| MY MOTHER THE CAR 1965 to 1966 Once voted the worst TV series of all time. Jerry Van Dyke agreed to star on the series after turning down the lead role on "Gilligan's Island" (1964) and an offer to join the cast of the "The Andy Griffith Show" (1960). "Mother" was a 1928 Porter, but not one of the real two Porter makes that had existed; the car was made from a 1927 Ford Model T Touring car by none other than George Barris. Mr. Barris is the same fellow who modified the Lincoln Futura experimental car from the 1950s into the Batmobile and unlike a Model T "Mom" had a 327 Chevy V8 engine and automatic transmission. Barris built two Porters for the show; one is in Tennessee and the other is in Alberta. One of the cars had removable floorboards and controls which would allow the car to be driven with a driver out of sight, controlling it by watching through hidden mirrors. The voice of "Mother" (performed by Ann Southern) appeared to come from the car radio that had a light behind it that blinked to the rhythm of the her dialogue. (May 2009) In a poll conducted by "The O'Reilly Factor" (1996), host Bill O'Reilly revealed that this sitcom was voted the worst TV show in broadcast history. In hot pursuit were: (2) "The Jerry Springer Show" (1991) / (3) "Friends" (1994) / (4) "The Gong Show" (1976) and (5) "Cop Rock" (1990). The producers had researched automobile history so as not to duplicate a genuine auto manufacturer's product. However, there indeed was a Porter automobile unrelated to the fictitious title car. But the real-life small Bridgeport, Connecticut-based company only operated between 1919 and 1922, building only a total thirty-six cars. The genuine Porter automobile was named for automotive engineer and designer Finley Robinson Porter, creator of the T-head Mercer automobile. Season 1 Episode 1 Part 1 Season 1 Episode 1 Part 2 |
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