Greetings,
And now it is time to discuss the second and slightly longer wave of Mama's Family. Believe it or not, though I had about twice as many episodes from which to choose, making this list was much easier. I think because, on an individual basis, I found those first seasons a little stronger. It was probably the Carol Burnett inclusion factor. While we're on the subject, I guess I should address the changes that were made for this revamp.
I could talk about the superficial things like the fact that the set changed a bit. The house looked a little smaller but brighter, and we got a lot more outdoor scenes, which was nice. But the biggest differences had to do with the cast. We gained some, we lost some, we kept some.
Obviously, we still have Mama. We also kept Vint and Naomi, but, boy, were they different. Vint was never the smartest kid in class, but they pretty much turned him into a big man child. And Naomi, who was once really feisty and able to go head to head with her mother-in-law, became a bit whiny. I still liked them, but it was very . . . different. We lost Vint's two kids and Aunt Fran, with the reason why for her being revealed later in this post. Also, we had no more appearances from Carol Burnett or Harvey Korman, and save one episode, we had no more Betty White either. Bummer. But we did get two new characters. One was Iola Boylan played by Beverly Archer, a nosy, sometimes irritating neighbor, who lived with her shut-in parents and had a serious crush on Vint. The running gag with her was that she was very crafty. Not crafty like shady, but crafty like she did crafts. We're talking felt, glue guns, googly eyes and a cozy for everything but . . . no, no "buts". She made a cozy for EVERYTHING. Then, we got Bubba played by Alan Keyser, who was Mama's grandson by way of Ed and Eunice. Okay, here's the thing about Bubba. At first, he was this annoying, bratty kind of teenage guy, which I guess was the point. But sometime during his second year on the show, he started to, let's say, mature. By that, I mean he just got hotter and hotter, and he stayed that way right up to the finale. He was so good looking that I eventually let go the fact that his name was Bubba.
Anyway, now that you know with whom we are dealing, let's get to my top ten episodes from Mama's Family 2.0.
#10. "I Do, I Don't" - I love a good fantasy sequence and, here, we get three. After attending a family wedding, Mama, Iola and Bubba think about how life would be as a married person. Bubba thinks about how things would be with his girlfriend, Amy, who, by the way, I thought was the most adorable little thing I've ever seen. Iola daydreams about being married to Vint, which means she and Naomi have traded places . . . literally. And they both do a fantastic job at that. And Mama, who was currently dating her night school teacher, wonders if she will have to live in the shadow of his deceased wife, who was named, what else, Rebecca. If you read the book Rebecca or saw the movie, you'll probably know exactly where that one is going.
#9. "Dependence Day" - Like I said, Iola lives with her parents and spends most of her time taking care of them, especially her mother. Well, after they have a fight, Iola is thrown out of her house, and, of course, she has to stay with the Harpers. Yeah, because they never, ever made it clear that they really don't like her being around that much at all. Now you'd think having someone around who likes to cook and clean would be a good thing, but it just goes too far. I mean, floral slipcovers, Iola? Really?
#8. "Now Hear This" - The last season of Mama's Family had several episodes that were related to the fact that Naomi was pregnant. In this one, we deal with the Harpers coming into the world of high tech by getting an intercom, or a baby monitor as we call it today. Mama resists at first, but eventually gives in and gets the house wired. Hey, wait a minute. A house full of people who often can't stand each other are now enabled with the ability to eavesdrop? Well, well. I wonder.
#7. "An Ill Wind" - I love Thanksgiving, and this is the one Thanksgiving episode we got from this show. I think. So, naturally, it gets a spot. Our story is that Raytown is hit with a tornado on Thanksgving, which forces the family into the basement a.k.a. Vint and Naomi's bedroom. All they have is a pack of cards, rum balls, a broken gravy boat (plot point) and each other. Oh, the magic, the pure magic of my favorite holiday.
#6. "Pomp and Circumstance" - As I mentioned, Mama was attending night school in order to get the high school diploma she never received. Now she's getting to graduate alongside Bubba, and she is the valedictorian. This makes no sense because she only had to take one class to get her diploma. Whatever. This episode centers around Bubba's wanting his parents to come to his graduation and to go to Florida to live with them again. Things don't exactly go as planned. I could talk about the funny here, but this one is actually kind of emotional and touching. You really get to see how much love their actually is in this often quarreling family. It's rare, for this show, but always appreciated.
#5. "Farewell Fran" - This was the first episode for the revamped show. Here, we are dealing with the death of Aunt Fran, and that would be the reason she did not return. Mama is upset because it seems that a lot of people are not going to come to the funeral, including Vint's children, Buzz and Sonya. Enjoy hearing their names here, because, after this, they are NEVER mentioned again. Of course, we are introduced to Iola and Bubba, who ends up having to stay with the Harpers after being released from juvenile hall. He can't go to be with his parents because they have moved to Florida, and he can't leave the state. Ah, this could possibly be why I like the first version of the show better. Looks like all the fun we once had with Ed and Eunice was wiped out with the fact that they are horrible parents who abandoned their child. Way to ruin it. One of the best things about this one is when we find out how Fran died. Yeah, it is funny. Just trust me. Oh, and for all you Star Trek: TNG fans, you get to see Brent Spiner as a kind of creepy guy named Mr. Conroy with a thick Southern accent and a dog named Jingles. Or Jangles. I can't tell. Accent.
#4. "Educating Mama" - So I made two references to Mama's time in night school, and now, finally, I get to discuss the episode where she began. Okay, the story here is that Bubba has to go to night school to get credit for an English class he flunked in order to graduate. As it happens, Mama also did not graduate because she did not complete the same class. So they decide to go to night school together. Now the reason Mama didn't pass the class was because she had a traumatic experience with a mean teacher and The Scarlet Letter. Hey, one guess as to what the first assignment at night school is. Okay, I like this because of the funny, but I also like the way they showed how much you can miss by not reading the actual book, and opting for only the Cliff's Notes version. Or Ray Notes as they call it here, because it's Raytown, you understand. Didn't expect that, did you?
#3. "Child's Play" - If the title of this episode is making you think of a certain movie, that is with good reason. Somehow, Mama and the Harpers end up having to babysit the grandson of Reverend Meachum and his wife, Alberta, whose name is Eugene.
Now this kid is basically evil and everyone knows it. Everyone but Alberta, that is. She thinks he's perfect. Well, what happens is what you'd expect, but I put this on the list and so high, because of the ending. Not to spoil, but let's just say the reverend, with some encouragement from Mama, stands up to his wife and decides that maybe disciplining a child is a good way to get them to behave. Just maybe.
#2. "Best Medicine" - Okay, I think I made it clear that I love Betty White, so I had to include her one and only episode in the second version of the show. Here, she, as Ellen, shows up at the Harper house, hoping to mend fences with her mama. See, Ellen was one of those people who did not show up for Aunt Fran's funeral. Long story short, the family finds out that Ellen is about to have surgery. They rush to her side, thinking she is in some kind of danger. Turns out, she's having an elective surgery. Again, not to spoil, but . . . yeah, there's no way around this. She's having a fanny tuck, as she calls it. Need I say more.
#1. "Cat's Meow" - I am a dog person. I am not a fan of the cats. Not that I haven't meant a few nice ones, but we all know the majority of them are not. And in this episode, we have to deal with one of those types. Specifically, we have to deal with Iola's cat, Midnight. Apparently, this cat your typical mean cat, and the Harpers hate it. Well, good news, it dies. Not wanting to let go of her beloved cat, Iola finds a way to keep him around. Does she stuff him? No, of course not. That is so seventies. She has him freeze dried, complete with, I kid you not, an activated meow. Now she only tells Mama about this, which means the rest of the family doesn't know, so . . . Okay, you know that urban legend about a dog coming home with the neighbor's rabbit in it's mouth and the owners clean up the rabbit and put it back in the cage, then the people who owned the rabbit are like, "Holy crap! Our rabbit died, and we buried him. but now he's back in his cage!" Yeah, something kind of like that happens here. Look, despite the slight morbidity of this episode, it does have a nice ending and the laughs are continual through the whole thing. So it gets to be number one.
Easily, I would call Mama's Family one of my favorite shows. It's fun and something you can enjoy when you just want to have a good time and get some good laughs. And that's more than fine sometimes. There are so many shows these days that I really like, but they are also kind of dark and heavy. That can be entertaining, too. Still, sometimes we just want a break from all that and get ourselves a few smiles. Mama's Family, whatever version, is a good place to go for that.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
