Tired of traipsing around the room with their food, Vicki starts chucking dinner rolls at them. The first one hits Naomi square on the nose….hard.

That’s also the episode with one of my favorite lines from Naomi. “Good Bye Nosy Neighbors!!!!” in a voice that would make dogs howl.

R47: There are 12 step programs to help people like you. Bitch.

R64: Come sit next to me, my friend, as we contemplate the fine ass of Buzz Harper. Do we think Booty Buzz wears briefs, bikini briefs, or does the virile young man go au natural beneath those tight, tight jeans?

WHET to Eric Brown?

*RIP* Betty White!

Let's do that again....

Agree with previous poster, Mama's Family worked best as skit on C.B.S. As a stand alone sitcom it often was heavy going.

R45, the syndicated Mama bore almost no resemblance to the Carol Burnett version. She was ridiculously peppy and energetic, and her voice went up several thousand octaves and seemed to lose its southern drawl.

I am a huge fan of the CB sketches - they're dark and brilliantly written and performed. But there's almost no comparison the syndicated version of MAMA'S FAMILY. It's like Tennessee Williams vs. HEE HAW.

Who the hell in Raytown would watch the mamma from the Carol Burnet show week after week in a sitcom? Nobody. At times those skits were dark, sad and depressing on various levels. They had to change it up.

R77, in interviews Vicki has said that Harvey Korman gave her some advice. He said that Mama needed to soften some. She was too harsh to be the lead character in a sitcom. Based on the first couple of episodes they shot, he was right. Those Claude Cainmaker episodes are terrible. Mama is nasty, and not funny. Her persona in later NBC episodes are perfect. She’s a curmudgeon, mean at times, but hilarious. Syndicated Mama is way too sanitized.

Only reason one ever bothered watching Mama's Family sitcom could be summed up in two words; Allan Kayser.....

Eunice never could catch a break, old lady Harper was always one step ahead of her daughter.

There's Eunice thinking she was going to drop a bombshell about how she "had" to get married. Only to have Mama say "I get your drift.... welcome to the club..." I just fell out....

Nope, not another damn reason....

Dame Maggie slumming...

R73

Since you asked.....

Eric Brown's Twitter page....

I think Mama's family is an acquired taste. People either love it or hate it. Personally, i love the show and it's dumb humor. It takes me back to my childhood and a simpler time, and i like to remember that.

On balance far as television sitcoms are concerned there were (and are) likely far more American families like the Harpers, Connors, and even Bundys than Bradys, Nelsons, Huxtables, etc...

I was surprised that Ken and Dorothy weren't a real couple. There's just something very authentic about their relationship.

The episode with Maggie Smith was done twice in rehearsals, first as a drama then as a comedy. Carol said the drama was really heavy. She said she once considered doing some shows like this, first as a drama, intermission then the same lines as a comedy.

I find The Family to be too depressing. I watch TV to escape reality, and as such I like the brightly colored Mamas Family do the dark The Family.

Iola Boylen is soo cool.

If they had been able to do skits on the sitcom like this outtake from the Carol Burnett show, and leave them in, that show would still be running.. Be sure to watch until the end.

Buzz had a cute little ass on him.

Thanks, r45/ r72! I think Buzz wore bikini briefs or boxer briefs. I have an image of him going to bed only wearing a pair of red bikini briefs.

R80, I credit Allan Kayser (and of course Eric Brown) for getting me through puberty when I watched MF reruns in the late ‘90s.

Thanks for the info, r84 and r85!

I wonder if Eric Brown's chest hair had grown in by his Mama's Family years.

[quote]I was surprised that Ken and Dorothy weren't a real couple. There's just something very authentic about their relationship.

She was totally into him when she joined the cast but he had just come off a divorce so he wasn't looking to get involved with anyone...especially a co-worker. But they remained close, they all did, and I heard she was really shook up when he passed.

Ken Berry was one sexy man back in the day. And could tap dance like few others.

So sexy back in the Mayberry RFD days.

Eric Brown was the most unlikely star of sex-oriented comedies ever. He was paired with Sylvia Krystal in Private Lessons and with Sybil Danning in They're Playing With Fire (that one might have been unintentionally comic). He was really young looking in Private Lessions.

Bubba's jeans belong in a museum of television history.

Most unfunny show ever

Isn't Momma's wig sort of like Angela Channings? Momma and her kin should have had a story arc on Falcon Crest

I assume they didn't rehearse this sketch as a drama, r88.

[quote] with Sybil Danning in They're Playing With Fire (that one might have been unintentionally comic)

That movie is a hilarious mess. On the DVD there’s an interview with Sybil Danning and she says she and Eric Brown did not get along. I think she tried to put the moves on him and he wasn’t interested and just hung out by himself between takes.

YouTube had all of the episodes at one point. During a hard time in my life, I watched all of the episodes. It helped me through. This was before I started looking at DL. I noticed all of the comments (YT video) about Bubba's bulge, etc., and thought who the hell is posting all these comments? Now, I realize they were DLers.

Allan Kayser has held up well and really leaned into that character. He had no shame in his game with the tight, hiked-up sweat pants, cut-off tops, etc.

I doubt he had any input into his wardrobe on that show. The costume department and the producers knew what they were doing. The costumers were probably told to "get that boy in some tight 501s immediately. As you remember when he first came on the show they had him in baggy jeans he had to keep up with suspenders. Thank God someone on that show saw an opportunity they were missing.

Speaking of wardrobe. I must be dumb, but it took me a while to notice that the woman characters wore different dresses, but all the same color.

Mama: Purple / blue, floral.

Naomi: Yellow, of course. Preferably off-shoulder.

Iola: Pink.

Eunice: Green

Ellen: White

Vint: Plaid. (Yes, I realize that's not a color.)

Bev...

I thought I had read that Beverly Archer had died back about a year ago. I certainly am glad to find out that was wrong. I always thought she was a hoot.

Freshen up with Bev!

R105 Bubba: green

Regarding “Private Lessons” mentioned by r98: filming took place during the summer of 1980. Brown was born in December of 1964. That means he was only 15 when he did the movie. :/

Good thing I was only 15 when I watched it.

R105/R106: Naomi sometimes had white mixed with her yellow/burnt orange. Ellen was always solid cream white. Fran was pink till Iola, Buzz was blue, Sonia was always grey it seemed.

R93: Buzz in red bikinis, Allah be praised!!

This whole youtube video is gold. Allan's part starts at 1:09

Dorothy...

Was Burnett supposed to be in more episodes of the second network season? She was in the great rashomama episode early in season 2, but that was around the time her divorce with joe Hamilton was starting to get messy.

Beverly Archer was a really good actress to walk onto a show of established characters and well known actors and seemlessly fit in. The same for Bubba.

Rashomama was one of the more interesting takes on the concept because we never found out the real story.

I first saw Archer on the Nancy Walker Show and she stole the series from Walker.

R117 I loved it so much, especially both versions of Naomi, either as a complete airhead or the biggest slut ever.

I thought naomi’s version of the story was the closest to the truth but with Naomi acting more like the Eunice version of the story.

Major Dad

When I was a bsbygay I used to watch Major Dad cause I had a huge crush on Matt Mulhern.

People who don’t find this show funny are tasteless snobs/morons. This is one of the few 80’s syndicated shows that has many laugh out loud moments.

Also, they had some good fictitious names of people, places, and things:

1. Bigger Jigger (local bar / pub).

2. Kwik Keys (Vint's key-cutting business).

3. Food Circus (where Naomi worked as Head Checker).

4. Raytown. Name of the town where Mama's Family resided.

Loved the skit with guest star Joanne Woodward. Ed and Mrs. Harper get all bent out of shape that Eunice and her friend Midge went to the "Bigger Jigger".

Skit with Midge was one of the few times we ever got to see Eunice have a true friend who was in her corner. True Midge was not portrayed as one of the more respectable women of Raytown, but she put Mama and Ed in their places, and that counts for something.

Ant Effie was always a hoot!

A very, very corny show, but enjoyable nonetheless, at least the syndicated shows.

There are lyrics! It's a real song! Something new for in the shower. Brittany Spears' Toxic has been getting old for some time now.

Ken berry choreographed some of the dance segments on the show. He did the mamas girls routine.

It’s corny but there’s something comforting about it. The formula, I suppose.

Thank, R128

Those lyric don't exactly roll off the tongue

I can see why they used the instrumental version for the opening credits

If it had been "The Eunice Show"

I woulda sung "I've Never Been to Me" as my theme song

Watching Rashomama right now.

It’s a Hap hap Happy Day!!

I love Naomi's reaction to the gooseberries popping open in that big kettle. She pulls open the top of her blouse and looks down into that cleavage whilst declaring that: "I can feel all those beads of sweat popping out all over me!"

Of course Mama lets her know: "It's the berries, you tramp!"

I just bought all 6 seasons on Apple+. Starting with season 1!

Excuse you, R124 but some of those are in fact all too real. The Bigger Jigger really does exist, not to be confused with Jimmy's Jigger. The next 2, Kwik Keys and Food Circus, I'm not sure about, but pretty sure there were businesses in the area with very similar names. And lastly, Raytown is very real. I was born and raised there up until about the age of 10. And yes, the fine people of Raytown did enjoy that show, although everyone I knew at the time preferred the original skits and early series compared to what it became. How the hell can you live in Raytown, and not appreciate darker humor?

Vicki was lucky. Dick and Jenna gave her a signature role that she'd never age out of.

One of my favorite episodes involved Mama, Naomi, and Iola in a chili-making contest. Vint the judge.

Mama's and Iola's chili contained pretty much the same ingredients. Naomi's chili contained ... canned chili.

[quote]Namoi becomes dumber and larger (she puts on some weight compared to NBC) but most of all, she's pale as a sheet! I've wondered if Dorothy Lyman had a skin cancer scare because she tanned as leather for NBC.

Tanning had become quite popular in the '60s and '70s, but the discovery of a hole in the ozone layer in 1985 (and an alarming rise in skin cancer cases) led to a decrease in tanning by the late '80s and through the '90s. Sunblock also began to be highly recommended/used.

The NBC version originally ran from Jan. '83-April '84; syndicated was from Sep. 86-Feb. '90.

Count me as another who loved Buzz. He was cute, sweet, had smiling eyes, and that ass! I wish they had kept him somehow. Would have been nice to see him interact with Bubba, who was hot, sweet, had bedroom eyes, and that bulge/ass!

The Rashomama episode had a line that did need explaining. It had her saying something like "I love you best" to all three, which is something she'd never say to any of them. Maybe she really said it to the gooseberry jam.

Never attracted to Bubba, but thought Buzz was adorable.

Trivia time:

In which episode does Vicki Lawrence make a quick non-speaking cameo appearance as someone other than Thelma or her mother??

R128 The problem with the lyrics is they don’t match the theme of the show at all.

R142 Buzz had bad teeth but it was good casting for a Raytown hick?

Dick and Jenna initially hated Carol and Vicki played mama and Eunice as hicks. Dick had a cameo as Carl Harper in the nbc series, not seen just heard as he was on the shitter.

[quote]In which episode does Vicki Lawrence make a quick non-speaking cameo appearance as someone other than Thelma or her mother??

When she played her snooty cousin Lydia?

Shit R147, I forgot that one. No, this is a non-speaking cameo.

Speaking of cousin Lydia, my partner and I surmise that Dorothy Lyman played her or Thelma when both characters were on screen at the same time. Naomi was conveniently at a grocery convention that episode.

The cameo I referred to above was in Rashomama. In the first scene at the hospital, Vicki walks past Carol, Betty, Dorothy and Ken as a nurse.

[quote]In the first scene at the hospital, Vicki walks past Carol, Betty, Dorothy and Ken as a nurse.

As many times as I've watched that episode, I don't think I've ever noticed.

"Rashomama" is one of my favorite episodes - and one of the few from the NBC years that I enjoy.

It’s also Vicki’s voice on the PA saying calling Dr. Simmons report to surgery.

"Maybe they just flew away to Spot Heaven"

Was I supposed to get the liquid??!! always makes me laugh R152.

Was it a rear ender?

"You tumble, we dry!"

I loved Iola as Miss Neighborly, the gorgeous dish of a cookbook authoress. All dressed up and introduced by that jazzy music as the camera traveled up to that fabulous hat on her head. Totally blinged out.

Mama gets to slap a very hot looking Bubba around too.

[quote]She pulls open the top of her blouse and looks down into that cleavage whilst declaring that: "I can feel all those beads of sweat popping out all over me!"

Not just that, but she also flips up the bottom of her dress under the table....basically airing out her cooch.

It is hilarious!

[quote] If it had been "The Eunice Show"

…it should have been “Feelings” (I remember seeing this as a little kid and I felt so sad for her when she got gonged)

I never liked Eunice or how Carol Burnett played her. However I loved young Eunice and drunk teenage Eunice. Sadly I can’t find a clip of the teen Eunice.

You can also buy all 6 Seasons on Amazon Prime...I watch them regularly.

There was a flashback episode of young Eunice. The actress who played young Eunice was spot on. It involved public drunkenness.

Trivia time:

What was the name of the magazine Mama found under Bubba’s mattress?

AND

What was that month’s cover story??

Iola wanted vinton’s cum

R162 well duh, Aunt Effie could see that

Bubba’s magazine was Casanova and the issue was Girls of the Interstate.

^ And Bubba's dick was a thick 9.5 inches with a full untrimmed bush

I’d lick Bubba’s hairy pink hole and taint and those low hanging balls also!

Bubba raw dogged my wa wa watusi.

Are the jars alright?

R165 is kissing cousin Buzz.

Bubba got a lot of pussy during the series. he banged cougar Luann, that neighbors grand daughter, Iola’s neice, the chicks in that rock band, his college classmate Tony “the all nighter” etc.

Wanda Lynn Mahoney

Bubba had a LOT of Spunk!

Bubba smelled funny “down there”.

My favorite sit com of all time! Even Stephen Sondheim must have liked it. They used "Beautiful Girls" from "Follies"in the Grandma USA Pageant show.

[quote] It was great as a recurring skit on The Carol Burnett Show, but as a stand-alone series, it fucking sucked.

That is true. The original Family skits on the Carol Burnett show were really something; both dark AND funny. After Harvey Korman left they weren't as funny anymore and got progressively darker and darker.But the skits remained popular, so popular that there was a tv special called "Eunice" that told the saga of the ghastly Harper family who were uniformly awful except for brother Philip (ken Berry) who somehow turns out normal, intelligent and successful. The special was more depressing than funny. Ed leaves Eunice for another woman then comes back and tries to woo her so he can get some money of her. Her two sons are gone, runaway delinquents. Eunice, her whole life, has been stuck with her monstrous mother. A lot of old Family skits were rehashed in the special; Duke Reeves, Carl on the toilet, Fluffy the Rabbit. And in the last segment Thelma Harper DIES. Boy, sounds like a real laugh riot. But the special got high ratings and it became a series on NBC.

The Mama's Family on NBC featured Vicki Lawrence as a back from the dead Thelma Harper. Ken Berry played her worthless son Vinton and Eric Brown and Karin Argoud played his two totally unappealing children Buzz and Sonja. Dorothy Lyman played the slutty Naomi who Vinton marries and Rue McClanahan played the spinster Aunt Fran. The show only last one and a half seasons. The ratings weren't that great but it was renewed for another season, but the ratings tanked after that. Really, it was a crummy show with unlikable characters and a toned down Thelma Harper.

The show went on in syndication and gained renewed popularity, mostly due to the addition of Beverly Archer as Iola Boylen, a truly funny character. Aunt Fran and Buzz and Sonya were thankfully gone. Naomi and Vinton were made more likable, especially Vinton; he became a lovable doofus instead of the deadbeat loser he was in the NBC version. And Bubba HIggins, Eunice's son, was a new addition. I guess he was supposed to be eye candy for female viewers but it was pretty ridiculous because Bubba was supposed to be a 16 year old boy and it was obvious that Allan Kayser was a strapping twenty something grown man.

The character of Thelma Harper was totally revamped for the tv series. She was a monster but was refashioned into a crusty, cranky but basically good hearted old lady who had had a pretty hard knock life with a no good husband and awful children. In a flashback episode she's seen as an attractive, sympathetic, red haired woman with unbearable children and a husband who is so lazy he won't even take a higher paying job to provide more for his family because it's too much work. I guess the main character of a tv series can't be a horrible person because it would turn off viewers but Thelma Harper was a lot more interesting when she was evil.

I always love the one with Iola's dead, freeze-dried cat.

Or the one with juvey hall escapee:

"Mama! That's not Inga. That's THE KEEK!"

R176 That episode was one of my favorites.

R176, and that KEEK grew up to become goody two shoes Lisa Simpson.

How come Iola never got laid? The only thing she laid was a buffet.

I never watched it. I didn’t like the skits on the Burnett show because I thought they were uneven. The writers added pathos, I guess, at Burnett’s direction in order to showcase her range. I also thought Vicky Lawrence’s performance was too one-note.

Iola had that emotionally abusive boyfriend that Mama went after. I think she almost married him, too.

'Went after' as in she stood up for Iola when the schmuck kept putting her down.

I think Iola got railed by the Norwegian sailor on the Hawaii vacation episodes. I think joe Hamilton owned a piece the resort those were filmed at.

I thought the only funny moment buzz and Sonia had was when Eunice told them to go soak their heads in clearasil.

R176 My name is BONITA!

Bonita means pretty in Spanish.

I love the color-coding of the syndicated characters (Mama - magenta, Vint - beige, Naomi - yellow, Iola - pink, Bubba - green), and syndicated Mama, Vint and Naomi were much more likeable. Buzz and Sonia were duds and the NBC set was drab, but the first two seasons did have a lot of hilarious episodes (Mama's Silver, Fran's Dress, Mama Gets a Job, Alien Marriage, Positive Thinking, A Grave Mistake, Rashomama, Ellen's Boyfriend, etc.). Sidenote: I'd love to write some fanfiction and put strapping Bubba and bubble-butted Buzz together.

I think people who watched Mamas Family first and are then exposed to The Family skits have a harder time appreciating them. The tone is very different, they are a little sad, and Mama is utterly abusive. I like them NOW but it took me a while to get used to.

[quote]Sidenote: I'd love to write some fanfiction and put strapping Bubba and bubble-butted Buzz together.

You write it...I'll read it! TIA.

Ant Effie’s snatch was ripe! Even under those skirts. I wiffed it.

It was all fun & games til Aunt Effie blew her brains out.

R175: I saw portions of that Eunice special on YouTube. Phil is hinted to be gay, as far as I can tell. He moves to California to be a writer and no mention of a girlfriend or wife in sight. There's basically 4 timelines for Mama's Family: Carol Burnett, Eunice, NBC, syndication. I guess it's up to the view to pick their favorite. Though you only get eye candy with NBC and syndication, though Buzz was much cuter. ;)

[quote] Phil is hinted to be gay, as far as I can tell. He moves to California to be a writer and no mention of a girlfriend or wife in sight.

Oh, please. Why should there have been a mention of a girlfriend or wife? And if there wasn't one, so what? That doesn't make make him gay. You remind me of the Family skit that featured Alan Alda as brother Larry. It was one of the funnier Family skits. It takes place at Christmas; Eunice has arranged to surprise Mama with a visit from her son Larry, who hasn't seen his family in five years (it's soon evident why). Before he comes over Ed says to Eunice "I wonder if he's as strange as ever?" And she says "just because he's not married that don't make him strange...necessarily." Larry is a successful free lance commercial artist; he's intelligent and nice and well mannered. He sticks out like a sore thumb in the midst of Eunice, Ed, and Mama, who are rude, stupid and constantly arguing with each other. The idea of free lance work goes right over their heads and they keep asking Larry why he keeps getting "fired" all the time. They make slurs about his masculinity; Ed figured him to be "a bit of a Nance." They give him a paint by numbers kit for Christmas; Ed says they were going to give it to their boys but figured it was probably "too sissified" for them. Finally Larry, who can stand it no more, throws the paint by numbers kit back at them and storms out. Ed, Eunice and Mama are unfazed; Eunice simply comments that he has a lot to learn "about the Christmas spirit." Then they start arguing with each other again. The skit ends with Eunice and Mama screaming at each other and Ed taking Mama's picture, although she's screamed at him repeatedly not to do that.

In the NBC "Mama's Family" Fran urged Thelma to throw out her loser son and his kids who were mooching off her. But when he does threaten to clear out of there and storms out Thelma wails after him "VIIIINTOON!" No wonder the NBC version flopped. Who would want to watch these awful people week after week?

R193: Phil is gay. For some reason, that upsets you. Cry harder about it.

[quote] Phil is gay. For some reason, that upsets you. Cry harder about it.

Your insistence that "Phil" is gay doesn't "upset" me. Mary. If it makes your meaningless life more bearable to believe that the fictional character of Philip Harper is gay, then keep right on believing it, if it comforts you.

R196: It's an observation from the TV show. You responded to it with a bizarre defensive post that then proceeds with a TL;DR paragraph about some Family skit. I'm not the one with a meaningless life here, dear.

[quote] I'm not the one with a meaningless life here, dear.

Indeed you are, sweetie. You're the one with your frilly pink panties in a bunch, not I.

[quote] "Naomi: Yellow, of course. Preferably off-shoulder.

[quote] I"Iola: Pink."

And then there was that one time...

This is hilarious...mostly because Iola is tarted up in Naomi drag.

Bubba's in Kansas City now.

On the CBS, Phil was also played by Roddy McDowell more than once. I think it was subtly implied Phil was gay. I think it’s also implied on the Eunice special.

[quote]And Bubba's dick was a thick 9.5 inches with a full untrimmed bush

Alan Kayser...I always wore 501s and to this day it’s my pants of choice. I get comments about those jeans all the time, but there’s really not that much going down there. Maybe the camera adds, you know, 10 pounds? [Laughs] They weren’t that snug. Maybe they just fit right? 501s fit me perfectly. They’re comfy. And I’m not bragging here, but I’m still wearing the same size I did back then.”

Dorotthy Lyman went on to direct 74 episodes of "The Nanny" including the classic...

R203 Fran was really grabbing Charles' junk, wasn't she?

What was the very last episode? Did they "wrap things up," or did it just end with them all arguing?

[quote]Fran was really grabbing Charles' junk, wasn't she?

Well, Fran wasn't exactly getting any action at home...

She died with a full throat, though!

I met Allan Kayser at a convention and he was super nice. I mentioned the jeans thing (he was wearing jeans at the time too), and he said that he’s aware of his gay fanbase and that he still wears the same size as he did back then.

Forget Cameo, Allan! Join OnlyFans!

[quote] Phil was also played by Roddy McDowell more than once. I think it was subtly implied Phil was gay. I think it’s also implied on the Eunice special.

Philip as played by Roddy McDowell might have seemed gay but that's understandable since Roddy McDowell seemed rather prissy, and well, gay. I didn't see anything about the Philip in the "Eunice" special that suggested he was gay, unless you think all unmarried men are gay.

The last episode is the baby being born in the camper.

Jesus Christ, it was STRONGLY implied that both Phillip and Larry (who were probably two versions of the same character) were gay.

Dick Clair, the co-creator of the Family sketches, was gay and died of AIDS. He had based the sketches on his own family.

It's bizarre that some poster is getting bent out of something so glaringly obvious.

[quote] Jesus Christ, it was STRONGLY implied that both Phillip and Larry (who were probably two versions of the same character) were gay.

How was it STRONGLY implied that both Philip and Larry were gay? Because they weren't married? That's a pretty stupid reason to believe someone is gay.

R212: You see, you triggered it at R213. I already slapped the stupid thing around, but it won't learn its lesson. Get ready for a post with a whole paragraph describing a Family skit from 1979 that PROVES Phil wasn't gay.

All of Roddy McDowall's characters were implied gay. That's all he could play.

I used to watch this as a teen and really enjoyed it but it dissapeared from syndication years ago. Anyone know wherethis can be watched?

[quote] I already slapped the stupid thing around, but it won't learn its lesson.

You didn't slap anything around, you ridiculous moronic twat. It was all in your overheated imagination. I'm sorry you're so alone but boy are you an asshole!

Disappeared from syndication R216? Not where I live. Mama’s Family can be seen daily here, with marathons on Fridays.

[quote] The last episode is the baby being born in the camper.

Yes. A camper that was parked ... on Mama's property.

If I could ever get Carol Burnett to agree to do an interview with me, I would ask her to describe what she knows about her gay following, and how she feels about it. I mean, just watch the reruns of her show. She had guests like Jim Nabors, Roddy McDowall, Rock Hudson, Paul Lynde. The writers regularly had Lyle Waggoner taking his clothes off. Bob Mackie's costume designs were pure camp. And if any of the men in the Ernie Flatt dancers was straight, you could have fooled me. (Don Crichton is my personal favorite, I think he's fucking hot.) But in all the interviews she has done, I have never heard her mention it. Maybe she doesn't like that kind of question...?

The sitcom is on Me TV now and it holds up. I think it's funny and character driven. Too many sitcoms now are badly written with cardboard characters and are instantly forgettable

R216 they have episodes on dailymotion

What thaaaa?

I just don' like the Thelma runs for Mayor episode, the song she sings is unlistenable.

Two of my favorites are the episodes that have Liz Torres as a "channeler" named Madame Rita and the episode that has Naomi getting concussed and being re-trained by Mama to be the perfect little housewife/homemaker.

Iola is forced to take her banana muffins back home to "freeze her buns" after she learns than Naomi not only bakes delicious pecan pies but she does handicrafts too because Mother Boylan's hand painted ceramic napkin holder is "still in the kiln!"

Mama channels a Gypsy Queen named Esmeralda to expose Madame Rita as a phony! Rita spits on the floor to express her disdain for a Gypsy Queen. Liz was so good.

The syndicated run was a lot more lighthearted and cartoonish, save the rare episode where they would tackle tough topics like the one where Bubba comes home drunk and upsets Thelma. She is instantly remined of a time when Eunice appeared drunk at a mother/daughter church benefit when Eunice was a teen. Thelma was embarrassed and their relationship was never the same afterwards.

[quote]I didn't see anything about the Philip in the "Eunice" special that suggested he was gay, unless you think all unmarried men are gay.

Maybe I'm misremembering, but I thought it was mentioned that Philip, who was a writer, had a male "roommate." This is how gays were "coded" in old shows.

Never, never, never tire of this funny show. Fabulous cast.

R227: Right. Thank you! The twat sucker who keeps attacking everyone on here that says Phil was likely gay clearly doesn't understand the reality of how homosexuality would be portrayed on national TV in 1982.

The drunk Bubba episode was the one with a flashback to a young Eunice who looked exactly like you'd imagine a young Eunice.

Phillip was never written as gay. He did not have a male roommate. In fact, in the Monopoly sketch, he calls from Rome and says he got engaged to a beautiful Italian movie star. Case closed Wackadoodle. We all perceived him as gay, as did his family, but that doesn’t mean he was.

Maybe Kayser will get a comeback ala Simon Rex. Same kind of role too if we are lucky.

Had a friend back then who got to go bowling with a bunch of people, including Kayser and I was so friggin' jealous. Imagine a night of watching THAT all bent over as he approached the lane.

[quote]We all perceived him as gay, as did his family, but that doesn’t mean he was.

Um, you're aware that he was a fictional character, aren't you?

[quote] Right. Thank you! The twat sucker who keeps attacking everyone on here that says Phil was likely gay clearly doesn't understand the reality of how homosexuality would be portrayed on national TV in 1982.

Wrong, you demented loon. So Philip in the " Eunice" special was "portrayed as gay?" Because he was a writer? Because he was single? Because when he fled the toxic Harper household he did it by getting an unexpected opportunity to go to NY with a college friend and stay in the house of the friend's married uncle? I guess you think the college friend was Phil's lover and the married uncle was a closeted homo. You just want Philp Harper (and I guess Larry Harper) to be gay. I suppose you fantasize about having sex with them. You're crazier than a shithouse rat.

R234: Who the fuck is Larry Harper? Phil was LIKELY to be gay, coded as such given the mores of the early 1980s in the US. That is all I and the other posters have said. Your very sick obsession of denying this and SCREAMING about how he's straight and therefore we are all sex crazed loons is a sign of severe mental illness. Or you're just a really bad troll who isn't gay at all and has no business on this website. Either way, you are quite done here, little boy.

All done BOZO!!

I am Madam Rita...

You are thinking about Verificatia of Size Meat of Bubba....

I'm getting...large, over 9 inches, meaty, and with a full bush

[quote] Who the fuck is Larry Harper?

Eunice's brother Larry, played by Alan Alda, in the Christmas themed Family skit. Ed and Eunice think he's probably gay because he makes his living as a free lance commercial artist and is unmarried. I guess you think that made him gay, too. You're an idiot.

I thought it was strange that they lost kids from the CBS when it became Mama's family.. you would think they would keep all of them so they could make appearances. I always thought it was weird that we never met all of Blanche and Rose's children on GG as well

Met Karin Argoud mid 80s when she was doing a play at Fairfax High School in hopes of getting a second act. She was nice and very pretty, though it was hard to look at her without hearing Eunice say, "Go soak your head in Clearisil."

(Not that her skin was bad).

I hated it and I detest Vicky Lawrence.

You detest her so much you spell her name wrong on purpose R242??

Or are ya just stupid??

🙀

Lorna Luft tried out to be Iona.

[quote] he calls from Rome and says he got engaged to a beautiful Italian movie star

So, Philip wasn’t gay, he just dated in Europe?

Come here

Look at me

Are you in there?

What's a Tea Dance compared to spending time with my family.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dummer

I think you stepped off one curb too many

Is Vickie really a deplorable cunt?

No. She is very anti-Trump on her Instagram and likes/comments on Lyman's proDemocrat posts and fundraisers.

I know it wasn't well received but I thought her rant about the homeless man with the golden voice was hysterical. Especially when she started reading him for filth about his teeth and hair.

R251 Good, I like to think Mama and Iola while conservative would not be Trumptards and neither would college educated Bubba. Vint and Naomi though…

I can't go to a church bazaar with X Rated sugar!

R252 LMAO! Took s lot of guys to do that video!

R231, why don't you describe the sketch in excruciating detail?

Ok honey. R256. Your petulance is wearing on me. In my best Naomi. Good Bye Forever!!

They never figured out what to do with the Sonia character. She started out as sort of a tomboy burnout and then at some point started dressing her in pastels and femming her up, but her line readings/affect still sounded like a burnout/stoner.

R258 in your dreams!

Sonia's lethargic, out-there personality in season one was obviously supposed to convey that she was a stoner. By season two, she'd quit smoking weed and began to behave and dress normally.

I think the Bubba seasons were better than the Sonia / Buzz seasons, not just because of the change in kids. I think the other characters (Naomi, etc.) got more into their roles and there was better character development. Yes, character development, lol.

I’m a lavender dragon!

R262 well sit down and shut up! You wanted a mother-daughter show, you've got one!

R258 It didn’t help that Sonia was ugly and always looked unwashed.

I’m a cold hearted dragon lady AND an old prune face!

p.s. I was also a good friend of Robert Reed.

Reverend Meacham ate out Roberta’s snatch regularly.

I think NBC forced them to have teen characters in order to have a broader demographic appeal. The writers didn’t seem to know what to do with Buzz and Sonja though and the actors didn’t exactly light up the screen. Not entirely their fault since the cast was a bit cluttered during the NBC run with frequent guest appearances by Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman and Betty White alongside the series regulars. The syndication cast worked better because it was streamlined and Allan Kayser’s Bubba was much more charismatic. I did miss Buzz’s cute little ass though

I watched the NBC Mama's Family a few times. I'm not surprised it failed. It was awful.

So Betty White was able to make guest appearances after she got Golden Girls but they had to kill off Rue's. Wonder if Rue just refused to come back.

R269 She did hate the character so who knows.

Betty only returned once for the syndicated version, in "Best Medicine" (s03e03). She said she would have loved to guest star more often, but she was never asked again even though her character continued to be mentioned throughout the series.

Iola was a spinster.

Carol is on camera talking about the family skits, how the characters were created, the Eunice special and the beginning of Mama's Family. But she doesn't really talk about anything after that. I think she is forever bitter about the divorce.

R268, Betty only made one guest appearance in the syndicated episodes. Fran lived with Mama, so it would make no sense for her to make occasional guest appearances.

R274, Fran died in a tragic toothpick accident down at the Bigger Jigger so it would particularly strange if she made a return appearance.

And honestly, who would want to see more of Aunt Fran?

IM GONNA KILL YOU!!!!

[quote]Come here

[quote]Look at me

[quote]Are you in there?

When asked what my favorites lines were on the show, this is what I always say. LOVE the gooseberry jam episode!

What is also hilarious is Iola's mother never appeared but we all know exactly what she looks like

"Well I would love to persue this further but I better get home before the TV station signs off. If mother hears the National Anthem she'll try to stand up."

I wonder if Iola ever found “Sccatch No More M’Lady” for her mother.

"I" also wanted to question Madame Rita about whether the next day was going to be a good day for travel because:

"Mother is thinking about going out to the back yard!"

Maybe the very best sight gag for me was IoIa coming through the side window as she and Mama were trying to get into Quik Keys looking for info on the "Thanks a heap" thief. Iola upside down with her "bird legs" fully exposed was hysterical. (Jump to 10:33 of the youtube video)

Beverly Archer made every character she ever played extra, it's a shame she retired from acting at a relatively young age.

Iola was hilarious and I do remember that episode where she and Mama broke into Kwik Keys.

Iola should have gotten laid.

Iola's reaction to Bubba's doctored photo of Mama in a bikini at the dance makes me laugh out loud every time.

Thelma’s bloodcurdling scream when Iola showed her the photo cracks me up.

R283 Iola got lei’d during the Hawaiian vacation episodes.

I still love Mama learning to drive, wrecking Ellen's car so she's off looking for "anywhere that has crowbar on a Sunday". And then getting her license photo with the rude guy who snaps her mid-movement as she bitches at him.

"Hi, I!"

R264 Sonja always looked as if she desperately needed a long hot bath.

Sonja developed some raunchy stink box odor from wearing those overalls.

We all know that Iola gave that serviceman a handy during the Hawaiian episode.

When you watch the Hawaii episode notice the weather. They never had a beautiful day the whole time they were there.

R292 that’s very true.

I think it was taped on a soundstage. That's probably why it looked overcast.

The outdoor and hotel lobby scenes were all shot on location in Hawaii. They just happened to shoot there during crappy weather. Vicki lives parttime in Hawaii I believe.

Also, R295, Beverly Archer refused to do the helicopter ride. In an interview she said they had a male crew member wear her dress and be the Iola inside the helicopter taking off.

The Hawaii episodes were shot at a resort that Joe Hamilton owned a share of.

R296 smart woman!

Mama’s Family trivia. Betty White and Beverly Archer were both born in Oak Park, Illinois. But there were two other MF cast members that were both born in a different Illinois city.

Ken Berry and Dorothy Van (Aunt Effie) were born in Moline, Illinois.

The Hawaii episodes have a weird rhythm because they didn’t shoot in front of an audience, though I suppose the hotel room scenes were shot in studio. There’s also that weird musical scoring under many scenes that was jarring. And for being on a beach they sure didn’t get Bubba out of his clothes enough.

I don't remember the Hawaii episode(s).

Allan Kayser looks like a ginger here. Maybe that's why he stayed inside his clothes.

He is a ginger. He was shirtless in the Hawaii ep.

With skin the color of the mahi mahi, R302.

R303 I love his skin tone! Very peaches and cream. I would run my tongue up and down it, especially on those pecs and abs.

The pivotal moment of my life, when I realized I was hot for guys, was when Bubba was doing the trapeze in the COTS the year before the one linked here.

He wore a light blue leotard and his bulge, filmed from below, convinced me of what I was and what I wanted.

I’m a Naomi Oates Harper die hard fan. I used to pretend I was a checker at Food Circus as a kid.

Did you wear a yellow, off-the-shoulder dress?

Mamma's Family used to re-run on a local station at 7 am when I was growing up and I used to watch it while getting ready for school. Bubba was 100% my first "before I knew I was gay" crush. My eyes always were drawn to that bulge and bubble butt.

[quote]I love his skin tone! Very peaches and cream. I would run my tongue up and down it, especially on those pecs and abs.

Don't forget his taint and his butt...Bubba loves to be rimmed

That bulge…….SO many jerk off sessions to Bubba!

In Hawaii, Bubba should have been wearing his swim team Speedos.

I wish Food Circus was real.

There are supermarkets called "Food Circus" in New Jersey.

I’d consider living in Raytown except I hate Missouri government officials.

Take care Eunice next time you might not be so lucky!

Are you going to stand there all night? . . . Don't just stand there!

I liked the one where Mama found Bubba’s jerk off material under his mattress. The porno magazine episode where Effie made the deviled eggs that gave everyone the shits while they were out picketing Food Circus.

Do you think Bubba jerked off?

Why was Mama against masterbation? Did she want Bubba to go get pussy instead?

She clearly didn't want him to get pussy, given the many episodes where she nearly threatened his life if he even attempted to do the nasty with some young, nubile slut.

Was there an adult bookstore in Raytown that Bubba could have frequented?

R318 I doubt he ever had to. I am sure there was no shortage of women (and men) willing to service Bubba at every chance they got.

Silly, there were no homosexuals in Raytown.

R323 what about the Gaytown district?

Bubba got sucked off and rimmed by the gay boys at Juvenile Hall on the reg...

Let's just say he didn't stop enjoying this when he moved in with Grandma Harper

Enough with the lame sex jokes. They're not funny, just stupid.

[quote] Was there an adult bookstore in Raytown that Bubba could have frequented?

There was a porn theater: The XXX-Ray

You know that Naomi secretly wanted Bubba.

R326 maybe that's because you're not getting any.

[quote] maybe that's because you're not getting any.

Or maybe that's because you haven't been laid in a age and can only get off by hearing sex jokes. you poor twat.

There was no sex shop. Naomi sold that Casanova magazine, along with a Twinkie and two quarts of oil, to Bubba.

R328, it was very indicative of the superb chemistry of Lyman and Barry that there was never a second where Naomi seemed interested in Bubba. Naomi was into Vinton.

R333 Very good point. I never once questioned if Naomi would sleep around on Vint. They really did have great chemistry.

Well R332…there was one second. But Naomi had just returned from the hospital with amnesia.

“That’s my husband??!!!” leering at Bubba.

It was a family show, so they would never show Naomi or Bubba eyeing each other. Though realistically, a horny teenage boy would probably peep at his uncle's sultry wife.

R335 even with the actors, you got the sense that Dorothy Lyman had a thing for Ken Berry and not at all for Allan Kayser. So great casting in that regard, since Naomi & Vin are supposed to be lovey-dovey just for each other. The show could have been derailed if they had cast a Bubba and Naomi that were really into each other off-screen and that seeped into their scenes on-screen.

I loved the Naomi character (hilariously horny), but she was not "sultry." Thank God there was no obvious chemistry between Naomi and Bubba. That would not have been wholesome.

Well R337…..Bubba did write a love letter to Naomi.

Though he wrote it for Vint to give to her. But Naomi thought it was from Bubba. But Iola thought it was from Vint to her. But Mama thought it was from George, the refrigerator repairman. And George laughed.

I love you. I love you. I love you?!!

I love the mix-up episode where Bubba writes a love letter for Vinton to give to Naomi, it gets in all the wrong hands and everyone ends up thinking the letter is addressed to them. Naomi thinks Bubba wrote it to her and is mortified.

Naomi did love Vint, but she was quick to ogle another man in his presence. In “Flounder’s Day,” when a famous actor came to the house to hold auditions, she was clearly attracted to him and followed up her own introduction with, “This is Vinton Harper, he’s my….cough…cough…”

Plus, we shouldn't forget that when the Worm King came back from Florida to try to win Naomi back, Naomi confessed to Aunt Fran that although she loved Vint dearly, when Leonard Oates was around, Vint somehow slipped her mind.

Loved Iola turning into Naomi in that love letter mix up episode. Baring her shoulders and laying back against the steps and then hanging onto Vint as he tried to get away from her.

[quote] On the DVD reunion, the cast noted that "The Letter" was the only episode that was shot real time with no stops or bloopers and they were out of the studio in record time.

R341 they should have done a live episode.

R338 Full House stole this plot later on. Mamas Family did it better of course.

Bubba came in my mouth.

How they changed...

I love Naomi Oates

I loved that medical supplies salesman who was gonna marry Iola. He told it truthfully. Iola was a pathetic old maid. She should have married him while she had the chance.

Iola/Beverly looks great, Argoud too. Saw Naomi at the Carson dog pound years ago and took me a minute to recognize her. She always aged gracefully.

You have some old fashioned ideas Mr. Cooper R347. Have you heard from Liz Taylor lately??

[quote]they should have done a live episode.

It aired in syndication, which mean that each station that ran it could show it whatever time they wanted.

In NY, it was on Saturday evenings. In Boston, they watched it on Sunday mornings.

There's no way they could have done a live episode

Allan Kayser could still have me on a platter. Yum.

R347 He was a jerk but I do wish they would have found her someone before the show ended.

Like moi!

^Iola could have made her own Charmain toilet paper roll dress

You forgot Venette's dress?

Did Vernette suck off Bubba after he ended up taking her to the prom?

Poor vernette she died shortly after her date with bubba.

Her TV death was before Mama's Family.

Memories

I thought Officer Sneed was so cute.

And then he became Detective Sneed.

Detective Sneed was hot.

WELL WHAT THE……

[quote] Detective Sneed was hot.

But he was NO Don Johnson!

I adore Miami Vice.

R352 Iola was secretly a dyke with a grandma fetish like Sarah Paulson.

OMG!!! Wa Watusi is on right now! With Bubba’s rolled up sweat pants and cutoff shirt!!!

Do you think Ellen are Mayor Tutweiler”s ass?

I've told this on DL before. Remembering Bubba's friends T Boy and Dwayne. T Boy was played by Grant Heslov. He has an Oscar for producing "Argo". Strange to think that one of those guys is an Academy Award winner.

R369 Argo fuck yourself!

R369 Actors play roles. Good for Grant!

Abdul's Garden of Eatin'

The Beauty Spot

Kwik Keys

Food Circus

Ray Mart

McRay's

Niedermeyers Department Store

Van Cleef's Jewelry Store

The Donut Hut

Lonely Hearts Motel

The Bigger Jigger

Al's Burger Barn

Rayhound

It was only in the syndicated series that they began to name local stores and such with names that included 'Ray' in it, right?

Shanghai Rays.

Their moo goo gai grits and thousand year old hush puppies are to die for.

I forgot Burger Boy, where little Eugene wanted to go eat lunch after ruining Mama's stew

Beef stew is when you’re forced in inhale/eat someone’s fart with the ass being 1” or less from your nose and mouth.

Bubba’s prom made me hard. The slut or Iola’s niece would suck Bubba off.

Speaking of the prom episode and making things hard, it's hard to watch that episode and not think that Iola's niece is played by Renee Zellweger.

Renee Zellweger was in Mama's Family?

Yes, R380, Mama's Family had a bunch of guest stars who were (or who went on to be) Oscar winners. Renee Zellweger played Bubba's date for the prom, Kevin Spacey played the coach of Bubba's swim team, and Meryl Streep appeared in two episodes playing Roselle Huplander, president of the Church Ladies' League.

I'm sure there were other guest stars who were also Oscar winners, care to list them?

A young Sandy Bullock played “Snake” the lead singer of Bubba’s all girl rock band The Bonecrushers.

I don't know if the above posts are trolling but Renee Zellweger did not play Iola's niece. She was played by Penelope Sudrow. The lead singer of the Bone Crushers was played by Stacy Q.

What the?.......

Did Iola’s cherry ever get popped?

"I" was in Hawaii and away from "Mother" for a while and compared her list with that long tall Scandinavian sailor for several days. I have a feeling she got a look at that long tall Scandinavian bulge in his white sailor pants and added a little something to her list.

She slapped on a little more Dippity Doo and Voila, she was good to go!

And the Scandinavian sailor was played by Oscar winner Christoph Waltz.

Bubba looks extra swole in the season 5 episodes they played yesterday, particularly the one where they find out that Lolly Purdue is illiterate. He's playing basketball in the back of the house with Vint and wearing a flimsy tank top that offers a nice view of side-pec (and his shorts showed off a nice basket).

I still have my old Mamma's Family board game.

Bubba’s been a bad boy!!

Why did they draw a buttcrack on him?

I watched the Cobra’s secret mens club episode on Logo yesterday.

Naomi Oates is really a great character

Better in the Network than in the syndicated series though. I didn't mind the changes they made to Mama or Vint, but what they did to Naomi was a crime.

I love how proud Naomi was of her career as head checker at Food Circus.

I would ignore my in laws if I had to address them as Mr or Mrs.

That Ant Effie was a miserable old cunt. Always complaining about something. She reminded me of Freida Claxton.

Speaking of checkers, when I rewatched MAMA'S FAMILY during lockdown, I noticed how speedy Naomi was. It also made me think of when I worked as a supermarket cashier in high school in the '90s, we were expected to be fast. Sometimes the manager was all up our asses if we were lagging behind. Not in front of customers, of course, but afterward, behind the scenes.

Anyway, it made me notice how SLOW cashiers are today. Even in the express line, they take their time. I sometimes feel like taking over. You know how you watch someone trying to type out a paper, but all they can do is peck and you just want to type it for them? Ugh! What gives?

Speedy service is touted elsewhere, but why not grocery stores anymore?

R399 I think it's because everyone needs groceries, and they can get away with crappy service. Trader Joes has excellent customer service but it was so slow when i went there the other day because the checker kept being friendly and asking personal questions. I later looked at my receipt and he double charged me for an item. Naomi would never have done that.

I wish my town had a Food Circus.

[quote]That Ant Effie was a miserable old cunt. Always complaining about something. She reminded me of Freida Claxton.

But her Rum Balls were fabulous!

I liked Aunt Effie. She was funny. She stabbed Iola in the thigh with her knitting needle. She could tap dance pretty good. I believe she wrote a few of the episodes.

I hated the horrible wig Naomi wore in the syndicated episodes. Luckily they brought in Bubba and his bulge-tastic jeans to distract from that abomination

Food Circus was based on Piggly Wiggly.

I’m watching the marathon on Logo today on Easter.

R406 The Boston Marathon? I thought that was tomorrow.

Bubba made a great Kid Lucky acting as Miss Neighborly's driver. Mama got to smack him around after stripping his uniform down to his waist and then shoving him backwards. He filled out that uniform very nicely indeed. Iola was a hoot and a holler as the glamorous Miss Neighborly whipping up various meals and sticky buns. Bubba could have played the sticky buns with no problem.

The Thanksgiving episode is great

Ant Effie’s pussy odor came through during the Thanksgiving episode. Mama smelled it and said Who needs the odor eaters? It was Effie’s snatch.

Why was that necessary, R410? Odd what some people think is funny.

R411 I laughed. I’m crude n rude too.

Well you know that Ant Effie had a crusty, unused snatch. No one ever got in there.

The "Ant (oh my DEAR!)" Effie snatch/pussy jokes are stupid and unfunny. Retard jokes.

Ann Reinking and Gwen Verdon rehearsing Mama's Family: The Musical.

I vote for the jokes are retarded.

Naomi’s snatch was always open for the eating.

MMMM Bubba...

love this show

It's been said that everyone on the DL is a version of one of the Mama's Family cast. Are you the gauche Naomi? Knuckle head Vint? Crabby Mother Harper? Bulging Bubba? Invading lovesick Iola?

Alberta Meachem's husband, Reverend Meachem has died. Earl Boen died of cancer at 84. I always enjoyed his work.