Farewell, Frannie - Page 2 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

garretta · 06-28-2017, 04:18 PM

Vicki and Rue were close friends offscreen, so someone from the show probably called Rue to let her know what was going on. For Rue's part, I remember her saying one time in an interview that the one positive she took away from Mama's Family was that she and Vicki became so close.

'80sSitcoms · 07-05-2017, 01:28 PM

I re-checked Rue's Emmy TV Legends interview, and she didn't say anything about she and Vicki becoming close. She didn't say anything about being close with Vicki. She just said Vicki was hilarious on the Burnett show as Mama and she loved that character and thought she was hilarious, and then later she says Vicki "was good to work with, but she wasn't warm, sweet, and lovely. She was very..sort of distant, and very much into her character, and best friends with Harvey Korman who was the director on the show. I was like the new kid on the block".

garretta · 07-05-2017, 03:48 PM

It wasn't that interview; I forget which one it was. I just remember hearing something like that at some point coming from Rue.

I'm not doubting you, though. Stars tend to blow hot and cold on people depending on whether they've made friends with people in other casts they've worked in more recently, whether they're still in touch with the person they're being asked about, and a thousand other things. Maybe they were on the outs for some reason at the time, or maybe Rue hadn't heard from Vicki in a while. Remember, at one point Carol wasn't speaking to Vicki either, and today they're close as can be again.

'80sSitcoms · 07-05-2017, 05:52 PM

Yes, but Carol and Vicki really had been close for years before the "silent fallout" happened. I was just saying I'd never heard any indication at all that Rue and Vicki were close; after all, Rue didn't even call in to Vicki's talk show when she Vicki had her Mama's Family reunion---but Betty did. Of course none of us say we can know the circumstances of that. But if you really did hear or see that in an interview, I would be curious to see/hear the evidence just because I have never heard anything supporting that.

schmave · 01-09-2018, 11:28 AM

Only slightly off topic, but as long as I have watched Mama's Family, I am not sure I knew this oddity ... in some places, including on this very website, Soup to Nuts is listed as the Season 3 premiere and *not* Farewell, Frannie.
If this was indeed the case in 1986, any idea why? Seems completely backward. I can't think of a good reason you would not lead off that season with the episode that explains everything about the new life of the show. It's sort of like Season 1, where shows with Vint not yet being married to Naomi were shown at the end of the season, well after the wedding.
In syndication, Farewell, Frannie is always shown as the Season 3 premiere.
Given this order, one could say Fran was actually still alive in the show universe when Soup to Nuts took place; she was just off screen (maybe at a punctuation seminar?).

'80sSitcoms · 01-09-2018, 06:48 PM

Well, on Wikipedia "Farewell, Frannie" is the season 3 premiere with production code 302, while "Soup to Nuts" is episode 5 with production code 301 (actually it's interesting to note many of the shows filmed a bit out of order then re-arranged for broadcast order).

I believe this is one of those common cases where the cast films at least one episode first that will air after the pilot or premiere, so that by the time they film the pilot or premiere episode, the cast has "jelled" and will be a strong viewing for the start of the season (even Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock followed that pattern, filming the 3rd broadcast episode first before filming the series pilot).

06-28-2017, 04:18 PM	#16
garretta Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Nov 18, 2008 Location: Imperial, PA Posts: 42	Vicki and Rue were close friends offscreen, so someone from the show probably called Rue to let her know what was going on. For Rue's part, I remember her saying one time in an interview that the one positive she took away from Mama's Family was that she and Vicki became so close.

07-05-2017, 01:28 PM	#17
'80sSitcoms Member Forum Star Join Date: Jan 30, 2013 Posts: 12,474	I re-checked Rue's Emmy TV Legends interview, and she didn't say anything about she and Vicki becoming close. She didn't say anything about being close with Vicki. She just said Vicki was hilarious on the Burnett show as Mama and she loved that character and thought she was hilarious, and then later she says Vicki "was good to work with, but she wasn't warm, sweet, and lovely. She was very..sort of distant, and very much into her character, and best friends with Harvey Korman who was the director on the show. I was like the new kid on the block".

07-05-2017, 03:48 PM	#18
garretta Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Nov 18, 2008 Location: Imperial, PA Posts: 42	It wasn't that interview; I forget which one it was. I just remember hearing something like that at some point coming from Rue. I'm not doubting you, though. Stars tend to blow hot and cold on people depending on whether they've made friends with people in other casts they've worked in more recently, whether they're still in touch with the person they're being asked about, and a thousand other things. Maybe they were on the outs for some reason at the time, or maybe Rue hadn't heard from Vicki in a while. Remember, at one point Carol wasn't speaking to Vicki either, and today they're close as can be again.

07-05-2017, 05:52 PM	#19
'80sSitcoms Member Forum Star Join Date: Jan 30, 2013 Posts: 12,474	Yes, but Carol and Vicki really had been close for years before the "silent fallout" happened. I was just saying I'd never heard any indication at all that Rue and Vicki were close; after all, Rue didn't even call in to Vicki's talk show when she Vicki had her Mama's Family reunion---but Betty did. Of course none of us say we can know the circumstances of that. But if you really did hear or see that in an interview, I would be curious to see/hear the evidence just because I have never heard anything supporting that.

01-09-2018, 11:28 AM	#20
schmave Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 23, 2013 Location: Reynoldsburg, Ohio Posts: 654	Only slightly off topic, but as long as I have watched Mama's Family, I am not sure I knew this oddity ... in some places, including on this very website, Soup to Nuts is listed as the Season 3 premiere and not Farewell, Frannie. If this was indeed the case in 1986, any idea why? Seems completely backward. I can't think of a good reason you would not lead off that season with the episode that explains everything about the new life of the show. It's sort of like Season 1, where shows with Vint not yet being married to Naomi were shown at the end of the season, well after the wedding. In syndication, Farewell, Frannie is always shown as the Season 3 premiere. Given this order, one could say Fran was actually still alive in the show universe when Soup to Nuts took place; she was just off screen (maybe at a punctuation seminar?).

01-09-2018, 06:48 PM	#21
'80sSitcoms Member Forum Star Join Date: Jan 30, 2013 Posts: 12,474	Well, on Wikipedia "Farewell, Frannie" is the season 3 premiere with production code 302, while "Soup to Nuts" is episode 5 with production code 301 (actually it's interesting to note many of the shows filmed a bit out of order then re-arranged for broadcast order). I believe this is one of those common cases where the cast films at least one episode first that will air after the pilot or premiere, so that by the time they film the pilot or premiere episode, the cast has "jelled" and will be a strong viewing for the start of the season (even Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock followed that pattern, filming the 3rd broadcast episode first before filming the series pilot).