Since Rue was obviously wanting to leave the show for Golden Girls, I think it would have been so much better to have her either taking some kind of a big Newspaper job away from Raytown or maybe got married to the person of her dreams and moved away or BOTH! Fran lived such a lonely life it seemed, that THAT would have been a perfect break and closure for her character!

And that way once in a blue moon she might would have considered doing a cameo in the syndicated years.

I guess. Fran was so much different than she was on The Golden Girls. I guess Fran's death was to introduce Bubba.

I know that, but They could have still introduced Bubba and Iola and just had Fran move away rather than die.

Eh - Iola was a good enough replacement for Fran.

To me, not having Ellen on really hurt. Carol was great whenever she appeared, but Eunice was so over the top and she overpowered the show when she was on. Ellen fit in better, and she was practically a regular in season 2. She played off everyone very well, and I missed her a lot in the syndicated years.

I've always wanted to see how Eunice's character would have been in a syndicated episode... Would she STILL have been over the top? OR would she have been toned down like the rest of the family so Mama would seem all-powerful?

I think Eunice would have been toned down a bit...just judging by her last appearance in Rashomama, I didn't think Eunice really overpowered any other character in that episode.

ALSO during the phone call in Pomp and Circumstance, how Eunice cowers and runs when Mama threatens to put Bubba on the phone, I don't think old school Eunice would have ran way like that, I think she would have been like, "FINE OLD LADY!! YOU JUST PUT HIM ON AND I'LL TELL HIM ABOUT ALL THE HELL YOU PUT ME THROUGH MY WHOLE LIFE AND HOW YOU DROVE ME OFF TO FLORIDA!!"

But what I'm saying is, I just think it would have been good to have ended Fran's character with something good finally happening to her. As she seemed to live a pretty lonely life.

Well, I wouldn't necessarily say Fran had a lonely life (and her exit was really an opening for Iola, whereas Buzz & Sonja's exit was an opening for Bubba). It seems more like she had a social life that we just didn't see on screen. After all, she and Charlie Hagenbush dated for a long time; certainly long enough for Mama to criticize him for not pursuing Fran with a marriage proposal.

And, let's not forget those two extra days she spent in Chicago alleging it was to attend a "punctuation seminar" and took that secret with her to her grave, lol. ;-)

But to answer your initial question, yes, I think it would have been better if Fran hadn't died, and, like Ellen, it would have been wonderful to see her appear now and then in the syndicated years, a la Aunt Effie (although they had Betty return only one time, which is a shame).

That said, however, I have to give credit to Rick Hawkins for writing a brilliant script of Fran's death---I dearly love her as one of my favorite characters, she had such a unique niche in the family and added to its realism, but her demise episode was just written so gosh darn funny!

Well, at least with the DVDs now we can watch Frannie in Raytown whenever we like. :-)

I like it the way they did it. Rue didn't like her time as Fran, and while I don't think it was a "screw you" to script that kind of death for Fran, it gave her character closure. Had Fran lived, I don't think Rue would have come back for a cameo like Betty White did, nor would her character have gotten closure.
Ellen did, and I think that's because it was understood that "Best Medicine" would be it for Betty White and Mama's Family. Golden Girls was a huge hit by then in only its second season. "Best Medicine" put a nice bow on Ellen and Thelma's relationship.
All of that said, I greatly missed both Fran and Ellen in the syndicated years (the series even kept the impression that Ellen was still living in town, just off-screen) but when I watch the NBC years, I don't miss Iola or Bubba at all. My least favorite thing about the syndicated years is how limited the cast was.

Yes, absolutely.

The way they killed her off was completely over the top and just disrespectful to her character. Choked on a toothpick and died in a bathroom stall at a run down diner? That is not funny. It's horrific and nasty.

I've always wanted to see how Eunice's character would have been in a syndicated episode... Would she STILL have been over the top? OR would she have been toned down like the rest of the family so Mama would seem all-powerful?

I think Eunice would have been toned down a bit...just judging by her last appearance in Rashomama, I didn't think Eunice really overpowered any other character in that episode.

ALSO during the phone call in Pomp and Circumstance, how Eunice cowers and runs when Mama threatens to put Bubba on the phone, I don't think old school Eunice would have ran way like that, I think she would have been like, "FINE OLD LADY!! YOU JUST PUT HIM ON AND I'LL TELL HIM ABOUT ALL THE HELL YOU PUT ME THROUGH MY WHOLE LIFE AND HOW YOU DROVE ME OFF TO FLORIDA!!"

But what I'm saying is, I just think it would have been good to have ended Fran's character with something good finally happening to her. As she seemed to live a pretty lonely life.
I remember on a couple of the final installments of "The Family", the one where Eunice goes to the psychiatrist and the one where Eunice and Mama visit Carl's grave at the cemetery, Eunice has been worn down and is despondent to the point that she was much meeker, nervous, and withdrawn than she had ever been in all the previous sketches. It would have been interesting to see that variation of the Eunice character on Mama's Family.

It's a hilarious scene: "She never come out."

I agree. I liked Fran, but the way they killed her off was the perfect mix of wackiness and realism that made this show so great. I think the show would have still been good with Fran and Ellen, but Bubba and Iola were fantastic additions.

The one I didn't miss was Eunice, I never liked Carol Burnett in anything. I always thought she was the weakest link in her own show.