Mama's Family

When Naomi and Vint start to worry about where they will find the money to raise the child they are expecting, they get the idea to sell Mama's homemade tonic. It sells incredibly well until Bubba's team loses its swim meet. When the coach sends the tonic out to be analyzed, everyone discovers Mama's secret: It's 35% alcohol!

Mama and Naomi suspect Vint of more than a working relationship with his new trainee, who happens to be a beautiful blonde.

Thelma's high school reputation comes back to haunt her at her 50th class reunion.

With Naomi happily pregnant, Iola starts to think she should be married too. To everyone's surprise, she finds a boyfriend. But the relationship doesn't last through their first dinner with Mama.

When Vint installs intercoms in the house so they will able to hear the baby, everyone uses it to eavesdrop on everyone else--and then be upset over what they hear.

Mama falls hard for Leslie Lemoyne (Robert Mandan), the New York City actor cast in the lead of the local theatre's new play. The two make a date for dinner opening night, but when Mama see's Lemoyne on the TV show "Tri-State's Most Wanted," she thinks she's dating a wanted fugitive. When LeMoyne comes by, she ties him up and calls the police. With its star in jail, the play bombs--and Lemoyne has to explain that he was cast to play the fugitive in a reenactment for the TV show.

Mama gets her own radio show.

The family hires a psychic whose predictions all come true and who seems to be in contact with Carl. But when Mama realizes that she is getting all her information at the beauty parlor, Mama goes into a trance of her own to expose the charlatan. LIZ TORRES of "Gilmore Girls" and "The John Larroquette Show" guest stars as Madame Rita.

When Mama thinks she can do better than the comedian at the local dinner theater, she signs up for the open microphone night. And when the church congregation learns of it, Mama is forced to get serious about coming up with an act. But the comedian before her steals all Mama's jokes--and forces her to improvise and talk about her family, which soon has the entire audience busting out in laughter.

While Mama, Vint, Naomi and Iola are preparing for the church carnival, Bubba arranges for the heavy metal band Bonecrushers to play at the homecoming dance. But when Bonecrushers doesn't have the money for a hotel room, Bubba invites the metal band home for the night. It turns out the rockers are three girls, and they share their grandmother's cake recipe with Mama, which along with the band, is a huge hit at the church carnival.

Going through some junk, Mama finds an old certificate for 10 shares of stock . . . which is now worth enough to convene a shareholders meeting of the company that is about to lay Vint off. At the meeting, Mama convinces the shareholders and the board of directors of the wisdom in keeping Vint's key store open.

Alls fair in love and war when Vint and Noami get in an argument and Mama and Iola battle it out to grow the winning rose at this year's flower show.

When Mama slips on a roll of pennies in the bank that has just rejected her loan application to buy a new oven, the family hires a shady lawyer. The attorney convinces Mama she's far more badly injured than even she realizes and to sue for $3.2 million. Now, everything is going well between Mama and the bank's investigator -- until Thelma gets Mama mad.

When Mama gets a Christmas present from her cousin, a live goose for Christmas dinner, memories of her childhood come back. The rest of the family is apalled at the thought of killing their new pet. But in the end, Mama can't kill the goose, and she prepares everyone a vegetarian holiday meal.

Mama puts everything she's learned through her love of old detective films to solve the case of Iola's missing mother.

Mama and Iola have the idea of making flyers to attract men to the single seniors mixer. Bubba superimposes Mama's head on a photo of Melanie in a skimpy bikini as a joke project for his photography class . . . and the printer gets the wrong photo. Now, Mama is wondering why there are so many men at the mixer, all of whom want to dance with her.

When Vint wins an expensive Mother's Day dinner for two, he must choose between taking Mama and Naomi. And it turns into all-out family war between the two women over who will get the dinner out. But in the end, Vint makes a decision that leaves everyone happy.

When Mama subsitutes for Vint at Naomi's Lamaze class, she relates her own experience of giving birth . . . and scares everyone out of the room.

Things quickly go from bad to worse when Mama hosts a backyard luncheon for a ladies social group she wants to join. First, Vint and Naomi have just purchased a run-down mobile home that they plan to refurbish--and the mobile home starts to rock and shake as Mama serves her barbeque chicken wings. Then, when the ladies object to barbeque chicken, Mama serves blackened meat loaf. Finally, Bubba comes wearing a dress--his costume for the school play--upset that he can't find his purse. The ladies leave the luncheon in a huff, and Mama vows that she didn't want to be part of the their club after all.

In the series finale, Vint and Naomi finally have a baby and Mama becomes a grandmother--but not before high drama. Mama relates how she had to take a bus to get herself to the hospital when Carl wouldn't come out of the bathroom. Vint gets home just as Naomi goes into labor, but he smashes the car before anyone can get in. Now, Naomi can't wait, and Mama must deliver her baby in the run-down mobile home. Bubba gets a spot on the water polo team, and Vint and Naomi name their new daughter Tiffany Thelma.