"It's like we say in St. Olaf, Christmas without fruitcake is like St. Sigmund's Day without the headless boy."
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Wham, Bam, Thank You Mammy is the fifth episode of the sixth season of The Golden Girls and the one-hundred and thirty-third episode overall. Directed by Matthew Diamond and written by Marc Cherry and Jamie Wooten, it premiered on NBC-TV on October 20th, 1990.
Blanche gets an unexpected visit from her childhood mammy, who ultimately reveals that she had an affair with Blanche's father. Meanwhile, Dorothy is tired of Sophia's attempts to organize her love life when she arranges a date for Dorothy with an ex-con through a computer-dating service.
The character of Mammy Watkins was originally written for and offered to Esther Rolle. This would have been a reunion for Rolle, who costarred with Bea Arthur from 1972 to 1973 on Maude. Rolle, however, declined the role.
Mammy Watkins' age is never revealed, but it is implied that she was like a second mother to Blanche. Ruby Dee and Rue McClanahan were less than twelve years apart in age, so it is possible that Dee was made up to look older so she could play Mammy the same way Estelle Getty was to portray Sophia.
Cultural references[]
The episode's title is a play on the phrase "wham, bam, thank you, ma'am", which refers to sexual intercourse conducted quickly and without tenderness. "Wham! Bam! Thank You, Ma'am!" is also the title of a song released by American musician Dean Martin in 1975.
Sophia sets Dorothy up with a matchmaker, which upsets Dorothy. Bea Arthur was the first person to play the role of Yente the Matchmaker in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof.
Continuity[]
Big Daddy's first name is revealed to be Curtis.
Goofs[]
When Dorothy and Jack talk on the front entryway, he is directly facing the doorway. When Dorothy opens the front door, nobody is standing behind her or anywhere in the doorway.
Mammy calls Blanche "Blanche Marie", when in another episode Blanche states her name is "Blanche Elizabeth".
When Blanche expresses disbelief that Big Daddy and Mammy Watkins had an affair, she claims that Big Daddy was a Republican and wouldn't do that sort of thing. However, it was the Democratic Party that mostly legislated Jim Crow laws from 1865 to 1968. This was especially true in Georgia where Blanche grew up, and the Republican Party largely opposed Jim Crow laws across the the United States. Therefore, Big Daddy may have been a Democrat.
↑The Golden Girls, Season 6, Episode 5, "Wham, Bam, Thank You Mammy". Cherry, Marc and Wooten, Jamie (writers) & Diamond, Matthew (director) (October 20th, 1990)
