Season 1
Episode: 1x01 | Airdate: Jan 22, 1983
Newly-divorced Vinton has been evicted from his house along with Buzz and Sonja, and Mama decides to take them all in -- but Fran is none too thrilled when she finds her writing studio has been turned into Sonja's room behind her back. Meanwhile, Vinton gets reacquainted with Mama's next-door neighbor Naomi.
Episode: 1x02 | Airdate: Jan 29, 1983
Just as Naomi and Vint are getting closer, Naomi announces she's sold her house and is moving away. After she ends up spending the night with Vint (much to Mama's shock), he decides to marry her and move himself and the kids with her to Arizona.
Episode: 1x03 | Airdate: Feb 5, 1983
The eve of Vint and Naomi's wedding is an eventful one -- Buzz accompanies Vint to a stag party, Ellen suspects her own husband is seeing another woman, and Eunice blows up after being told she can't sing at the ceremony.
Episode: 1x04 | Airdate: Feb 12, 1983
The wedding day arrives, and a drunk Eunice almost ruins the ceremony after learning Mama gave her late husband Carl's prized sapphire ring to Vint behind her back. Meanwhile, Vint and Naomi go ahead with their plans to move to Arizona, but the plans may have changed.
Episode: 1x05 | Airdate: Feb 19, 1983
Mama, Vint, Naomi, Ellen, and Buzz play against the Van Courtland family for a chance to win $10,000 on the game show Family Feud.
Episode: 1x06 | Airdate: Feb 26, 1983
Eunice's birthday party down at the Bigger Jigger goes as well as one would expect, with her and Mama carted off to jail after indirectly assaulting two police officers trying to break up their argument.
Episode: 1x07 | Airdate: Mar 5, 1983
Feeling as though she hasn't done anything with her life, Mama ends up landing a job as a receptionist at a travel agency. Her family is happy for her, but they soon discover they may be more dependent on her than they realize.
Episode: 1x08 | Airdate: Mar 12, 1983
On the night of the high school homecoming dance, Vint orders Buzz and Sonja to be back home by midnight -- but tempers flare when Sonja finds out Vint has allowed Buzz to stay out later solely because he's a boy.
Episode: 1x09 | Airdate: Mar 19, 1983
Mama's dancing on air after reuniting with an old flame of hers from 40 years prior, but the family thinks she may have made a misstep when the two of them decide to spend the weekend at a cabin.
Episode: 1x10 | Airdate: Mar 26, 1983
While ironing the dress Fran is planning to wear to a special occasion, Mama accidentally burns a hole through it, and she and Ellen buy a new one to replace it without Fran's knowledge.
Episode: 1x11 | Airdate: Apr 2, 1983
Taking place before Vint and Naomi were married, this episode sees Vint accepting an offer to marry an illegal immigrant in order to help her gain American citizenship -- and to help him gain some big money.
Episode: 1x12 | Airdate: Apr 30, 1983
Buzz credits the power of positive thinking for his recent successes, leading Eunice to join in the positivity herself. Her newfound way of thinking lands her a part in a production at the Pepper Pot Playhouse.
Episode: 1x13 | Airdate: May 7, 1983
Taking place before Vint and Naomi were married, this episode sees Vint pawning Mama's silver to help bail Claude, a rather shady friend of his, out of jail.
Season 2
Episode: 2x01 | Airdate: Sep 29, 1983
Vint and Naomi prepare to haul Mama's World War II-era things to a rummage sale at the high school, but Buzz and Sonja, who are in charge of the school dance, soon get the idea to give it a 1940's theme. Mama is excited about the idea... until the rest of the dance committee shoots it down in favor of a "punk rock" style.
Episode: 2x02 | Airdate: Oct 13, 1983
Naomi's second husband Leonard Oates comes back to Raytown a newly wealthy man, and tries to charm her into leaving Vinton and the Harpers for him and a "life of luxury".
Episode: 2x03 | Airdate: Oct 20, 1983
Ellen attends a ceremony at the Raytown Country Club celebrating her being named its Woman of the Year, but when Mama, Vint and Naomi crash the festivities, she becomes afraid that they'll embarrass her in front of the highest members of Raytown's society.
Episode: 2x04 | Airdate: Oct 27, 1983
Naomi's recent bouts with morning sickness lead Mama to think she may be pregnant. When Naomi tells Vinton the news, the couple are initially excited, but soon face the prospect of having to raise their new baby in their basement quarters.
Episode: 2x05 | Airdate: Nov 3, 1983
Mama's in the hospital after being hit in the head with a pot, and in the waiting room, Eunice, Ellen and Naomi all tell Vinton their own version of who delivered the blow, shown via flashbacks.
Episode: 2x06 | Airdate: Nov 10, 1983
Shortly after Naomi's campaign to be voted Friendly Employee of the Month at the Food Circus, she begins receiving inappropriate phone calls from an anonymous pervert, and Mama thinks the added friendliness is to blame.
Episode: 2x07 | Airdate: Nov 17, 1983
Ellen is afraid to have her new boyfriend meet the family due to him being much younger than her, and her fears are confirmed when they accidentally cross paths at the town's fanciest restaurant, Chez Ray.
Episode: 2x08 | Airdate: Dec 1, 1983
When Mama visits her cousin Gert at a retirement home to wish her a happy birthday, she's shocked to find the once-feisty Gert bedridden, depressed and with little to no energy. Mama soon makes it her mission to relight the fire in her cousin's spirit.
Episode: 2x09 | Airdate: Dec 8, 1983
During a talent show at the Bigger Jigger, Vint wows the crowd with his Fred Astaire impression. However, fame instantly rockets to his head, and the family decides to bring him back down to Earth before he makes a fool of himself.
Episode: 2x10 | Airdate: Dec 22, 1983
Insecure about their social status, Vint and Naomi decide to hold a dinner party for several of their higher-class friends. The night of the party, however, Mama suffers a back spasm, and Vint and Naomi are forced to literally hold the party around her as she lays on the floor.
Episode: 2x11 | Airdate: Jan 7, 1984
With a bus strike cutting off Mama's primary means of transportation, she turns to her family to help her get where she needs to go. Tired of having to take her places, however, her family insists she learn to drive herself.
Episode: 2x12 | Airdate: Jan 14, 1984
Naomi decides to take up a self-defense martial arts class, and talks Fran and Sonja into joining. Mama initially thinks it's a load of bunk, but soon changes her tune after being mugged.
Episode: 2x13 | Airdate: Jan 21, 1984
Mamma buys a car from someone that her and Vinton knew as a kid and gets taken to the cleaners.
Episode: 2x14 | Airdate: Feb 4, 1984
Momma gives advice to the manager of her favorite supermarket, he then gives her a job which leads to a demotion for Naomi and family problems.
Episode: 2x15 | Airdate: Feb 11, 1984
Vinton and Naomi go on a belated honeymoon and end up with a mamma problem, the kids plan a sleepover.
Episode: 2x16 | Airdate: Feb 18, 1984
Mama is goaded into running against the smugly incumbent and decidedly incompetent mayor.
Episode: 2x17 | Airdate: Feb 25, 1984
Conclusion. Her honor the new mayor discovers there's a lot more hassle to the job than she'd imagined.
Episode: 2x18 | Airdate: Mar 10, 1984
Mamma breaks Naomi's new vacuum and blames Naomi for it resulting in both of then going to court over the matter. The judge finds himself with a major courtroom headache when the two women make an appearance.
Episode: 2x19 | Airdate: Mar 17, 1984
Buzz discovers why Mama doesn't like to celebrate her birthday.
Episode: 2x20 | Airdate: Mar 24, 1984
Mama's long lost brother-in-law arrives for a visit and charms everyone except her.
Episode: 2x21 | Airdate: Mar 31, 1984
Fran is writing advice to the lovelorn, but it's Mama who comes up with all the smart answers.
Episode: 2x22 | Airdate: Apr 7, 1984
When Mama visits Carl's grave, she is upset to discover that another woman is buried next to him in Mama's reserved plot.
Season 3
Episode: 3x01 | Airdate: Sep 27, 1986
Mama is determined to give Fran the perfect funeral despite everyone's insistence on knowing the details of her mysterious death, and her nerves are tested even further with the arrival of her grandson from reform school.
Episode: 3x02 | Airdate: Oct 4, 1986
The executor of Fran's will informs the family that Fran was worth $35,000. However, in order to receive the money, Fran's will stipulates that Mama must not lose her temper for a period of two weeks.
Episode: 3x03 | Airdate: Oct 11, 1986
Mama refuses to resolve a quarrel with her daughter Ellen until she discovers that Ellen is in the hospital.
Episode: 3x04 | Airdate: Oct 18, 1986
When Mama's dreams start providing the names of winning horses, the family figures they're in the money.
Episode: 3x05 | Airdate: Oct 25, 1986
Mama, Iola, and Naomi decide to have to a chili cook-off (with Vint as judge), with the winner getting her recipe in the church-bazaar cookbook.
Episode: 3x06 | Airdate: Nov 1, 1986
Vint and Naomi are having trouble in the bedroom, and special guest Dr. Joyce Brothers takes Naomi's desperate phone call live on the air of the local TV station, prompting chaos in Mama's house.
Episode: 3x07 | Airdate: Nov 8, 1986
Iola wants to freeze-dry her recently deceased cat.
Episode: 3x08 | Airdate: Nov 15, 1986
A steamy love letter falls into the wrong hands at the Harper house.
Episode: 3x09 | Airdate: Nov 22, 1986
A Thanksgiving tornado traps the clan in the cellar.
Episode: 3x10 | Airdate: Nov 29, 1986
Iola believes Bubba is the prime suspect after her pearl necklace disappears.
Episode: 3x11 | Airdate: Dec 6, 1986
A fugitive from Bubba's old reform school threatens Mama's chances of becoming church-league president.
Episode: 3x12 | Airdate: Dec 13, 1986
Tired of her supermarket job, Naomi takes a flyer on airline-stewardess school.
Episode: 3x13 | Airdate: Dec 20, 1986
Mama's not in the merriest of moods when she's forced to play Santa at the mall.
Episode: 3x14 | Airdate: Jan 10, 1987
Mama and Naomi's plan to find a date for Iola backfires when the intended only has eyes for Mama.
Episode: 3x15 | Airdate: Jan 17, 1987
Mama joins a group that opposes pornography.
Episode: 3x16 | Airdate: Jan 24, 1987
Bubba and Mama apply for the same job at a local fast-food stand.
Episode: 3x17 | Airdate: Jan 31, 1987
After finding a note left on the front porch, Vint begins to think Thelma adopted him as a baby and soon arranges to meet the woman he suspects is his real mother.
Episode: 3x18 | Airdate: Feb 7, 1987
Mama has a sudden change of heart about participating in the Grandma USA contest when she learns that the grand prize includes a new car and a dream kitchen.
Episode: 3x19 | Airdate: Feb 14, 1987
Bubba enlists in the Army to impress his girlfriend.
Episode: 3x20 | Airdate: Feb 21, 1987
Mama's worldly cousin irritates Mama with stories about her extraordinary life style.
Episode: 3x21 | Airdate: Feb 28, 1987
Mama emerges as a contender in an arm-wrestling competition and the entire family trains her for the championship event.
Episode: 3x22 | Airdate: Mar 7, 1987
Bubba has his first experience with an older woman when he's a stand-in on a blind date.
Episode: 3x23 | Airdate: Mar 14, 1987
Naomi feels neglected when Vint decides to join an elite men's club.
Episode: 3x24 | Airdate: Mar 21, 1987
Mama suspects Naomi of trying to cash in on Vint's life insurance policy.
Episode: 3x25 | Airdate: Mar 28, 1987
Mama comes to the aid of Aunt Effie when she suffers a concussion after falling off the roof.
Season 4
Episode: 4x01 | Airdate: Sep 26, 1987
After revealing to her family that she never graduated high school because a teacher humiliated her, Thelma agrees to enroll in night school with Bubba to show him how easy it will be to earn their diploma. However, she eventually tries to back out after seeing what the reading list is in her English class.
Episode: 4x02 | Airdate: Oct 3, 1987
When Thelma discovers how easy shopping at home becomes after becoming addicted to television infomercials, her loved ones come together to help her kick the habit once her credit card bill arrives.
Episode: 4x03 | Airdate: Oct 10, 1987
When Raytown experiences a rash of home break-ins, the police soon suspect that Vint is the prime suspect because the "courteous crook" can be traced back to his place of employment. As a result, Thelma and Iola set out to prove his innocence.
Episode: 4x04 | Airdate: Oct 17, 1987
After Vint and Naomi decide to separate after an argument about their finances, Thelma tries to get them to reconcile after they start driving her crazy with their current living arrangement.
Episode: 4x05 | Airdate: Oct 24, 1987
When Thelma has a near death experience on a stormy day, she vows to be more helpful to anyone who asks her for help. However, it doesn't take long for that to backfire when that generosity explodes around her family and friends.
Episode: 4x06 | Airdate: Oct 31, 1987
Mama wants to sing at Raytown's Founder's Day.
Episode: 4x07 | Airdate: Nov 7, 1987
Mama develops a crush on her night-school teacher.
Episode: 4x08 | Airdate: Nov 14, 1987
The Harpers baby-sit for the minister's grandson.
Episode: 4x09 | Airdate: Nov 21, 1987
Mama and Naomi team up for tag-team wrestling.
Episode: 4x10 | Airdate: Nov 28, 1987
Iola discovers her handmade gifts to family members are being sold at the Harpers' garage sale.
Episode: 4x11 | Airdate: Dec 5, 1987
Vint's embarrassed at work when Mama brings him his childhood lunch box.
Episode: 4x12 | Airdate: Dec 12, 1987
A typical Russian homemaker visits the all-American Harper family.
Episode: 4x13 | Airdate: Dec 19, 1987
A family war erupts when Vint and Naomi want to switch bedrooms with Bubba.
Episode: 4x14 | Airdate: Jan 9, 1988
When Bubba comes home tipsy, Mama is reminded of a drunken incident involving Eunice.
Episode: 4x15 | Airdate: Jan 16, 1988
Mama is jealous when Iola acquires a new best friend.
Episode: 4x16 | Airdate: Jan 23, 1988
Iola, Bubba and Mama fantasize about marriage after attending a wedding.
Episode: 4x17 | Airdate: Jan 30, 1988
After Uncle Oscar passes away, Mama is willed his gabby pet parrot.
Episode: 4x18 | Airdate: Feb 6, 1988
With help from Mama, a senior citizens' tap-dancing class becomes a hot ticket in Raytown.
Episode: 4x19 | Airdate: Feb 13, 1988
Mama appears on the Jeopardy! game show and wins a trip to Hawaii.
Episode: 4x20 | Airdate: Feb 20, 1988
Surprises and romance await the Harpers in Hawaii.
Episode: 4x21 | Airdate: Feb 27, 1988
Mama, vacationing in Hawaii, plans to avoid the man she saved from drowning.
Episode: 4x22 | Airdate: Mar 5, 1988
After Bubba's date for the prom cancels at the last minute to attend a fraternity party, Bubba cannot find anyone else to go with him, so Mama sets him up without his knowledge with Iola's nerdy niece Vernette.
Episode: 4x23 | Airdate: Mar 12, 1988
Mama opens her house to boarders with hopes of raising money for a new stove.
Episode: 4x24 | Airdate: Mar 19, 1988
When Naomi is stricken with amnesia, Mama hopes to turn her into the perfect housewife.
Episode: 4x25 | Airdate: Mar 26, 1988
Mama and Bubba almost miss high-school graduation.
Season 5
Episode: 5x01 | Airdate: Nov 5, 1988
Mama seeks a repeat term as Church Ladies League president, but finds herself running against the last person she thought would be her opponent.
Episode: 5x02 | Airdate: Nov 12, 1988
When Vint and Naomi decide they want a baby, Mama tries to rattle them with a friend's cranky infant.
Episode: 5x03 | Airdate: Nov 19, 1988
Naomi is expecting a job promotion, but she finds her boss expects more from her than she's willing to give.
Episode: 5x04 | Airdate: Nov 26, 1988
Bubba videotapes his family for a class project.
Episode: 5x05 | Airdate: Dec 3, 1988
Mama mistakenly believes that Vint bought her an expensive bracelet.
Episode: 5x06 | Airdate: Dec 10, 1988
Greed overtakes Mama when she gets $800 from a malfunctioning bank teller machine.
Episode: 5x07 | Airdate: Dec 17, 1988
Mama is haunted by visions of her departed mother, who was always trying to run her daughter's life.
Episode: 5x08 | Airdate: Jan 7, 1989
Mama disrupts Vint's plans to join an elite poker club.
Episode: 5x09 | Airdate: Jan 14, 1989
Mama suspects Bubba of more than studying with a pretty classmate.
Episode: 5x10 | Airdate: Jan 21, 1989
It's Mama vs. City Hall when the town decides to turn her neighborhood into the new landfill.
Episode: 5x11 | Airdate: Jan 28, 1989
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.
Episode: 5x12 | Airdate: Feb 4, 1989
Mama finds herself competing against Vint and Naomi in a dance contest. The kind of dancing she must do to win makes her unsure of the whole thing.
Episode: 5x13 | Airdate: Feb 11, 1989
Mama earmarks her life savings for a perfect funeral.
Episode: 5x14 | Airdate: Feb 18, 1989
It is 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."
Episode: 5x15 | Airdate: Feb 25, 1989
When a lottery ticket seems to be the grand prize winner, Mama and Iola fight over whose it is.
Episode: 5x16 | Airdate: Mar 4, 1989
Stubborn Mama refuses to pay what she believes is an outrageously high electric bill.
Episode: 5x17 | Airdate: Mar 11, 1989
Mama's quiet weekend alone turns to boredom.
Episode: 5x18 | Airdate: Mar 25, 1989
Mama is arrested at a rally for homeless people.
Episode: 5x19 | Airdate: Apr 1, 1989
Mama sets out to get even with an April Fools' Day prankster.
Episode: 5x20 | Airdate: Apr 15, 1989
Lolly Purdue is doing a terrible job as President of the Church Ladies League, so Mama and Iola plan to have her impeached.
Episode: 5x21 | Airdate: Apr 22, 1989
Mama does some creative accounting on her income tax return. Her victory over Uncle Sam is short-lived, however, when an IRS agent comes calling.
Episode: 5x22 | Airdate: May 6, 1989
Vint is tricked into thinking his latest invention could make him a millionaire.
Episode: 5x23 | Airdate: May 13, 1989
Bubba starts going out with the granddaughter of neighbor Fred Gebhart, which upsets Mama because of a lifelong feud between the Harpers and the Gebharts.
Episode: 5x24 | Airdate: May 20, 1989
Iola finally stands up to her manipulative mother, only to be kicked out of her house, leaving her no alternative but to move in with the Harpers.
Episode: 5x25 | Airdate: May 27, 1989
When Vint and Naomi decide to adopt a child, Mama hurts their chances by confiding in the psychologist who's evaluating the family.
Season 6
Episode: 6x01 | Airdate: Sep 23, 1989
After reading about how much it costs to raise a child, Vint and Naomi decide to start a business selling bottles of Mama's mother-in-law's "miracle tonic."
Episode: 6x02 | Airdate: Sep 30, 1989
Mama suspects that Vint is having an affair with his new trainee Heather, so she and Iola go to his workplace to investigate.
Episode: 6x03 | Airdate: Oct 7, 1989
Mama encourages Iola to find herself a man, but the man she finds turns out to be a domineering blowhard.
Episode: 6x04 | Airdate: Oct 14, 1989
The Harpers install an intercom so that Naomi will be able to monitor her baby, but Mama uses it to eavesdrop on the family, and vice versa.
Episode: 6x05 | Airdate: Oct 21, 1989
Mama is attracted to guest actor Leslie Lemoyne, who's appearing in a local play, until she sees him on "Tri-State's Most Wanted".
Episode: 6x06 | Airdate: Oct 28, 1989
When Mama lands her own radio show, she gets a chance to do what she does best: criticize.
Episode: 6x07 | Airdate: Nov 4, 1989
A reunion exposes Mama's junior-high reputation.
Episode: 6x08 | Airdate: Nov 11, 1989
A psychic delivers messages to Mama from her dead husband causing conflict in the house.
Episode: 6x09 | Airdate: Nov 18, 1989
Mama heckles a comic, who challenges her to do better.
Episode: 6x10 | Airdate: Nov 25, 1989
Bubba brings home an all-female heavy-metal band.
Episode: 6x11 | Airdate: Dec 2, 1989
Vint fears that his job is on the chopping block when he learns the Bernice Corporation plans on closing Kwik Keys and opening a frozen yogurt shop in its place. When Thelma learns that she owns stock in an old trolley company that is now owned by the same corporation that plans to fire Vint, she finds a way for her son to keep his job.
Episode: 6x12 | Airdate: Dec 9, 1989
When Iola raises a rose destined for garden-show glory, Mama is green with envy.
Episode: 6x13 | Airdate: Dec 16, 1989
Mama slips on a roll of pennies and sues the bank.
Episode: 6x14 | Airdate: Dec 23, 1989
A live goose, meant to be Christmas dinner, becomes a pet.
Episode: 6x15 | Airdate: Jan 20, 1990
After watching detective movies on TV for a week, and hearing that Iola's mother is missing, Mama dreams that she is a film noir-style detective hired to find her client's mother.
Episode: 6x16 | Airdate: Jan 27, 1990
Mama's ad for a church dance produces an overwhelming response because of a mix-up at the printing shop.
Episode: 6x17 | Airdate: Feb 3, 1990
Vint must choose between Mama and Naomi when he wins a dinner for two.
Episode: 6x18 | Airdate: Feb 10, 1990
Mama describes parenthood to Naomi's childbirth class.
Episode: 6x19 | Airdate: Feb 17, 1990
Vint and Naomi buy an RV and plan to move to a trailer park, but their timing could not be worse: Mama is planning to host a fancy backyard luncheon for a snooty society group called the Dames.
Episode: 6x20 | Airdate: Feb 24, 1990
In the series finale, Naomi is upset about her baby being late, so Mama tries to calm her down with a false story about Carl, then later tells Iola what actually happened. Both versions are seen in flashback, featuring Ken Berry as Carl. Later that day, Naomi goes into labor and Mama ends up delivering her granddaughter, Tiffany Thelma Harper.