My Mother the Car | |
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Genre | |
Created by | Allan Burns Chris Hayward |
Starring | Jerry Van Dyke Maggie Pierce |
Voices of | Ann Sothern |
Theme music composer | Ralph Carmichael Paul Hampton |
Composer | Ralph Carmichael |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 30 |
Production | |
Producer | Rod Amateau |
Editors | Richard K. Brockway Dann Cahn |
Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 24-25 minutes |
Production companies | Cottage Industries, Inc. United Artists Television |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | September 14, 1965 April 5, 1966 | –
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My Mother the Car is an American fantasy comedy that aired for a single season on NBC between September 14, 1965, and April 5, 1966. Thirty episodes were produced by United Artists Television. The premise features a man whose deceased mother is reincarnated as an antique car, who communicates with him through the car radio.
My Mother the Car had an experienced production team with extensive comedy credentials: Rod Amateau (The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis); Allan Burns (wrote for Jay Ward and went on to create several critically acclaimed shows, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, and Lou Grant); James L. Brooks (Room 222, Taxi, and later served as executive producer of The Simpsons)[1][2] and Chris Hayward (produced and wrote for Barney Miller during its first several seasons).
Critics and adult viewers panned the show. In 2002, TV Guide proclaimed it to be the second-worst television show of all time, behind The Jerry Springer Show.[3] TV Land's first day of programming in April 1996 included the series premiere as a collection of television firsts and rarities, billing it as "the strange but true...infamous series". The show's premise was similar to other popular comedies of the 1960s that featured a fantastic gimmick, such as a talking horse (Mister Ed), a martian (My Favorite Martian), a suburbanite witch (Bewitched), an obedient genie (I Dream of Jeannie), or a flying nun (The Flying Nun).