The BEST episodes of Mama's Family season 3
Every episode of Mama's Family season 3, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Mama's Family season 3!
Mama's Family mined humor from a squabbling family in the Midwestern blue collar suburb of Raytown. The noisy clan was headed by "Mama" Thelma, a buxom, gray-haired widow with sharp opinions and a sharper tongue who shared her small house with her high-strung sister Fran, a journalist for a local paper. Mama's lazy, dimwitted son, Vint, a locksmith by trade, moved in at the start of the series with his troublesome teenage children, Buzz and Sonja, after his wife run off to become a Las Vegas show-girl. Much to Mama's disgust, Vint soon took up with the flirtatious neighbor Naomi. The two where married in early 1983, and Naomi moved in too. Further uproar was caused by the periodic visits from Mama's two married daughter's, the foul mouthed Eunice and the snobbish Ellen. Ed was Eunice's Dolt of a husband. In the Fall of 86 Mama's Family returned to TV in first-run syndication. Fran had recently passed (Rue McClanahan was now starring in The Golden Girls) and Ed and Eunice had moved to Florida, leaving behind their son Bubba as he finishes his time in Juvenile Hall and forcing him to move in. Meanwhile, neighbor Iola Boylen makes the house's acquaintance and becomes a regular visitor with her unique charm.
#1 - Birthright
Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/31/1987
An anonymous letter convinces Vint that he's adopted, so he sets out to find his biological mother.
#2 - Where There's Smoke
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/6/1986
Mama invites Reverend Meechum to dinner in hopes of being names President of the Church Ladies' League.
#3 - Mama and Dr. Brothers
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/1/1986
When Dr. Joyce Brothers comes to town, Naomi calls in to talk about her bedroom problems with Vint. Dr. Brothers blames it on Mama, which doesn't sit well.
#4 - Mama's Cousin
Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/21/1987
Mama's worldly cousin (Vicki Lawrence in a dual role) annoys Mama with her neverending stories.
#5 - Best Medicine
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/11/1986
Ellen must have surgery, which deeply concerns Mama despite her ongoing feud with Ellen.
#6 - Fly Naomi
Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/13/1986
Unhappy with her dead end career at the Food Circus, Naomi decides to enroll in school to become a stewardess.
#7 - The Love Letter
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/15/1986
After a love test with disappointing results, Vint convinces Bubba to write Naomi a love letter. When Iola finds the misplaced letter, a scene of mistaken love occurs.
#8 - Grandma USA
Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/7/1987
Mama competes in the Grandma U.S.A. competition after Bubba jokingly enters her.
#9 - An Ill Wind
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/22/1986
Mama, Bubba, Vinton, Naomi, Iola, and Aunt Effie go for cover in the basement when an unexpected tornado passes by Raytown at Thanksgiving..
#10 - Mama with the Golden Arm
Season 3 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/28/1987
Mama emerges as a contender in an arm-wrestling competition.
#11 - The Best Policy
Season 3 - Episode 24 - Aired 3/21/1987
Naomi is suspected after Vint keeps having mysterious accidents shortly after signing up for a new life insurance policy.
#12 - National Mama
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/18/1986
When Mama's dreams start providing the names of winning horses, the family figures they're in the money.
#13 - Steal One, Pearl Two
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/29/1986
Bubba's credibility is doubted when he shows up with a new drum set around the same time Iola's pearls go missing.
#14 - Desperately Seeking Anyone
Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/10/1987
Mama and Naomi's plan to find a date for Iola backfires when the date is more interested in Mama.
#15 - Buck Private Bubba
Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/14/1987
Bubba joins the army at the cajoling of Vint's former Army sergeant after being dumped by his girlfriend.
#16 - It Takes Two to Watusi
Season 3 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/7/1987
Bubba has the hots for Naomi's friend.
#17 - Have It Mama's Way
Season 3 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/24/1987
Mama and Bubba wind up working at the same fast food joint.
#18 - Cat's Meow
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/8/1986
Iola is distraught when her mean cat, Midnight, dies. When she has him freeze dried, she entrusts Mama to look after him. Mama thinks she loses the cat, and hilarity ensues.
#19 - Where There's a Will
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/4/1986
The family stands to inherit Frannie's estate - if Mama can complete one simple task.
#20 - Porn Again
Season 3 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/17/1987
Mama is appalled when she finds a girlie magazine under Bubba's bed while cleaning, causing her to form a group to stop the Food Circus from selling smut.
#21 - Farewell, Frannie
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/27/1986
Mama's sister, Frannie, has passed away; and Mama is determined to give her the perfect day for her funeral.
#22 - Soup to Nuts
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/25/1986
When Mama has to choose a chili recipe to put in the church cookbook, a cookoff between Mama, Iola, and Naomi ensues - with Vint the hapless judge.
#23 - Santa Mama
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/20/1986
Mama must fill in for Vint as Santa at the Raytown Mall.
#24 - After the Fall
Season 3 - Episode 25 - Aired 3/28/1987
Mama brings Aunt Effie home to nurse her back to health after she falls off the roof while reshingling her house.
#25 - Fangs a Lot, Mama
Season 3 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/14/1987
Naomi tries to stop Vint from joining the Mystical Order of the Cobra, an exclusive men's club, on the advice of Mama.