This is How Movies Should Be Made

Charming and brutal

A Disappointing Continuation

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

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!

I think Vicki Lawrence as Mama was the absolute best portrayal of a mother that I have ever seen. I immediately fell in love with this show that show from the very first time I saw it. I enjoyed how Vinton would do things like pawn off Mama's silver to get his friend Claude out of jail and then he goes and tell Mama what he did. Also how could anyone forget Carol Burnett as Eunice? She did the best she could as Eunice Higgins. My favorite episode is when Mama and Eunice are in jail because of Eunice's hissyfit at the Bigger Jigger. She finds out that years before an old boyfriend named Duke Reeves comes over to her house but gets sent away by Mama. That was one of my favorite episodes in the whole series. When it comes out on DVD I'm so getting it. Long live Mama and Eunice. Thank you

Very simply, they are all the syndicated episodes and NOT the original uncut/unedited NBC episodes. It is NOT the complete first season, all eps are edited to conform to 21:00 for syndication meaning jokes are cut, an extra commercial fade is included, all of the Harvey Korman intros are not here...very poorly done! Shame on a series I've been waiting for....booooooooooooooooo! If you're a true die hard Mama fan, don't buy this and go to http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/main/help/whv/customer_service.jsp and send them comments on why we're unhappy on this butcher job to a classic sitcom!

I have been watching Mama's Family for years now! It plays on TBS cable channel every weekday morning at 6:00am and I am up to watch it! I feel like something is missing in my day whenever I am not able to watch it! It just puts you in a good mood! My 10 year old nephew loves it too! It helps him to wake up! He hears the opening song playing and he's wide awake! I cannot wait to but the DVD! I was recently hospitalized and I had the whole nurses staff watching it in the morning as well! It's just a contagious show. Mama is so homey and makes you feel like you know the entire family. I think that they should have a Raytown reunion someday and let everyone know what happened to everyone- like Buz and Sonya must have either gone to college or went and lived with their mother. And if Bubba ever confronted Eunice and Ed. I think it would be a good update to the show. I'm just thankful that I get to watch it everyday!