I know people often say they think Buzz and Sonya no longer exist, nor Ellen's children, nor Bubba's brother once the show went into syndication, BUT I was watching the episode Direct to Video, and Mama says, "When I think of my kids and ALL of their kids, etc...." It certainly sounds like all the previous characters still exist.... I don't think she would have stated it like that if Bubba was now her ONLY grandchild in existence

I never thought Buzz and Sonya were retconned out of existence. I get why others think that, but to me the lack of mentions don't mean they were erased entirely.
Ellen's daughters might as well have been. Ellen never mentioned them when she talked about Bruce.
Billy Joe, yes, I think he was purely because Bubba himself never mentioned having a brother. That would have been very easy to write into the show, especially given the number of times Ed and Eunice were mentioned. It would be almost inevitable to bring up Billy Joe in the same breath.
And the one episode we were at Ed and Eunice's house during Mama's Family, it almost seemed like they were childless. One of those boys would have been around, you'd think.

Buzz and Sonya were most definitely erased from the show after “Farewell, Frannie”. When Vinton and Naomi were trying for a baby, Mama said she could not imagine Vint being a father and that he could not change a baby’s diapers. Also, I think in a Season 6 episode, Naomi said that Vinton would be a good father.

As for Ellen’s children, I think they still existed in Mama’s Family, but they were never mentioned. Ellen was never described as childless so it’s a possibility.

I believe Bubba was Eunice and Ed’s only child on Mama’s Family, Billy Joe was never brought up when Eunice and Ed living in Florida was discussed on the show.

Buzz and Sonya were most definitely erased from the show after “Farewell, Frannie”. When Vinton and Naomi were trying for a baby, Mama said she could not imagine Vint being a father and that he could not change a baby’s diapers. Also, I think in a Season 6 episode, Naomi said that Vinton would be a good father.

As for Ellen’s children, I think they still existed in Mama’s Family, but they were never mentioned. Ellen was never described as childless so it’s a possibility.

I believe Bubba was Eunice and Ed’s only child on Mama’s Family, Billy Joe was never brought up when Eunice and Ed living in Florida was discussed on the show.

In the NBC episode Grave Mistake, Ellen is caught taking her phone off the hook to avoid Mama calling her to take her to the cemetery, while Ellen is visiting the Hapers they ask her to stay for dinner and Ellen says, "Well I guess I could call and tell THEM I'll be a little late, Oh! I can't the phone's still off the hook!" When she says THEY, I took that to mean her kids.

But just because Vint mentioned naming a boy Vint and a girl Vintina, that just sounded like the silliness of Vint Harper, it was nothing out of the ordinary.... I don't think his comment should be taken to mean Buzz and Sonya didn't exist. To me what was more awkward was Vint was behaving as if this was the FIRST time he was about to be a father,


But the way Mama was talking in Direct to Video, sounded like perhaps she even had more CHILDREN than just Ellen, Eunice and Vint..... I always wanted to think Phillip could POSSIBLY still exist in the Mama's Family universe... I hear originally they were planning on bringing Phillips character back, early on but thought they already had too many characters, plus Mama mentions having 4 children in an NBC episode. I think it's possibly he's still around somewhere, just choses to stay away

I never thought Buzz and Sonya were retconned out of existence. I get why others think that, but to me the lack of mentions don't mean they were erased entirely.
Ellen's daughters might as well have been. Ellen never mentioned them when she talked about Bruce.
Billy Joe, yes, I think he was purely because Bubba himself never mentioned having a brother. That would have been very easy to write into the show, especially given the number of times Ed and Eunice were mentioned. It would be almost inevitable to bring up Billy Joe in the same breath.
And the one episode we were at Ed and Eunice's house during Mama's Family, it almost seemed like they were childless. One of those boys would have been around, you'd think.


I think in the movie Eunice, Billy Joel ran away never to be heard from again, I guess it's possible he was a runaway. I think Ellen's kids still existed because she does sorta indirectly mention them in the episode Grave Mistake. She says, she'll call THEM and tell them she'll be a little late, when she decides to stay for dinner with the Harpers. And yeah Eunice and Ed seem childless in the NBC episode. BUT Bubba and Billy always did a good job staying hidden in the Family Sketches, so I supposed the same thing could have happened when we were at Eunice's House in Positive Thinking lol

In the NBC episode Grave Mistake, Ellen is caught taking her phone off the hook to avoid Mama calling her to take her to the cemetery, while Ellen is visiting the Hapers they ask her to stay for dinner and Ellen says, "Well I guess I could call and tell THEM I'll be a little late, Oh! I can't the phone's still off the hook!" When she says THEY, I took that to mean her kids.

But just because Vint mentioned naming a boy Vint and a girl Vintina, that just sounded like the silliness of Vint Harper, it was nothing out of the ordinary.... I don't think his comment should be taken to mean Buzz and Sonya didn't exist. To me what was more awkward was Vint was behaving as if this was the FIRST time he was about to be a father,


But the way Mama was talking in Direct to Video, sounded like perhaps she even had more CHILDREN than just Ellen, Eunice and Vint..... I always wanted to think Phillip could POSSIBLY still exist in the Mama's Family universe... I hear originally they were planning on bringing Phillips character back, early on but thought they already had too many characters, plus Mama mentions having 4 children in an NBC episode. I think it's possibly he's still around somewhere, just choses to stay away
I still believe Buzz and Sonya weren’t a thing anymore by the time the show got to Season 5. They were NEVER, EVER mentioned after “Farewell, Frannie” and like I stated, I’m sure the show alluded to Vinton being a first time father when Naomi got pregnant.

Now that I think about it, it might have made sense for Phillip to be the fourth child Mama referred to, but I’m guessing that was dropped after Season 1. Maybe they wanted to give Ken Berry the more humorous role of Vinton and give someone else the role of Phillip down the road before they realized the character wasn’t needed.

As for Bubba’s absence during the NBC episodes, from what I gathered, it was implied that he was away at juvenile hall then. I know it’s a stretch, but it’s possible the writers didn’t think it out and just went with it.

Speaking of the multiple mysteries of Mama’s Family, in the episode where Vint and Naomi got married, Eunice remarked that Ellen weaseled a new Cadillac and a rich husband. Well the man sitting behind Ellen seemed to be very offended by that comment, and I wondered if he was Bruce. He had red hair I believe (don’t quote me on it, I’m not 100% sure) and a long mustache. Ellen DID mention that Bruce was on his way over to the house when they were getting ready for the wedding, so maybe it’s possible.

I think they still existed, but the writing was sloppy. One hole in that theory is that Fran was mentioned as late as the fifth season, well after her death. I always took the comments from Thelma and Naomi to mean him being a father at that stage of his life, not being a first-time father period. I think one of Thelma's comments was "can you imagine them two as parents?" or something to that effect, and that is valid, wondering how Vint and Naomi would work together as parents as opposed to Vint and Mitzi 20+ years earlier.
The Vinton Jr./Vintina comment is sloppy writing and/or Vint just being a dolt IMO.
As far as Bruce, I think Ellen said he couldn't make it to the wedding because he was at the dealership closing the deal on Ellen's new Seville. All he had to give up was Peggy.

I still believe Buzz and Sonya weren’t a thing anymore by the time the show got to Season 5. They were NEVER, EVER mentioned after “Farewell, Frannie” and like I stated, I’m sure the show alluded to Vinton being a first time father when Naomi got pregnant.

Now that I think about it, it might have made sense for Phillip to be the fourth child Mama referred to, but I’m guessing that was dropped after Season 1. Maybe they wanted to give Ken Berry the more humorous role of Vinton and give someone else the role of Phillip down the road before they realized the character wasn’t needed.

As for Bubba’s absence during the NBC episodes, from what I gathered, it was implied that he was away at juvenile hall then. I know it’s a stretch, but it’s possible the writers didn’t think it out and just went with it.

Speaking of the multiple mysteries of Mama’s Family, in the episode where Vint and Naomi got married, Eunice remarked that Ellen weaseled a new Cadillac and a rich husband. Well the man sitting behind Ellen seemed to be very offended by that comment, and I wondered if he was Bruce. He had red hair I believe (don’t quote me on it, I’m not 100% sure) and a long mustache. Ellen DID mention that Bruce was on his way over to the house when they were getting ready for the wedding, so maybe it’s possible.


I know exactly who you're taking about, but I never noticed his reactions, I'l have to notice next time. I remember there was a dark haired woman in yellow, and my friend thought she was supposed to be Iola lol

I know exactly who you're taking about, but I never noticed his reactions, I'l have to notice next time. I remember there was a dark haired woman in yellow, and my friend thought she was supposed to be Iola lol

When you get to the late season 5 episodes, and Naomi's pregnancy throughout season 6, it's evident they're portraying Vint as a first-time father.

I get why some feel Buzz and Sonja were erased from memory after "Farewell, Frannie." However, I also took her comments in the video episode to refer to them, indirectly. In MF, Ellen's kids were never mentioned directly; I didn't even realize the character had kids lol And Eunice and Ed's kids were never mentioned in the show, either.

I also took Mama asking Iola if she could picture them as parents, to mean of a newborn, at their ages. But, I guess that and other depictions are open to interpretation.

Iola was never shown or mentioned in the NBC iteration of the show, though we're to believe that she was living across the street and just wasn't on camera. :) Is she supposed to be the big sister of Tommy Boylen? Tommy was never mentioned during the syndicated years.

I feel like Iola and Tommy could not have been siblings, given the age difference. If anything, she might have been his aunt or a cousin.
With only the NBC years taken into account, Iola did not exist. Buzz and Sonya's one mention in the syndicated years confirms the opposite for them. But it's easy to place Iola into the NBC universe, just unseen and for reasons easy to define within the show's canon (i.e. she was mad about Vint marrying Naomi, she and Thelma were friends but did not hang out much in those years, etc.).

I feel like Iola and Tommy could not have been siblings, given the age difference. If anything, she might have been his aunt or a cousin.
With only the NBC years taken into account, Iola did not exist. Buzz and Sonya's one mention in the syndicated years confirms the opposite for them. But it's easy to place Iola into the NBC universe, just unseen and for reasons easy to define within the show's canon (i.e. she was mad about Vint marrying Naomi, she and Thelma were friends but did not hang out much in those years, etc.).

It's hard for me to picture the MEAN Mama from the early NBC episodes ever being friends with Iola... Can you imagine Mama from Mama's Silver and Alien Marriage interacting with Iola? I just can't see them having ANYTHING in common. I could see Fran and Iola possibly being friends, and Mama from season 2 I could see getting along with Iola

I thought Mama's change was interesting, because she did a complete 180. In the Family sketches from the Carol Burnet Show, it was obvious most people HATED having her around, as she brought the whole room down upon entering it usually, BUT in the syndicated episodes of Mama's Family, she was seen as the "cool Granny" who EVERYONE loved being around

It's hard for me to picture the MEAN Mama from the early NBC episodes ever being friends with Iola... Can you imagine Mama from Mama's Silver and Alien Marriage interacting with Iola? I just can't see them having ANYTHING in common. I could see Fran and Iola possibly being friends, and Mama from season 2 I could see getting along with Iola

I thought Mama's change was interesting, because she did a complete 180. In the Family sketches from the Carol Burnet Show, it was obvious most people HATED having her around, as she brought the whole room down upon entering it usually, BUT in the syndicated episodes of Mama's Family, she was seen as the "cool Granny" who EVERYONE loved being around
In the episode "The return of Leonard Oats", Naomi gives Mama a perm but she cant wash her hair out because the water is turned off. Aunt Fran asks Mama "Why don't you go over to Miss Boylin's house' Mama claps back "Are you nuts? That woman thinks I have naturally curly hair"
So it appears Mama was not that chummy with the Boylin's.

In the episode "The return of Leonard Oats", Naomi gives Mama a perm but she cant wash her hair out because the water is turned off. Aunt Fran asks Mama "Why don't you go over to Miss Boylin's house' Mama claps back "Are you nuts? That woman thinks I have naturally curly hair"
So it appears Mama was not that chummy with the Boylin's.


Yes there were quite a few Boylin references before Iola made her first onscreen appearance. Even back as early as the Family sketches on the Carol Burnett show, "Mrs Boylin" is mentioned a couple of times