The Family (sketch)

Mama's Family first aired on NBC until it was cancelled in 1984, then revived in 1986 in first-run syndication, lasting until its series finale in 1990.

After airing to an enormously favorable viewer response, however, Clair and McMahon wrote the sketches for the rest of the run of the show.

[4] Among plot techniques, "The Family" uses: (A) satire and observational comedy, as the sketch subtly pokes fun at real-life occurrences and real-life human behaviors, inflating them and making fun of them; (B) comedy of manners, as the characters satirize the behaviors of blue-collar, working-class southerners and speak in exaggerated southern drawls.

Mama, Eunice, and Ed often have uproarious verbal wars over petty issues, such as board games (they played Monopoly, Sorry!, and Password), how much butter has been used for the bread, what exactly happened 30 or 40 years ago, etc.

The final "Family" sketch to air on The Carol Burnett Show had Eunice talking to a psychiatrist trying to figure out what went wrong with her life.