Mama's Family
| Reviewers Male / Female |
Recommend Yes / No |
Number of Reviews | Characters, Acting, Personalities | Story, Plot, Writing | Production Quality, Sets, Cinematography | Overall Rating | Total Average Rating |
| 1 / 0 | 1 / 0 | 1 | 10.00 | 8.00 | 9.00 | 10.00 | 9.25 |
| Date Submitted: | January 21, 2007 |
| TV Show: | Mama's Family |
| Genre & Network: | Classic Television :: Video |
| Characters, Acting, Personalities: | 10 out of 10 |
| Story, Plot, Writing: | 8 out of 10 |
| Production Quality, Sets, Cinematography: | 9 out of 10 |
| Overall Rating: | 10 out of 10 |
| Recommend: | Yes |
| Review: | Mama's Family: Underrated 1980s TV Classic ! Mama's Family is the most underappreciated television sit com of all time. Unlike most formulaic sit coms that have watered down characters and a lot of cliches, Mama's Family is totally original. The thing that makes the show stand out, is unlike most modern day tv sit coms, it is character driven, not plot driven. This may confuse some. But the true comedic genius of Vicki Lawrence and the rest of the cast, brings about pure comedy from the characters alone. There are basically two variations of Mama's Family. Both are equally funny, but different. The NBC Mama's Family ran from 1983-1984 and was closest to the original family sketches on the "Carol Burnette Show". While the show was great, a few character changes were made. It was hard making a sit com around Mama at first, since in the family sketches, Mama was not the main character, but was her daughter "Eunice", played by Carol Burnette.The "syndicated" series (1986-1990), dropped Buzz and Sonya (Vinton's two children), and "Aunt Fran" (Rue McClanahan), and added Bubba (Alan Kayser), mama's drop out grandson from reform school. Also added, was a quirky next door neighbor, "Iola". The main character "Thelma Harper" (Mama), became a bit softer and more hip , but still snappy and spunky, with plenty of hilarious come backs. This coupled with her nee'r do well locksmith son, "Vinton" (Ken Berry), and his cheap wife "Naomi" (Dorothy Lyman), made for a classic dysfunctional TV Land family. I reccomend Mama's Family to anyone who likes clean classic sit com humor that is character driven. This show is a true classic ! Comments [ 0 ] |
| Submitted by: | Meade 26 year-old :: Male Reviewer :: Richmond, VA, USA |