My Mother the Car

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 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!

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.."

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.

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!