Episode
Mama's Family: Harper Versus Harper
Overview
Naomi trys to fix breakfast for her family but Mama dumps it out, with Naomi complaining about never being able to do anything for her husband and step-kids, saying Mama is always cleaning and cooking and won't let her do anything. Mama's vacuum cleaner then breaks and Vint says she can borrow Naomi's brand new one. The one Vint bought her for a wedding present. Naomi comes in while Mama's using it. She starts complaining about nothing being hers. Just then the vacuum starts smoking and burns a whole in the carpet. As it turns out Mama ran over one of Naomi's key chains. They start fighting and agree to go to court over it. Small claims court Judge W.E. Packard oversees the case. Which ends up in a free-for-all as Mama and Naomi both call witnesses including Vint being called twice (once by each). In the end, the Judge finds Mama and Naomi in contempt of court and fine's them $100 each and also orders them to pay their own damages.
Details
- Series
- Mama's Family
- Season
- Season 2
- Episode
- Episode 18
- Air date
- 1984-03-10
- Runtime
- 25 min
Episode context
Harper Versus Harper is Episode 18 in Season 2 of Mama's Family. It aired on 1984-03-10. The runtime is 25 min.
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Episode 17: Mama for Mayor (2)
Mama and the whole family attend the Inauguration ceremony as the Mayor prepares to swear Mama in as the New Mayor of Raytown.Vint interupts things by trying in vain to take a picture several times.Thus upsetting the Mayor and he leaves.
Mama takes over as Mayor and it soon becomes clear she is unprepared for the job.Her first council meeting turns into a free for all,with Mama unable to make a decision or knowing exactly what's she supposed to do.
Soon enough the whole town is in an uproar.There's a garbage strike and a transit walkout after Thelma suggest they drop all senior citizens off at there doors.Plus the boyscouts are mad at her too and others are calling for her resignation.
Ellen hears about the mess on the radio and her and Mayor Tutwiller come to the rescue.He sends a pound of chocalate to the Boy Scouts and settles the garbage and Transit strikes.Mama realizes she doesn't have what it takes to be Mayor so she soon resigns her post.Telling the council she pressing family
Episode 19: Mama's Birthday
It's Mama's birthday and she doesn't want no fuss. No cake, no party, and no presents. She only wants one thing, everyone to help clean out the attic. She thinks they could get it done in a couple of hours if everyone pitched in. But Vint, Sonya, Ellen, and Naomi all come up with some silly excuses to get out of it. Buzz is the only one who can't think of one so he agrees.
While there cleaning Buzz asks Mama to tell him about her 30th birthday party. In a flashback, we see Mama and the kids as she's getting ready for her party and thinking Carl is going to get a big promotion at work she orders a 19 cubic foot deep freeze. Then Grandma Crowley calls to say she can't make Thelma's Birthday cake.
Carl comes in and announces he didn't get the promotion, right as they deliver the deep freeze. Thelma has to use a fruitcake as her cake,topped by Vint's present of a paper heart.
Thelma soon finds out that Carl didn't the promotion as Burt Wembley Stops by to thank Carl for turning it down. He
More episodes from this season
Episode 16: Mama for Mayor (1)
Ellen talks Mama into having Mayor Tutwiller's Re-Election press conference at the house.As the Mayor starts his speech starts going on about how the senior citizens are being treated in Raytown.The Mayor hears enough and he gets into a shouting match with Mama,and then challenges her to run herself.
Mama's story makes the local tv news,as they appear the next morning outside her house.She has a few unkind things to say about the mayor,before Ellen arrives and says she's not running. But eventually Mama decides to run against Mayor Tutwiller.
Mayor challenges Mama to a face-to-face debate on KRAY TV.Hoping to squash her chances of winning,by making her look unprepared.But she shows the Mama up forcing him to use fake an important phone call and leave suddenly.
On Election night,Mama and the whole family gather round the tv,to see the results.She trails early on, as the night wears and on one by one they all fall asleep.In the end Mama ends up falling alseep as they announce she won.
Episode 20: Mama Cries Uncle
Carl's long lost brother, Roy Harper, shows up out of nowhere on Carl's birthday. Not knowing that his brother has been dead for 11 long years. Vint, against Mama's wishes, asks Uncle Roy to stay with them for a while.
Meanwhile Sonya has entered a beauty pageant and Noami, Ellen and Mama help her get ready. That's where Uncle Roy tells her the story of when he saw Princess Grace at the White house and how beautiful she was and how she has the same smile. He also encourages Vint to chase his dream of being a firemen, even going so far as to get him an application for the Ray Town Fire Department.
Lastly, Roy is telling Thelma how her elbows remind him of Dorothy Lamure's and that that's what first attracted Carl to him and how he wishes he had seen her first. They hug but he leaves before anything really happens. Leaving his cooler, which means he'll be back, Thelma hopes.
Episode 15: No Room at the Inn
It's Vint and Naomi's first wedding anniversary and Vint prepares by reserving two days and one night at a kinky hotel out of town. Meanwhile, Buzz and Sonya want to have a slumber party for girls and boys, but Mama refuses saying it'll be girls only. Shortly before Vint and Naomi leave for their honeymoon, Aunt Effie calls to say she's fallen and can't get up, and asks Thelma to come out and help. Mama hitches a ride with the honeymooner's and puts Fran in charge of the slumber party.
Later as they are finally alone at the motel, Naomi is dressed as a Matadorette and Vint is dressed as a bull. Suddenly there's a knock at the door and it's Mama saying Effie wasn't hurt and all she wanted was someone to do her bidding, so she left and hitched a ride with a trucker to the hotel. Since she has no way home and there's no available rooms at the motel she has to stay with them.
Not being able to sleep Mama on either the role away bed or the water bed. Mama decides to watch TV for a while, sh
Episode 21: Ask Aunt Fran
Fran gets a fill-in job as a an advice columnist, when she asks Mama for an answer to a question and Mama does what she does best, tells people what to do and Fran uses it. Soon Fran's editor takes notice of her popularity and Buzz advice's Mama that she should be getting some of the money Fran is now earning. But Fran refuses saying she plans to slowly stop using Mama's ""Home-Spun"" advice as she adds some pyschological insights in her latest article.
Fran's got a date that night with her editor, Dwight Nettles, who loves the advice Fran's been giving but can't understand why Fran included all the psychological babble (which he edited out)in her latest article. He also has a problem he needs some advice on and that's why he wanted to see her tonight. Seems ""his friend"" has just hired a new woman at work and has the hots for her, even though he's married, he wants to know what to do.
Fran sneaks away from the table and calls Mama from the pay phone to beg her advice. Mama recognizes ri
Episode 14: Supermarket
After shopping at Food Circus for over 40 years, Thelma knows more about the store than it's manager. After hearing some of her ""Old Fashion horse sense,"" Mr. Palmer (the Manager) hires her for the store, as a customer consultant. Being her job to give people advice on what to buy. Her new post in the store is right next to the express lane, Naomi's counter.
It doesn't take long before Naomi starts to complain about having her 'mother-in-law' so close, saying it's distracting her from her work. So, Mr. Palmer comes upon the idea that Mama should know everything about the running of the store, starting with Naomi teaching her how to be a checker.
Mama's first test turns into a fiasco, when she can't get the hang of ringing things up. After that, she gets her first customers (with Naomi as her bagger). It goes smoothly ar first, but things soon turn sour when Mama has to look up the price for a special and it takes her forever. After a continuing stream of more problems and the register
Episode 22: A Grave Mistake
Mama can't get anyone to go with her to Carl's grave, so she goes by herself. After arriving and having a long talk with Carl, Mama notices that the grave next to Carl's, that was supposed to be reserved for her, has another women's name on it instead. She panics and rushes home.
Ellen arrives an hour late (as usual) to take Mama to the cemetary, just as Mama comes in and tells everyone what she's just discovered. Fran and Mama soon head back to the cemetary to get the problem cleared up. It turns out Carl's head stone was accidently placed two plots down. So Mama feels like she's been cheating on Carl and says Carl has to send her a gift to let her know, it's ok.
Meanwhile, Sonya goes out with a loser named Michael and he ends up flirting with a sophomore cheerleader who likes him and Sonya dumps him. He then shows up with flowers and after Sonya refuses to talk to him, he gives the flowers to Mama. Who takes it as Carl's sign that everything's ok.
Episode 13: Mama Buys a Car
Mama finally decides to buy herself a car after her meals on wheels job falls through because she can't find a ride.So she takes the thousand dollars she has saved and goes shopping for a car. She sees an ad in the newpaper for ""Willie Potts Used Cars"", Vint says he knows him, because he used to live just around the block. Mama remembers that Willie used to love her Oatmeal cookies, so in hopes of getting a deal, she bakes him a bag full.
Arriving at the lot, Willie acts as though he doesn't remember them at all, but offers to paint any car on the lot blue for Mama, when she says she wants a blue car, but she refuses saying it had to be born blue. She finally finds one to her liking, talks Willie down from the initial price of $1500 dollars to her maximum price of $1000. Unfortuantely the car turns out to be a real ""Lemon"" and Willie refuses to give her money back.
So Mama walks in on an important meeting with Willie and the head of Ray Corp, Oscar Babcock, whose planning to buy a whol
Episode 12: Black Belt Mama
Naomi gets home from her self defense class all fired up and Fran and Sonya decide to go next time.But Mama refuses saying it's a waste of time and there's no need for it.Although she's scared to go to her bingo games anymore.
So Naomi,Sonya and Fran head to there Karate class and Mama to her Bingo.But Mama never makes it to Bingo as she is mugged while waiting for the bus.She gets home still shaking and clutching her purse strap.And quickly decides she too will join the Karate class,where Naomi is the star pupil.And Sonya is falling in love with Chuck,the instructor.Mama finds it tough to fit in.
A while later Mama returns to the same bus stop where she meets an elderly lady and begins telling her about the classes and how she was mugged.When the same mugger attacks again,but he turns his back to take the other womens purse and Mama wacks him in the head with her purse which is loaded with a light weight Iron.
Episode 11: Mama Learns to Drive
Mama's wanting desperately to go to the mall and pick up this blue hat she wants. But no one will drive her, seems everyone has plans. Then Frannie suggests she learn how to drive and Mama refuses, saying she's to old to learn a new trick like that. After Mama leaves the family goes about planning who will teach her. It comes down to Vint, who decides to teach Mama about keys first since he's a lock smith. Next it's Buzz and Sonya's turn to help her learn the rules of the road. Which doesn't go any better than Vint's lesson.
Mama finally begs Fran into driving her to the mall, but Fran makes Mama drive instead, which again turns into a disaster as they get stuck in a traffic accident and Mama gets out and leaves. Ellen thinking she can teach her, takes Mama to the mall parking lot, (it's empty on sundays). But Mama ends up crashing Ellen's car into the planter in the center of the lot.
Thinking she'll never learn to drive Mama gives up, until she gets a call from the store about the Bl
Episode 10: The Mama Who Came to Dinner
Mama and Fran are putting green stamps into her books,when Vint and Naomi come in from an evening with their friends.They're complaining about not being able to invite anyone over.So Fran mentions having a party for their friends at the house.Mama agrees to cook the dinner and take Buzz and Sonya,along with Fran to the movies for the night,to leave Vint and Naomi alone.
Fran and Mama battle over what movie to see,E.T. is Mama's choice and they get ready to leave,when Mama bends over and her back starts spasming.The family has to help her to the floor as she can't move now.She tells Fran and the kids to go on ahead and she'll meet them if her back gets better.Vint and Naomi's friends arrive a minute later and the party begins.
Mama is the center of attention as everyone first listens to her story during dinner (which are served on Naomi's new dinner trays,she got with the Green stamps of Mama's).Then they end up feeding her,and then Mama tells Mar'sue that Naomi said she was a snob and