Mama's Family

[ClassyCo]

My wife was feeling under the weather last night, so while she caught some sleep, I decided to watch MAMA'S FAMILY for a change of pace. I watched four episodes from season three: "Have It Mama's Way", "Birthright", "Grandma USA", and "Buck Private Bubba". The all made me laugh out loud on numerous different occasions.

My favorite of the four episodes I watched was probably "Have It Mama's Way", where Mama and Bubba both get part-time jobs at the McRay's burger joint. Bubba wants to the job as his first ride of manhood, and Mama wants the job to help fund a trip to Hawaii (even though she calls it "Ha-why-uh"). Bubba is naturally embarrassed that his grandmother will be working with him, but Mama is thrilled and plans on upstaging Bubba with her decades of work experience (even though Mama's attempts at jobs outside the home hadn't worked out well in the past). Of course, the whole idea gets tossed on its head when Bubba catches on really quickly to the job and Mama gets fired because of her bad attitude. Vinton, Naomi, and Iola could partly be blamed for Mama's firing; they came in and drove her crazy and she snapped. But it was a hilarious scene, and I always get tickled at how Dorothy Lyman (as Naomi) tries desperately to hold in her laughter and stay in character.

The other three episodes have little gems in them as well. I like in "Birthright" how Vinton thinks he may have been adopted, and he gets scammed at the end of the episode by an old woman trying to find a wealthy man to claim as her long-lost son. Mama and Vinton have a wonderful little bit singing "Side by Side" in that episode too, which was a vital way for Ken Berry to show off his dancing skills that initiated his career. Bubba goes goofy in "Grandma USA" and uses Naomi's picture and Mama's name to get Mama into a beauty pageant. Mama has a lot of funny quips at the pageant itself, primarily aimed to the more artificial, beautified grandmas by her side. In "Buck Private Bubba", Bubba decides to enlist in the army. Of course, Mama doesn't want him to do that, and she eventually finds a loophole to get him out of the papers he had signed.

MAMA'S FAMILY was a refreshing delight last night. I enjoyed all of the episodes.​

 

[DallasFanForever]

Mamas Family is one of those shows that I think doesn’t get enough credit. I loved it and even I tend to forget about it sometimes when the best sitcoms of that era are mentioned.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Beverly Archer's portrayal of "wacky neighbor" Iola Boylen is so much fun---they really struck gold with that character.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Beverly Archer's portrayal of "wacky neighbor" Iola Boylen is so much fun---they really struck gold with that character.

Iola quite often stole the show, but Naomi was really my sentimental favorite. I crushed big time for that woman as a teenager.

 

[ClassyCo]

Beverly Archer's portrayal of "wacky neighbor" Iola Boylen is so much fun---they really struck gold with that character.

Iola is probably one of my favorite sitcom characters ever. She was brilliantly funny. She's right up there with Suzanne Sugarbaker.​

 

[ClassyCo]

This MAMA'S FAMILY reunion has circled YouTube for quite sometime. I've watched it a few times, and I re-watched it again last night.

There's a few things that has always stuck out to me during this reunion. For one, Vicki Lawrence has always come across as somehow snooty or stuck up, especially towards Beverly Archer. I'm not trying to paint a feud between the two ladies or anything of the sort, but I do seem to be picking something up. Vicki brushes Beverly off a lot it seems.

And let's not mention how Vicki seems to be rushing the audience members that have questions. This I'm sure can be written off as her trying her best to get some audience questions within the allotted time. Her producers seemed to be very time cautious, especially considering VICKI! was a thirty-minute daily talk show.

Watch these videos and let me know what you think.​

 

[Daniel Avery]

Naomi was really my sentimental favorite. I crushed big time for that woman as a teenager

Not really related to MF, but I found out a while back that Dorothy Lyman and Candice Bergen were in-laws: CB was married to French director Louis Malle, and Lyman was married to his brother Vincent Malle.

 

[Franko]

Naomi cleans up rather nicely (even if it's jarring to see her in such a conservative outfit). Hopefully the clips of Heather Biblow (Pam Anderson) -- and later, Fran -- being bad/unfocused at soap acting will turn up. Not only do you have Dorothy Lyman playing (and being) the director, but (among other Y&R and B&B actors, plus Richard Kline) Peter Bergman. It's an Opal Gardner and Dr. Cliff Warner reunion, sorta. And I seem to be going for a record for digressions and addendums.

 

[ClassyCo]

When I first started buying MAMA'S FAMILY on DVD several years ago, I was partial to the NBC network episodes. I think the reason I was originally showed partiality to those 35 network episodes was because they were closer to "The Family" sketches, and because Rue McClanahan and Betty White were a part of the cast then. It was also nice to see Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman pop up every once in a while too. It made it feel more like a "family" to me then, and I enjoyed it.

Here recently, however, my stance has shifted. The other night I watched a handful of episodes from the second season (the show's only full season on NBC), and I noticed a few things. Sure, the episodes were funny, and I guess the "feel" of the show was more vaguely reminiscent of the sketches, but the cast seemed fractured. You never knew who was going to be there. Sometimes Rue McClanahan, sometimes Betty White, sometimes Ken Berry's basically forgettable children, and then Carol Burnett would turn up randomly. It just seems like the show lacked a focus and more stable ensemble of characters. Now I do like the fact that they tried to incorporate more characters, but there was not stability.

The syndicated seasons have quickly grown fonder to me. With the elimination of Karin Argoud and Eric Brown as Vinton's generic kids, we got Allan Kayser in replacement as Bubba, Ed and Eunice's previously unseen juvenile delinquent son. You never missed the two others kids. Bubba filled the void Eunice left; he gave Mama someone to mother and argue with over his "right of manhood". We also lost Rue McClanahan and Betty White, as they had moved on to THE GOLDEN GIRLS, and we got Beverly Archer in exchange as goofy neighbor Iola Boylen. Iola filled the vacancy that Aunt Fran and Ellen had left vacant; she gave Mama a confident and a partner in crime. She was marvelous and Betty and Rue, as much as I love them, weren't missed. Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman also never appeared in the syndicated years, but I'd say their presence wasn't missed either. They were also top-notch, but not really needed once the show found its core groove.

The right ensemble had finally come to fruition during the syndicated seasons. Mama, Vinton, Naomi, Iola, and Bubba played one another wonderfully. They were a perfect balance and "family" together. It worked beautifully and hilariously.
​

 

[ClassyCo]

The cast when they got back together around 2013 or somewhere through there.

Apparently Vicki and Carol calmed their fire and became friends again (of course, nothing's ever mentioned about Carol's absence from the show).
​

 

[ClassyCo]

Beverly Archer's portrayal of "wacky neighbor" Iola Boylen is so much fun---they really struck gold with that character.

I think Beverly Archer is perhaps the most underrated part of the show. She put Iola's entire personality into her chipper "Knock! Knock!" she'd exclaim as she barged into Mama's door every episode. I've never seen Archer in anything else (not even her MAJOR DAD role), but I'd say she's the ideal choice for Iola.

She was superb in the part.​

This is a good 10-minute interview with Beverly Archer. It's included in the Time Life of MAMA'S FAMILY that was released back in 2013.

After MAMA'S FAMILY was cancelled by NBC and moved into first-run syndication, it was quickly decided that Mama needed a sidekick, a confidant. The character of Iola (the formerly unmentioned daughter of the formerly mentioned Boylen neighbors of the Harpers) was created to fill that gap. As Archer remembers it, there were four or five other women that auditioned for Iola the same day she did. Those other women apparently didn't "get" the humor of MAMA'S FAMILY, but Archer's "getting" of the humor probably helped her get the job.​

 

[AndyB2008]

I have a strange fascination with television shows that were canceled by their networks, but were revived in first-run syndication. Mama's Family and Charles in Charge were the two most successful situation comedies brought back in syndication, while shows like 9 to 5 and It's a Living found their own havens after entering their second life.

There was a long time that I preferred the network seasons of Mama's Family. Harvey Korman was doing his spoof as "Alastair Quince" in the introductions, and the writing was a little stronger. Some of my favorite episodes are early on, especially the "Family Feud" and "Cellmates" episodes. Those are laugh out loud funny to me, and they almost play like sedated sketches that The Carol Burnett Show could have initiated, but were dusted off for the series. Other issues I have is how disjointed the cast seems. It's particularly rare for all the core characters to be in the same episode; they all seem to rotate who is going to appear in that week's show. I guess it isn't terribly uncommon, especially for a new show trying to find its strengths, but it just irks me a little, perhaps mostly because I wish Rue McClanahan and Betty White got to shine a little more.

A lot of die-hard fans of "The Family" sketches don't like how Mama and her family were watered down for series television. I recall an interview Vicki Lawrence gave for the Archives of American Television, I believe it was, where she discussed the evolution of Mama from sketch to series. If I'm remembering correctly, it was Harvey Korman that told Lawrence that "Mama's a sitcom character now" and urged Vicki to loosen the purse strings and flesh out Mama's one-note mannerisms and personality. She gradually followed suit to give the character more elbow room now that she was the central focus of a television comedy. Again, not everyone likes this transition, but this is typically what's referred to when discussing Mama's evolution.

Over time, I've gotten a fondness for the syndicated years. Although the budget was probably smaller, I personally think the show was better then. They had gotten rid of some characters that quite frankly cluttered the ensemble, and brought on Bubba and Iola, two brilliant characters that gelled with Mama, Vinton, and Naomi exceptionally well. The producers during the syndicated years seemed more sure on what kind of show they wanted to do and went with it. They had their core characters in place ─ Mama, Vinton, Naomi, Bubba, and Iola ─ and they let everything circle around them. It became a fairly typical family sitcom with these changes, however, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It was done well, and there are many episodes during those syndicated seasons that never fail to give me a chuckle.

Back when I remember catching the show in reruns with my parents, I don't know if I ever saw any episodes from the network run. The syndicated run itself had ninety-five episodes, so maybe whichever network that was felt no need to buy the thirty-five network shows because they had enough for reruns without them. That's my theory anyway.

View attachment 22950 ​

We Got It Made was axed by NBC to add, but also was revived in syndication.

It was part of the Prime Time Begins at 7.30pm campaign on the NBC owned and operated stations, where different sitcoms would air. Only Out Of This World survived from them.

Anyway, the syndicated version of We Got It Made saw Teri Copley and Tom Villard return from the NBC run. However Bonnie Urseth decided not to return of her own accord and Matt McCoy either decided not to return or was not asked, since his David role was recast.

The syndicated version of WGIM was just as popular as the NBC version - that is, not popular. It too lasted one season.

 

[ClassyCo]

We Got It Made was axed by NBC to add, but also was revived in syndication.

It was part of the Prime Time Begins at 7.30pm campaign on the NBC owned and operated stations, where different sitcoms would air. Only Out Of This World survived from them.

Anyway, the syndicated version of We Got It Made saw Teri Copley and Tom Villard return from the NBC run. However Bonnie Urseth decided not to return of her own accord and Matt McCoy either decided not to return or was not asked, since his David role was recast.

The syndicated version of WGIM was just as popular as the NBC version - that is, not popular. It too lasted one season.

I must confess I've never heard of WE GOT IT MADE before today.

 

[AndyB2008]

I must confess I've never heard of WE GOT IT MADE before today.

The original NBC series had Stepfanie Kramer, long before she was in Hunter for most of the run.

Stepfanie was also in the short lived NBC series Cliffhangers - she was brought in by Universal Television to replace another actress who couldn't act in one of the serials (Cliffhangers was split into 3 20 minute serials that the audience would be hooked on, but the show was doomed from the start as NBC put it against Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley, and remember how popular those were).

As a result, they had the character make herself youthful to explain the change to Kramer.

 

[Daniel Avery]

WGIM was unabashedly sexist and objectifying, and was labelled as such by critics even during its run. If some of the "Me Too" crowd were to stumble across an old episode of this show, their head would likely explode.

That Beverly Archer interview (along with similar interviews with DL, KB, even the producers/writers Jim Evering and Rick Hawkins) showed up in my youtube feed the other day and they were very enjoyable. I had no idea Lyman had pitched several episode scripts (and ideas for others) for the series, but it would make sense, as she was also starting to get interested in directing. I think it was BA who finally confirmed that the show was supposed to be set in Missouri, during the talk about how she developed Iola's accent (she simply copied Vicki's). I also never knew that Jim Evering and Dorothy Van (Aunt Effie) were married.

 

[ClassyCo]

This is the COMPLETE episode of VICKI featuring the syndicated cast:

 

[ClassyCo]

I think it was BA who finally confirmed that the show was supposed to be set in Missouri, during the talk about how she developed Iola's accent (she simply copied Vicki's).

Yes, when Beverly Archer was hired, they asked her if she could do the Missouri accent Vicki wanted to do. "Missouri... is that an accent?" asked Archer. She felt that the accent everyone was using for MAMA'S FAMILY were "of a piece" and a combinations of a different accents. Of course, it is a Southern accent, but it's "not Texas, not Georgia", but it's of a piece. The uniqueness of the accent puts the show "in it's own world".​