My Mother the Car Online

I was one of the writers for this series. I wrote one episode ("The Blabbermouth" was the title.) It is quite true that at the time the series was on the air, it was considered one of the worse sitcoms in the history of TV. However, over the years, MY MOTHER, THE CAR has achieved something of a cult status. It is broadcast every Mother's Day on TV Land.

I have always been proud of my contribution to this much-maligned and underrated series.

I was about 10 when this show was on, and I watched as many episodes as I could.

That said, I ROTFL in a "Get Smart" rerun I saw a while back. The bad guy is dying and:

Max (reassuringly): "Help is on the way."

Bad guy (in great pain): "I'll never make it, but do one thing for me."

Max (compassionately): "What?"

Bad guy: "Tell me 'My Mother the Car' is coming back on TV."

Max (with a puzzled look): "Why?"

Bad guy: "Then I won't mind going so much."

That pretty much summed up the opinions from the rest of my family when I tried to watch this show.

VERY far from the worst TV show of all time. Granted that the ideas for stories probably would have grown thin had this series lasted any longer than three years or so. It did have it's moments of humor and it did last for 30 episodes which is a lot more than a lot of other real Turkeys!

There's been scores of bad TV sitcoms (due to bad writing, bad acting, bad production values), but this is not really one of them. The premise (a man's mother is rein-CAR-nated) can hardly be considered out of the norm in a world of Jeannie, Samantha, the Flying Nun, Herman Munster, Lost in Space's robot, and Gilligan. Jerry Van Dyke (who chose this role over the Gilligan role) does the same humor he always does and Ann Sothern's voice as "Mother" adds class and talent. Wacky premise, wacky character, wacky car...should have worked. Nick at Nite should put this on the air where it belongs.

Nothing bad said about this show is true. One of the shortest running TV shows? Nope. Many, many have been canceled after 13 weeks (a usual trial run), and many fine shows after six. There have even been a few after just one or two episodes! "My Mother The Car" ran for a full season...30 episodes to be exact, which is more than most shows give us in a year now days. One of the strangest concepts for a TV show? Nope. Do you remember these scenarios? A flying nun befriends a casino playboy, a sexy female genie lives with her astronaut "master," a sexy female witch lives with her ad executive husband, a family of vampires, werewolves, and their Frankenstein's monster of a father live in a middle class neighborhood, three gorgeous supermodels are detectives working for a playboy millionaire named Charlie...these are strange concepts! Not to mention talking horses, talking chimps, talking dogs, robotic cops, and comedies about dead people (from "Topper" to "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," and my personal favorite, "Jennifer Slept Here" with Ann Jillian). Those are strange concepts! Do you remember "Pink Lady and Jeff?" "The Howard Cosell Variety Hour?" Now THOSE were strange concepts! One of the worst TV shows ever? Nope. Turn on your TV now and turn the channels. Point made. Jerry Van Dyke is funny, always has been, always will be. He hasn't changed his style of comedy at all. Ann Sothern was perfect as the voice of "mother" and I don't think her talent needs defending. What guy didn't have a relationship with his car in the sixties? It's called satire! It's just that not a lot of people watched. That's all. So goes programming, advertising, and the whim of the people. Now if Nick at Nite or TV Land will only have a "My Mother the Car/Jennifer Slept Here" hour I will die a happy person...and come back to life in a TV sitcom as a supermodel's bicycle seat...now that's a concept!

I have not seen this show since it was first aired on T.V. back in the mid sixties. I was around seven years old at the time and I don't recall it being all that bad. Then again I was only seven, but most people I have spoken to who remember it and who are older than me don't recall it being that bad either. I can still can hum the shows theme song and I remember vividly Jerry Van Dyke talking to the car and his "mother" talking back through the radio. I remember the show didn't last long and afterwards hearing all kinds of bad things about. The shows name became a buzz word for bad T.V. Jokes about this show sometimes popped up in some sixties sitcoms including "The Munsters".

I think it would be interesting to see this show again after all these years. Perhaps seen through todays eyes it might not look as bad as it did to critics back in the sixties. While I don't think it would turn out to an unsung TV classic, perhaps todays viewers might find things to like about this TV show that viewers and critics back in the sixties did not appreciate. However, its unlikely this show will ever turn up on T.V. again, if only because there were not enough episodes shot to make it worthwhile for syndication. As far as I know, it is not available on video, legally or illegally. Maybe this show is not as bad as it looked to people when it was first on. On the other hand maybe "My Mother The Car" is as bad as critics said it was. Until this show turns up again somewhere, only then can an objective reevaluation be made.

This hilarious, slapsticky show was probably expected to be a hit by the TV execs, based on the recent success of such movies as "The Great Race", "Those Magnificent Men And Their Flying Machines", and others. Somehow, viewers never caught on, and the show died quietly, becoming an instant industry joke. I'll never understand why, though. Everyone in it was funny, esp. Avery Schreiber as a Mack Sennett-like, mustache-twiddling, posing, crazy villain, always trying to steal the car, but never even getting close. This is one show I'd like to see in reruns.

I admittedly was VERY young when My Mother the Car was on (about 5), but I remember EVERY episode I watched. It's the only show from that era aside from Star Trek that I can remember watching with my dad. I think this show may be the reason I turned out to be a real 'gearhead' in later life! It took me YEARS to realize that there was no such car company as PORTER, and I actually spent years trying to find one! (I only found out it was a Barris Custom when I was 16.) I think if given the chance today, the concept would work (look how long Knight Rider lasted!) Jerry Van Dyke always gets a bad rap when this show is brought up...if I were shown a script for This show and Gilligan's Island, I would have chosen My Mother the Car also--it was more believable!

"My Mother The Car" was without a doubt one of the worst TV shows of all time,but it was not the shortest running TV show of all time. In fact the series ran a full season--30 episodes,all in color,which is much more than most shows give us in a year these days. Now,this wasn't the stupidest concept for a TV-series,but I can think of several that are far off worst than "My Mother The Car". Its amazing that the network which ran this series,NBC-TV,gave it the green light for its one season on the air,from September of 1965 to May of 1966. Lets face facts: This was originally to be titled The Jerry Van Dyke Show,since his older brother,Dick Van Dyke had his own series which was on a rival network. But here is the scenario: A family man is surprised by the reincarnation of his departed mother(voiced by Ann Sothern)into a form of a mid-1920's Porter automobile that talks to him whenever his family isn't around. Sounds familiar? The show was created by the writing team of Chris Heyward and Allan Burns,whom after this would go on to write and create for the shows "Get Smart", "The Mary Tyler Moore Show","Barney Miller","All In The Family",and so much more. Also produced by legendary producer/director Rod Amateau,whom was behind classic 1950's-early 1960's shows "Burns and Allen","Love That Bob","Dobie Gillis","Mister Ed",and so much more.

Was "My Mother The Car" one of the strangest concepts ever devised for a TV show? Not exactly given some of the scenarios that came before it: (1) A sister in a covenant in Puerto Rico,who flies around,weighs 90 pounds and befriends a casino playboy;(2) A gorgeous female genie lives with her astronaut "master";(3)a sexy female witch with super magical powers lives with her advertising executive husband and is being meddled into affairs by the female's mother,who is a witch too; (4)a family of ghouls and their Frankenstein monster of a father live in a middle class neighborhood;(5)a owner who has a talking horse takes over a suburban household and basically wrecks havoc too;(6)two beautiful ladies bring in a man into their house and makes them their roommate;(7)several castaways are shipwrecked on a uncharted island where they make the best of things in order to get along;(8)three gorgeous models are detectives working for a playboy millionaire named Charlie? THESE ARE THE STRANGEST CONCEPTS EVER DEVISED FOR TELEVISION. Not to mention comedies based on dead people,and a world full of talking chimps,horses,dogs,cats,robotic cops,superheroes,secret agents and variety shows. They had a lot of that during the mid-1960's and 1970's.....

From "Topper" to "F-Troop","The Ghost and Mrs.Muir","Mister Terrific", not to mention in the same category Ann Jillian's one time sitcom "Jennifer Slept Home" to "Manimal"..now those are strange concepts? Who remembers the variety series "Pink Lady and Jeff" not to mention "The Brady Bunch Variety Hour",and "Howard Cosell's Variety Hour",or "Donnie and Marie" and to an lesser extent,"Me And The Chimp?" Now these were the worst variety shows of all time!!!!

Most recently,for those who have never seen My Mother The Car,the series,cable channel TRIO has resurrected this series from the graveyard of bad TV shows and part of its biggest FLOPS of all time. It also gives those who have never got a chance to see a great comedic talent like Jerry Van Dyke,which in my opinion was at his best here. A grand showcase of brilliant talent as only Jerry Van Dyke can deliver on cue along with Ann Sothern who is perfect as the voice of the mother. Catch this lost series on TRIO,pop culture TV!

I was 12, and know I liked the show, but don't really remember much of the detail... however, it's one of the few television theme songs that I still remember the lyrics too (go figure)...

"Everybody knows, in the the second life we all come back sooner or later.."

I have always remembered the song words appearing under the picture on the TV in white and a small white ball bouncing across the words in time to the music so that you could sing along. As my mother was born in 1928 she used to say 'that's me' so I can always remember her age as I thought she meant she was a 1928 porter. I don't remember the program title at all or the fact that the car was really meant to be a mother, just that as a kid I liked the show but couldn't often watch it all for some reason, maybe a paper round or something. I must have been 12 then though I thought I was younger, oh well. I remember Mr.Ed and shows like that being on around then. Of course the car looked black to me as our 'telly' was black and white, no colour. If anyone has a copy of a show I would love to watch just one for old times sake!

I know that this show is generally regarded as one of the worst- if not THE worst- TV show ever made. But as I remember it, the show wasn't that horrible. Of course, I was 6 years old when I saw it 33 years ago, so I could be wrong.

I remember this show, and I loved it. I thought it was funny. I have always liked Jerry Van Dyke and Dick Van Dyke. I can't believe they haven't shown it in reruns. I would like to see it in reruns. If not, where can I find the VCR tapes of it?

I remember My Mother the Car when the local station in New York showed the reruns in the late 60s and I thought it definitely put the gimmick in gimmick shows. Along with shows like Mister Ed, Bewitched and My Favorite Masrtian, the show thrived on one premise, a talking car which Dave Crabtree claims it's his mother. According to the theme song, it's a 1928 Porter that only talked to Dave, but not to his wife Barbara and his two children Randy and Cindy.

There was also the bad guy, Captain Manzini. Brilliantly played by Avery Schrieber of Burns and Schrieber fame, he constantly mangles Dave's last name as he desperately tries to buy the Porter.

It was also the show that put Jerry Van Dyke on the map, after years of being in the shadow of his brother Dick. Even long before he played Luther on the long-running sitcom Coach. There was also Maggie Pierce as his wife Barbara and Randy Whipple and Cindy Eilbacher as the Crabtree's two children Randy and Cindy. And Miss Ann Sothern as the voice of Mother.

Even though many critics panned the show, I thought there were some funny moments. But it wasn't enough for this gimmick to run out of gas after one season.

Many thanks to TRIO for running several episodes of this horrible, horrible show during June, 2004. I watched the first few episodes during its first run, and believe it or not, I could still hum the theme song almost 40 years later. What went wrong here? Scripts by Burns and Hayward (Bullwinkle, etc.) and James L. Brooks (Oscar winner)! But the two episodes I watched this week were PATHETIC, one-joke episodes. Strangely, one had NO laugh track, and the other had a laugh track that laughed far too hard in all the wrong places. The premise must have sounded good at the first meeting; then when they actually had to write full episodes, they realized how difficult it would be to pull off. You have to see this turkey to understand why virtually EVERY poll of bad TV shows puts it at or near the top.

"My Mother The Car" does NOT deserve its reputation among TV critics (and some viewers) as the worst sitcom of all time. The premise of someone being reinCARnated as a car is fanciful and far-fetched, while the show itself is very silly and over-the top. Those same descriptions could also apply to other TV series from the sixties, including "Mister Ed," "I Dream Of Jeannie," and "Bewitched," to name a few. While those shows lasted several seasons and are fondly remembered, "My Mother The Car" only lasted one season and, not having enough episodes to make it into syndication, is barely remembered. After viewing all thirty episodes, I can honestly say that I found them to be amusing and enjoyable. Jerry Van Dyke, who stars as attorney Dave Crabtree, proves that he can carry a TV series as the main character very well. Avery Schreiber, who plays his nemesis Captain Manzini, is also a talented comedian, and makes for a comical villain. The video quality of the show is outstanding; the colors are pristine and vivid. In addition, I was pleasantly surprised that most of the laugh tracks were removed. Last but not least, the theme song by Paul Hampton is very catchy and memorable. All in all, I can heartily recommend "My Mother The Car" as a family-friendly show that does NOT insult the viewer's intelligence.

I remember watching episodes of My Mother, the Car many years ago on Trio and I did not have high hopes for it after that. That having been said, two of the episodes actually did impress me. When I saw it was online, then, I started watching episodes of the show. While I won't say it was a great show, it definitely was not a bad show! The cast is very appealing. Jerry Van Dyke and Avery Schreiber are very funny. And many of the episodes were quite inventive. I'm not sure I would say it was a classic, but I would say it is better than about half the sitcoms on the air now and far better than any of the reality shows aired in the past ten years! I now have to wonder if Trio did not select the worst episodes of the show's run to air, for whatever reason.

If the show was not that bad, then, why did it get its reputation as the worst show of all time? I have read many of the reviews from 1965 and it seems to me that the critics just could not get past the idea of someone's mother reincarnated as a car. True, by that point there had been shows about ghosts (Topper), a talking horse (Mister Ed), a Martian (My Favourite Martian), a robot (My Living Doll), and a witch (Bewitched), but in most of the reviews I have read from 1965 it seems the critics just seized upon the show's premise as a sure sign it was a bad show, even if from today's standpoint it doesn't seem that bizarre for the era. After all, it was only a few days after the debut of My Mother, the Car that a show about a genie debuted (I Dream of Jeannie)! I think My Mother, the Car just fell victim to bad press. The critics hated it and called it the worst show of all time. The show only lasted one season so it was not rerun for literally decades. As a result the label of "worst show of all time" stuck. I think this is a bit unfair. Okay, as I said, it is not a great show. It is not on the same level as, say, Bewitched or even I Dream of Jeannie, but it is an entertaining show that is generally well done and funny. It really needs to be reassessed!

everybody knows in the second life, you all come back sooner or later

as anything from a pussycat to a man-eating alligator

well, you all may think my story is more fiction than it's fact

but believe it or not my mother dear decided to come back - as a car

she's my very own guiding star

a 1928 porter that's my mother dear

she helps me through everything i do and i'm so glad she's here

my mother the car, my mother the car

also, while there was no such car company as porter, i recall reading something way back then that the car used to film the series was actually a buick with some cosmetics to the grill. jerry van dyke talked to his mother and she responded through the radio of the car. a 1928 automobile with a radio? well, that's Hollywood.

"My Mother the Car" is generally offered as the worst sit-com ever. Is it? No.

In fact, "My Mother the Car" fits smoothly in the confines of 1960s sitcoms. Why should a talking car be any different than a talking horse ("Mr. Ed"), or shows about genii or witches in domestic settings? The 1960s had a wild imagination for television, setting its sitcoms on desert islands, in German POW camps, or with families or monsters or utter weirdos. Critics hated them, from the simple "fish out of water" classics like "Beverley Hillbillies" and "Green Acres" to the really far-out examples. Critics (who evince no sense of humor) prefer the issues-oriented serious "sit-coms" that came along in the 1970s, where the actors emote too much before live audiences.

The best 1960s sitcoms stretched the imagination, and "My Mother the Car" fits right into that mode.

Furthermore, "My Mother the Car" had several things going for it. Its hero was played by Jerry van Dyke, not as talented as his brother Dick but no slouch. Its recurring villain, the man who keeps trying to get the car in question, was played by a funny and experienced comic, Avery Schreiber. And the car was voiced by bona fide film and TV star Ann Southern. And like so many of the best 60s sitcoms it had a catchy theme song that explained the premise every week for newcomers.

So what went wrong? First of all, the scripts aren't funny. Not all classic sit-coms of the 1960s were hilarious: "I Dream of Jeannie" hardly had to produce great scripts with beautiful Barbara Eden running around in a skimpy harem costume. But "My Mother the Car" doesn't have a sexpot ambiance.

Second, Jerry van Dyke's family is just annoying. In shows from "Mr. Ed" to "I Dream of Jeannie" etc. the star (Alan Young with Ed, Larry Hagman with Jeannie) has to look like a lunatic to his family and neighbors because only he knows about the magic; and while this theme had variations ("Bewitched" had an entire community of witches) by the time "My Mother the Car" rattled up the premise was tired.

Third, below Van Dyke and Schreiber, the cast wasn't impressive. Maggie Pierce, playing the wife, comes off as mean rather than bemused by her husband's antics; and the children are annoying.

Fourth . . . it's just carelessly cobbled together. In one episode Schreiber gets his comeuppance by stepping on a skateboard and winding up in a garbage can. When he first steps on the board, however, it doesn't go far and he blatantly gives it another push, undercutting the comedic element, such as it is. That should have been reshot. And the whole series is full of that. Combine that with lackluster scripts and you wind up with few laughs.

Finally, how could the hero's mother be reincarnated as a car that was clearly made before she died? Surely, it's possession--a far more interesting premise, but perhaps too edgy for the times.

One is nostalgic for the days when a series was given a chance (the much-later "Newhart" had few laughs in its first season but the network stuck with it). But two seasons of this show, which should have been wackier, is far too much.

In the final analysis, "My Mother the Car" is unfairly condemned. Its premise was perfectly in line with imaginative sit-coms of the time. The problem was, it had no laughs to speak of. A comedy's first duty is to be funny, and an unfunny comedy is a failure. The worst sitcom ever? By no means. But it may be one of the least funny sitcoms that lasted so long.

Many authors of the previous comments have eloquently pointed out that My Mother the car wasn't the "wackiest" show of its era, nor was it the shortest running, or even the worst. They held up qualified examples to bolster their opinions, and I for one heartily agree! I also loved this show as a kid, and for years afterward I tried to understand why it was held in such malicious contempt. I think it wasn't only unfair to the show, but to all who participated in it, ESPECIALLY Jerry Van Dyke. I am sure it affected his career, but I am very happy for him that it didn't destroy it for him. It would have been a dirty shame. I recently downloaded all 30 shows, and I watch them on my Blackberry every day. So far I have not seen one episode that I would consider a true clunker. I am happy I rediscovered the show, and I hope TV Land will offer it up more than once a year.

I've often heard this short-lived TV series referred to as the worst sitcom in TV history. I can remember watching the series and being more entertained by it than many of it's contemporaries. It never lasted long as many viewers and critics believed the concept of a mother being reincarnated as a classic car was a tad over the top. Perhaps viewers of the 60s were a little less imaginative and tolerant than those of today. After several decades of talking horses, beautiful genies, chatty Knight Rider cars, Incredible Hulks, and Ghost Whisperers, we now accept over the top situations as mundane. Perhaps we should call the hilarious and lovable Jerry Van Dyke out of retirement and give the series one more chance.

Apparently there is a second life, at least for TV shows. One of the rerun stations has resurrected My Mother the Car, and I haven't seen it since it first ran. To be honest, I doubt if I watched more than one or two episodes back then. So I have been able to catch a few episodes and have decided there was chemistry and likability between Jerry Van Dyke and Ann Southern or at least her voice, but the rest of the family cast were horrible. The family members were just miscast. I guess this was a high concept idea that failed to click on any level as a comedy. But it did work as a crime drama: Knight Rider. Audiences were ready for a talking car if it was high tech and had a male voice. Right concert but wrong implementation. Given the current proclivity to make "Blockbuster" movies from failed TV shows, I can't figure out how they missed this one.

You have to wonder at times why people would sign on to appear in a show like My Mother The Car. What could possibly have attracted someone like Ann Sothern to have in her resume the role of the voice of an antique car?

This TV show which actually ran for a full season has Sothern recently dying and coming back to earth as the voice of a 1928 Porter which her Jerry Van Dyke owns. The family name was Crabtree and not only did the car with his mother's voice speak to Van Dyke, but it spoke to no one else. I guess we didn't want word to get out that the Crabtree Family owned a talking car.

Someone knew something was fishy with this car. The villain of the show was Avery Schreiber who was hatching schemes every episode to get the Porter. But he was as effective as Mr. Bluster on the old Howdy Doody Show. Who wouldn't want a talking car?

In fact the show was 10 years ahead of its time. When Knight Rider premiered we had a talking car with William Daniels's voice. But it was a state of the art futuristic new car which housed a computer which could do all.

So the concept was bought with different packaging.

Did anyone EVER ask Ann Sothern how she got into this show.

I think that this show might be the first show that I noticed was gone. I saw the show when I was 3-4 years old; I doubt it was ever reran back then. I remember liking it, and wondering what happened when it wasn't on anymore. I must have really liked it to have noticed it wasn't there anymore. I haven't thought about this since then, so it blows my mind, and makes me wonder if the memories are real or imagined. My memory of the car was that it was a newer model, not an antique, so who knows if the rest of my memory is real. Since it says that it was popular with kids (according to who?) too bad it wasn't moved to Saturday mornings. It would have been ahead of later live action fantasies like "HR Puffenstuff".

A vintage wreck on the highway of bad television. Jerry Van Dyke plays a man whose mom is reincarnated as a 1928 Porter (voiced by Ann Sothern). The absurd, inane Mother rolled blithely over a trunkful of Freudian nightmares (checking Mom's undercarriage? hosing her off on weekends?)- and audiences didn't want to go their any more than we would today. Cocreators Chris Hayward and Allan Burns went on to produce, respectively, Barney Miller and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. They just needed the right vehicle.