Season 1 DVD

[BestTVever]

When Mamas Family was first released on DVD back in 2006 I was thrilled. I think I bought it around 2007. I grew up with syndication so the only perk was no commercials. I bought season 2 about 10 years later and it was the original versions with the original house, song, and uncut footage. I was in shock all of the extra scenes in the episodes. I learned later on that Season 1 was released again in 2013 that also was the original versions. I recently bought it off Ebay and enjoying it so much. The sitcoms flow so much better and everything makes so much more sense when you see the full versions. For example in episode 2 (For Better or Worse) the opening scene is Mama spying on Naomi's house and telling Aunt Fran all the men that go over there. Then she tells Fran about the wine bottles in Naomi's trash. This scene is cut from syndication. But it adds to the episode because it lays more to the groundwork of what a tramp Mama thinks Naomi is. We also get to learn more about Vint losing his house in foreclosure. Buzz has more lines too.
All of the episodes flow better and are funnier in their entirety instead of the chopped up syndication ones. I know this is true for most/all sitcoms. No one even knows the original Mamas Family house unless you watch these DVDs.

[stevea]

Agree.

The only bad thing is that full versions of a few episodes have never been released, due to music rights. For instance they cut the entire song Harper Days are Here Again in the Mama for Mayor 2 part episodes. Other minor cuts or substitutions were done for other episodes.

As for the syndication episodes word on the street is that many episodes also have music cuts. So I've kept my TBS recordings.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by stevea

Agree.

The only bad thing is that full versions of a few episodes have never been released, due to music rights. For instance they cut the entire song Harper Days are Here Again in the Mama for Mayor 2 part episodes. Other minor cuts or substitutions were done for other episodes.

As for the syndication episodes word on the street is that many episodes also have music cuts. So I've kept my TBS recordings.

Yeah that is weird. The songs are still played on TV for syndication yet on the DVD they are removed. Someone must of gotten paid at some point for them to be currently kept in syndication. I also watched every night on TBS and many times up at 5 am when they also aired. TBS never aired several episodes for some reason. I can understand copyright issues for music but some of them don't even have music. I was in shock to find out later in life that there were about 6 episodes (total) from both the NBC years and syndication years that TBS never aired.

[stevea]

Yes, one of them was when Thelma's relative Gert (Imogene Coca) was in a nursing home.
I think TBS always skipped that one.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by stevea

Yes, one of them was when Thelma's relative Gert (Imogene Coca) was in a nursing home.
I think TBS always skipped that one.

I was a continuous watcher on TBS when it came on at 7pm EST and then sometimes at 5 am for YEARS. Yes they skipped Aunt Gert Rides Again. But they also skipped the episodes where Bubba enters Mama in a beauty pageant and Naomi becomes a flight attendant. I watched almost every night for years and never saw those episodes until about 17 years ago when Mamas Family came back on Antenna TV, MeTv, and Logo.
Do you remember those episodes from TBS?

[stevea]

I also watched those early morning MFs on TBS for years. At some point I saw the other episode but that wa probably locally on WXIN, also in the early morning--those were the days before local channels showed news for the whole morning.

The beauty pageant episode definitely had music cuts or changes on the Star Vista DVDs. There was another cut I remember reading about in the later episodes where Mama was singing "Singing in the Rain."

Other cuts in the earlier episodes were in an episode with nuisance calls and a snippet of a Willie Nelson song was played, "On the Road Again." The Aunt Gert episode had some top 40 instrumental theme, and the episode with Ellen dating the younger guy had some violin music at the restaurant cut or changed.

There are other cuts in the later episodes but I don't remember what they were.

On Bachelor Father in the later seasons John Forsythe seemed to spare no expense in licensing songs. And eventually the rights must have expired because none of those are shown on Antenna TV.

[BestTVever]

I was watching Mama Gets A Job last night. The entire opening scene is cut for syndication. We get to see Mama storm around the house being upset attacking everyone. She even complains to Vint that Buzz and Sonya are "rude kids". Both of them flee the living room and then Mama sits down in the chair. Syndication then picks up with Naomi asking why Mama is upset.

[stevea]

I finally thought of one music change on Aunt Gert Rides Again. I think when the nurse (played by Barbara Stuart, who played Sgt. Carter's girlfriend on Gomer Pyle) put on some music it was Chariots of Fire by Vangelis. That was altered to something else. Then someone on Amazon mentioned a number Gert and Thelma danced to, Ain't Misbehavin', which he said was cut or changed. I need to re-watch that episode.

I did some DVD edits to all of these early episodes to edit the music back in, but it's been so long since i did it, I just don't remember all these changes. I can remember some of the small stuff like the Willie Nelson song I mentioned, and the guy playing the violin at the restaurant in the episode where Ellen is dating the younger guy. And in both episodes of Mama running for mayor, that Harper Days are Here Again.

That Mama Gets a Job episode is really funny. Another LOL one is the one where Mama's back goes out when Vint and Naomi invite their friends over--that might be another one TBS eventually skipped.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by stevea

I finally thought of one music change on Aunt Gert Rides Again. I think when the nurse (played by Barbara Stuart, who played Sgt. Carter's girlfriend on Gomer Pyle) put on some music it was Chariots of Fire by Vangelis. That was altered to something else. Then someone on Amazon mentioned a number Gert and Thelma danced to, Ain't Misbehavin', which he said was cut or changed. I need to re-watch that episode.

I did some DVD edits to all of these early episodes to edit the music back in, but it's been so long since i did it, I just don't remember all these changes. I can remember some of the small stuff like the Willie Nelson song I mentioned, and the guy playing the violin at the restaurant in the episode where Ellen is dating the younger guy. And in both episodes of Mama running for mayor, that Harper Days are Here Again.

That Mama Gets a Job episode is really funny. Another LOL one is the one where Mama's back goes out when Vint and Naomi invite their friends over--that might be another one TBS eventually skipped.

Yes!!! The Mama That Came To Dinner. I wonder why they skipped that episode. I don't recall any music in it but there could of been something trademark related that made them skip it.

[stevea]

I'm finally looking up these titles. They might have also skipped "No Room At The Inn."

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by stevea

I'm finally looking up these titles. They might have also skipped "No Room At The Inn."

I don't think they skipped that one because I remember seeing it.

From the NBC years I think TBS skipped

Aunt Gert Rides Again
The Mama That Came To Dinner



Syndication years
National Mama
An Ill Wind
Fly Naomi
Porn Again

My memory is foggy if I recall Positive Thinking, Obscene Phone Call being skipped

[TheLittleFaerie]

Originally Posted by stevea

Agree.

The only bad thing is that full versions of a few episodes have never been released, due to music rights. For instance they cut the entire song Harper Days are Here Again in the Mama for Mayor 2 part episodes. Other minor cuts or substitutions were done for other episodes.

As for the syndication episodes word on the street is that many episodes also have music cuts. So I've kept my TBS recordings.

If I'm not mistaken they also cut scene of Mama "Singing in the Rain" when she's spending the week-end alone

[stevea]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

I don't think they skipped that one because I remember seeing it.

From the NBC years I think TBS skipped

Aunt Gert Rides Again
The Mama That Came To Dinner



Syndication years
National Mama
An Ill Wind
Fly Naomi
Porn Again

My memory is foggy if I recall Positive Thinking, Obscene Phone Call being skipped

I think all my syndication episodes come from DVD recording TBS. I just checked and those you mentioned are on my DVDs from there, around 2005. They could have stopped showing them later. Right now I have "Porn Again" on. Dull color and all lol. I really should watch Love Letters, one of my favorites.

TBS shows the episodes in a different order than original syndication; they're probably in production number order.

I did re-watch Aunt Gert off my edited DVD. When editing I took the music sscenes from the MeTV airing. There are a few notes from Chariots of Fire during a game of musical chairs at the nursing home, then Thelma steps in and throws the nurse out; then a guy starts playing the piano and Mama and Gert do the Ain't Misbehavin' number.

There's a definite difference in audio level. I would've paid a little extra for complete episodes on the Star Vista DVDs.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by TheLittleFaerie

If I'm not mistaken they also cut scene of Mama "Singing in the Rain" when she's spending the week-end alone

Yes, that got cut on DVD. I've also heard about music cuts in Grandma USA. There are probably others. There was that episode where Vint thought he was adopted and he and Thelma were going to do a number together--maybe there were cuts in that one.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by stevea

I think all my syndication episodes come from DVD recording TBS. I just checked and those you mentioned are on my DVDs from there, around 2005. They could have stopped showing them later. Right now I have "Porn Again" on. Dull color and all lol. I really should watch Love Letters, one of my favorites.

TBS shows the episodes in a different order than original syndication; they're probably in production number order.

I did re-watch Aunt Gert off my edited DVD. When editing I took the music sscenes from the MeTV airing. There are a few notes from Chariots of Fire during a game of musical chairs at the nursing home, then Thelma steps in and throws the nurse out; then a guy starts playing the piano and Mama and Gert do the Ain't Misbehavin' number.

There's a definite difference in audio level. I would've paid a little extra for complete episodes on the Star Vista DVDs.

I watched in the early 1990s so that could explain the difference. I was not watching TBS in 2005. I watched the last few seasons of the syndication of Mamas Family in real time. Once the series ended TBS would re-air all episodes from 1990 until the mid 1990s. This was my era for watching and back in those days there were several episodes that were not aired. Its likely in 2005 they started to air them.
Here is the odd thing. On season 2 Mamas Family DVD (Un syndicated version) they edited out Chariots of Fire and Willie Nelson and sub other music. Yet today on MeTv, Logo TV, and Antenna TV, the original music parts are left intact.