The MF "What if?" thread - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TALLguyinKY · 12-31-2003, 04:03 AM

I thought it'd be fun if we came up with some o' these...I'll start...

What if Mitzi returned from Vegas?

What if Eunice became a star at the Pepper Pot PlayHouse?

What if Ellen married Glen?

What if Frannie married Charlie?

What if Uncle Roy had come back "to claim what is his"?

What if Bubba didn't get out of Juvenile Hall?

What if Naomi had become a stewardess?

What if Iola had married Bert?

What if Ed 'n Eunice moved back from FL?

What if Mama had won that $1,000,000?

What if the Harpers had kept Uncle Oscar's gold cage?

Just a li'l Harper food for thought...

Penny Lane · 12-31-2003, 10:56 AM

Well, it certainly would have been a completely different show!

Wouldn't a reunion show be interesting?

FamilyTiesGOP · 12-31-2003, 02:17 PM

cool thread. I have a few more...

What if Mama had behaved and she and Vinton and Naomi had collected the $31500 from Frannie's will?

What if Bubba hadn't found out that James A. Ray had died in Mama's house and they and Iola would have had to have moved?

What if Naomi had left Vinton for Lenard Oats and his fortune?

What if Iola's mother hadn't taken her back in the episode where Iola moves in?

Going back to the lottery episode in the other post...What if Iola had gotten to spin the big wheel? Maybe they could have won...

What if the adoption had been granted before Naomi got pregnant?

What if Naomi had graduated from flight school and became a flight attendant?

and most importantly...

What if Vinton had had a real locksmith's salary and Naomi had had a real assistant manager's salary? Where could they have really lived?

astro4004 · 01-04-2004, 12:00 AM

What if Carl had actually gotten promoted over that goon Bert Wembley?

What if the Harpers had won Family Feud?

What if Mr Keith Wheeler had actually shot at them?*

What if it had been Terry's bra found on Bubba's bed?

What if Olga had decided to defect after all?

What if Mama had won the Beautiful Grandma pageant?

What if the Bone Crushers had kept their baking and handicraft secrets to themselves?

*thanks, TallGuyinKY for that one!

TALLguyinKY · 01-05-2004, 06:30 AM

astro, ya mean Toni's bra?

This is so much fun!

--------------

What if Aunt Fran had stayed Louella?

What if Mama had retained her Raytown Travel Agency job?

What if Vint had married Zenada? (SIT-uh! SIT-uh! LOL!)

What if Vint 'n Naomi had been successful with their trailer park in Arizona?

What if Mama had predicted Checkerboard correctly?

What if Naomi didn't happen to find the hatchet?

What if Mama hadn't gotten over the KRAY Teleshopper?

What if Naomi had given in to Archie Woods?

What if Bubba broke the law again?

What if Ed 'n Eunice had come to Bubba 'n Mama's graduation?

FamilyTiesGOP · 01-05-2004, 02:18 PM

This is fun!

What if Mama had paid that "beach bum" in Hawaii worth billions a little more attention? (think of all the times Mama could have been rich and failed...)

What if Iola had married Lars in Hawaii?

What if Fran had't ordered a "cold roast beef"?

What if Mama hadn't ordered catfish?

What if Mama could have gotten to Bingo on time instead of the birthing class?

What if Vint and Naomi's house on wheels had been moved by the time Mama's outdoor party was held? Would she have been a Dame?

Penny Lane · 01-05-2004, 03:57 PM

What if Wanda Lynn hadn't broken her date with Bubba to the prom?
What if Vernette and Bubba started dating steadily after the prom?

What if Vinton had been able to play Santa at the mall?

What if Bubba, T Boy and Dwayne had had a successful rock band?

What if Iola had made a fortune selling her watermelon potholders in a boutique in New York?

What if Arlene had become Iola's best friend in the whole world?

TALLguyinKY · 01-05-2004, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by FamilyTiesGOP
What if Fran had't ordered a "cold roast beef"?

What if Mama hadn't ordered catfish?

Those are two o' my faves!

These are great---so cool to see other people takin' part, too!

FamilyTiesGOP · 01-06-2004, 03:51 PM

This is a lot of fun. Mama's Family is particularly good at this because many of the episodes are very segmented. The story lines are not in any way continuous (Naomi's pregnancy is about the only solid story line) Many things COULD have gone well for the Harpers, but never did.

Dr. Jazz · 01-06-2004, 04:19 PM

Here's some more to ponder:

What if Naomi's keys hadn't been on the rug?

What if Mayor Tutwiller decided not to step back in as mayor?

What if Aunt Effie hadn't tried to re-shingle her roof?

What if Lolly Perdue already knew how to read?

(ok, that one made no sense)

and finally,

What if the guy at the trailer park hadn't run off with Vint & Naomi's money?

rusty spike · 04-02-2022, 01:59 PM

What if Mama hadn't been fired/quitted from Food Circus, McRays and Raytown Travel Agency?

TVLegend · 04-02-2022, 02:46 PM

What if Ellen married Glenn?

TVLegend · 04-02-2022, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TVLegend

What if Ellen married Glenn?

Nevermind. Someone already said this.

What if Fran hadn’t died choking on a toothpick?

TheLittleFaerie · 04-03-2022, 05:28 AM

MOST of these what-if situations would have caused the show to no longer be a sitcom really.

The formula of a sitcom is usually, everything ends up at the end of the episode pretty much as it started, and life stays the same..... Of course SOME things do change, but the main paradigm stays roughly the same... i.e. Vint and Naomi staying in the basement, Mama not winning a HUGE amount of money, etc...

Penny Lane · 04-03-2022, 09:37 AM

Most successful sitcoms stop while still successful. Any change in the format is usually a death knell. Like so many of them bring in new characters or some regular characters leave. The worst mistake is adding a new child to a family. As in Family Ties and Growing Pains. The shows were never the same after that. Mama's Family would have had baby Tiffany growing up to a 5 year old in 1 season or Bubba getting married and that would have changed the dynamic of the series. I'm glad they quit while they were ahead.

12-31-2003, 04:03 AM	#1
TALLguyinKY Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 18, 2002 Posts: 1,439	The MF "What if?" thread I thought it'd be fun if we came up with some o' these...I'll start... What if Mitzi returned from Vegas? What if Eunice became a star at the Pepper Pot PlayHouse? What if Ellen married Glen? What if Frannie married Charlie? What if Uncle Roy had come back "to claim what is his"? What if Bubba didn't get out of Juvenile Hall? What if Naomi had become a stewardess? What if Iola had married Bert? What if Ed 'n Eunice moved back from FL? What if Mama had won that $1,000,000? What if the Harpers had kept Uncle Oscar's gold cage? Just a li'l Harper food for thought...

12-31-2003, 10:56 AM	#2
Penny Lane Butter Pie Forum Icon Join Date: Jul 03, 2001 Location: Beneath the blue suburban skies Posts: 51,248	Well, it certainly would have been a completely different show! Wouldn't a reunion show be interesting?
	__________________ Vulgarity is no substitute for wit- Lady Violet Crawley

01-04-2004, 12:00 AM	#4
astro4004 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Dec 21, 2003 Location: Western Pennsylvania Posts: 38	What if Carl had actually gotten promoted over that goon Bert Wembley? What if the Harpers had won Family Feud? What if Mr Keith Wheeler had actually shot at them?* What if it had been Terry's bra found on Bubba's bed? What if Olga had decided to defect after all? What if Mama had won the Beautiful Grandma pageant? What if the Bone Crushers had kept their baking and handicraft secrets to themselves? *thanks, TallGuyinKY for that one!
	__________________ "Get real, Grandma!"

12-31-2003, 02:17 PM	#3
FamilyTiesGOP _ Senior Member Join Date: Oct 28, 2003 Posts: 1,631	cool thread. I have a few more... What if Mama had behaved and she and Vinton and Naomi had collected the $31500 from Frannie's will? What if Bubba hadn't found out that James A. Ray had died in Mama's house and they and Iola would have had to have moved? What if Naomi had left Vinton for Lenard Oats and his fortune? What if Iola's mother hadn't taken her back in the episode where Iola moves in? Going back to the lottery episode in the other post...What if Iola had gotten to spin the big wheel? Maybe they could have won... What if the adoption had been granted before Naomi got pregnant? What if Naomi had graduated from flight school and became a flight attendant? and most importantly... What if Vinton had had a real locksmith's salary and Naomi had had a real assistant manager's salary? Where could they have really lived?

01-05-2004, 06:30 AM	#5
TALLguyinKY Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 18, 2002 Posts: 1,439	astro, ya mean Toni's bra? This is so much fun! -------------- What if Aunt Fran had stayed Louella? What if Mama had retained her Raytown Travel Agency job? What if Vint had married Zenada? (SIT-uh! SIT-uh! LOL!) What if Vint 'n Naomi had been successful with their trailer park in Arizona? What if Mama had predicted Checkerboard correctly? What if Naomi didn't happen to find the hatchet? What if Mama hadn't gotten over the KRAY Teleshopper? What if Naomi had given in to Archie Woods? What if Bubba broke the law again? What if Ed 'n Eunice had come to Bubba 'n Mama's graduation?

01-05-2004, 02:18 PM	#6
FamilyTiesGOP _ Senior Member Join Date: Oct 28, 2003 Posts: 1,631	This is fun! What if Mama had paid that "beach bum" in Hawaii worth billions a little more attention? (think of all the times Mama could have been rich and failed...) What if Iola had married Lars in Hawaii? What if Fran had't ordered a "cold roast beef"? What if Mama hadn't ordered catfish? What if Mama could have gotten to Bingo on time instead of the birthing class? What if Vint and Naomi's house on wheels had been moved by the time Mama's outdoor party was held? Would she have been a Dame?

01-05-2004, 03:57 PM	#7
Penny Lane Butter Pie Forum Icon Join Date: Jul 03, 2001 Location: Beneath the blue suburban skies Posts: 51,248	What if Wanda Lynn hadn't broken her date with Bubba to the prom? What if Vernette and Bubba started dating steadily after the prom? What if Vinton had been able to play Santa at the mall? What if Bubba, T Boy and Dwayne had had a successful rock band? What if Iola had made a fortune selling her watermelon potholders in a boutique in New York? What if Arlene had become Iola's best friend in the whole world?

01-06-2004, 03:51 PM	#9
FamilyTiesGOP _ Senior Member Join Date: Oct 28, 2003 Posts: 1,631	This is a lot of fun. Mama's Family is particularly good at this because many of the episodes are very segmented. The story lines are not in any way continuous (Naomi's pregnancy is about the only solid story line) Many things COULD have gone well for the Harpers, but never did.

01-06-2004, 04:19 PM	#10
Dr. Jazz The Evil Empire. . . . Forum Star Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Posts: 11,096	Here's some more to ponder: What if Naomi's keys hadn't been on the rug? What if Mayor Tutwiller decided not to step back in as mayor? What if Aunt Effie hadn't tried to re-shingle her roof? What if Lolly Perdue already knew how to read? (ok, that one made no sense) and finally, What if the guy at the trailer park hadn't run off with Vint & Naomi's money?

04-02-2022, 01:59 PM	#11
rusty spike Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 08, 2015 Location: Southwest Posts: 1,124	What if Mama hadn't been fired/quitted from Food Circus, McRays and Raytown Travel Agency?

04-02-2022, 02:46 PM	#12
TVLegend Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 06, 2020 Location: United States Posts: 4,306	What if Ellen married Glenn?

04-03-2022, 05:28 AM	#14
TheLittleFaerie Member Senior Member Join Date: Oct 15, 2017 Posts: 1,948	MOST of these what-if situations would have caused the show to no longer be a sitcom really. The formula of a sitcom is usually, everything ends up at the end of the episode pretty much as it started, and life stays the same..... Of course SOME things do change, but the main paradigm stays roughly the same... i.e. Vint and Naomi staying in the basement, Mama not winning a HUGE amount of money, etc...

04-03-2022, 09:37 AM	#15
Penny Lane Butter Pie Forum Icon Join Date: Jul 03, 2001 Location: Beneath the blue suburban skies Posts: 51,248	Most successful sitcoms stop while still successful. Any change in the format is usually a death knell. Like so many of them bring in new characters or some regular characters leave. The worst mistake is adding a new child to a family. As in Family Ties and Growing Pains. The shows were never the same after that. Mama's Family would have had baby Tiffany growing up to a 5 year old in 1 season or Bubba getting married and that would have changed the dynamic of the series. I'm glad they quit while they were ahead.