Wade Boyette One of the worse sitcoms ever made. Very poor acting, very stupid content that insults one's intelligence. The aging makeup work done on Vicky Lawrence looks like a failed attempt at making a younger woman look old. Ken Berry is about one of the lousiest comedy actors ever, and is really lousy in this particular show. The only one in the cast that can even halfway act is Vicky Lawrence, but any merit in her acting here is canceled out by the poor material. And like Gomer Pyle and JJ Evans (of Good Times fame), her character is way overdone, to the point of being offensively so. This show could have been better written and cast, with Carol Burnette and Tim Conway instead of Vicky Lawrence and Ken Berry.

studioboy69 Mama's Family is most certainly a brilliant overlooked sitcom of yesteryear. I cannot fathom how it has gone unnoticed in current day. It has a huge cult-following, mainly due to it being cleverly re-aired as an after-school show in the mid and late 90's. It gained a new and very valued fan-base. If it were put on a stable network again (lets say Lifetime) it would gain the attention it deserves and possibly even establish a re-union show that its current fans are dying for. Add-in all the old veterans of the beginning series- Carol Burnett, Betty White, and Rue McClanahan and you've got a smash hit! What is great about Mama's Family is its satirical nature. It was way way way ahead of its time. And is most certainly a live action comedy in the vein of cartoons that get away with beautiful murder such as The Simpsons and The Family Guy (no I didn't mention King of the Hill, as it is a horrid and crude example of a rip-off to say the least). The low-budget feel of the sitcom is part of its charm. The costumes are tacky and brilliant (way better executed than The Nanny, who no doubt got its idea from Mama's Family and The Carol Burnett Show), the location and actual stills of the house are grand, the pink flamingo yard sale grandmother look of the decor is right on target, and the writing is simple and effective. Change it and you've got an over-glossed bomb. This is why shows that strive to hush-hush duplicate Mama's Family's success (and you hear nothing about it) fail miserably. It pains me to see no one critically accepting its very old school John Waters feel. Except one critic in EW that apparently has to battle to get even the smallest article of praise into the magazine. The show has been blocked from its release of the full DVD set for reasons that big high-brow executives don't look further into the profit they would be making in the long run in they socked the advertising into this show. THIS IS WHY when the first season didn't go over as planned (go sigh the online petition even if you are unfamiliar with this series in order to get it released on DVD). First of all it was in syndication. That can even be over-looked except- The first season wasn't even why the show is a classic anyway.. nor the 2nd. It only hit its stride GRANDLY when the cast was reworked with the likes of Dorthy Lyman and Beverly Archer (however sad not forcing Carol Burnett back onto the show is but oh well). These "big high-brow" (dumb as a bunch of lack of common sense rocks) executives didn't do their homework on the series... pawning it off as just a lackluster TV show to be under rug swept. Fortunately its fan-base is most certainly still breathing. AND if you look hard enough you can find this series (the whole series) on the internet... lets say per Japan or China (gotta love em- they are even smart enough to catch the U.S. flaws of the economy). Back to the rating.... this show gets an excellent rating of "10". Because it hung in there and found its niche and boy does it ever have one. If I were Vicki Lawrence I would be fighting for a reunion show as fast as I could. She was absolutely brilliant as Mama and has showed up on TV land and other networks dressed as Mama in hopes to kick a reunion show into gear! IT WILL WORK! Do it! High-market the DVD's and get the damn revamped thing on wheels! Much like 1980/70's horror films- there is a reason why these low-budget masterpieces are better than million dollar Nanny's and a pack of Friends- its because raw-talent is something hard to come by. And Mama's Family is a beautiful patchwork quilt of it!

stejujo This show is hysterical! Vicki Lawrence is hilarious as Mama, and Ken Berry is a riot as Vint, who's one string short of a shoelace. The first two seasons were pretty funny, but the Season 3-6 episodes were better. I especially like the episode where Mama gets a radio show. But in the beginning of season 3, I think Iola should've had a more proper introduction, although she was mentioned a few times in seasons 1&2 as "Ms. Boyland." I love the way Iola pouts, and I admire her loyalty to her parents (even though she was a little too loyal). Sometimes I thought Naomi (as in the character, not Dorothy Lyman) was something that I shouldn't say, but she was kind of a hoot, especially when she squeaks her voice, like when she calls, "Vinton!" It's too bad Eunice was only in seasons 1&2, because she, too, was a riot, the way she freaked out over things. I would have liked to see her and Bubba form a reconciliation. Overall, this show is a knockout still after being ended for 17 years, and I'm glad it's being shown on the ion channel. 9/10.

happipuppi13 When I was a kid in the 1970s,I got to watch The Carol Burnett Show and see the hilarious "The Family" skits. "Eunice,I think you're short a propeller in the windmills of your mind!" Especially,Tim Conway in the most remembered one. Talking about the Siamese Elephant and cracking up the whole cast! That's what made it so great when I saw there'd be a series on NBC. The intro episode was funny and exactly what I expected,"The Wedding" was hilarious and my favorite of that first season was,"Cellmates" when Eunice's temper on her birthday lands her and Mama in jail. It's a rare look at Eunice actually having nicer words with her mother in the end.Season 2 favorite,is the very 1st of that season,"Flaming Forties",when Mama saves the school dance with her and Fran & Naomi lip-synching to her old copy of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". (Thelma was born in 1920 and met her husband at the USO/school gym in 1943)You definitely have to love the,"Mama For Mayor" episode,the funniest of the final season.In the first seasons on NBC,I liked that while Vinton was a difficult son,he wasn't stupid. I liked Naomi in those seasons as well. Buzz & Sonja were typical teens. When the show vanished and returned in syndication,it sure was different.Vinton had become kind of slow witted (but again not stupid),Naomi had become a more "flighty" blonde and Vints kids were no longer there. Aunt Fran had passed on (Rue McLanahan had gone on to "The Golden Girls".) Then there was (16/17 year old?) Bubba played by 23 year old Allan Kyser! He was the son of Ed & Eunice and nothing but trouble,unlike Buzz had been. Iola Boylen "Knock-Knock!" was the spinster daughter of the only seen once Mrs. Boylen across the street,who like Aunt Fran,had never been married. She was a whiz at arts & crafts. Seems she spent more time doing that & bothering the family,than working on her social life,but then her mother forbade her from it.In these four years Vicki Lawrence did some great shows where Mama proves time & time again that being old doesn't mean your life is done yet. There was also a timely episode about "Emminent Domain",where the Govt. can take your property,whether you decide to sell or not. The Mayor and his associates want to buy up Thelma's neighborhood to tear down the houses and put up a city dump.Themla's the only hold out and defends her home until she finds proof that her home is a historical monument. Much to the anger of her "get rich quick" neighbors. A lot of shows also revolved around other social issues,like "mature magazines" sold in stores out in the open,sexual harassment and in terms of Bubba,taking pride in yourself and doing the right thing. In the end,Vint & Naomi did move out...into a trailer in the driveway,where Naomi finally gave birth to baby Tiffany-Thelma,in the series ending show,"Bye Bye Baby". Ken Berry has since retired from show business.A great show,that despite some 1980's references,seems to have aged well. "Well,I'll bet the neighbors are just loving this!" We did and we still are. (END)