I liked Buzz (Sonja not so much at first). He was bright and seemed the only normal one in the family. Sonja at first seemed like a one-dimensional airhead. They tried to flesh her out in season 2 but it was too late.
Bubba, however, seemed to fit into the family more. The son of Eunice and Ed, he was trailer trash, had a troubled past, but seemed to have a good heart.
Comedically, I think Bubba worked better than Buzz (and Sonja).
What do you think? Buzz or Bubba?
To me they sorta tried to combine BOTH Buzz and Sonya characters into Bubba. Bubba was sweet and had a good heart like Buzz, BUT he was also rebellious and could be rough around the edges more like Sonya.
But yeah comedy-wise I like Bubba better. I don't remember Buzz having any outstanding lines really.
Bubba was so disrespectful. No way could I get away with talking to my grandma or any grandparent the way he regularly did Thelma. His conduct in that hospital when Ellen was in there was outrageous. And he once told Thelma to "get real" when he was trying to marry the neighbor. As whiny as Sonja was, I never saw her disrespecting Thelma the way Bubba would.
shareI think Bubba was that way in the early episodes, b/c he was portrayed as wild and out of control, but toward the end, he really matured I think.
I remember Sonya DID tell Mama to "Get real!" once, it was when She and Mama were talking about the difference in generations about how Vint allowed Buzz to stay out an hour later.
He might have matured compared to his old self, but i wouldn't describe Bubba as muture in the last couple seasons either. At the very end of the second to last season, he was trying to marry the Gibhart's daughter of whom he had only known for a few days. He proceeded to cop all kinds of attitude at Thelma for disapproving, a woman whose house he was STILL living under when he planned to go about this marriage.
In the final season, Bubba photoshopped a picture of his grandma as a naked model and it got sent to everyone at the church. He was also giving her all sorts of sourpuss atttude in the final season episode with the Bone Crushers after she let all those women stay under her roof on his behalf.
That episode where Mama learns that its better to give than to receive from Grandma Crowley's Sampler was in the 2nd season of the syndicated episodes. I never will forget what a brat Bubba was in that episode, the audacity to scream and mouth off at Thelma when he was asked to clean the garage. Thelma wasn't even strict as Bubba was not doing any chores. Thelma did this high school boy's laundry and stuff for him, so why he was screaming about doing a little work around the house was beyond me. In that episode, we're witness to Bubba mouthing off up and down at his grandmother even when she turns a new leaf and is sweet to him. This was not from back when Bubba first came back from Juvenile Hall either. Sonja wasn't acting that disrespectful.
My Mama Myself is also in the later seasons when Bubba is copping all that attitude because he can't get his way and go on some camping trip.
In that Forgetfulness episode where they get the dog in the later years, he is on Mama's back hassling her because she won't take down the numbers of all the girls he has calling up the house. Thelma finally screamed for the family as a whole to get off her back but I would have told Bubba directly, "I am not your receptionist nor your peer, I am the owner of this house, you are living under my roof and you're not to have all these women calling my house. If you don't like those rules, you can go and live with another relative."
There was a lack of discipline and rules in the house when it came to Bubba, which is one thing I didn't like about Mama. It was mainly just arguing with him like a peer before often letting him have his way rather than really laying down the law and giving him rules.
There was a lack of discipline and rules in the house when it came to Bubba, which is one thing I didn't like about Mama. It was mainly just arguing with him like a peer before often letting him have his way rather than really laying down the law and giving him rules.
That is true...but I'm guessing that was probably the relationship Thelma had with Eunice as well, I think they were trying to show parallels there in many ways.
Mama was loud in many ways but never seemed that STRICT to me.
Mama wouldn't Mama without a house full of disagreeable, ungrateful brats.
shareBubba fit it better with the syndicated episodes. He was dumb like Naomi and Vint. Buzz would be too smart for the family in the newer episodes
shareYes that's true, the paradigm for the newer episodes was that Mama was the only intelligent person living in a world of morons, whereas in the older episodes, there were ppl more intelligent than Mama, even Naomi was in many ways.
shareI like Bubba. I didn't care much for the show when Buzz was on. It was only until Buzz left and Bubba came onto the show that I became a continued viewer.
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