Moments in four different years in the lives of the Harper family, beginning in 1955 and continuing through Mama's passing.
This was the pilot episode, which was the first to air. Along with "The Family" regulars Vicki and Betty White, the episode introduces Aunt Fran, Vinton, Naomi, Buzz and Sonja. Vinton and his two children move back home after being evicted, disrupting the "happy" home life of Thelma and her sister, Fran (Rue McClanahan), who threatens to move out. The relationship between Vint and Naomi begins to blossom.
Vint and Naomi get together, much to Mama's chagrin.
The boys party and the girls decorate as Vint and Naomi's marriage looms.
The big day has finally arrived for Naomi and Vint.
It's time for Mama, Vint, Naomi, Ellen, and Buzz to play the Feud!
Eunice and Mama wind up in jail after they cause a disturbance at the Bigger Jigger.
Mama gets a taste of the real world when she gets a job as a receptionist.
Sonya and Buzz spar with Vint over their curfew as the homecoming dance approaches.
Mama rekindles her romance with an old beau she hasn't seen in forty years.
Mama ruins Fran's brand new dress on the day of her special occasion.
Vint gets roped into a crazy scheme to marry an illegal alien for money.
Eunice wins a role in a production at the Pepperpot Theatre, fulfilling and reigniting a lifelong desire to become an actress.
Vint pawns Mama's silver to bail out his friend Claude Cainmaker (whom Mama can't stand).
Mama brings the U.S.O show to the Raytown Gymnasium when the band doesn't show up for the school dance.
Naomi's second ex-husband returns to seek her favor.
Mama crashes Ellen's award banquet, mortifying Ellen in the process.
Everyone fears that Naomi is pregnant after Mama administers Aunt Ida's Tater Masher Test with positive results.
Mama is almost taken out with a cooking pot, and each family member has a different version of how it happened.
An obscene caller stalks Naomi after she's overly nice to her Food Circus customers in hopes of winning an employee award.
Ellen tries to hide the fact that she's dating a much younger man from the rest of the family.
Mama's cousin Gert (Imogene Coca) was once a sprited woman, but time in an old folks home has left her lifeless.
Vint enters a talent contest at the Bigger Jigger, only to have his career suddenly take off because of his Fred Astaire impersonation.
Vint and Naomi look forward to having their friends over for a dinner party. When Mama's back goes out, however, they are forced to hold the party with her laying on the floor in the middle of the room.
Mama is finally forced to learn to drive when nobody will take her to the mall.
Mama decides to take a self defense course after being mugged.
Mama goes to buy a used car and gets swindled by a family friend in the process.
Mama gets a job working at the Food Circus with Naomi.
Mama decides to play third wheel to Naomi and Vint's first wedding anniversary.
Ellen talks Mama into having Mayor Tutwiller's re-election press conference at the house. Unfortunately for Ellen and Tutwiller, he upsets Mama so badly that she decides to run against him.
Thelma wins the race for mayor only to find the job more challenging than she envisioned.
Mama and Naomi wind up in small claims court - against each other.
Mama recounts the horrors of her 30th birthday.
When Carl's long-lost brother shows up, Mama is afraid there might be a love connection.
Fran fills in for an advice columnist. The only problem is, Mama has to give her all her advice.
Mama throws a fit when she realizes they buried her husband in the wrong cemetery plot.
Mama's sister, Frannie, has passed away; and Mama is determined to give her the perfect day for her funeral.
The family stands to inherit Frannie's estate - if Mama can complete one simple task.
Ellen must have surgery, which deeply concerns Mama despite her ongoing feud with Ellen.
When Mama's dreams start providing the names of winning horses, the family figures they're in the money.
When Mama has to choose a chili recipe to put in the church cookbook, a cookoff between Mama, Iola, and Naomi ensues - with Vint the hapless judge.
When Dr. Joyce Brothers comes to town, Naomi calls in to talk about her bedroom problems with Vint. Dr. Brothers blames it on Mama, which doesn't sit well.
Iola is distraught when her mean cat, Midnight, dies. When she has him freeze dried, she entrusts Mama to look after him. Mama thinks she loses the cat, and hilarity ensues.
After a love test with disappointing results, Vint convinces Bubba to write Naomi a love letter. When Iola finds the misplaced letter, a scene of mistaken love occurs.
Mama, Bubba, Vinton, Naomi, Iola, and Aunt Effie go for cover in the basement when an unexpected tornado passes by Raytown at Thanksgiving..
Bubba's credibility is doubted when he shows up with a new drum set around the same time Iola's pearls go missing.
Mama invites Reverend Meechum to dinner in hopes of being names President of the Church Ladies' League.
Unhappy with her dead end career at the Food Circus, Naomi decides to enroll in school to become a stewardess.
Mama must fill in for Vint as Santa at the Raytown Mall.
Mama and Naomi's plan to find a date for Iola backfires when the date is more interested in Mama.
Mama is appalled when she finds a girlie magazine under Bubba's bed while cleaning, causing her to form a group to stop the Food Circus from selling smut.
Mama and Bubba wind up working at the same fast food joint.
An anonymous letter convinces Vint that he's adopted, so he sets out to find his biological mother.
Mama competes in the Grandma U.S.A. competition after Bubba jokingly enters her.
Bubba joins the army at the cajoling of Vint's former Army sergeant after being dumped by his girlfriend.
Mama's worldly cousin (Vicki Lawrence in a dual role) annoys Mama with her neverending stories.
Mama emerges as a contender in an arm-wrestling competition.
Bubba has the hots for Naomi's friend.
Naomi tries to stop Vint from joining the Mystical Order of the Cobra, an exclusive men's club, on the advice of Mama.
Naomi is suspected after Vint keeps having mysterious accidents shortly after signing up for a new life insurance policy.
Mama brings Aunt Effie home to nurse her back to health after she falls off the roof while reshingling her house.
Bubba and Mama both begin night school; Bubba must attend in order to graduate, and Mama attends because she never got her diploma. However, the first assignment reminds Mama of the reason she dropped out of school to begin with.
When Mama becomes addicted to TV home shopping, her family must intervene when the credit card bill arrives.
A burglar known as the Courteous Crook is robbing and subsequently cleaning homes all over Raytown. When Vinton is accused of being the Crook, Mama and Iola set out to find the real culprit.
Vinton and Naomi are separated, yet living in the same house, and driving Mama crazy in the process.
After a brush with death involving lightning and the courthouse clock's minute hand, Mama has a cheery and generous new outlook on life that her family quickly takes advantage of.
After being unfairly beat out 50 years ago, Mama finally has a chance to sing in the annual Founder's Day festival when an audition is held to find a new singer of the town anthem "Raytown, O Raytown"
Mama is smitten with her night school teacher, but she does not know how to get his attention... so she turns to Iola and Naomi for help.
Reverend and Mrs. Meechum ask Mama to look after their unruly grandson, Eugene, for the day. However, the little monster proves to be very difficult to handle, even for disciplinarian Mama.
Didi, an old friend of Naomi's and a professional wrestler, talks Naomi into being a last-minute substitute for her ailing tag-team partner for a match. When Mama accidentally knocks Didi out just before the match, Naomi and Mama have to wrestle against Didi's weighty opponents.
Mama has a yard sale and tries to sell off Iola's gaudy homemade gifts, hoping to raise the money to buy a VCR. They have the sale while Iola's out of town, but she comes back sooner than expected.
When Mama embarrasses Vinton at work with the "Binky Bunny" lunchbox she made for him when he was a kid, she must find a way to cure him of his trauma before he loses his job.
A man from the State Department asks the Harpers to host a Russian national named Olga for one day, as part of "Project Heartland." Unfortunately, their actions persuade her to defect to America.
Vint and Naomi are tired of living in the basement, so they agree to switch rooms with Bubba. Everyone is happy with the new arrangement, except Mama.
After Bubba comes home late and drunk, Mama is enraged and gives him an excessive punishment. He does not know why she is being so irrational, until Iola tells him (via flashback) about a similar incident involving Eunice when she was Bubba's age.
When Iola starts spending all her time with a new friend named Arlene, the Harpers are relieved to be free of her, but Mama starts to get jealous of Iola's new friendship.
After attending a family wedding, Bubba, Mama, and Iola fantasize about what married life would be like with the objects of their affections.
After Uncle Oscar passes away, Mama is willed his gabby pet parrot. The bird then starts reciting verses in rhyme, which the family thinks are clues that will lead them to Oscar's rumored hidden treasure.
Trying to get Aunt Effie to follow her doctor's advice and exercise leads Mama to start a senior citizens's tap-dancing troupe.
Mama finds herself competing on Jeopardy!.
After winning a trip to Hawaii on Jeopardy!, Mama and her family go on the trip, along with Iola. Iola and Bubba each find romance, Mama is pestered by a man she believes is a beach bum, and Naomi is confined to the hotel room with a terrible sunburn.
Vinton plays a round of golf with three men who mistakenly believe that he is a stock market insider, and his "advice" actually causes them to triple their money. To thank him, they invite him and his family to a farewell party given by their corporate boss - the "beach bum" Mama has been trying to avoid.
Wanda Lynn, Bubba's sexy date for the prom, stands him up at the last minute and Bubba cannot find anyone else. Without Bubba's knowledge, Mama sets him up with Iola's nerdy niece, Vernette.
When Raytown is crowded due to the Tri-State Fair, the Harpers decide to rent out a room in their house in order to make some money. However, they end up overbooking and needing to rent out three rooms, leading to chaos between all the houseguests.
Naomi loses her memory after Mama accidentally hits her head with the door. When Naomi asks Mama what kind of person she used to be, Mama convinces her that she was the perfect daughter-in-law who loved to do housework.
Bubba and Mama are graduating from high school, but devastating news for Bubba forces Valedictorian Mama to ensure that she and Bubba and make it to the graduation ceremony in time.
Mama campaigns to be re-elected President of the Church Ladies League, much to the disapproval of her nemesis Alberta Meechum who in turn nominates Iola to run against her. Mama and Iola have a political debate, which soon turns nasty.
Naomi decides that she wants to have a baby. Mama, who is determined to prevent this, arranges for a neighbor's constantly screaming baby to spend the day with Naomi and Vinton.
Naomi hopes to become the new assistant manager at the store, but the new manager says that she will have to have an affair with him if she even wants to keep her current job. After hearing this, Mama decides to teach him a lesson.
For a school project, Bubba makes a film about the Harper family. However, a short circuit in the camera causes it to turn itself off and on again while recording, resulting in an unintentionally provocative film — shown on public TV.
Vinton's boss, Mr. Carstairs, asks Vint to hold a $200 diamond bracelet for him; it is an anniversary present for Mrs. Carstairs. Confusion ensues when Mama finds it, thinking it is her birthday present.
When Mama tries to use the bank's ATM, it malfunctions and gives her $800, and she is unsure whether to keep it or give it back to the bank.
When the family starts thinking about selling a brooch that belonged to Grandma Crowley, her ghost (played by Vicki Lawrence) starts haunting Mama.
Vinton has a chance to join a local group called the Poker Pals, but he needs Mama to sit in for a missing player, a decision he soon comes to regret.
Mama suspects that Bubba and his female classmate are doing more than studying together, and she is determined to prove it.
When Mayor Tutweiler announces that Ray Lane is to become the new city dump, Mama is determined to save her home. With Bubba's help, Mama manages to have her house declared a historical landmark - much to the chagrin of her neighbors, who were all eager to sell.
When the family gets an answering machine, Mama misinterprets messages left on it, thinking that the family is planning to get rid of her.
Mama finds herself in a dance contest against Vinton and Naomi, partnered with her old friend Ramon.
After coming back from a cousin's funeral where she and Effie were the only mourners, Mama starts planning her own lavish send off.
It's Valentine's Day, and Mama falsely says she has a date so that Iola will feel free to go out. To support her lie, Mama orders an escort from "Rent-a-Gent."
Mama and Iola fight over which one of them is the rightful owner of a winning lottery ticket.
Mama and the family are left in the dark after Mama tells the electric company there is a mistake on her bill and she refuses to pay it.
When Mama finds herself alone in the house all weekend after Iola, Bubba, Vinton, and Naomi leave town, it seems like a dream come true — until boredom and loneliness set in.
When the police arrest people at a rally for the homeless, Mama is mistakenly arrested for vagrancy and thrown in jail.
After years of her family playing April Fool's Day tricks on her, Mama decides to get even.
When it is decided that Lollie Purdue is doing a terrible job as President of the Church Ladies's League, Mama tries to have her impeached.
Vinton and Naomi persuade Mama to make some creative deductions on her income tax form, which results in a visit from an IRS agent.
After a man named Mr. Wheeler says he is interested in one of the Harper family's inventions, and asks for $800 in "good faith" money, Mama finds out that Wheeler is a con artist, and agrees to help the police bust him.
Mama gets fired up when Bubba starts going out with the granddaughter of her neighbor Fred Gebhart, a man with whom she has a long-standing feud.
After taking Mama's advice to finally stand up to her mother, only to be kicked out of her house, Iola drives everyone crazy with her quirks and well-meaning helpfulness when she moves in with the Harpers.
After being told that they cannot conceive a child, Vint and Naomi decide to adopt, but first they - and Mama - are required to meet with a psychiatrist.
After reading about how much it costs to raise a child, Vint and Naomi decide to start a business selling bottles of Mama's mother-in-law's "miracle tonic."
Mama suspects that Vint is having an affair with his new trainee Heather, so she and Iola go to his workplace to investigate.
Mama encourages Iola to find herself a man, but the man she finds turns out to be a domineering blowhard.
The Harpers install an intercom so that Naomi will be able to monitor her baby, but Mama uses it to eavesdrop on the family, and vice versa.
Mama is attracted to actor Leslie Lemoyne, until she sees him on "Tri-State's Most Wanted" (the local version of America's Most Wanted), and believes that he is the infamous "widow waster".
Mama verbally attacks a radio show's unhelpful consumer advocate, and the station manager offers her his job, with Mama broadcasting from her living room.
Mama is invited to her junior high school's 50th reunion, but she is reluctant to go because of a false rumor that was spread about her years ago that earned her the nickname "Hotpants"
Vinton and Naomi persuade Mama to have a psychic called "Madame Rita" give everyone readings. At first, Mama is surprised by the psychic's ability, but later sets out to expose the phony medium.
After heckling a stand-up comedian at the Bigger Jigger, Mama accepts a challenge to do a routine of her own.
Bubba books a band called The Bonecrushers for homecoming, and tells the family that the band will be staying with them. They turn out to be an all-female heavy metal band, and Mama must rein them in.
Vinton learns that he is about to lose his job because Kwik Keys is being shut down by the new owners, a corporation called Bernice. When Bubba discovers that an old stock certificate Mama owns is now ten shares of Bernice, she sets out to save Vinton's job.
Mama and Iola are preparing for the Crystal Thorn flower contest, and Iola is angry to find that Mama's flowers have cross-pollinated with one of hers, producing a pink-and-white hybrid. At first neither of them wants it, but when floral expert Mayjune Beasley tells Mama that it could win the award, both Iola and Mama claim ownership.
When Mama slips on a roll of pennies in the bank, the family suggests that she sue the bank. To this end, she hires a sleazy lawyer Settlement Sam and fakes serious injuries.
Mama's cousin sends her a live goose for her family's Christmas dinner, and everyone except Mama is against the idea of killing and cooking the bird..
After watching detective movies on TV for a week, and hearing that Iola's mother is missing, Mama dreams that she is a film noir-style detective hired to find her client's mother.
While working on a photography project, Bubba makes a picture of a young bikini-clad woman with Mama's head, as a joke. However, this picture is accidentally added to a flyer that is handed out to get elderly men to attend a church dance.
Vint wins a Mother's Day dinner for two at a North African (Moroccan) restaurant called Abdul's Garden of Eating. As a result, Mama and Naomi fight over which of them Vinton should take.
Naomi and Vinton are taking a childbirth class. When Vint is called in to work, Mama has to go to class with Naomi instead of going to the Bingo Bonanza with Iola, so an impatient Mama creates chaos by trying to speed things along and offering her own perspective on the "miracle of birth".
Vinton and Naomi buy an RV and plan to move to a trailer park; however, they are unable to start the vehicle once it is in the driveway. Meanwhile, Mama is planning to host a fancy backyard luncheon for an snooty society group called the Dames.
When Naomi is upset about her baby being late, Mama tries to calm her down with a false story about Carl. Mama tells Iola what really happened (both the false and true versions are seen in flashback, with Carl played by Ken Berry). Later that day, Naomi goes into labor and Mama ends up delivering her baby girl, Tiffany Thelma Harper.
Mama's son Phil comes home to visit in this classic Family sketch from episode #723 of the Carol Burnett Show that aired on 16 March, 1974. This was the first Family sketch ever to air on the show. Roddy McDowall guest stars.
Eunice, Ed, and Mama go see Bubba's teacher in this classic Family sketch from episode #909 of the Carol Burnett Show that aired on 15 November, 1975. Dame Maggie Smith guest stars.
Mama needs help cleaning the attic, so Eunice and Ed drop by as well as her other daughter, Ellen, in this classic Family sketch from episode #1012 of the Carol Burnett Show that aired on 11 December, 1976. Betty White guest stars.
Hilarious bloopers from filming Mama's family throughout the years.
All about Allan
All About Mama and Fran
The cast describe how the censor’s cut out an veggie incident. The big discussion is how they find out they’re dead on the internet.
The Sprouts (Grandkids?)
Vicki, Ken, Beverly, Allan and Dorothy reunite back in the kitchen.
Vicki Lawrence interview
Dorothy Lyman interview
Ken Berry interview
Rick Hawkins interview
Carol Burnett and Vicki Lawrence appear as contestants in character as Eunice Higgins and Thelma Harper vs. Joanna Gleason and McLean Stevenson (also in character as Morgan Winslow and Larry Alder from their sitcom Hello, Larry) during the TV game show's "All-Star Week" from March 10 to 14.
Eunice, Ed and Mama come back from church.
The family visits Jack in the hospital.
The family plays Sorry!
Larry visits the family for Christmas.
Mama has a new beau, Willie.
Mama has an accident and moves in with Eunice and Ed.
The family visits Phillip in California.
Eunice and Mama visit Ed at the hardware store.
Ed goes to a massage parlor.
A flashback to when Eunice and Ed were dating.
Mickey has dinner with the family; they play charades.
Ellen visits Mama on her birthday.
The family goes to Mama's sister Mae's funeral.
The family goes to an expensive restaurant.
Eunice reunites with her high school friend Midge.
Eunice is jealous when Ed and Mickey go to a hardware convention.
The family plays Monopoly.
Eunice rehearses a play with her director Mavis Danton.
The family visits Mickey's apartment for dinner.
Eunice appears on The Gong Show.
Dan, an old friend of Ed's, comes to dinner; Ed has left Eunice.
Mama drops in on a newly-divorced Eunice unannounced.
Eunice and Mama play Password with Mickey and Dan.
Eunice and Mickey try to coax Mama into a retirement home.
Phillip visits again to receive an honorary degree.
Eunice and Mama visit Ellen before her anniversary party
Eunice and Mama visit a psychiatrist.
Eunice and Mama visit the late Carl's gravesite.
Mama going off on Eunice when Vicki couldn't remember the put-down she was supposed to say...funny! This is from the Sorry! sketch.
Mother's day video with Vicki Lawrence, talking about her show. And also a candid interview with Thelma Harper herself!
A Christmas special in which Mama appears and roasts Larry.
Betty White interview
Mama's family history
Eunice & Ellen
Iola Boylan
Vint and Naomi
Creating the World of Mama's Family
All About Raytown
Hear Mama sing lyrics over the 'Mama's Family' theme that Vicki Lawrence penned herself!
Is there such a thing as too much Mama for MeTV? From 'Batman' and 'The Andy Griffith Show' to 'Gilligan's Island' and 'Get Smart,' we've dropped Vicki Lawrence's iconic character into scenes from MeTV's library of memorable entertainment television.
