This review contains spoilers.
'Mother's Last Visit' is a decent enough third episode of the series, but for whatever reason, this has never particularly been a favourite of mine, especially not from the first couple of seasons.
The opening scenes, such as the family squabbling around the breakfast table (a setting that would be used to open many future stories too) are pretty good, if slightly "run of the mill".
And indeed the main plot, of Mr. Drummond's mother (we never learn her first name) paying a visit is fair enough, but considering it is Mr. D's own mother we are meeting, it just doesn't feel "special" enough.
I'm not that familiar with Irene Tedrow's other work, but reading up on her credits, I see that much of her work, particularly later in her career, was playing awkward older women. I'm not knocking her for one second here, but the character of Mother just doesn't feel to completely work. As Mr. D's Aunt or something, it could have easily been pulled off, and Tedrow would have been perfect, but I just didn't feel that the relationship between Phillip and his mother was believable at all, feeling a lot of the episode feeling a bit "hollow" as a result.
(Also, am I the only one who didn't quite buy that Mr. D had two new sons in his life, yet hadn't even bothered to contact his own mother to tell her? Ahh such are the conventions of sit-com I suppose!)
At this stage, after the first two episodes, the series really feels to be settling down, having found it's footing. As per usual, there are some great lines, especially from Gary Coleman, but the general story just didn't really pull me in. I also felt that the ultimate confrontation from Mr. Drummond about his mother's snobbish and possibly prejudiced ways, came a little too late on and was resolved too quickly.
Maybe I wasn't alone in feeling that the character of Mother never really worked, as this was her sole appearance in the show's eight season run (she didn't even appear when Mr. D finally remarried during the sixth season). Drummond would sometimes mention her in passing when referring to his growing up, but this is the only time we ever actually see her.
In all, I suppose it's an amusing way to spend half an hour (shorter if you're watching on DVD without commercials), but of the early days of DS, this isn't really one of the better episodes. It's far from being the show's worst episode (I can recall a number of weaker instalments, particularly from the last couple of seasons), but at most, this is a "watch once" ep, not one that will have you rushing back to see it again. For its reasonable lines here and there, and some good Arnold moments, I give 'Mother's Last Visit' an 8 out of 10, a still reasonable score, but below my average scoring for this period of the show.moreless
Episode Summary
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Mr. Drummond's socialite and rather snobbish mother arrives and finds there's a lot she doesn't like about her son's new sons, but she soon learns a valuable lesson about what's really important in a person.
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GUEST STAR
Irene TedrowMrs. Drummond
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GUEST STAR
Richard FultsDoorman
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Gary Coleman
Arnold Jackson
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Charlotte Rae
Mrs. Edna Garrett (1978-1979)
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Conrad Bain
Philip Drummond
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Todd Bridges
Willis Jackson
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Dana Plato
Kimberly Drummond (1978-1984)
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
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TRIVIA (3)
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Although a very trivial note, this is the first time the regular doorbell sound for the apartment is used; it will remain for the rest of the show's run. In the previous two episodes, it had much more of a chiming bell sound.
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The shot behind the closing credits is a still of the empty main living room of Philip's apartment. This is the only such shot during the closing credits. The end credits of episodes usually feature a montage of shots from the episode.
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Although the kitchen had been seen in the previous two episodes, this marks the first episode where the family gather around the kitchen table for breakfast near the start of the story.
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QUOTES (9)
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Philip: Good morning, Arnold. Rise and shine! Arnold: Better not let Willis hear you say the word "shine." Back in Harlem, that's fightin' talk.
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Arnold: Did you find a new hiding place for the cookies? Mrs. Garrett: Yeah, somewhere else besides your stomach.
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Philip: Why are you still in bed? Arnold: Studying. Philip: Superman is studying? Arnold: I'm too young for Wonder Woman.
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Kimberly: Well, look, it's Sleeping Beauty. Willis: You mean, Sleeping Ugly.
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Philip: I'd better send for the limosine. Mother gets very impatient if she's kept waiting. I was born three days late. She didn't speak to me for a year.
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Philip: My mother is very fair about prejudice; she looks down on everybody equally. She's not really a bigot, just a snob.
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Philip: There's two things I haven't told mother about the boys, 1) that they're here, and 2) that they're black. Mrs. Garrett: You think she'll be upset? Philip: On a scale of 1 to 10, it'll be a 14.
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Kimberly: Grandma, did you notice I'm wearing a B-R-A?
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Philip: Missing meals isn't healthy for you. Don't you want to grow up? Arnold: Yeah, up, not out.
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NOTES (1)
ADD NOTES-
Indeed this was 'Mother's Last Visit' - it was the only episode the character was ever seen.
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ALLUSIONS (0)
ADD ALLUSIONS- ADD ALLUSIONS from this episode.
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RIP Gary Coleman
08/23/115
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Biography: Diff'rent Strokes Kids
12/23/101
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did they revamp this show
05/12/102
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Sam's Kidnapping or other show I am thinking of.
04/03/103
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Saddest/Scariest Episode
03/20/107
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Arnold the Entrepreneur
S 7 : Ep 8
Aired 11/17/84 (24:44)
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Mr T and Mr T
S 6 : Ep 1
Aired 10/1/83 (24:54)
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Romeo and Juliet
S 5 : Ep 23
Aired 4/30/83 (24:58)
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The Reporter
S 5 : Ep 22
Aired 3/19/83 (24:58)
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