Mama's Family

Mama and Iola vie for the presidency of the Church Ladies League in a bitterly contested race.

When Vint and Naomi start to think about having a baby, Mama decides to show them what having a baby is really like: She asks to baby-sit for a neighbor's particularly loud child. But both Vint and Naomi work late, and by the time they get home, Mama is so tired that she falls right asleep--which convinces Vint and Naomi to have a child.

Naomi's boss expects more than she's willing to do for a promotion. And when Mama learns what Naomi's new boss has asked of Naomi, Mama marches down to the store, tells the manager that Naomi is not interested in a sexual liaison with the manager--but that Mama is. Mama then chases Noami's boss around his office until he publicly admits what he asked of Naomi.

Bubba videos his family for a school project. Between their natural loudness and rudeness, and a fortuitous short in the camera that makes them seem even ruder and louder than they are, Mama is excused from organizing a charity event that she didn't want to organize.

Mama puts Bubba in a bind with his boss when she returns a gift that wasn't meant for her and spends the money buying presents for everyone else in the family.

When Mama is too late to deposit her pension check at the bank, she uses the ATM and requests a $20 back. But the ATM deducts the $20 from her account without giving her the cash, so Mama hits the ATM machine with her purse . . . and the ATM spits out $800 without charging her account. That night, everyone in the family agrees she should keep it, but when Mama goes to the bank to deposit the cash she meets the man from whose account it was withdrawn.

Mama wrestles with the ghost of Grandma Crowley (Vicki Lawrence) when she finds her mother's broach and realizes it could be worth serious money. But Mama's greed wins out; she tells the Grandma's ghost to get lost; and she sells the broach for cold, hard cash.

Mama sits in on Vint's poker game when one of his friends has to cancel. After an evening of embarrassing stories about Vint's childhood and Mama revealing what Vint does when he's bluffing, Vint ends the evening broke and belittled in front of his pals.

Mama suspects Bubba and his new study partner, Toni Malone, are doing more than study, and when she finds a black lace bra in Bubba's bed, she's sure of it. But, while hiding in Bubba's closet, she discovers that it's Naomi's bra: Vint and Naoami are having sex in different places in their attempts to get pregnant. So the next time Toni comes over to study, Mama goes to bed reassured . . . only to leave the living room to Bubba and Toni to make out.

Mama believes the mayor is going to award her house with a "Golden Troll" for the most beautiful yard in Raytown; instead, he announces that the city plans to turn her street into the new town dump. Mama refuses to sell, even though the money could buy Vint and Naomi the house of their dreams. Only when Bubba learns that the town's founder died in Mama's house does the mayor change his plan . . . and reluctantly name Mama's house a town landmark.

Mama reluctantly gets a phone machine, and Vint and Naomi hid a stray dog in the garage--and succeed in convincing Mama that she's getting senile when she claims she keeps hearing a dog barking.

When Mama goes to a dance competition to cheer for contestants Vint and Naomi, she runs into longtime friend Ramon. And when Mama and Ramon enter the competition, nothing is going to stop Mama from winning--which Mama and Ramon do with their "Latin Sizzle" number.

When Mama is one of only two people at cousin Ludie's funeral, she dedicates herself to planning a suitable funeral for herself, which will require their savings for a vacation at the Grand Canyon and for her to bow out of the bowling competition.

When Mama claims to have a date for Valentine's Day, Iola resorts to "Rent A Gent," but she gets a much younger and much better looking escort than she expected.

When Iola buys a lottery ticket with Mama's change at the store, Mama doesn't care enough to keep the ticket--until Iola wins a chance to spin the lottery wheel for $2 million.

When Mama refuses to pay the electric bill she is disputing, the electric company turns the power off -- the night that Bubba has to finish a paper on Abraham Lincoln and Iola is up for an award at the Food Circus. The company finally agrees that Mama was overcharged $20, but they send her a $50 bill for reconnecting her power.

Mama finally gets the house to herself when everyone goes away for the weekend. But the peace and quiet is far from the paradise she expects.

Mama accidentally leaves home without her identification -- and gets arrested during a rally by the homeless. Unable to prove that she has a home, Mama is put in jail with people who are really homeless, where she finds her cousin Cora, who lost her farm, and discovers they are people much like her.

It's April Fool's Day, the first day of April, and as always Mama is in a foul mood. She hates practical jokes, and the day is dedicated to practical jokes. But Mama gets the last laugh on the rest of the family when she pulls the best joke ever.

Mama starts a drive to impeach Lolly Purdue (Marge Redmond), the president of the Church Ladies League because of her poor performance in office. But when Mama discovers that Lolly cannot read--and this is the reason for the mistakes she has been making--Mama starts a program in the church to teach adults to read.

When Mama gets a call from the Internal Revenue Service, she assumes the worst. The truth is, an IRS agent wants to deliver her $250 refund, but when he stops by the house, he realizes that Mama has been less than truthful on her tax returns--and now she's going to owe back taxes, interest and penalties.

When a con artist tries to swindle Vint, he doesn't count on Mama. She dons a wire, takes a bag of unmarked dollar bills and goes undercover for the local police.

When, after two dates, Bubba announces that he his going to marry the daughter of Mama's hated neighbor, Mama is forced to make peace. But when Bubba's engagement is broken, Mama's feud starts anew.

Iola declares her independence from her mother . . . and moves in with Mama. Now, the family unites with a single purpose: to get Iola out of the house.

Naomi and Vint decide to adopt a child because Vint can't get Naomi pregnant. But when Vint, Naomi -- and Mama -- meet with the adoption counselor, Vint and Naomi are rejected as parents by the adoption agency. But when all finally seems lost, Naomi discovers that she is pregnant.