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Mama's Family was an American television sitcom which ran from 1983 to 1985 on NBC and from 1986 to 1990 in first-run syndication. It was a spinoff of a series of comedy sketches called The Family which appeared on The Carol Burnett Show. The Family was roughly based on Burnett's childhood.
After the cancellation of The Carol Burnett Show, The Family was spun off into a series called Mama's Family which aired first as an NBC network program. Burnett, who played Thelma's very melodramatic, resentful daughter Eunice, never appeared after the second season.
After the show was cancelled on NBC in 1984, it was picked up by the CBS television network in 1986. CBS then sold new episodes in national, first-run syndication. Many cast changes occurred around this time, with only the characters Thelma, Vinton, and Naomi staying on as regulars. Two more characters were introduced: Iola Boylan, the Harpers' neighbor, and Bubba Higgins, Eunice's son and Thelma's grandchild. Bubba was an often-discussed character who was never seen during the sketches on The Carol Burnett Show. New relatives and neighbors were brought in to evoke comedic situations.
Setting and Premise
Setting
The show was set in a fictitious small town called Raytown. It is presumed that Raytown is somewhere in the South or Midwest. Although a specific state is never mentioned as the setting of the show, some of the cast claim that it was modeled after the actual city of Raytown, Missouri. It is often mentioned on the show that the town is in "the Tri-state Area," which means it is located near the junction of three states. It should be noted that Raytown, Missouri actually is located near such a junction—that of Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. Furthermore, the show often makes a reference to a "Route 5". The start of the Kansas Toll Road is designated as Kansas Highway 5. Character speech, however, has a tendency throughout the series toward Southern accents. A more southerly setting is perhaps also suggested by no presence of snow during episodes taking place closer to Christmas.Premise
The show centered around a squabbling family headed by buxom Thelma Harper, a blue-haired, sharp-tongued, brash, irascible widow. Living with her originally was only her high-strung, stick-in-the-mud sister Fran, a journalist for a local paper. At the start of the series, her somewhat dim-witted son, Vinton (whose wife, Mitzi, had just left him to become a Las Vegas showgirl), and his two children, Sonja and Vinton Jr. ("Buzz"), moved in with her. Vinton was a locksmith by trade and took a job at Kwik Keys, as a key grinder,located in the mall.
During the first season, Vinton had a relationship with the flirtatious next-door neighbor Naomi (a checker at a grocery store called Food Circus), whom he soon married. Thelma thought little of Naomi, referring to her as a floozy. Also seen (but occasionally) during the first season was her daughter, foulmouthed Eunice (Carol Burnett), Eunice's husband Ed (Harvey Korman), and Thelma's other daughter, the snobbish Ellen (Betty White); Ellen's husband, Bruce, was talked about but never seen. Both Eunice and Ed had appeared in “The Family” skits on The Carol Burnett Show, and Ellen had also occasionally appeared. Although Eunice never appeared again after the show's syndication, she was referred to numerous times, and a younger actress played her in a flashback of a mother-daughter dinner in which she embarrasses Thelma by arriving completely drunk. This episode also reinstated the fact that Iola has lived across the street from the Harpers since birth (see below).
The Syndicated Years
After a two year hiatus, the show returned in the fall of 1986 in syndication. Major cast changes occurred and only Thelma, Vinton, and Naomi remained as regulars from the first seasons. Vinton’s children, Buzz and Sonja, had moved away, never to be spoken of again; it is assumed that they graduated high school and moved out. Aunt Fran had died (Rue McClanahan had since gone on to star in another NBC sitcom The Golden Girls, as did Betty White, who played Ellen Harper), and Eunice and Ed had moved to Florida. Their son Bubba, who had just been released from juvenile hall and placed on probation after doing time for car theft, was foisted on his grandma Thelma to raise. He moved into Fran's old room, much to the disgust of Vinton and Naomi, who thought that they were going to move into that room (their bedroom was in the basement).
Also added to the cast of characters was Iola, a thirty-something prissy neighbor with a secret crush on Vinton. Iola lived with her demanding and severely obese mother and her equally eccentric father (both referred to but never seen) and had practically no social life, especially with men, choosing to hang around Thelma much of the time, sometimes to Thelma’s annoyance. Iola had been friends with the Harpers since childhood. She was known for her numerous and ridiculous handi-crafts, including the Monitor and Merrimac kitchen cozies. She was usually the most knowledgeable of the group, but much of this "knowledge" seemed to come from various magazines and television programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show. Although Iola was not added to the cast until the show went into first-run syndication, it was told that she lived across the street from the Harpers her entire life. She's known for her catchphrase: "Knock, knock!" (rather than actually knocking on the door).
A recurring theme throughout the syndicated seasons was Naomi's desire to become a mother. Following through with this, the penultimate season concluded with Naomi's announcement that she was pregnant. Preparation for the baby then became a major theme in the final season. The series finale had Naomi giving birth to a baby girl, whom the family decided to name Tiffany Thelma.
Plot Holes
Several points have seemingly become plot-holes in the series, most notably the issue of the number of rooms upstairs and the order in which Thelma's children were born. In the first two seasons, there were supposedly 3 bedrooms upstairs, one for Thelma, one for Aunt Fran, and one for Sonja (Buzz slept in the attic). However, after Buzz and Sonja move out and Aunt Fran dies, Bubba moves in and takes Aunt Fran's room. Vinton and Naomi complain because they want Aunt Fran's room since they are still living in the basement. However, fans have since frequently asked the question of "whatever happened to Sonja's room?" No mention is ever made of it after the end of the second season, and so many fans have labeled it the "vanishing room."
The other point of inconsistency within the show is the order of birth of Thelma's children. The general consensus based on the first two seasons was that Ellen was the oldest child, Eunice was the middle child, and Vinton was the youngest child. However, in an episode in which Eunice is having a fantasy, Thelma calls her "my third-born." Most believe that this statement was either a blooper on Thelma's part, a mistake on the writer's part, or evidence that fans had previously misunderstood the clues as to the birth-order. Most, however, still hold Vinton as being the youngest child, as clues throughout the syndicated episodes point to his being so — most notably in the syndicated flashback episode mentioned earlier, in which a different actress plays Eunice. In this episode, Vinton is visibly younger than Eunice, so many have taken Thelma's comment before the syndicated seasons as simply being a blooper. To add to the confusion, in one episode Thelma says that "I had four screaming kids running around under my feet." These inconsistencies can usually be explained by the changing of the Harper Family structure between their introduction on The Carol Burnett Show and their inception on Mama's Family. In the original Family sketches, Thelma had five children, but the number was reduced to three when Mama's Family was created. Most fans believe that the writers or the actors were confused by or were not aware of this change, and so for that reason there are the above-mentioned bloopers.
Characters
The sardonic-tongued, pro-active, widowed matriarch of the Harper family who begrudgingly takes in her various family members when they come to her with no other place to go.
Thelma's youngest child. Buffoonish and accident prone, Vint regularly makes a fool out of himself…particularly when he attempts to be assertive or knowledgeable. Works at Kwik Keys as a locksmith.
Vinton's saucy second wife, who is often at odds with Thelma over his loyalty. Works as a checker (later becoming the assistant manager) at Food Circus, a local grocery store. Vinton's pet-name for her is "Skeeter."
- Vinton "Buzz" Harper, Jr. (1983-1984; Eric Brown)
- Sonja Harper (1983-1984; Karin Argoud)
- Tiffany Thelma Harper (1990)
- Ellen Harper Jackson (1983-1984, 1986; Betty White)
- Eunice Harper Higgins (1983-1984; Carol Burnett)
- Ed Higgins (1983-1984, Harvey Korman)
- Bubba Higgins (1986-1990; Allan Kayser)
Thelma's younger, high strung spinster sister. Works as a newspaper reporter and free-lance writer. She later dies by choking on a toothpick at "The Bigger Jigger."
- Iola Lucille Boylan (1986-1990; Beverly Archer)
Color Motif
The show's principal characters each tended to have one color that their wardrobe heavily and almost exclusively featured. Thelma always wore blue or purple (and her hair was a blue-ish tint), Vinton was usually dressed in his work clothes which were khaki, Naomi tended to wear yellow, Bubba generally appeared in green (exemplified in one episode where he wears a pistachio-colored tuxedo to a high school formal), and Iola is always wearing pink. This may have simply been a coincidence on the part of the costuming department, or a way to visually characterize the show's principal roles (for example, the color green is often associated with envy or greed, and Bubba is often in search of monetary, social, or physical gain). The color motif is exemplified in an episode where Thelma forms an unhealthy addiction to the Home Shopping Network. At one point in the episode, she orders plastic hand-held fans for her family and friends, giving beige, yellow, and green fans to Vinton, Naomi, and Bubba respectively.
Recurring Characters
- Aunt Effie Harper, Thelma's sister-in-law. Played by Dorothy Van. Note that Aunt Effie is originally Aunt Effie Crowley in earlier episodes. In later episodes it is mentioned that she is Thelma's sister-in-law. But in some episodes it is assumed that she is Thelma's mother's sister.
- Reverend Lloyd Meechum, the Harper's henpecked minister. Played by Earl Boen.
- Alberta Meechum, Reverend Meechum's condescending wife and a perennial thorn in the side of Thelma Harper. Played by Anne Haney.
- Mayor Alvin Tutweiler, the mayor of Raytown. Played by Alan Oppenheimer.
- Luann Fayette, Naomi Harper's trashy best friend. Played by Jennifer Richards. More spoken of than ever seen.
- Roselle Huplander, the obese friend of Thelma and Iola. Never actually seen on an episode but frequently referred to.
- Dwayne and T-Boy, Bubba Higgins' teenage delinquent best friends. Played by Beau Bishop and Grant Heslov respectively.
- Mr. Alan Hanson, night-school teacher of Thelma and Bubba, and love interest of Thelma Harper. The two begin dating in later episodes. Played by Joseph Campanella.
- Amy Johnson, girlfriend of Bubba Higgins. Played by Amy Benedict.
- Lolly Purdue, member and later head of the Church Ladies League. Played by Marge Redmond (originally Doris Hess)
- Officer Sneed, extremely young police officer. Played by Allan David Fox
- Claude Cainmaker, Vint's friend, who was always thinking up schemes. Played by Geoffrey Lewis
Memorable Characters That Appeared once in the Series
- Mr. Herbert Vogelman, Mama's boss at the travel agency (for one day).
- Woody Miller, Mama's old flame.
- Michael Skinner, Sonja's date for the Homecoming dance (actually appears twice).
- Scarlet Mae Dubios, Mama and Eunice's hooker cell-mate — who was later implied to have had relations with Ed.
- Didi Mason, a female pro-wrestler and old friend of Naomi. Played by Spice Williams.
- The Bonecrushers Bubba's band for the school dance; Mama dolls them up and has them sing at the church carnival- Stacey Q (Ciji), Terrah (Mojo), Lisa Michelson (Snake)
Trivia
- Carol Burnett is 6 months older than Ken Berry. Betty White is 11 years older than both of them.
DVD releases
| DVD cover | DVD information |
|---|
| Mama's Family — The Complete First Season |
See also
External links
1980s TV shows in the United States | 1990s TV shows in the United States | NBC network shows | CBS network shows | Sitcoms | Syndicated television series | Television spin-offs | TV shows produced/distributed by Warner Brothers
"Mama's Family"