Mama's Family Season 1 announced! (1 Viewer)

[Ethan Riley]

They better NOT.

 

[MatthewA]

I sent them an email with my concerns. Here is the address you can use:

http://www2.warnerbros.com/web/main/...er_service.jsp

I suggest anyone else who is concerned should do the same.

 

[David Rain]

I noticed that one of the pictures on the rear art looks like it was taken from the Eunice TV movie and not the actual series. Everyone looks different than they do in the series.

Also, I had always suspected that Mama's original episodes were filmed out of order. One of the reasons may have been to accomidate co-star Dorothy Lyman (Naomi) who, for a while, was filming both this series and her Emmy-winning role as Opal on All My Children. You'll notice she appears only sporadically in the first few episodes.

FYI: According to Rue McClanahan, the character of Fran was changed quite a bit after she agreed to do the series. I've never heard her say what changes were made but she has stated in an interview that she felt lost in the character and did not know what to do with her. Perhaps Fran was a much stronger character initially and was then dumbed-down to give Mama yet another person to boss around.

 

[MatthewA]

One thing that I wonder is whether Warner Bros. now owns the show outright. A search through the Library of Congress's telnet file (telnet://locis.loc.gov) suggests they might. Producer Joe Hamilton died in 1991, and whether his heirs kept the network length master tapes or gave them to Warner upon his death (successor-in-interest to Lorimar, who distributed it to syndication) I do not know.

 

[Steve Phillips]

In the original network version of the series that aired on NBC, didn't each episode begin with wrap around footage of Harvey Korman as a "host" of some sort, speaking with a British accent? Those scenes will hopefully be restored as they are not present in the reruns.

 

[MatthewA]

Yes. He played Alastair Quince, the pretentious host, and Eunice's husband Ed.

 

[Nick Zbu]

I might buy it for the Quince bits, as growing up with the series in syndication I never saw the fancier bits. Interesting...plus Korman is always good in anything.

 

[Lynda-Marie]

There are only two things I can say for this announcement:

[B/]1. WOOHOO! MAMA'S ON DVD AT LAST IN A SEASON SET!! WOOHOO![/b]

2. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't pull another release of a season set, and then crap out and not release the rest of the series.

I want ALL of the seasons of Mama's Family on DVD, and I will buy it FROM the studio namely because bootleg editions of ANYTHING suck. And no, I am not saying that last bit simply because it is HTF policy, either.

 

[Nick Zbu]

Since it's a half-show sitcom, I don't see the problem in releasing multiple seasons in a single boxset either. That could get the whole run out and save the company a bit of time.

 

[JonathanBB]

Yes, that one is from Season 1. In the Eunice movie, Ken Berry has a moustache. The picture next to that one isn't from Season 1, notice Naomi's hair isn't straight like it was in Season 1 or 2.

 

[MatthewA]

I'm excited, too, but after seeing the back cover I'm worried about whether Warner Bros. will get it right. I mean, if they can present Full House in its uncut form then it should be a prerequisite for all other shows, and if small independents like Anchor Bay, Shout! Factory, and Image can obtain uncut masters, surely a major studio can as well.

I am cautiously optimistic.

 

[David Rain]

Does anyone know if the syndicated eps are only missing the Harvey intros ? Those would have been easy enough to edit out, I suppose. Or are there also jokes and dialogue from the main scenes that were taken out ?