Mama's Family

Mama's Family
Mama's Family title card Mama's Family title card
Created by	Dick Clair & Jenna McMahon
Starring	Vicki Lawrence Ken Berry Dorothy Lyman Eric Brown Karin Argoud Eric Brown Rue McClanahan Beverly Archer Allan Kayser
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	130
Production
Running time	30 minutes per episode
Original release
Network	NBC, CBS Syndicated
Release	January 22, 1983 – March 12, 1990

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 short-tempered 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 added: Iola Boylan, the Harpers' neighbor, and Bubba Higgins, Eunice's son and Thelma's grandchild. 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.

Premise

File:Mamas Family Cast.jpg

The cast of Mama's Family during the syndicated years. Clockwise from the bottom: Thelma Harper, Iola Boyland, Bubba Higgins, Vinton Harper, Naomi Harper.

The show centered around a squabbling family headed by buxom Thelma Harper, a blue-haired, opinionated, sharp-tongued 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, a lock sales shop in the Raytown 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 few seasons was her daughter, foulmouthed Eunice, Eunice's husband Ed, and her other daughter, the snobbish Ellen; 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 moved to Las Vegas, to be closer to their mother. Aunt Fran had passed away (Rue McClanahan had since gone on to star in another NBC sitcom The Golden Girls), and Eunice and Ed had moved to Florida. Their son Bubba, who had just been released from juvenile hall 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 Oprah. 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 Carroll 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

• Thelma Mae Crowley Harper, the sardonic, widowed matriarch of her family. Played by Vicki Lawrence.
• Vinton Harper, Thelma's slow-witted son and third husband of Naomi. Works at Kwik Keys as a locksmith. Played by Ken Berry.
• Naomi Oates Harper, Vinton's girlfriend and later, second wife. Works as a checker, and later, regional manager of Food Circus, a local grocery store. Vinton's pet-name for her is "Skeeter," and no one seems to know why. Played by Dorothy Lyman.
• Vinton ("Buzz") Harper, Jr. (1983-1984), Vint's son with his first wife, Mitzi. A somewhat meek teenager who is very patient and always willing to help. He later moved out, presumably to be closer to his mother, and was never spoken of again. Played by Eric Brown.
• Sonja Harper (1983-1984), Vint's daughter with his first wife, Mitzi. An easily annoyed, somewhat lazy, and rather angsty teenager. Like her brother, she later moved out, perhaps to be closer to her mother, and was never spoken of again. Played by Karin Argoud.
• Tiffany Thelma Harper, Vint and Naomi's newborn daughter. Born in the series finale.
• Ellen Harper Jackson (1983-1984, 1986), Thelma's rich, snobby daughter. Played by Betty White.
• Eunice Harper Higgins (1983-1984), Thelma's antagonistic, short-tempered, and melodramatic daughter. Played by Carol Burnett.
• Ed Higgins (1983-1984), Eunice's dolt of a husband. Played by Harvey Korman.
• Bubba Higgins (1986-1990), Ed and Eunice's son who was just released from juvenile hall after stealing a car. Not the sharpest student, he makes up for it by being a casanova at his high school. Later goes to community college in Raytown. Played by Allan Kayser.
• Francis ("Aunt Fran"/"Franie") Marie Crowley (1983-1984), Thelma's demanding and slightly spoiled sister. Works as a newspaper reporter and free-lance writer. Dies by choking on a toothpick at the Bigger Jigger restaurant. Played by Rue McClanahan.
• Iola Lucille Boylan (1986-1990), Thelma's nosy, prissy neighbor. Lives with her obese and invalid mother and somewhat eccentric father (both of whom are never seen). Has a crush on Vinton (and Alex Trebek). Played by Beverly Archer.

Recurring Characters

• Aunt Effie Harper, Thelma's sister-in-law. Played by Dorothy Van.
• 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

See Also

• List of Mama's Family episodes

External links

• TV Tome Site
• fan site
• Mama's Family Episode Guides