Q 01/05

What is Mama's real name?

A) Thelma Harper

B) Eunice Higgins

C) Naomi Oates

D) Iola Boylen

Answer · why

A) Thelma Harper

Mama is Thelma Harper, a widow in her sixties; Vicki Lawrence was 33 when the sitcom began in 1983 and played her under a grey wig and padding.

Q 02/05

Mama's Family was a spin-off of a recurring sketch from which variety series?

A) The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour

B) The Carol Burnett Show

C) Laugh-In

D) The Tim Conway Show

Answer · why

B) The Carol Burnett Show

'The Family' was a recurring sketch on The Carol Burnett Show in its final seasons, with Vicki Lawrence as Mama and Carol Burnett as daughter Eunice.

Q 03/05

On which network did Mama's Family originally premiere in January 1983?

A) CBS

B) ABC

C) NBC

D) Fox

Answer · why

C) NBC

Mama's Family premiered on NBC on January 22, 1983; NBC dropped it after two seasons, and strong reruns earned it a first-run syndication revival in 1...

Q 04/05

How many seasons did Mama's Family run in total, across both its network and syndicated lives?

A) Four

B) Six

C) Eight

D) Ten

Answer · why

B) Six

Six seasons: two on NBC (1983-84) and four in first-run syndication (1986-90), after strong rerun ratings earned the cancelled show a revival.

Q 05/05

What is the title of the show's theme song, written by Vicki Lawrence?

A) Bless My Happy Home

B) Home Sweet Raytown

C) Mama's Got a Family

D) Thelma's Waltz

Answer · why

A) Bless My Happy Home

The theme is 'Bless My Happy Home'; Vicki Lawrence wrote its lyrics, but the series aired only an instrumental version, so she sang the words in her s...