Mama's Family: The Complete Collection

Before Tyler Perry's Madea, there was plain-speaking Mama. A breakout character from The Carol Burnett Show, Mama's dysfunctional family sketches were admirably acted but also tonally at odds with the broader comedy and show-stopping musical numbers of the parent show. But a funny thing happened on the way to a weekly series: Mama's rougher edges were somewhat smoothed over and Mama's Family went from being Southern gothic to just another sitcom on the block from 1983-1990. The ensemble cast is hit and miss. Vicki Lawrence, former Burnett sidekick, is in her element in her signature role. Blandly likeable Ken Berry is her dim son, Vinton, who moves back home, and is later joined by “floozy” Naomi (Dorothy Lyman), whom he marries, much to Mama's displeasure. I'd mention Vinton's two children Sonja and Buzz, but they were gone by the time the series went into first-run syndication after two seasons. Pre-Golden Girls Rue McClanahan and Betty White star as Mama's sister and daughter, respectively. Burnett herself pops in on occasion as high-strung, resentful daughter Eunice with husband Harvey Korman in tow (Korman did double duty during the show's initial NBC run as an Alistair Cooke-type host who introduced the episodes). Compiling all 130 episodes from the series' six-season run, the copious extras here include the 1982 TV-move Eunice, a cast reunion, interviews, original sketches, bloopers, and a “family album” booklet. Although popular in its day, Mama's Family is an ‘80s relic that has not aged well (shot on video, it looks even more ancient than most of the jokes). Not a necessary purchase. (D. Liebenson)