Episode 25! I swear it feels like we’ve done 50 of these things by now, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. You know how, in the beginning of a relationship, you’re like “I feel like I’ve known you forever”, and yet you just learned their last name? It’s like that. It sure feels like we’ve discussed more than 25 shows, but what we’ve recorded wouldn’t even fill a pre-2010 Complete Season box set. In any case, November is all about Family, and what better family to discuss than that of Thelma Harper and her kin on Mama’s Family?
If you’re not familiar, Mama’s Family was a spinoff of “The Family”, which was a series of sketches on The Carol Burnett Show. That’s where the characters of Thelma and Eunice Harper, played by Vicki Lawrence and Carol Burnett respectively, originated, along with an assist from cast members Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, and Betty White. Eunice was a dramatic middle-aged woman, who was unhappy in life, feeling she was always destined for MORE. Meanwhile, Thelma was her cantankerous mother who always knew the right thing to say to take the wind out of Eunice’s sails. From 1973-1979, there were 31 appearances of “The Family”, culminating in 1982’s TV movie Eunice, which served as something of a finale for the whole thing. Presented as a 4-act play, the movie provides a beginning, middle, and end to the world created by “The Family”, with the final act taking place after Mama’s funeral. Well, I guess the film was so well-received that its events were essentially retconned in order to put a sitcom into development. Mama’s Family, then, debuted on NBC in 1984 to not-so-stellar ratings. In true 80s NBC fashion, the series was canceled in 1986, after 2 seasons, but revived for first-run syndication where it saw much greater success for 4 more seasons, going on to become the highest-rated show in syndication.
The NBC Mama’s Family and the syndicated Mama’s Family are almost 2 completely different animals. The NBC series was closer to the original Carol Burnett skits, featuring occasional appearances by Eunice, but her space was primarily taken up by her brother, Vinton, played by Ken Berry. Having emerged from a messy divorce, Vinton and his two teenagers – Buzz and Sonya – moved into Thelma’s house. Vinton soon married next door neighbor Naomi, who regularly got into verbal sparring matches with Thelma. Also, future Golden Girls Betty White and Rue McClanahan circled the series, as Thelma’s 2nd daughter Ellen and sister Fran. When the show was picked up for syndication, however, it was retooled for the times, making for a much wackier experience. First off, gone were Buzz and Sonya, replaced by Thelma’s grandson (and Eunice’s son) Bubba, played by Allan Keyser. White and McClanahan had returned to NBC for their new series, so Ellen just disappeared, while Fran was killed off between network changes. Also, Thelma got a partner in crime in Iola Boylan, played by Beverly Archer. The biggest change, however, is the absence of Eunice, as the syndicated show was produced Joe Hamilton – Burnett’s estranged husband, with whom she was going through an acrimonious divorce. So, Eunice does not appear at any point during the show’s syndicated run.
I loved this show growing up, but I know it’s polarizing. It ended its run just as the big city shows, with their “New York Humor”, started really taking over, so it’s almost like it signifies The Old World. Adam and I had a lot of fun discussing its impact, as well as whether or not it – or a show like it – could survive in today’s television landscape . If this sounds interesting to ya, then you know what to do!
