Was it ever explained where Sonja & Buzz went? Did they move away or just fade away like some characters do? I have not seen every episode so I may have missed it.

The only time they were mentioned after they left was in the season 3 premiere "Farewell Frannie". Mama doesn't say exactly where they are, she is just talking about the people who's not coming to Fran's funeral and she says, "No Buzz and Sonja". I think they were mentioned twice in the same episode but it was about the same thing each time.

Not only were Buzz and Sonja written off the show, they were erased from the series' continuity altogether as if they'd never been conceptualized. According to Rick Hawkins on his DVD interview, he and the other writers hated writing for Buzz and Sonja, whom they felt were forced into stories by NBC in order to make the Harpers a more normal sitcom family. When they had the chance to dump them in favor of Bubba for the syndicated run. they grabbed it. Not only that, Eric Brown and Karin Argoud aren't even considered cast members by Hawkins, which is one reason they weren't invited to take part in the reunion that's on the DVD set. Listening to him talk at times during that interview, it's as if he's disowned the NBC run completely and considers only the syndicated run to be the true Mama's Family. Thank heaven Vicki, Kenny Berry, and Dorothy Lyman don't feel the same.

Speaking for myself, as good as the sitcom can be at times, nothing can top the original Burnett sketches and Eunice in particular. The only sketch I've seen that can top it is the pre-Classic 39 "Honeymooners", which got pretty dark in their own right. Carol, Harvey, and Vicki may have had better individual moments on the Burnett show, but they never meshed as a unit better than they did in "The Family".

^I agree. "The Family" was awesome! The character of Eunice is an icon in comedy history.

I like the NBC years equally to the syndicated years. It's all part of "Mama's Family" to me.

I just like to think that Buzz & Sonja went off to college or to live with their mother in Las Vegas.

I haven't seen the DVD interviews- I know some are online, but I may wait to watch them until I get the Complete Series.

Buzz and Sonja were just kinda meh for me. But the NBC era did have some good shows/moments.

Carol not being there was the only problem with the syndicated years. She would have added SO much! It's a shame it didn't happen, like so many other things (like more seasons of the Honeymooners, for example!)

Maybe a few times a year, like in the NBC run, but even if Carol had been on good terms with Joe and Vicki at the time I don't see Eunice fitting into the universe we came to know. When she wasn't there, the audience would have been disappointed, and when she was the other characters would have gotten in the way. She was just too much of a raging maniac to be a part of the kinder, gentler brood that Mama presided over in the syndicated years. Plus, if Eunice is available, what excuse does Bubba have to be taken in by Mama? That relationship, more than any other, marked Mama's change from the bitter old hag of the Burnett years to the sassy, semi-lovable pistol who's still such an icon.

Believe it or not, the one Burnett character I'd like to have seen do a shot on the syndicated shows was Mickey Hart. Carol chose to leave because of her divorce from Joe, Harvey never liked playing Ed to begin with, we saw Ellen (albeit just once), but apparently no one ever thought to call Tim for a guest shot. Maybe Mickey could have been Vint's trainee at Kwik Keys or something similar.

The only time they were mentioned after they left was in the season 3 premiere "Farewell Frannie". Mama doesn't say exactly where they are, she is just talking about the people who's not coming to Fran's funeral and she says, "No Buzz and Sonja". I think they were mentioned twice in the same episode but it was about the same thing each time.

Don't know why they couldn't have mentioned where they went, like to another relatives or away to school. It's like they didn't exist once Bubba showed up. I actually liked Bubba better than their characters but still it bothers me that they couldn't bother to give them a proper exit.

Last night, MeTV aired the episode when Bubba films the Harpers for a class project. Mama talks about her family, her kids and their kids. Now, I guess this can serve as an indirect reference to Buzz and Sonja, as the only other grandchild at this point is Bubba, correct? :)

^Good point. I never thought about that before.

Last night, MeTV aired the episode when Bubba films the Harpers for a class project. Mama talks about her family, her kids and their kids. Now, I guess this can serve as an indirect reference to Buzz and Sonja, as the only other grandchild at this point is Bubba, correct? :)

That's how I always took it. Just because Buzz and Sonja were mentioned didn't mean they didn't exist anymore. Same with Ellen. Ed and Eunice were mentioned just often enough because of Bubba that you knew they were still part of that universe.
If someone watched only the syndicated episodes post-Ellen's final appearance, that fan probably would never know there was an earlier version of the show.

Ellen was mentioned by name, though, after her last appearance, wasn't she?

I like picking up on little things like the "their kids" comment. And when Mama said to Iola, "Imagine them two as parents," I took that to mean of a newborn/young child, not that Vint had never been a father before. I'm sure it's not inferred elsewhere that Naomi's child was Vint's first? Cause that would have been just bad and sloppy. :D (not that sitcoms sometimes don't have such moments).

Ellen was mentioned by name, though, after her last appearance, wasn't she?

I like picking up on little things like the "their kids" comment. And when Mama said to Iola, "Imagine them two as parents," I took that to mean of a newborn/young child, not that Vint had never been a father before. I'm sure it's not inferred elsewhere that Naomi's child was Vint's first? Cause that would have been just bad and sloppy. :D (not that sitcoms sometimes don't have such moments).
I know Ellen was mentioned at least once in the episode "The Big Wheel". Mama uses Ellen, Eunice, & Vint's birthdays to pick the lotto numbers.

There was another Harper grandchild in the original Burnett sketches: Ed and Eunice's son Billy Joe, whom we never saw but was referred to from time to time. I think he was also said to be in prison during Eunice, while Bubba had run away from home and was unable to be found. I wonder if they ever thought about him making an appearance, or if they decided that Bubba was enough of a handful for poor Mama. Maybe he went to live with Larry or Jack (Mama's other two kids that showed up once and were never spoken of again, played by Tommy Smothers and Alan Alda respectively) or had plastic surgery (like Phillip did so he magically became Vinton's twin). :lol:

Eric Brown and Karin Argoud aren't even considered cast members by Hawkins, which is one reason they weren't invited to take part in the reunion that's on the DVD set. Listening to him talk at times during that interview, it's as if he's disowned the NBC run completely and considers only the syndicated run to be the true Mama's Family. Thank heaven Vicki, Kenny Berry, and Dorothy Lyman don't feel the same.

I wouldn't say that, after all Hawkins did say Eric and Karin were great kids, and I think he even called them talented (I just watched all the box set's bonus feature interviews recently).



Speaking for myself, as good as the sitcom can be at times, nothing can top the original Burnett sketches and Eunice in particular.

I adore the Family sketches, but while I love them (I just watched all the available ones in chronological order to see how they progressed) they actually don't make me laugh near as much as Mama's Family does. They definitely have their "lol" moments, and are brilliantly written and acted, but MF consistently makes me laugh out loud much, much more often. And I love that I laugh so much when watching it!


I just like to think that Buzz & Sonja went off to college or to live with their mother in Las Vegas.

Rick Hawkins says in one of his box set interviews that they went off to college.


Carol not being there was the only problem with the syndicated years. She would have added SO much! It's a shame it didn't happen, like so many other things

I disagree. More Carol on the show would have actually been really bad for the series. The series was conceptualized to center around Mama and have Mama be the star character, and there is no way that could have happened if Eunice had been allowed to be there. Actually Mama didn't even become the central star until the syndicated shows; the NBC run was really much more of an ensemble cast.


Last night, MeTV aired the episode when Bubba films the Harpers for a class project. Mama talks about her family, her kids and their kids. Now, I guess this can serve as an indirect reference to Buzz and Sonja, as the only other grandchild at this point is Bubba, correct?

On screen, yes; but off screen, if you accept the "Family" origins, Ellen had two daughters, Debbie and Mary Beth. And if you really accept the "Family" origins, Mama had two other sons only seen once each in a "Family" sketch, and of those two brothers, Jack Harper and his wife had kids also (Larry Harper never married; Ed was afraid Larry might be gay).

Also, since Phillip appeared three times in "Family" sketches and was mentioned in numerous others (while Jack and Larry were each only seen once and never mentioned outside of their appearances), and Phillip was in the Eunice TV special as well, it is my belief that when Mama says in "Fran's Dress" that "I used to iron with my right hand and mash potatoes with my left, with four screamin' kids under my feet", that we can deduce she is including Phillip in a sly indirect reference.


Ellen was mentioned by name, though, after her last appearance, wasn't she?

I like picking up on little things like the "their kids" comment. And when Mama said to Iola, "Imagine them two as parents," I took that to mean of a newborn/young child, not that Vint had never been a father before. I'm sure it's not inferred elsewhere that Naomi's child was Vint's first? Cause that would have been just bad and sloppy. http://www.sitcomsonline.com/ubb/biggrin.gif (not that sitcoms sometimes don't have such moments).

Actually JR1, it was inferred elsewhere that little "Sweet Pea" was Vinton's first baby as well as Naomi's. In one episode Vint talks in baby talk/gibberish and Naomi proudly beams, "Isn't he gonna make a wonderful father??"

As for Ellen, yes, she was mentioned several times throughout the syndicated years, as was Aunt Fran a few times after the episode about her will:

-- Like tlc38tlc38 said Ellen was mentioned in the lottery show, as being born on June 30th

-- In the episode where Vint thinks he's adopted we learn that Ellen went off on a cruise on Mother's Day, Mama has "entire baby albums" of Ellen and Eunice's baby pictures (which seems odd in retrospect that Mama would have taken so many pictures of Eunice as a baby considering how their relationship turned out [Mama even said Eunice was a fussy baby and spit up, lol] ), and we discover that Ellen has red roots and dyes her hair blond

-- Then there's "The Really Loud Family" where Iola tells Bubba about trying to fix up "your Aunt Ellen and Eunice's old dolls", and Thelma taking her into "her daughters' bedroom".

-- In "Mama's Girls" Mama says "I made both my girls take tap. Ellen wasn't too bad, but Eunice danced like a cow on crutches."

-- And in the Binky Bunny episode Mama embellishes the story of creating Binky Bunny to the two guys coming into Kwik Keys, claiming that Eunice and Ellen turned their noses up at him (and making Vint out to be the hero).

-- Ellen is even mentioned in the penultimate episode "There is Nothin' Like the Dames", where Mama flashes back on going into labor with Ellen (once in a glossy version for Naomi, and again in the real version for Iola).

And this is all off the top of my head; as you can see, I have watched this show a LOT. lol


There was another Harper grandchild in the original Burnett sketches: Ed and Eunice's son Billy Joe, whom we never saw but was referred to from time to time.

Since Billy Joe never existed after the Eunice movie, I actually wrote a song parody about his Raytown post-Eunice absence called "Ode to Billy Joe" (it fits in that darker undercurrent that the Mama's Family universe has, a la neighboring towns being named after serial killers, lol). It's set to the tune of Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe", lol (it takes place on a hot afternoon as I'm invited into Mama's house for lunch, and we all sit around Mama's dining room table with various members of the family commenting on Billy Joe's demise in the verses as we all have lunch). However, Billy Joe was actually re-named "Raymond" in his last verbal appearance in the "Family" sketches! It's the "Honorary Degree" episode, where Phillip visits Eunice and Mama to receive his honorary degree from the university and have lunch with the mayor the next day. Eunice tells Phillip the story of Bubba and Raymond and the missing Easter egg. It's interesting that Billy Joe is the first of Ed and Eunice's boys to be named, and then Bubba is the second, and then later Billy Joe is re-named Raymond, lol.

Also makes you wonder why they couldn't choose a name for Ellen's husband and stick with it instead of going through Tom, then Arthur, then finally settling on Bruce, lol.

Actually, Billy Joe was mentioned in the sketch where Maggie Smith played Bubba's teacher. Remember Eunice's infamous "I can't handle boys!" rant? There's also a reference to Mama taking care of both Billy Joe and Bubba in the Gong Show sketch, where she complains to Eunice long distance that neither one of them will eat her macaroni and cheese. That was one of the few times I could actually sympathize with Eunice wanting to knock Mama for a loop, by the way.

About Ellen's husband, whatever his name may be: I wish Carol had included the character in a sketch just to see Allen Ludden (Betty's real-life husband, for those few who don't know) play him. I think the audience would have gone bananas for it!

Actually, Billy Joe was mentioned in the sketch where Maggie Smith played Bubba's teacher. Remember Eunice's infamous "I can't handle boys!" rant? There's also a reference to Mama taking care of both Billy Joe and Bubba in the Gong Show sketch, where she complains to Eunice long distance that neither one of them will eat her macaroni and cheese.

Mac and cheese the second night, and they wouldn't eat her stew the first night. Billy Joe wasn't mentioned by name in that sketch, but yes there were several sketches where "the boys" were mentioned in their general term and not by name. Billy Joe was first named in the 5th episode where Larry visited for Christmas; it was Billy Joe who wanted the Killer Kelly doll. But I was saying Billy Joe was the first of the boys to be named in a sketch, with Bubba not named until later (the 13th episode [the Maggie Smith one] ), and then after all this history of the sketches, suddenly Billy Joe is re-named "Raymond" in the "Honorary Degree" episode.


About Ellen's husband, whatever his name may be: I wish Carol had included the character in a sketch just to see Allen Ludden (Betty's real-life husband, for those few who don't know) play him. I think the audience would have gone bananas for it!
That is a cute idea, but I'm glad they didn't. For one thing, Allen Ludden doesn't look like a "Bruce" at all; actually it's hard to picture Ellen married to a "Bruce", as "Bruce" to me is a very masculine name with macho, more blue collar connotations, but that's not Ellen's "Bruce" at all. With the insulting description Eunice gives him in the "Ellen's Anniversary" sketch, they should have left him named Tom or, especially, Arthur (no offense to any Arthurs here, lol).

All this talk about "The Family" sketches has me wanting to watch them again!

80sSitcoms- indeed you have watched it a lot. :D

I have never seen any of The Family sketches, but look forward to seeing the ones on the Complete Series when I get it (as well as the Eunice special- I'd rather experience them on DVD than elsewhere).

I know Ellen and Eunice both had a number of mentions in the syndicated years.

That comment from Naomi about Vint going to make a wonderful father- well, she had never seen him as a father of a newborn/baby, so that could be an excuse for that one. :) (like Mama saying to Iola, "Can you imagine those two as parents?") It is odd, though, that there was no mention of his grown children AT ALL after "Farewell Frannie."

Yeah, I never thought Naomi's comment about Vint being a wonderful father inferred that Buzz and Sonya were retconned out of existence. I don't think it necessarily meant he was becoming a first-time father, more that he would be good with a baby.

I think they should have at least brought one of them back and find another actor to play them.

Regarding Naomi, to me it's how she absolutely gushes and beams in the way she says "Isn't he gonna make a wonderful father??" that makes me interpret her delivery to mean this is his first time becoming a father.

Given that Mama only names three children in the series run of MF, I gather we can disregard the children from the Carol Burnett Show/Eunice, and Ellen's children (as they were never mentioned in the show). Thus, Mama's referring to her kid's kids would mean just Bubba, Buzz and Sonja. :)

^Yes, Ellen's kids were never mentioned at all in MF.

Given that Mama only names three children in the series run of MF

"Names", yes, but there is the one instance in "Fran's Dress" where she says "I used to iron a dress with my right hand 'n mash potatuhs with my left with four screamin' kids under my feet".

(bold added as author's emphasis, lol)

Indeed, I noticed that when it aired recently. Probably one of those errors that no one caught at the time. :)

I had the biggest crush on Allan, Bubba! Hes so cute & so funny

Aunt Penelope was never on nor mentioned besides the Family Feud ep

Aunt Penelope was never on nor mentioned besides the Family Feud ep

Several relatives were only mentioned once. Aunt Penelope, Aunt Celia (who had the fattest ear lobes in the family, lol), Cousin Oscar, Cousin Leroy, Mama and Fran's brother Clyde, etc.

"Names", yes, but there is the one instance in "Fran's Dress" where she says "I used to iron a dress with my right hand 'n mash potatuhs with my left with four screamin' kids under my feet".

(bold added as author's emphasis, lol)

Yep, clearly an error on the author's part that nobody caught. If you want to be generous, that fourth could be Iola when she palled around with Ellen, Eunice and Vint though!

Yes- Iola probably was around enough to qualify. :D

Yep, clearly an error on the author's part that nobody caught. If you want to be generous, that fourth could be Iola when she palled around with Ellen, Eunice and Vint though!

Or it could have been intentional. Iola wasn't around yet so we can't claim that was a veiled reference to her. But it could have been the writers' inside hint at Philip or another of her sons, or just a number to make it sound harder for Mama's day-to-day work, lol.

In the episode which is on right now, Vint says that if his and Naoni's child is a boy, he wants to name it "Vint." I'm mentioning it because Buzz's actual first name is Vinton, Junior.

Mac and cheese the second night, and they wouldn't eat her stew the first night. Billy Joe wasn't mentioned by name in that sketch, but yes there were several sketches where "the boys" were mentioned in their general term and not by name. Billy Joe was first named in the 5th episode where Larry visited for Christmas; it was Billy Joe who wanted the Killer Kelly doll. But I was saying Billy Joe was the first of the boys to be named in a sketch, with Bubba not named until later (the 13th episode [the Maggie Smith one] ), and then after all this history of the sketches, suddenly Billy Joe is re-named "Raymond" in the "Honorary Degree" episode.



That is a cute idea, but I'm glad they didn't. For one thing, Allen Ludden doesn't look like a "Bruce" at all; actually it's hard to picture Ellen married to a "Bruce", as "Bruce" to me is a very masculine name with macho, more blue collar connotations, but that's not Ellen's "Bruce" at all. With the insulting description Eunice gives him in the "Ellen's Anniversary" sketch, they should have left him named Tom or, especially, Arthur (no offense to any Arthurs here, lol).

Well, since the "Family" sketches debuted before a certain Bruce Springsteen, a.k.a. "the Boss", a.k.a. "the blue collar billionaire" truly became a household institution, the writers and producers really didn't think that the Bruce name could be so masculine. In fact, it largely also explains why in the 1978 CBS-Universal Television live action version of the Marvel Comics comic book series, The Incredible Hulk, the lead character, Bruce Banner, was renamed David for television, as CBS felt that the Bruce name carried homosexual undertones.

Sonja was annoying and whinny but Buzz always seemed sweet and thoughtful.

I wish they brought back Buzz during the syndicated run. Eric Brown could have reprised the role or they would have found another actor to play him.

Same. I've said before that my biggest pet peeve with the syndicated years is that the longer the series went, the original version of the family was pretty much forgotten. Obviously the situation with Carol Burnett prevented Eunice and Ed from returning. Rue McClanahan couldn't come back, nor would have she have wanted to. Betty White probably couldn't come back often because of Golden Girls' popularity.
That said, I have a hard time believing there wouldn't have been room to bring Buzz and Sonja back for occasional visits at some point. I am sure the writers could have come up with something if they'd tried. Maybe Eric Brown and Karin Argoud didn't want anything to do the series? I think it's more likely the show's brass just didn't want them back.

Buzz and Sonja just wouldn't have fit in with how the syndicated series was formulated.

Buzz and Sonja just wouldn't have fit in with how the syndicated series was formulated.

And that, as we know, was pretty rigid. Five main characters and very little deviation from that formula. The syndicated episodes featured almost no guest stars, or at least not nearly as many as the network version that was a lot more flexible.
I don't think anyone was asking that they come back permanently, just for an occasional appearance.

I will say that Ellen's children were HINTED at on Mama's Family. In the episode Grave Mistake, Ellen has taken her phone off the hook so Mama couldn't call to ask her to take her to the cemitery, they later ask Ellen to stay for dinner and Ellen lets it slip and says, "Well I'll just call THEM and tell THEM I'll be a little late, oh I can't phone's still off the hook!" So I take it when she sad "them" she was referring to her husband and children.


Also when Mama said "4 screaming kids" , as I understand it, originally they were planning on bringing Phillip's character onto Mama's Family, but didn't b/c they felt they had already had too many characters on the show.

I will say that Ellen's children were HINTED at on Mama's Family. In the episode Grave Mistake, Ellen has taken her phone off the hook so Mama couldn't call to ask her to take her to the cemitery, they later ask Ellen to stay for dinner and Ellen lets it slip and says, "Well I'll just call THEM and tell THEM I'll be a little late, oh I can't phone's still off the hook!" So I take it when she sad "them" she was referring to her husband and children.

I always took it to mean either other women she knew as friends, like her bridge group, or her husband and some other people at the house, not her kids.


Also when Mama said "4 screaming kids" , as I understand it, originally they were planning on bringing Phillip's character onto Mama's Family, but didn't b/c they felt they had already had too many characters on the show.

I have never read nor heard anyone say they ever thought to bring Phillip onto the show.

In the episode where Vint thinks he's adopted we learn that Ellen went off on a cruise on Mother's Day, Mama has "entire baby albums" of Ellen and Eunice's baby pictures (which seems odd in retrospect that Mama would have taken so many pictures of Eunice as a baby considering how their relationship turned out [Mama even said Eunice was a fussy baby and spit up, lol] ), and we discover that Ellen has red roots and dyes her hair blond

According to the episode "Sins of a Mother" the conflict between Eunice and Mama began when Eunice showed up drunk for the church mother/daughter banquet, as Vint says, "Things never were the same between Mama and Euince again" But I noticed in the syndicated episodes the whole "Mama vs Eunice" thing was toned town quite a bit, often making me wonder if they didn't patch things up... there were times Mama actually spoke well of Eunice in later years or at least NORMALLY, not like she used to always bringing up her faults.


Also makes you wonder why they couldn't choose a name for Ellen's husband and stick with it instead of going through Tom, then Arthur, then finally settling on Bruce, lol.

Obviously in the beginning I do not think they realized how BIG the Family sketches were going to be; according to Carol it was only supposed to be a one-time sketch, I guess thats why they didn't take continuity so serious, hell, Carol, HERSELF, can never even remember the names of Eunice's other 2 brothers ~Jack and Larry~ she only remembers Phillip lol

I also pondered maybe Billy Joel's name was Billy Joel Raymond, possible, sometimes kids do get 4 names, and maybe they called him Raymond sometimes.


I have never read nor heard anyone say they ever thought to bring Phillip onto the show.

I do remember reading this somewhere, but that he was just going to be a semi-regular. If they couldn't have gotten Roddy MacDowell to play the role, I think it would have been neat to have Ken Berry play a duo role and perhaps make Phil and Vinton TWINS lol one the dumb one and the other the smart one lolol

The reason I think Mama vs Eunice was toned down for syndication is because Eunice wasn't around anymore and everybody involved with the show knew she wasn't coming back. No reason to have that relationship so fiery when only one of the participants is seen.
With the Ellen question, I suppose the "them" is up for debate. Could be her family (remember, though, she and Bruce were long divorced by then) or just friends. I took it to be the latter, although to be fair I first saw "A Grave Mistake" long before I knew Ellen ever had daughters, who were never mentioned on Mama's Family at all. In the Mama's Family universe, taking the show and nothing but the show, the only grandchildren were Buzz, Sonja, Bubba and Tiffany.

I had forgotten about Ellen being divorced by then, I can't keep the episode order straight, it's been a while since I've seen the show, so I was thinking Grave Mistake was the last season 1 episode and by season 2 Ellen and Bruce has split up. I know they stayed together for a while anyway even after Ellen found out he was cheating on her.

Or, Ellen could have been talking about a significant other at her house; after all, she was on the dating scene. The line could have been, "I'll just call him and tell him I'll be a little late", referring to one specific man. After all, she doesn't say "them", she says " 'em" or " 'im".

I had forgotten about Ellen being divorced by then, I can't keep the episode order straight, it's been a while since I've seen the show, so I was thinking Grave Mistake was the last season 1 episode and by season 2 Ellen and Bruce has split up. I know they stayed together for a while anyway even after Ellen found out he was cheating on her.

Totally understand. I don't think Grave Mistake was the final NBC episode filmed, but it was the last one to air. IMDB says it was actually the first one produced for the second season.
I've caught myself realizing whenever I watch that episode what the final lines are for Buzz, Sonya and Fran (not for Ellen though, since she came back the one final time in syndication).

Totally understand. I don't think Grave Mistake was the final NBC episode filmed, but it was the last one to air. IMDB says it was actually the first one produced for the second season.
I've caught myself realizing whenever I watch that episode what the final lines are for Buzz, Sonya and Fran (not for Ellen though, since she came back the one final time in syndication).

Oo, interesting...but as far as what their characters' final lines were for the series, you should note "Mama for Mayor: Part 2" for Fran, and "Mama Cries Uncle" for Buzz and Sonja. MfM is the final episode Rue taped as Fran, and MCU is the final episode the kids taped as B and S.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mama%27s_Family_episodes#Season_2_(1983%E2%80%9384)

I know that Soup to Nuts was always shown as the first syndicated episode for SOME reason, so I always liked to pretend in my mind that Fran hadn't died yet in that episode and was just off-screen somewhere, and maybe Bubba was just visiting, not moved in yet lol

True, 80s. I was thinking more along the last lines I ever heard them speak. I didn't realize Rue's run actually ended an episode early, so to speak. I'm sure she wasn't broken up about it. :)
Faerie, somebody (might have been 80s) provided a good explanation there. It's believed that episode was filmed first in an effort to help the (somewhat) new cast jell before filming the episode that would be shown as the third-season premiere. Iola borders on being a wack job in that episode. Thankfully that aspect of her character was eliminated. I've done the same thing you have with that episode though. :)

I read some place that the reason they showed Soup to Nuts first is b/c they wanted to give audience an idea of what a typical syndicated episode would be like, where as Farewell Frannie was not a typical episode as it dealt with so many past events, and Bubba coming.

Short of Vicki Lawrence or anyone else on the show at the time confirming, I suppose either explanation is possible. I tend to believe they filmed it first for the reasons 80s laid out. Otherwise, viewers would be watching at least two characters who just popped in out of nowhere with no explanation as to who they are.

sonja did look nice in her prom outfit though would of been nice see her come back all wet mabye from a storm r so haha

I'm big on continuity. Buzz and Sonja deserved better than to be dropped like a rock after having been regulars for the first two whole seasons. Also, since the Mama character was made famous by "The Family" skits in The Carol Burnett Show, I feel like the character should have stayed truer to her original conception. Certainly Mama needed to be toned down somewhat for a regular weekly sitcom production, but Mama eventually became virtually unrecognizable when comparing "The Family" Mama to the syndicated Mama. Except for the wig and the padded costume, they were nothing alike.

Carol Burnett should certainly have been coaxed into appearing at least occasionally on the syndicated version. Mama and Eunice playing off one another was always pure gold. So many other characters to choose from too who could have also made an appearance to keep continuity going. There was Ed, Mickey Hart, Jack, Larry, Phillip, Eunice's other son Billy Joe, Ellen's daughters, any of Mama's aunts still living such as Aunt Fern, Aunt Elizabeth, Aunt Eloise. A quick cameo by Midge Gibson or Mavis Danton in Raytown would have been a great choice too. Mama was for sure acquainted with them.

The Bubba and Iola characters were great additions, to be sure, but there was certainly room for at least some of the other familiars in and around Raytown to show up from time to time on an episode for continuity's sake. That's my two cents worth.

I'm big on continuity. I feel like the character should have stayed truer to her original conception. Certainly Mama needed to be toned down somewhat for a regular weekly sitcom production, but Mama eventually became virtually unrecognizable when comparing "The Family" Mama to the syndicated Mama. Except for the wig and the padded costume, they were nothing alike.

I can see what you mean, but I love the whole spectrum of Mama. I enjoy both the "Family" sketches and all of "Mama's Family" immensely.

I'm big on continuity. Buzz and Sonja deserved better than to be dropped like a rock after having been regulars for the first two whole seasons. Also, since the Mama character was made famous by "The Family" skits in The Carol Burnett Show, I feel like the character should have stayed truer to her original conception. Certainly Mama needed to be toned down somewhat for a regular weekly sitcom production, but Mama eventually became virtually unrecognizable when comparing "The Family" Mama to the syndicated Mama. Except for the wig and the padded costume, they were nothing alike.

Carol Burnett should certainly have been coaxed into appearing at least occasionally on the syndicated version. Mama and Eunice playing off one another was always pure gold. So many other characters to choose from too who could have also made an appearance to keep continuity going. There was Ed, Mickey Hart, Jack, Larry, Phillip, Eunice's other son Billy Joe, Ellen's daughters, any of Mama's aunts still living such as Aunt Fern, Aunt Elizabeth, Aunt Eloise. A quick cameo by Midge Gibson or Mavis Danton in Raytown would have been a great choice too. Mama was for sure acquainted with them.

The Bubba and Iola characters were great additions, to be sure, but there was certainly room for at least some of the other familiars in and around Raytown to show up from time to time on an episode for continuity's sake. That's my two cents worth.

I just wonder though how Eunice and SYNDICATED Mama would have played off each other, since like you said, syndicated Mama was NOTHING like NBC Mama nor Family Sketch Mama. Would they still have dramatic fights?

Don't know why they couldn't have mentioned where they went, like to another relatives or away to school. It's like they didn't exist once Bubba showed up. I actually liked Bubba better than their characters but still it bothers me that they couldn't bother to give them a proper exit.

It always bothered me too.

In the final episode when Naomi gives birth to baby Tiffany, they could have had Vint calling up Buzz and Sonja on the phone to tell them about their baby sister. I think that would have been a better ending to the series, and it would at least give some closure to the characters of Buzz and Sonja. I hated that they were just completely dismissed as if they never existed.

Off screen, I'm sure Vint did that. Only the first few minutes of Tiffany's life were shown and the show and series ended while the ambulance was en route. I'm sure Eunice, Ellen, Buzz and Sonja (and others) were informed shortly thereafter once Naomi and Tiffany were settled in at the hospital. :)