History Series / MyMotherTheCar

Despite this, NBC left the show on for its entire 30-episode season, likely to burn off the episodes and recoup some sort of investment (a common tactic in television). It should be noted that Creator/JamesLBrooks, famous now as one of the executive producers of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', worked on this show as a writer. His [[OldShame dis]][[CreatorBacklash dain]] for the show allowed ''The Simpsons'' to [[TakeThat poke fun at it]] a few times.

My Mother the Car My Mother the Car''

* ShoutOut: The name 'Porter' was a shout out to Ann Sothern's former co-star Don Porter who she worked with on ''The Ann Sothern Show.''

* ContrivedCoincidence: Mother never actively seeks out Dave — he discovers her accidentally while shopping for a car. She merely happens to be at the lot he's visited that day and had he passed that specific car by instead of checking it out, probably never would have even known his mother was in that particular vehicle.

''My Mother the Car'' is considered by many people to be one of the worst television series ever made, however to people who have deemed it SoOkayItsAverage there are other shows much more worthy of that title. You can find episodes (including the pilot) on Website/YouTube.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Mother never actively seeks out Dave- he discovers her while shopping for a car. She merely happens to be at the lot he's visited that day and had he passed that specific car by instead of checking it out, probably never would have even known his mother was in that particular vehicle.

The show was critically lambasted and caused NBC to be something of a laughingstock for green-lighting it in the first place. The UsefulNotes/{{ratings}} were horrid across the board, except among the younger {{demographics}} who were more inclined to watch something silly than the two serious dramas competing in the time-slot. But, back then, networks only looked at total number of watchers in deciding what shows to renew. (And at the time, most households only owned one [=TV=] and the parents got to decide what to watch, limiting potential viewers further.)

In 1965, Creator/{{NBC}} was looking for a show to air on Tuesday nights opposite ''Series/{{Combat}}'' and ''Series/{{Rawhide}}''. Their answer: this FantasticComedy about a woman who's been reincarnated as an automobile.

[[Series/{{Coach}} Jerry Van Dyke]] stars as Dave Crabtree, an attorney and typically hapless sitcom family man who discovers that the spirit of his deceased mother ([[TheVoice voiced]] by Ann Sothern) has returned to inhabit a 1928 Porter open touring car. Most plots involved Dave getting into situations with his family, neighbors, and the hazards of owning a [[TheAllegedCar vintage]] car. There was even a recurring villain in Captain Manzini (Avery Schreiber), an obsessed automobile collector who was bent on acquiring Mother to complete his collection. (Apparently it was the only make and model of the car to exist.)

''My Mother the Car'' is considered by many people to be one of the worst television series ever made, however to people who have watched all the episodes there are other shows much more worthy of that title. You can find episodes (including the pilot) on Website/YouTube.

''My Mother the Car'' is considered by many to be one of the worst series ever made. You can find episodes (including the pilot) on Website/YouTube.

There is no real-life "1928 Porter"; the company was meant to be fictional and the actual car used on-set was one of two variations of a Ford Model T. One version was made for normal driving shots. The other was a "stunt" car, built to be driven by a hidden driver (to make it appear like a SentientVehicle). The "stunt" version was modified by the then-ubiquitous George Barris, who also did the [[Series/TheMonkees Monkeemobile]] and the 1960s [[Series/{{Batman}} Batmobile]]. Both cars survive. The normal version is owned by a fan, and the "stunt" car is on display at the Star Cars Museum in Tennessee.

([[Series/{{Coach}} Jerry Van Dyke]]) stars as Dave Crabtree, an attorney and typically hapless sitcom family man who discovers that the spirit of his deceased mother ([[TheVoice voiced]] by Ann Sothern) has returned to inhabit a 1928 Porter open touring car. Most plots involved Dave getting into situations with his family, neighbors, and the hazards of owning a [[TheAllegedCar vintage]] car. There was even a recurring villain in Captain Manzini (Avery Schreiber), an obsessed automobile collector who was bent on acquiring Mother to complete his collection. (Apparently it was the only make and model of the car to exist.)

([[Series/{{Coach}} Jerry Van Dyke]]) stars as Dave Crabtree, an attorney and typically hapless sitcom family man who discovers that the spirit of his late mother ([[TheVoice voiced]] by Ann Sothern) has returned from the grave to inhabit a 1928 Porter open touring car. Most plots involved Dave getting into situations with his family, neighbors, and the hazards of owning a [[TheAllegedCar vintage]] car. There was even a recurring villain in Captain Manzini (Avery Schreiber), an obsessed automobile collector who was bent on acquiring Mother to complete his collection. (Apparently it was the only make and model of the car to exist.)

([[Series/{{Coach}} Jerry Van Dyke]]) stars as Dave Crabtree, an attorney and typically hapless sitcom family man who discovers that the spirit of his late mother has returned from the grave to inhabit a 1928 Porter open touring car. Most plots involved Dave getting into situations with his family, neighbors, and the hazards of owning a [[TheAllegedCar vintage]] car. There was even a recurring villain in Captain Manzini (Avery Schreiber), an obsessed automobile collector who was bent on acquiring Mother to complete his collection. (Apparently it was the only make and model of the car to exist.)

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[ExpositoryThemeTune A 1928 Porter; that's my Mother, dear.]]'']]

In 1965, Creator/{{NBC}} was looking for a show to air on Tuesday nights opposite ''Series/{{Combat}}'' and ''Series/{{Rawhide}}''. Their answer: this FantasticComedy about a woman who gets reincarnated as an automobile.

In 1965, Creator/{{NBC}} was looking for a show to air on Tuesday nights opposite ''Series/{{Combat}}'' and ''Series/{{Rawhide}}''. Their answer: this FantasticComedy about a woman who's been reincarnated as an automobile.

In 1965, Creator/{{NBC}} was looking for a show to air on Tuesday nights opposite ''Series/{{Combat}}'' and ''Series/{{Rawhide}}''. Their answer: this FantasticComedy about a sentient automobile.

''My Mother The Car'' is considered by many to be one of the worst series ever made. You can find episodes (including the pilot) on Website/YouTube.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[ExpositoryThemeTune A 1928 Porter; that's my Mother, dear.]]]]

([[Series/{{Coach}} Jerry Van Dyke]]) stars as Dave Crabtree, an attorney and typically hapless sitcom family man who discovers that the spirit of his late mother has returned from the grave to inhabit a 1928 Porter open touring car. Most plots involved Dave getting into situations with his family, neighbors, and the hazards of owning a [[TheAllegedCar vintage]] car. It found a recurring villain in Captain Manzini (Avery Schreiber), an obsessed automobile collector who wanted to acquire Mother to complete his collection. (Apparently it was the only make and model of the car to exist.)

In 1965, Creator/{{NBC}} was looking for a show to air on Tuesday nights opposite ''Series/{{Combat}}'' and ''Series/{{Rawhide}}''. What would give them their best chance of competing for viewers with those tough, action-heavy series?

Their answer: this FantasticComedy about the antics of lawyer Dave Crabtree ([[Series/{{Coach}} Jerry Van Dyke]]), a typically hapless sitcom family man who discovers that his mother has returned from the grave as a 1928 Porter open touring automobile. Most plots involved Dave getting into situations with his family, neighbors, and the hazards of owning a [[TheAllegedCar vintage]] car. It found a recurring villain in Captain Manzini (Avery Schreiber), an obsessed automobile collector who wanted to acquire Mother to complete his collection. (Apparently it was the only make and model of the car to exist.)

[[quoteright:157:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MyMotherTheCar.gif]]
[[caption-width-right:157:[[ExpositoryThemeTune A 1928 Porter; that's my Mother, dear.]]]]

In 1965, Creator/{{NBC}} put a show on opposite ''Series/{{Combat}}'' and ''Series/{{Rawhide}}'' about the antics of lawyer Dave Crabtree ([[Series/{{Coach}} Jerry Van Dyke]]), a typically hapless sitcom family man who discovers that his mother has returned from the grave as a 1928 Porter open touring automobile. Most plots involved Dave getting into situations with his family, neighbors, and the hazards of owning a [[TheAllegedCar vintage]] car. It found a recurring villain in Captain Manzini (Avery Schreiber), an obsessed automobile collector who wanted to acquire Mother to complete his collection. (Apparently it was the only make and model of the car to exist.)

There is no real-life "1928 Porter," the company was meant to be fictional and the actual car used on-set was one of two variations of a Ford Model T. One version was made for normal driving shots. The other was a "stunt" car, built to be driven by a hidden driver (to make it appear like a SentientVehicle). The "stunt" version was modified by the then-ubiquitous George Barris, who also did the [[Series/TheMonkees Monkeemobile]] and the 1960s [[Series/{{Batman}} Batmobile]]. Both cars survive. The normal version is owned by a fan, and the "stunt" car is on display at the Star Cars Museum in Tennessee.

''My Mother The Car'' is considered by many to be one of the worst series ever made. You can find episodes (including the pilot) on YouTube.

There is no real-life "1928 Porter," the company was meant to be fictional and the actual car used on-set was one of two variations of a Ford Model T. One version was made for normal driving shots. The other was a "stunt" car, built to be driven by a hidden driver (to make it appear like a SentientVehicle). The "stunt" version was modified by the then-ubiquitous George Barris, who also did the [[Music/TheMonkees Monkeemobile]] and the 1960s [[Series/{{Batman}} Batmobile]]. Both cars survive. The normal version is owned by a fan, and the "stunt" car is on display at the Star Cars Museum in Tennessee.

Despite this, NBC left the show on for its entire 30-episode season, likely to burn off the episodes and recoup some sort of investment (a common tactic in television). It should be noted that JamesLBrooks, famous now as one of the executive producers of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', worked on this show as a writer. His [[OldShame dis]][[CreatorBacklash dain]] for the show allowed ''The Simpsons'' to [[TakeThat poke fun at it]] a few times.

In 1965, Creator/{{NBC}} put a show on opposite ''Series/{{Combat}}'' and ''Series/{{Rawhide}}'' about the antics of lawyer Dave Crabtree ([[Series/{{Coach}} Jerry Van Dyke]]), a typically hapless sitcom family man who discovers that his mother has returned from the grave as a 1928 Porter open touring automobile. Most plots involved Dave getting into situations with his family, neighbors, and the hazards of owning a [[TheAllegedCar vintage]] car. It found a recurring villain in Captain Manzini, an obsessed automobile collector who wanted to acquire Mother to complete his collection. (Apparently it was the only make and model of the car to exist.)

Despite this, NBC left the show on for its entire 30-episode season, likely to burn off the episodes and recoup some sort of investment (a common tactic in television). It should be noted that JamesLBrooks, famous now as one of the executive producers of TheSimpsons, worked on this show as a writer. His [[OldShame distain]] for the show allowed TheSimpsons to [[TakeThat poke fun at it]] a few times.

* TheCameo: In the episode And Leave the Drive-In to Us, Dave and his family brave a cold day in order to take Mother to a drive-in movie co-starring Mother's favorite actor Sonny Tufts(?). When the picture is finally over, there are two cars left in the lot, and the other car is driven by Sonny Tufts himself.

Despite this, NBC left the show on for its entire 30-episode season, likely to burn off the episodes and recoup some sort of investment (a common tactic in television).

The show was critically lambasted and caused NBC to be something of a laughingstock for green-lighting it in the first place. The {{ratings}} were horrid across the board, except among the younger {{demographics}} who were more inclined to watch something silly than the two serious dramas competing in the time-slot. But, back then, networks only looked at total number of watchers in deciding what shows to renew. (And at the time, most households only owned one [=TV=] and the parents got to decide what to watch, limiting potential viewers further.)