I love Naomi Oates Harper

I know she loved the color "yellow".

HAHAHA. Sorry bitch. You're never going to happen here.

EVERYONE knows its me and my bulge that wins Ms. Popularity on DL.

It's like 30 years ago all over again. I'm jerking off to Bubba snd his bulging bulge.

Pics or it didn't happen, R3!

beat it, stupid millennial (r4).

In OP's pic, Mama's house looks different. Maybe it's the wallpaper .

No, R5 the point was for R3 to beat it.

Naomi was a nasty old cunty whore. I preferred Ant Effie and her wickedly smelly snatch.

I didn't realize MF was airing again.

It's on Logo all the time now.

I loathed Naomi, for obvious reasons.

Did Ken Berry have an eye job after the first season? Something seemed different, especially from the pilot.

Carol Burnett essentially told her that she'll pay her 10x the money she was getting on AMC to bring her Opal Gardner shtick in LA.

Personally, I always preferred the more cosmopolitan Luann Fayette.

I had a boner for Lollie Purdue.

Slutty Naomi wasn't fit to lick the shoes of the fine Christian church lady Iola.

In spite of the jabs about her sluttiness (which Mama secretly loved and envied), Mama felt closest to Naomi than either of her horrible daughters. Naomi, like Vint, had no sense of malice, which had to have been a welcome change and she was also very loyal and trustworthy. Also, unlike Iola, she seemed aware of her situation and was realistic about it.

Naomi was great the first season on NBC, sassy and sexy. When the show went into first-run syndication, she became an airhead.

So true r18.

This reminds me that I need to run on down to the Food Circus.

Duke Reeves! Duke Reeves! Duke Reeves!

"Mama's Family" flopped on prime time tv, as well it should have. It was a dreadful show. I have no idea why it was picked up for syndication. Once it was, the show was entirely revamped. Aunt Fran, Buzz and Sonya were entirely eliminated. Vinton was made more of a loveable doofus instead of mooching loser asshole. Naomi was toned down to an amiable bubbleheaded sexpot. There was the addition of Bubba, who strangely looked like a grown man but talked like a 14 year old kid. But of course the major addition was the next door neighbor Iola Boylan, a woman who looks at least in her forties, wears pink gingham shirtwaist dresses and a pink bow in her hair, who still lives with her parents. Iola was the most interesting change to the show and Beverly Archer still played her perfectly. Still, "Mama's Family" was a pretty lame show. I disliked it because it attempted to humanize Thelma Harper, one of the most monstrous characters ever created. In "The Family" skits on the Carol Burnett show she was an irredeemable horror, constantly complaining and criticizing and delighting in making other people's lives miserable. On "Mama's Family" SHE was depicted as the sympathetic one, a poor, put upon woman who'd had a soul murdering mother (her mother was exactly like the original Thelma Harper), a lazy, no good husband and three unbearable children. Actually, Thelma Harper was more interesting as the awful old woman in "The Family" skits than the watered down Thelma Harper in "Mama's Family." I never bought the "crusty, but essentially good-hearted" version on "Mama's Family."

Dotty Lyman was a terrible actress. My bulge stole every scene we were in together.

I did love how Naomi always referred to her 'career' as a checker at the Food Circus as being a reason why she hadn't had any children (until much later in the shows run).

Bubba's bulge should have been given its own spinoff.

Back in the 80s there was no way you could build a sitcom around a character like the Mama on the Burnett Show. Now you can, back then you couldn't. I love MF. If you grew up in a rural town like Raytown, it rings true.

MF is TV comfort food and I mean that in the best possible way.

It really does ring true, R26. My mother's family is old Southern stock and my mom laughed till she cried at the farce of Vinton and Naomi's wedding. She said many of the characters/situations portrayed were just like family and other people she knew in her small town. I loved the show too, and although I'm glad it got a second life in syndication, I wish Naomi had remained as assertive and hard-edged as she was. Much more interesting to watch.

Who do you think was hotter: Bubba or Duke Reeves (in his prime?)

Naomi is my spirit animal.

Dorothy Lyman winning back to back Emmys for All My Children caused some friction on the set with Susan Lucci. She was stellar on AMC.

Discussion of Mama's Family filled up two threads during the first half of 2016!

Alberta Meechum would frown on all of you.

The original "Mama's Family" was one of the worst tv shows I ever saw, really awful. Not funny, just awful.

Which state was Raytown?

I think I love OP.

Loved Naomi and the whole crew.

The wedding episodes were pre-Bubba

They were always referring to the tri-state area so I'm guessing Raytown,Mo which is near Kansas City.

Odd that Raytown, MO would have all those southern accents.

What's more odd is that the 12 years YOUNGER Rue McClanahan would play Betty White's AUNT on this show 2 years before The Golden Girls.

In her book, Vicki Lawrence said the town was loosely based on Raytown, MO

Did Rue and Betty both audition for the Golden Girls while they were still on this show?

I saw Vicki Lawrence perform a one-woman stand up show about 10 years ago and it was very nasty.

Vicki tells the story that Carol was livid when Vicki decided to do the syndicated version of MF. They didn't speak for years, then one day out of the blue a remorseful Carol called Vicki's husband Al Schultz and he was able to broker a truce between the two women. Vicki can be nasty, but i think Carol just seems to have so many issues.

Wasn't Carol a drunk?

Eunice Harper loved beer.

Eunice Higgins (excuse moi).

Eunice Harper loved beer as well. Remember, Duke Reeves got her drunk on the day of the Mother Daughter recital.

That fat Roselle Huflander has the smelliest twat! Even worse than Ant Effie. That's saying alot.

"Eunice Harper loved beer as well. Remember, Duke Reeves got her drunk on the day of the Mother Daughter recital."

Thelma Harper loved her beer too, at least before "Mama's Family." In "The Family" skit where they visit Mickey Hart's apartment Mickey offers them beer. Eunice takes one and Thelma says "Just how many beers does that make for you today, Eunice?" Eunice points out that she's having one too and she says "I drink in moderation." And Eunice says to her "startin' at TEN in the mornin!". In the "Sorry" skit Ed asks if anybody wants a beer and Thelma says "Yeah, that's hit the spot Ed, I think I still got a piece a that dried up pot roast (Eunice cooked a pot roast for dinner) stuck in mah throat." Yeah, Mama really liked her beer. She didn't become a teetotaler until she became the watered down Thelma Harper on "Mama's Family."

Mama enjoyed a beer or two right up to the end of the series.

My two favorite scenes with Skeeter were her face off with Mama after she had to return to Mama's house after losing everything to that swindler with the trailer park investment after marrying Vint. Naomi lists the things that have gone wrong with that day ("third worst wedding of my life") and winds up issuing a fair warning to Thelma: "If you say one more word, I'm gonna pull your tongue out!"

She also had it out with Eunice in the episode with the Pepper Pot Playhouse fiasco. Eunice gets smart with her and Naomi lets her know that "You can pull that stuff with your family, but don't try it with me!"

Her "was it a rear ender?" and the expression on her face when saying it, in the gooseberry jam episode was so fucking great too.

Mama was staying over at Eunice's house:

Mama: That is your third beer today

Eunice: And let me tell you something Mama, I needed every last one of them.

During a "Family" skit where Mama and Eunice barge in on Ellen, who is dressed to the nines and about to host a dinner party, Eunice and Ellen get into a heated argument, as always. Eunice says that Mama always preferred Ellen and would always give her a good night kiss. Ellen counters by saying she never wanted that "beer breath" in her face. It would seem that Thelma drank pretty regular, until she changed into the lukewarm Thelma Harper of "Mama's Family." It was all part of reinventing her into a sympathetic character. I hated how they made a scapegoat of Eunice, making it seem like she was a nutjob from birth, a thorn in her mother's side since she was born. In the original "Family" skits the viewer gets the impression that Eunice became such a nutjob in no small part from having Thelma Harper as a mother.

Vint get off your butt and get me a beer!

It is my favorite sit-com of all time.

This thread is great! And perfect for a binge-watch on Friday.

Your favorite Eunice: Harper or Burns?

I could never get over Ellen's nastiness on the family episode where she told Eunice her pet rabbit Fluffy was eaten for dinner. She really just loved telling that to Eunice. Even when they tried to soften the character on the series, I always remembered that, even though Mama's reaction "if we didn't eat him up, he'd have died of old age" wasn't much better.

I always wanted to rim Ken Berry's thick bubble butt.

I seem to recall that on one episode it was indicated that Raytown was in Kansas.

It's in the same state as Springfield, Mayfield, Hilldale, et. al.

It actually took place in upstate NY near Utica- end of discussion.

When T-Boy and Duane came by to hang out with Bubba did they just practice for their speed metal band in the basement?

The opening theme song-what would you even call that musical-genre wise?

Is that what they call 'Country-Swing'? But it's like an extra goofy version of it..

[quote]Which state was Raytown?

They never actually said on the show. All they ever said was that Raytown was the "Jewel of the tri-state" area.

Shame she's not real, OP.

r66, she's real in my mind.

Was it intentional that they were always wearing the same clothes?

I wanted Iola to lose her virginity to Bubba.

Raytown is a suburb of Kansas City.

Raytown city website

The first season was phenomenal and deserving of Emmys. After that, not so much. It was just lacking a... spark of some kind. The level of acting just dropped off and it became unwatchable. Just my opinion, but I'm sure everyone agrees with me.

Bob Mackie and Ret Turner actually WON an Emmy for Best Costume Design in a television series in 1984 for this show, they tied with Nolan Miller for Dynasty

So technically Mama's Family is an EMMY award winning sitcom

Suck on that haters!

[quote] I always wanted to rim Ken Berry's thick bubble butt.

You must get laid a ton, because you have horrific taste.

[quote]I wanted Iola to lose her virginity to Bubba.

You're not alone.

R74=Jackie Joseph

"So technically Mama's Family is an EMMY award winning sitcom!"

TECHNICALLY. Anyway, Emmys are frequently given to the undeserving. Bob Mackie was a well known name, and no doubt that was the major reason he got a fluke win. So shut up Naomi, you dumb slut.

I was watching Naomi on Logo last night. Love that Naomi Harper!

Hated the first episodes, Mama was just cruel and not funny. You could tell the writers weren't gay. Bubba was on the swim team but not one scene of him in his Speedo. He could have been dropping his keys, well you get the picture.

This kid deserved an Emmy for her Eunice as a kid. She was brilliant and actually the highlight of the entire series.

That Vint was so god damned dumb!

yes Vint was extraordinarily stupid.

I like to sit around and think about Naomi Oates Harper when I'm sad or depressed. It helps me.

Mama had the big booty. And Effie had the smelly snatch.

I hated Effie.

It's kind of an All in the Family Lite. Tastes Great, Less Filling. I still enjoy it and laugh but agree that Season One was a different show and and not good. Hated those two kids and glad Vint decided to take them to the pound. Or however he disposed of them.

r79

That was Tanya Fenmore.

Eric Brown had a nice ass

Vint was a hairy daddy

My hole would begin to twitch whenever Ken Berry came on screen.

I keepjerking off looking at Bubba.

Bubba would've smelled very funny down there like all red haireds do

Did Iola ever get any cock?

The lady who played Aunt Effie was also a writer on the show. Her name is Dorothy Van. She died in 2002.

And yes, Iola got cock in one episode. She started dating her mother's medical supply salesman named Bert who turned out to be a horrible person and called her a pitiful old maid. Thelma threw a pie on him and he was never heard from again.

VIckie Lawrence said they were willing to do more seasons, but Telepictures only wanted to get enough episodes for regular syndication not first run syndication as the show was broadcast at the time and they didn't want to produce anymore after that magic number. Vicki has been living off of Mama for years, between her points and her Mama shows. I would love to go see one, just to see what she does in them.

The fact that I know all of this stuff frightens me a little.

Everyone's still alive, except for Rue, Hell even Betty White! How about a reunion movie, "Mamma Meets Madea!"

R93, she almost got some cock in the Hawaii episode as well.

Yes, I forgot about him. Was his name Lars?

Just how well endowed IS Alan Keyser? Hard to tell about the cock, but his balls appear to be the size of ostrich eggs.

And Beverly Archer was actually quite charming in the episode.

Did Dorothy and Rue work together on Another World? I know they were both on that show in the 1970s.

Rue left Another World in either 71 or 72. Doro didn't show up in Bay City until the late 1980.

The should have been... Doro didn't show up in Bay City until 1980

I bet Bubba is uncut.

Recent pick of Dorothy Lyman. I never would've recognized her. Time is a bitch!

As Mama would say: Good lord Naomi, what the hell happened to you?

R103 she looks like Polly Holliday

She's a 70 year old woman, what do you want her to look like. Some pulled back skeleton?

[quote] I would love to go see one, just to see what she does in them.

I saw her show a few years ago at a casino. She was pretty funny. Half the show is as herself and the other half is as Thelma Harper.

She told a hilarious story about her mother using spray glitter as a feminine hygiene spray.

Now THIS is what a good-looking 70-year-old looks like when she doesn't let her looks go to absolute hell.

Lyman has always looked like a dyke.

You should have seen Dorothy on AW. She played sophisticated Gwen and it was hilarious. Her boyfriend, played by Leon Russom, most famous for Oh Calcutta, used to say she was beautiful and it was hilarious. She was always wearing these chic designer gowns that showcased her bony back and nonexistent titties. It's like they took the handcuffs off her when she played Opal on AMC and she just soared.

Who?

Rue played Caroline Johnson on AW, who tried to kill Pat Randolph, played by DL icon Beverlee Penberthy. Did Rue ever talk about her soap days?

Dot Lyman sure had the little titties.

Is Dot a dyke? I know she was married to stage actor John Tillinger from AW, who I trouble believing is not at least bi. He pinged off the charts.

When Dorothy was on AMC, half the cast was obviously gay or pinged to high heaven, and I count her among that. There were so many scenes where I felt my TV was on the brink of exploding into flames.

[quote]Now THIS is what a good-looking 70-year-old looks like when she doesn't let her looks go to absolute hell.

Are you kidding? She's a living cadaver. She has minus body fat. She is skin and bones.

Hi Dee @r116

Lyman and Candice Bergen were married to brothers (Candice's was Louis Malle.)

From the chin up, Sue is doing something right. From the neck on down, it's not pretty.

Another young actress did a dead on impression of Eunice as a teenager; I don't remember her name. It was the episode where Thelma gets mad as hell at Bubba for having a few drinks; he wonders why she got so mad and he's told about an incident where a drunken Eunice showed up at some Mother's Day celebration. All the snooty ladies from Raytown are there and Eunice, who is supposed to sing some sappy mother song to Thelma ("M is for the million things she gave me...") goes off on a tangent at Thelma: "you wish I'd never been born!" To which Thelma replies "if your Daddy hadn't got me as drunk as you are you wouldn't of BEEN born!" The episode is supposed to make you feel sympathetic towards Thelma for having such an awful daughter, but anybody who would say something like that to their child is a piece of shit in my opinion. Anyway, Bubba understands why Grandma got so upset and apologizes. And episode that portrays Thelma Harper in a sympathetic light.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the stunning beauty of Bonita Rokeke.

The Keek: I could go for a set-up like this. Maybe I'll just stay here.

Bubba: Staying here is not the answer.

Mama: You listen to Bubba, he knows what he's talking about.

I remember when 80s one-hit-wonder Stacey Q appeared in an episode.

She looks like a mini Yeardly Smith, R121!

r124, that IS Yeardley Smith!

Karin Argoud was great. She portrayed a lazy, bored teenager to perfection.

Stacey Q looks like she's wearing one of Naomi's bad wigs at r123.

Carol Burnett was pissed that Vicki chose to keep working with Joe Hamilton after Carol divorced him , that's what caused the rift.

"Karin Argoud was great. She portrayed a lazy, bored teenager to perfection."

Her "Sonya" was one of the most repellent characters ever on a sitcom: ugly, surly and lazy. She looked like a forty year old woman in pastel overalls. Argoud was incredibly unattractive back then; I think she looks much better as a middle-aged woman than she did on "Mama's Family."

Betty White was HILARIOUS on the show as Ellen

Especially the Rashomama and Ellen and the Younger Man episodes

I'm not even joking that she should of at least got a Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy nomination.

Betty stunk.

R131 your dick and ball sac stunk!

Not to mention your asshole!

Were Betty and Rue considered stars when they started Mama's Family?

[quote] I'm not even joking that she should of at least got a Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy nomination.

I've always said the same thing about Beverly Archer on the show. Best second banana ever.

Mr. Carstairs wanted Naomi real bad. He wanted to fuck her.

The acting on this show was abysmal. Suggesting that any of these "actors" were deserving an an award or a nom is ridiculous.

did you enjoy it r136? It's the tv equivalent to comfort food.

As a kid I liked it, I guess,, but I can't watch it now. It's just too stupid for words. It's as if the writers got together and said, "let's make the most aggressively dumb show possible and see if we can sneak it on the air." Golden Girls, I Love Lucy, Honeymooners, and MTM are my comfort food shows.

R136 you do realize that Vicki Lawrence WON the Emmy for playing Mama on the Carol Burnett Show and was nominated for playing her in the 1982 made for tv movie, EUNICE?

MF didn't get major Emmy nominations because syndicated shows, without the push of a major network Emmy campaign, DIDN'T ever get nominated for major Emmy awards in the 80s and 90s

You can shut up now

R112,who is this Beverlee woman , that she is a DL icon?

karin argoud was great because she was lazy, surly, bored, as Sonja, she was perfection as a teenager, she reminded me of myself at that age.

The skits on the CB show were brilliantly written and performed. Vicki deserved an Emmy for her performance. But c'mon, MF was an incredibly dumbed down version of the skits. I realize that they needed to tone down Thelma for the series and make her less nasty, but the scripts and acting were just awful.

R142 the NBC episodes except for the 2 part wedding episodes and Rashomama and the Positive Thinking episode (Hilarious!) weren't that good but the show became much funnier and better during its 4 season syndication run

It was very BROAD comedy, almost a farce, but you can tell there was talent involved

Vicki Lawrence in an interview a few years back said that the producers didn't even SUBMIT the show or its actors for Emmy nods the first couple of syndicated years because they weren't even sure if a syndicated show was eligible.

Beverly Archer was genius in this, had the superior syndicated episodes aired on NBC and had been submitted for Emmy nods and backed by a major network campaign, MF would of gotten some major nods.

MF was no different than the other three camera videotaped sitcoms from that era. They were all played broadly with the same style, set up -> joke -> laugh track... wash, rinse, repeat. Then every so often they would throw in "a very special episode" to get an Emmy nom or something. These shows were all about the situation of the week, not about character. Golden Girls was the exact same way. Those characters never grew or changed.

I think MF gets more flack because it was rural humor. A lot of people just don't get rural humor. If you grew up in a small rural town, you knew a Naomi, a Bubba, and Iola, an Alberta Meacham. You've either been to or know where the Bigger Jigger is. You know what bitches the Church Ladies and their Church Lady groups are.

R133 Betty White was an established, full-fledged star when she appeared on Mama's Family

Rue McClanahan was known for playing Maude's best friend Vivian on Maude for six years. But she became a much bigger star with The Golden Girls.

This cast reunion is from 2013. Bubba was still hot. But poor Ken Berry.

R146, Wow, that's a lot of information. Grant Heslov who played T-Boy became an Oscar winning producer for Argo. Overall, such fun.

"This cast reunion is from 2013. Bubba was still hot. But poor Ken Berry.'

In 2013 Ken Berry would have been 80. Should he have still been "hot" at that age?

Why didn't Betty and Rue appear in the reunion? Betty made sporadic appearances, and Rue appeared in the NBC season. I'm glad Vint's two loser kids from the NBC season didn't appear. I think they're mostly forgotten about now.

Stacey Q, now there's a blast from the past r123. She also did 2 episodes of "The Facts of Life" around the same time.

She had a Top-10 pop single in 1986 with "Two of Hearts" (peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100).

R149 the reunion was in 2013 and Rue dued in 2010

Betty White is interviewed extensively in the special features of the MF DVD releases, she speaks highly of the show and her friend Carol Burnette. She even says how lucky she is to be part of 3 successful, quality sitcoms, Mary Tyler Moore, Mama's Family and The Golden Girls.

I used to love watching Mama and Alberta Meechum throwing shade at each other.

Alberta's grandson was a fag in training. Little Eugene might have grabbed Naomi's ass but he was always looking at Bubba's crotch, as we all were.

[quote]Carol Burnett was pissed that Vicki chose to keep working with Joe Hamilton after Carol divorced him , that's what caused the rift.

There was never a rift. Joe and Carol remained friendly as well as Carol and Vicki. Carol moved to Hawaii for a few years but there was never a rift. And they BOTH produced "Mama's Family", with Carol even appearing.

[quote]But poor Ken Berry.

What? He was 80 there and looked great and was sharp.

r155, you must be new here. Most 80-year-old posters on this board think they look and act 19, so when they see an 80-year-old man who actually resembles and acts his age, they feel pity.

Ant Effie had a smelly pussy.

Karin at R72, are you really stocking shelves at Rite-Aid these days?

In the first season of the syndicated version, they mentioned Buzz and Sonya once. Then they were never mentioned again. When Naomi got pregnant, they played it like this was Vint's first child.

Eric Brown today.

According to Vicki Lawrence's book there was a rift; Carol only appeared in the first season of the show, after the divorce she was never on it again, and was pissed that Vicki continued to be on mama's family, like Vicki was supposed to quit her best gig, get real Carol.

Eric Brown is a mover and shaker in the NY Democratic Party.

I wonder if Republican Vicki made sure he couldn't appear for the reunion.

r161 is spot on. Vicki has said this herself. They had a rift because Carol resented her working with Joe on the series. Then one day out of the blue, Carol called Vicki's husband Al wanting to repair her relationship with Vicki, and Al essentially brokered some sort of truce between them.

Ant Effie's pussy smelled. Bye Bubba.

They should have killed Buzz and Sonya off. They killed off Aunt Fran, didn't they? She died by swallowing and choking on a toothpick at the Bigger Jigger. The writers could have thought up an equally bad taste way to dispose of Buzz and Sonya. I think a lot of people would have loved to see them offed, especially Sonya.

R148 I just meant it as a more general, overall comment on how aging is a bitch. I would not have expected Ken Berry to be hot, since he never was. Not even on Mayberry RFD

Weren't Vint and Naomi a little long in the tooth to be starting a family? They looked to be at least in their forties. And there they were, still living at Vint's Mama's house and later in a trailer at the house, if I remember it correctly. And they actually thought they should bring a child into the world at their age and in those living conditions? What white trash!

Naomi had the little titties.

Carol Burnett DID have a falling out with Vicki for several years after MF moved to syndication. I think it was really mainly due to the fact Carol wasn't apparently consulted about the plans to move the show. It didn't happen over night; NBC canceled the show and Joe Hamilton (Carol's ex) worked that deal out. I think part of it might have been financial; Carol might have been shoved out of the deal and she felt betrayed by her ex-husband and the co-worker she had discovered.

As for "Mama's Family", it's a guilty minor pleasure. It's really dumb and really low brow. It's understandable why they sweetened up Thelma; the Mama from the original Burnett show sketches WAS a monster and no one would want to watch that for 30 minutes a week for 22 episodes a year, but they went overboard with it.

And, I really wish Time Life or Guthy Renker or whatever company that owns the Burnett show video rights would just release all the original "Family" sketches on DVD. I loved the Burnett show but I have little desire for complete episodes...all those musical numbers are a bore and not all the sketches have aged well. Just give us the sketches we WANT to see...the Family sketches, the movie and tv parodies, Tudball and Wiggins and some of the other beloved stuff.

The Family sketches were like Phyllis on MTM. Occasional Tobasco but a steady diet would be treacherous.

Agreed, the tone of the Family sketches wouldn't have translated well to a sitcom format. However, IMO, the tone of the sketches is what made them so wonderful. The nastiness among the characters was raw and palpable and relatable. As someone posted upthread, the sitcom version was so dumb and low brow.

The sketches were brilliant. Like some weird but wonderful collaboration between Mel Brooks and William Inge. Deranged comic pain. And, some of them were surprisingly long...there are a few sketches that could be a sitcom episode.

And, anyone from the South/Midwest recognizes those characters. Highly exaggerated but every Southern/Midwestern family had a Thelma in it somewhere. The bickering about idiotic inconsequential events leading to feuds that last decades rings very true.

In my family, it was an ongoing bitchfest about cemetery plots. It got to the point one Xmas that my mother threatened to put a few old biddies INTO those cemetery plots if they didn't shut up about it.

I miss my mom.

Dot Lyman had these little dots as titties. They had to stuff her.

Eunice was based on Carol Burnett' s drunken ne're do well mother.

An interesting aside in the vid at R146 is that Jerry Reed(who I never could stand) tried to continue his onscreen romantic encounter with Dottie in her dressing room. BLECH!!

Carol Burnett never drank, because her mother and father both basically drank themselves to death at relatively early ages. She was raised by her grandmother that she loved, but that had a tense relationship with her mother and father, so I wonder how close to Thelma her grandmother is/was.

Harvey Korman's son did an interview a few years back and mentioned i His dad directing and guest starring on the NBC episodes of MF in which his son was also an extra

He said Harvey and Rue did not get along because Rue was a perfectionist who always questioned his directing style and fought with him on how to play Fran

Harvey and the whole cast LOVED Betty White however since she was already a semi regular on The Carol Burnett Show and was part of the "company"

Carol and Joe Hamilton took Betty out for dinner one night in 1982 and told her they were doing MF as a weekly series and this was after Betty's husband had juat passed and they told her "You WILL sign on as Ellen, you need to work, we're worried about you".

Betty was best friends with Carol and Joe and Harvey

Although seldom seen, Harvey did an intro to MF. He did it as a parody of Alistair Cooke doing Masterpiece Theater.

Carol was very protective of the Family characters, so they must've been based on her real-life upbringing. Vicki said that Carol told the cast that they can crack up, ad lib, whatever they wanted on any of the sketches EXCEPT the Family sketches. There are a few Family bloopers, including the famous one where Tim Conway goes off on that elephant story, and another where VIcki goes off script and starts ad libbing insult after insult at Eunice, leaving Carol in stitches.

I always wondered why Roddy McDowell never guested as the brother on Mama's Family like he did on the CB show, at least once.

I always got the sense that the cast of The Carol Burnett Show weren't super close except for Harvey and Tim.

I think that Harvey and Vicki were close. She has said that he had input in her career decision. He was the one who convinced her to do MF when she was very reluctant. I think Carol is a good person person but probably very cold and tough to really get close to, like MTM. I don't think Carol and Vicki were as close as some liked to believe.

Can we get back to discussing Karin Argoud?

[quote]I don't think Carol and Vicki were as close as some liked to believe.

In most mentor/mentee relationships. Everything is fine, until the mentee does something that the mentor sees as a betrayal. And eventually there is always something.

Karin did the greatest portrayal of a lazy, bored, surly teenager that I have ever seen, that's why she was booted off the show, she outshone everyone else.

As if!

Rue expected to have a lot more to do on the show. She was pissed when they hired Lyman and essentially gave Lyman Rue's lines. Rue really stuck out like a sore thumb.

I want to see Allan Kayser on chaturbate!

I'm not gonna lie. I love Rue, but I preferred Iola to Aunt Fran.

In fact, I preferred the syndicated version to the NBC version. The syndicated version had a better cast and I didn't really miss Carol.

Rue did have some funny moments on the show, the advice column was one, and another when Naomi came into the room and Rue quickly left, omg I laughed so hard at that.

[quote]Rue did have some funny moments on the show, the advice column was one, and another when Naomi came into the room and Rue quickly left,

So let's get this straight, you're saying Rue's "moment" consisted of leaving the room?

No wonder they killed her ass off in syndication, unlike Ellen.

The story is on Wikipedia but the cast has discussed it as well... Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon created the characters and wrote the original sketches on the Burnett show and based it on their own mothers who they had problematic relationships with. The characters weren't originally southern. But, Carol liked the idea of making them southern to fit her own background (she and her family are from Texas) and recognized those relationships from her own upbringing with messy drunk failures as parents and a strong willed and eccentric Nana who raised her.

Clair and McMahon were pissed she wanted them played southern; they thought it would be cliche to play it so hillbilly but after the sketches were such a success they came around...

Here are all the dishes featured in MF.

Hilarious, r193!!!!

[quote]. I think Carol is a good person person

Then why the homewrecker break up a marriage with eight children?

[quote]I remember when 80s one-hit-wonder Stacey Q appeared in an episode

By the time she got around to Mama's Family her "star" had fallen so far, that she wasn't even the main singer in this episode.

[quote]Were Betty and Rue considered stars when they started Mama's Family?

If they were they wouldn't have done Mama's Family. Betty was a fame whore that would do anything to get her face in front of the camera. She got damn lucky with Sue Ann as she could've wound up with a Georgette lame ass character.

The original sketch wasn't even about Eunice, Mama or Ed, it was about Roddy McDowell having crazy low life relatives visit him after he made it big. So most of the "remembrances" the writers and cast had are hardly accurate.

Tuna Montezuma!

R196 is the ghost of Bea Arthur

At least I'm still alive, CUNT!

Did Allen Ludden play for our team? I've heard stories about Betty, so was it a mutual bearding arrangement? But they did seem very much in love.

Tuna montezuma gave me the bad shits st the church ladies league luncheon. Montezuma's revenge!

Lollie Purdue couldn't read or write, who is typing that for you R200?

"Karin did the greatest portrayal of a lazy, bored, surly teenager that I have ever seen, that's why she was booted off the show, she outshone everyone else."

Shut up, Karin.

"The original sketch wasn't even about Eunice, Mama or Ed, it was about Roddy McDowell having crazy low life relatives visit him after he made it big."

I remember that skit. It wasn't even funny. It just didn't work; Roddy McDowell, with his British accent and intelligence and manners and success (he won a Pulitizer Prize) being part of THAT family? It just wasn't plausible and like I said, it wasn't even funny. I wonder why they brought the characters of Mama, Eunice and Ed back since that first skit with them didn't really go over very well. I guess they thought the awful trio was worth a second chance and that turned out to be true. Once The Family sketches hit their stride, they were frequently hilarious.

Carol's a cunt. By comparison everyone in my cast adored me.

The chili cook off was on tonight and watching Iola work herself up into a raging maniac at her Momma for throwing away the nice big bowl of chili that she made for her Daddy is always a treat.

Naomi's chili consisted of canned chili, beer, corn chips, beef jerky and spaghetti-o's. Mama wanted to know if the last ingredient was going to be penicillin.

I thought Officer/Detective Sneed was adorable.

The first "The Family" sketch was Philip (Roddy McDowell) coming home to visit Mama, Eunice and Ed in Season 7 (1974) of the Burnett show.

It was the 8th sketch when they visited Philip in Los Angeles in Season 8 (1975).

It's basically the same plot though. The Family dismiss all of Philip's major accomplishments. Not the funniest of the sketches but both have their moments.

They added all these guest star brothers in the first 6 or 7 sketches (Roddy McDowell, Alan Alda and Tommy Smothers) but abandoned that practice (wisely). The best sketches were really with the core trio (oh, and Tim's Mickey Hart and Betty White's Ellen) and the occasional guest star who clicked with a great character (Madeline Kahn, Joanne Woodward).

WHOA! I never knew this..Dick Clair who created the characters with writing partner Jenna McMahon died of AIDS in 1988.

Kinda makes sense that gays created these characters.

Dick Van Dyke ruined the sketches.

Dick Van Dyke ruined his own show

DVD was awful on the Carol Burnett Show. He was great at sitcom comedy, but comedy sketches are a different animal altogether, and he just never gelled. Plus, he had no chemistry with the other performers. Ratings fell, but if I recall CBS still wanted to do another season. Carol saw the writing on the wall, and decided to end the show with most of its dignity still intact. Unlike some other shows. Golden Girls, I'm looking at you, bitches!

"They added all these guest star brothers in the first 6 or 7 sketches (Roddy McDowell, Alan Alda and Tommy Smothers) but abandoned that practice (wisely)."

The one with Roddy McDowell didn't work, but the skits with Tommy Smothers and Alan Alda were funny as hell. In the one with Tommy Smothers he's in the hospital for an operation and the awful Family comes to visit him; at one point in the skit Vickie Lawrence almost knocks Smother's toupee off. In the one with Alan Alda it's Christmas and Eunice had devised a surprise for Mama that consists of a visit from brother Larry, who hasn't seen the Family for five years. When you watch the skit, you'll understand why. Over time the Family skits had various guest stars appear in them; some were funnier than others. There was one with Jim Nabors that was so-so; there was one with Joanne Woodward that wasn't particularly funny at all. But the one with Maggie Smith as Bubba's teacher was great.

The Tommy Smother episode was hilarious. Both Eunice and Mama were so horrible in it.

The Maggie Smith episode was amazing. Carol Burnett said that they did a rehearsal of it straight. She said it was incredible. Watch it and imagine it that way, you can completely hear the intent. In that episode, Ed says he was walloped by his dad but it made a man out of him. Mama replies he was a few wallopings short. Ed says "you're really on thin ice, old woman."

This thread has convinced me to buy season tickets to the Pepper Pot Playhouse.

I think the Joanne Woodward episode is great! It was nice to see Eunice have an ally for a change. They both ganged up on Mama and Ed.

r215 You couldn't be more wrong, even the sketches with ME in it were better

Roddy McDowell liked sucking the cocks.

Except he wouldn't suck yours if I was around

Roddy McDowell was not gay. Not all good looking Hollywood actors are gay, ya know. Sheesh!

R219 Maybe not. But Roddy McDowAll definitely was.

You have to mention the Madeline Kahn Family sketch. "In our circles!"

No one said that Roddy was gay. He just liked sucking cocks. That doesn't make him gay. It makes him a cocksucker.

I fondly remember giving Vint a black eye when he guessed my weight was 309 pounds at his "Guess Your Weight" booth at the church fair.

[quote]She didn't become a teetotaler until she became the watered down Thelma Harper on "Mama's Family."

Thelma was never a teetotaler, especially not in the NBC or the syndicated versions of the show.

I think that Sonya just stopped smoking weed in season 2, which was why she was no longer sluggish, slothful and lazy.

"Thelma was never a teetotaler, especially not in the NBC or the syndicated versions of the show."

In comparison to The Family skits, she was. And wouldn't she have been a terrible hypocrite for berating Bubba for getting drunk if she drank beer with the frequency that she did as the Thelma Harper in The Family skits?

Did you watch the show R226. Thelma was always downing a beer. She would slap Bubba or Vint to go get her a beer.

[quote]You have to mention the Madeline Kahn Family sketch. "In our circles!"

To be fair everything Kahn was in she stole. She was hysterical.

"helma was always downing a beer. She would slap Bubba or Vint to go get her a beer.'

So why was she so mad at Bubba for getting drunk if she was a heavy drinker herself? To berate him for drinking would seem the height of hypocrisy.

[quote]So why was she so mad at Bubba for getting drunk if she was a heavy drinker herself? To berate him for drinking would seem the height of hypocrisy.

Because of how his mother Eunice got drunk when she was a teen and embarrassed Thelma at a church function. Bubba even reminds her in the episode of that she's always drinking beer and she tells him that when he's her age he can drink as much beer as he wants. She's not being hypocritical, she was hurt by her daughter's shenanigans and didn't want Bubba to be an underage drinker. Suffice it to say, Thelma could put it away on the NBC/Syndicated series too. A teetotaler she wasn't.

"She tells him that when he's her age he can drink as much beer as he wants.'

So she wants him to wait until he's an old man to drink as much beer as he wants? As for Thelma being embarrassed at a church function...well, I'm surprised that Eunice didn't become a total alcoholic with a raging bitch like that for a mother: "If your Daddy hadn't gotten me as drunk as you are you never would a been born!"

Thelma drank beer, that doesn't count, it's made from grains and yeast, that's natural.

yeast! yeast! yeast!

How come no MF bloopers?

They left them in and no one noticed.

I like when Sonya got her hands on Aunt Fran's romance novel manuscript, and says "That's hot stuff, Aunt Fran!"

Did Bubba get any pussy? Did he have to sneak around to get it?

[quote]So she wants him to wait until he's an old man to drink as much beer as he wants?

You're being obtuse.

Bubba would definitely top Buzz.

You bet your ass he would

Allan Kayser was really good in the horror film short NEXT CALLER

Another good AK short. It's hot when he puts his crotch in the guy's face.

I was Mama's Beau, Mary's Beau AND Ann's husband.....

...AND I'm still alive bitches

r242, you also fucked Dorothy Zbornak.

I know, r243. I watched them through my bedroom window. I nearly went blind. It was the only thing that ever happened in her bedroom.

That Belle Scoggins had a smelly old snatch.

I have the DVDs. On the season 6 extras Bob Mackie and Ret Turner are talking about dressing the show. They said they loved everyone, the only actor who had problems was Rue. Apparently she wanted to dress more glamorously. But it wasn't what the role called for. They also said she fought with Harvey Korman when he was directing.

r244, you miserable b.......

I present to you Mark Royer!

Naomi was kind of sexy.

I was on EVERYTHING before I died and this show proves it

[quote] I present to you Mark Royer!- Glenn Scarpelli

Did you present hole to him, too?

Just watched the one where Thelma and Bubba get morning jobs at the fast food restaurant. Never noticed but when Mamma goes crazy Naomi breaks up. At 4:40

I just noticed that, too, R252.

It's 3:38

I've known that for years. She was thisclose to cracking up.

Bubba looked yummy today in that half shirt and those bulging jogging pants. The show finally realized what a ratings booster he was. Damn that Luann Fayette getting a piece of that!

Bubba never took his shirt off all the way because he must have a fucked up body like John Stamos

[quote]Bubba never took his shirt off all the way because he must have a fucked up body like John Stamos

No.

Gonna be at The Chiller show in April. I will definitely be meeting him.

r258

Fake

[quote]Fake

No, stupid. Ever see the Mama's Family Hawaiian episodes?

r261

Gee could that be ANY MORE FAKE, it's not even clear, a blurry picture is not real.

So you're an idiot AND a troll. Got it!

Forward to 21:38 for more shirtless Bubba...

Circus of the Stars

Hawaii

Various nude, shirtless and underwear from the B-movie Hot Chili

[quote]Gonna be at The Chiller show in April. I will definitely be meeting him.

Don't babble or embarrass yourself. And take a pic or two with him!

Ask him to take his shirt off, for R257's sake.

R259, I just reserved my room next door at the Hampton Inn. Interested in meeting? We could do an informal DL meet up if anyone else wants to attend.

Can't wait to meet him and my childhood crush...Stephen Geoffreys!

I met Stephen at a horror convention last year. He was very nice (and very tiny!).

r266

LOL how blurry and unclear can you get?

If all the photos you can produce are just blurs that tells you something, like Lucy never been shot in closeup.

Let me get my Troll-B-Gone for R272.

r266, is that the one where Susan Hayward drinks?

Naomi had a smelly old twat. Iola had those little itty bitty titties.

R208, Dick had his body frozen. Look it up. I'm not kidding.

Mama was in love with Ann Romano's ex husband (and Mary Tyler Moore's boyfriend and the cop from Golden Girls)

I can't believe she died.

Bubba makes me Hard.

Mama twice had a fling with Seth Hazlett.

r279 too bad Allyn is so anti gay

^^LIES.

Who's Allyn?

[quote]too bad Allyn is so anti gay

It's Allan, and prove it. I've found nothing.

If anything, he has a very liberal view on many topics. I've been his FB friend for years now and have seen no evidence of the nonsense R281 is speaking of.

[quote]I've been his FB friend

LOL...Another Manti Te'o

[quote]LOL...Another Manti Te'o

No suga, I have been. Even IMd with him a time or two.

Bubba's cock was outlined in tonights show.

Like all gingers, I'm sure that Allan smells 'down there'.

My all-time favorite Mama line:

Have you ever met a Heather who wasn't trash?

Last night they played "Flounder's Day", which is one of the funniest ever episodes of MF.

[quote]No suga, I have been. Even IMd with him a time or two.

LOL, yeah that PROVES it....

I commented on someone's Facebook page so that makes us BFF

Allan's no homophobe, and the pansies on here saying otherwise are just plain stupid.

r294

Allan is homosexual opposed

^So is your mother, but here you are.

Ant Effie had a smelly old twat. You could smell it from under her skirt.

Bubba smelled funny "down there".

My favourite was when Naomi called her a "bossy blue haired old bitty"

I watch Mama's Family on LOGO all of the time. Love it.

all i think about is naomi and mama harper all day long. i'm literally obsessed with mama's family!

I still jerk off looking at Bubba in his tight jeans.

yuk 302. you probably like Vinton too.

Red heads smell funny down there.

Vint was hot in the NBC episodes but Allan Kayser has always been smoking hot. Bubba would've easily topped bubble-butted Buzz. In fact, there's probably some good fanfic to be written there.

vint was never hot in any episode.

Yes he was

Mama's Family Bloopers

This thread is making me crave some Tuna Montezuma!

I like when Momma revealed Aunt Fran was an XY

See, everybody thought Betty was a cunt.

I want some of Naomi's stew that ate through the lining of Mama's slow cooker.

I hope Mama's Family is on this weekend. I need it.

[font=scribble]Oh Mama!

Ant Effie seemed like a lesbian. Was she?

I always loved how Vint could pretty much say anything and Naomi would pant 'Oh Baby' all hot and bothered and they would start making out.

That Alberta Meacham was always such an uptight old biddy.

There's a marathon playing on LOGO as I type.

Iola remained a virgin for the entire run of the series.

I love how you wrote that, R319, as if some hot stud showed up in Ray Town as soon as the show was cancelled to relieve Iola of her virginity...

Poor Iola never got her twat eaten out. The poor dear.

Well, not until she started working for Major Dad.

The syndicated version with Iola and Bubba and the softening of Thelma, Vint, and Naomi's characters was vastly superior to NBC's first season.

R323 sounds like a real asshole.

I really liked Mama's Family. I watch it all the time on Logo.

I do prefer the syndicated episodes, bit the two NBC seasons did have some side-splitting episodes. Mama works at the travel agency, Mama ruins Fran's dress, Vint hocks Mama's silver, Eunice benefits from positive thinking and the two-parter where Vint and Naomi get married are hilarious.

Why didn't we get to see that fat pain in the butt Roselle Hufflander? She was spoken of, but never seen.

Contract negotiations broke down - Roselle was known to be a hard-ass negotiator - she wanted top billing and her own "deluxe" trailer at the Ray Town Motor Court.

As Mama said, "That bitch expected our show to buy her a Rascal Scooter just to ride around the set. What a lard ass! I can find ten women begging to play Roselle for scale wages. As if we'd ever give in to that entitled cunt's demands."

Witnesses say Mama Harper and Roselle cut each other dead when they encounter each other at the Food Circus. "Oh Lordy, you could cut the tension with a knife, " said one Food Circus shopper.

Also Roselle has reportedly worn low cut blouses and flirted with Bubba Higgins, grandson of Thelma Harper on several occasions.

"That cheap whore better peddle her worn-out coochie on the street corner. But I'll be damned if I'll pay her to come into my house and corrupt my grandson after all I've done to keep him on the right path since he got out of Reform School...er, Summer School," said Mrs. Harper.

Cousin Lutie thought that Naomi was a tramp who spread her legs for any man in town.

R330 Takes one to know one, Cousin Lutie!

r319

Hardly

LUDIE not Lutie

Where exactly was Raytown supposed to be?

The tri state area. Bubba's bulge is a city in that area.

Kay Cheeseman was a big ol' dyke!

Remember when Aunt Effie put the last puece in the puzzle and everyone was yelling at her - "noooooooo"?

Just watched the cousin lidia episode where Vicki played double. I suppose for the time it was impressive but it hasn't held up well.

r334 in the NBC episode where Mama learns to drive, Aunt Fran's car has Missouri license plates. There is a Raytown in Missouri.

Vicki Lawrence also played both Thelma Harper and her mother on a couple of the shows (on one of them her mother was a ghost, which was pretty stupid even for a comedy). Thelma's mother was depicted as the bad one, not her. That's one reason I thought "Mama's Family" was such dreck. It reinvented Thelma Harper, one of the most horrid, unlikable characters in tv history, into a crusty but essentially good-hearted old lady who'd had a tough life. Poor Thelma had to endure a lazy, no good husband, a hateful endlessly criticizing mother (she was essentially Thelma Harper before "Mama's Family") and three unbearable children. In "The Family" skits Eunice is a basket case, but considering who she had as a mother you could understand why. In "Mama's Family", Eunice is depicted as unbearable and annoying as a child, a thorn in her poor mother's side since birth., so it's not poor Thelma's fault that Eunice is such a nuisance. Thelma Harper Light; that's what she was in "Mama's Family" and it was such a crock. Thelma Harper, when she was evil, was funny. In "Mama's Family", she's boring and mediocre.

[quote]It reinvented Thelma Harper, one of the most horrid, unlikable characters in tv history, into a crusty but essentially good-hearted old lady who'd had a tough life.

Which had to be done. This was the problem with the show Phyllis. Phyllis was a basically unlikeable character and how to you take a character like that and transform them into someone audiences can root for, or at least "love to hate?"

It was especially important for Mama's Family to soften her because she was the only original character from the sketches to appear on a full time basis.

You say Thelma was reinvented and you're right but that's understandable because the ENTIRE SHOW was reinvented. Ed and Eunice were divorced on the sketches, Mama moved out of her house on the sketches, she had three sons that were never mentioned again and one more that was never seen on the sketches.

Allan lives in Raytown according to someone on line who says he knows him.

Aunt Effie lived in Raytown, too. So did Iola's fat mother.

Who lived in Bundy and Bump?

Who got to wash Bubba's wardrobe?

LuAnn Fayette gave Bubba a bj.

I'm going to see Vicki Lawrence in her "two-woman show" next week at the Golden Nugget Casino in Lake Charles, Louisiana. I can't wait.

Vicki had a voiceover role in one of this week's "Great News" episodes. She played Andrea Martin's friend who was only heard on the phone.

"Which had to be done."

That's just it; it DIDN'T have to be done. A sitcom featuring Thelma Harper as the star was a VERY bad idea. Greedy network executives no doubt thought it would be profitable because of the ratings success of the "Eunice" special. Well, "Eunice" was about Eunice and it was a lot more disturbing than funny. And in the ending segment of it Thelma Harper DIED. Making a tv series based around Thelma Harper was an idea that sucked, and the primetime "Mama's Family" proved it. The series tanked. But somehow it got totally revamped and picked up for syndication, where it found an audience that liked brainless, dopey comedy. But a tv show starring a kinder, gentler Thelma Harper was definitely NOT necessary.

Mama holds up and is funnier than Seinfeld and most other 80s--90s series. Looks like they had fun making this show too. Leonard Oates! Claude Canemaker! Carl Harper! Ed and Eunce! IOLA BOYLAN! Who thought up these names? They should reboot with Mama, Iola, Bubba and some new cast/family. Carol, are you listening? Go Mama! Yo Mama! Make sure some hot hick guy has a perfect butt! Expand Raytown a bit. Have more hillbilly floozies like LouAnn! Have a gay cousin with basket/butt!

That uptight snooty old Alberta Meacham is in tonight's episode with "The Keek" at 8.

I’m watching it on Logo as we speak!

Man Madiline Kahn was talented - love the little details at R221 - such as Eunice being inspired by Joey Heatherton on the Mike Douglas show and Mama asking if Ingrid Bergman was in Cat Women on Mars - that she had not watched one of her movies since she ran off with that foreigner.