I've always thought that the GAB house looked very much like the one on MF. Is it the same house? Because all the floors, colors, etc. look the same...

it looks a lot alike but its not the same house. I mean, I generally observed a lot of tvshows, and they are either 2 ways.......


1. Livingroom to the left of the screen with front door and kitchen leading to the right of the tv screen such as :

SilverSpoons, Golden Girls, Gimme A Break Final Season


2. Living Room to the right of the tv screen an moving left you have the kitchen as in....

Mama's Family, Gimme A Break Seasons 1-5, Diffrent Strokes, Alf



GAB's set looks a lot like ALF's set. I mean, GAB's set stopped in 1986, when ALF premiered. It looks like they stole the living room and kitchen floor plan from them. The divider between the kitchen and dining room for example...even if slightly different but still in the same area, right next to the dining room.

The exterior of the Gimme A Break house looks like the house on Eight is Enough,the Mama's Family house had a front porch attached to the house

About the GAB house from the MF house, the only thing that is likely different is the porch that they have. Remember in the opening credits on MF where Mama goes out and gets the mail? And at the end, we see the house again. Note that in episodes that ended in the day, the background would be daytime and night would be nightime..

Does anyone remember when "Mama's Family" was on NBC and one of the early episodes circa 1983 had Mama going to a cabin with an old flame and mentioning that she never missed "Gimme A Break"???? She said "Lord, that woman has a mouth on her" or something close to that talking about Nell's character!!!!!!! :lol:

Hey, I sorta think that Nell and Mama were a bit similar..

Indeed they were women! ;)

I think the interior of the living room of Gimme A Break was the same as The Cosby Show "Pilot".

I think you may be right Both Gimme A Break and Mama's Family both taped at the same studio. So you never know.

Nell's childhood home in Alabama, the ep. Where she went home and her Father died was the same exact house as in Season 9 of One day at a time, the house that Barbara and Julie moved into with their Husbands! ;)

I mean it TOTALLY was the same exact house, same set for sure. ;)

Than Nell went back home to visit another time and it was a different house!:confused:

Even though I have nothing special to say about this particular topic, I am happy to see some conversation being stimulated!

I think the GAB interior is more similar to AITF interior...

Mort Lachman worked on BOTH shows, and I see GAB as a tone-down AITF...Chief Kaniski was a more toned-down Archie Bunker, Nell Harper seemed to be more into it like Maude or The Jeffersons, and the daughters had some parts of Gloria Bunker-Stivic. Then there's Johnathan who's a watered-down Mike Stivic.

Here's the AITF Living Room...
http://d1nnx3nhddxmeh.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/13141847/34-tv-homes.jpg

And here's the interior of the GAB Living Room...
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/phXt3wN1zIE/hqdefault.jpg

See any similarities?

Now that you mention it, I can make some sense out of you logic of this being, sort of, like an eighties style "All in the Family" type show. A lot of the episodes were quite similar to the episodes of "All in the Family", but not as heavy handed.

Now that you mention it, I can make some sense out of you logic of this being, sort of, like an eighties style "All in the Family" type show. A lot of the episodes were quite similar to the episodes of "All in the Family", but not as heavy handed.

That's because 80's shows probably use the AITF formula, but since Boomers were having children of their own (Gen X and Y) the shows were more family focused.

Not Just Gimme a Break!, but Diff'rnt Strokes, The Facts of Life, Family Ties, Growing Pains, Full House and Mr. Belvedere just to name a few...were sitcoms that had moral issues, but more family-oriented than social-oriented. This style of sitcom lasted even up to the 1990's.

That's because 80's shows probably use the AITF formula, but since Boomers were having children of their own (Gen X and Y) the shows were more family focused.

Not Just Gimme a Break!, but Diff'rnt Strokes, The Facts of Life, Family Ties, Growing Pains, Full House and Mr. Belvedere just to name a few...were sitcoms that had moral issues, but more family-oriented than social-oriented. This style of sitcom lasted even up to the 1990's.


That is all very insightful my friend.

is part of the set used for Addy's and Nell's NYC apartment from the Glenlawn house? Looks like it to me, but thought I'd check with others. :)

Never noticed about "Mama's Family," but, heck, that could be, too. Someone mentioned "Golden Girls"- that kitchen set was used for another early-80s sitcom that didn't last too long (I think the same people behind GG worked on that one, too).

I think the interior of the living room of Gimme A Break was the same as The Cosby Show "Pilot".

Actually, it was the same as the short lived series: Oh Madeline. Both shows were produced by Carsey-Werner Productions

Actually, it was the same as the short lived series: Oh Madeline. Both shows were produced by Carsey-Werner Productions

I remember the short-lived series called "Oh Madeline". Do you have any thoughts as to why it did not last?

I remember the short-lived series called "Oh Madeline". Do you have any thoughts as to why it did not last?

Nope I do not

"Mama's Family" is my favorite show, and I have season 1 of GAB, and I see nothing of why it would like they're the same house. The interiors are vastly different.

They did tape at the same studio, though. Vicki Lawrence recalls when Nell would have some meltdown moments in the ladies room, and people would tell her, "You don't wanna go in there. Nell's in there right now."

And the exact quote from Mama was, "Well I know that, but it's Saturday night and I never miss 'Gimme a Break'. Lord, that woman's got a mouth on her!"

And then there was a joke about Nell's weight in a later episode.

"Mama's Family" is my favorite show, and I have season 1 of GAB, and I see nothing of why it would like they're the same house. The interiors are vastly different.

They did tape at the same studio, though. Vicki Lawrence recalls when Nell would have some meltdown moments in the ladies room, and people would tell her, "You don't wanna go in there. Nell's in there right now."

And the exact quote from Mama was, "Well I know that, but it's Saturday night and I never miss 'Gimme a Break'. Lord, that woman's got a mouth on her!"

And then there was a joke about Nell's weight in a later episode.

About a year or two ago I was watching some game show from the 80s on Buzzr that Dorothy Lyman appeared on. She mentioned taping Mama's Family at the same studio as Gimme A Break and then she made some crack about Nell Carter's weight.

I don't think the two houses/sets look anything alike, interior or exterior.

They look like the same basic structure with some slight rearranging:
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/phXt3wN1zIE/hqdefault.jpg

http://mightyv.pimaxplus.com/episodes/view/mama-s-family/season-4/naomi-s-identity-crisis
http://mightyv-img.pimaxplus.com/?type=episode&id=226757.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/236x/05/30/a5/0530a590a9cfad31529bbcc8eb020129--carol-burnett-golden-girls.jpg

I think it's the colors and lighting of the sets more than anything. "Mr. Belvedere" is the same way.