The BEST episodes of Mama's Family season 5
Every episode of Mama's Family season 5, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Mama's Family season 5!
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 - Found Money
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/10/1988
When Mama tries to use the bank's ATM, it malfunctions and gives her $800, and she is unsure whether to keep it or give it back to the bank.
#2 - Bedtime for Bubba
Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/14/1989
Mama suspects that Bubba and his female classmate are doing more than studying together, and she is determined to prove it.
#3 - The Really Loud Family
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/26/1988
For a school project, Bubba makes a film about the Harper family. However, a short circuit in the camera causes it to turn itself off and on again while recording, resulting in an unintentionally provocative film — shown on public TV.
#4 - Full House
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/7/1989
Vinton has a chance to join a local group called the Poker Pals, but he needs Mama to sit in for a missing player, a decision he soon comes to regret.
#5 - Many Unhappy Returns
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/3/1988
Vinton's boss, Mr. Carstairs, asks Vint to hold a $200 diamond bracelet for him; it is an anniversary present for Mrs. Carstairs. Confusion ensues when Mama finds it, thinking it is her birthday present.
#6 - Mama Makes Three
Season 5 - Episode 25 - Aired 5/27/1989
After being told that they cannot conceive a child, Vint and Naomi decide to adopt, but first they - and Mama - are required to meet with a psychiatrist.
#7 - There's No Place Like...No Place
Season 5 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/25/1989
When the police arrest people at a rally for the homeless, Mama is mistakenly arrested for vagrancy and thrown in jail.
#8 - Mama in One
Season 5 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/11/1989
When Mama finds herself alone in the house all weekend after Iola, Bubba, Vinton, and Naomi leave town, it seems like a dream come true — until boredom and loneliness set in.
#9 - Naomi's New Position
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/19/1988
Naomi hopes to become the new assistant manager at the store, but the new manager says that she will have to have an affair with him if she even wants to keep her current job. After hearing this, Mama decides to teach him a lesson.
#10 - The Mama of Invention
Season 5 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/6/1989
After a man named Mr. Wheeler says he is interested in one of the Harper family's inventions, and asks for $800 in "good faith" money, Mama finds out that Wheeler is a con artist, and agrees to help the police bust him.
#11 - More Power to You
Season 5 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/4/1989
Mama and the family are left in the dark after Mama tells the electric company there is a mistake on her bill and she refuses to pay it.
#12 - April Fools
Season 5 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/1/1989
After years of her family playing April Fool's Day tricks on her, Mama decides to get even.
#13 - The Big Wheel
Season 5 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/25/1989
Mama and Iola fight over which one of them is the rightful owner of a winning lottery ticket.
#14 - Hate Thy Neighbor
Season 5 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/13/1989
Mama gets fired up when Bubba starts going out with the granddaughter of her neighbor Fred Gebhart, a man with whom she has a long-standing feud.
#15 - Very Dirty Dancing
Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/4/1989
Mama finds herself in a dance contest against Vinton and Naomi, partnered with her old friend Ramon.
#16 - What a Dump
Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/21/1989
When Mayor Tutweiler announces that Ray Lane is to become the new city dump, Mama is determined to save her home. With Bubba's help, Mama manages to have her house declared a historical landmark - much to the chagrin of her neighbors, who were all eager to sell.
#17 - Mama Bell
Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/28/1989
When the family gets an answering machine, Mama misinterprets messages left on it, thinking that the family is planning to get rid of her.
#18 - Reading the Riot Act
Season 5 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/15/1989
When it is decided that Lollie Purdue is doing a terrible job as President of the Church Ladies's League, Mama tries to have her impeached.
#19 - Ladies Choice
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/5/1988
Mama campaigns to be re-elected President of the Church Ladies League, much to the disapproval of her nemesis Alberta Meechum who in turn nominates Iola to run against her. Mama and Iola have a political debate, which soon turns nasty.
#20 - Baby Talk
Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/12/1988
Naomi decides that she wants to have a baby. Mama, who is determined to prevent this, arranges for a neighbor's constantly screaming baby to spend the day with Naomi and Vinton.
#21 - Dependence Day
Season 5 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/20/1989
After taking Mama's advice to finally stand up to her mother, only to be kicked out of her house, Iola drives everyone crazy with her quirks and well-meaning helpfulness when she moves in with the Harpers.
#22 - A Taxing Situation
Season 5 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/22/1989
Vinton and Naomi persuade Mama to make some creative deductions on her income tax form, which results in a visit from an IRS agent.
#23 - Mama's Layaway Plan
Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/11/1989
After coming back from a cousin's funeral where she and Effie were the only mourners, Mama starts planning her own lavish send off.
#24 - My Mama, Myself
Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/17/1988
When the family starts thinking about selling a brooch that belonged to Grandma Crowley, her ghost (played by Vicki Lawrence) starts haunting Mama.
#25 - My Phony Valentine
Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/18/1989
It's Valentine's Day, and Mama falsely says she has a date so that Iola will feel free to go out. To support her lie, Mama orders an escort from "Rent-a-Gent."