Browse episode ratings trends for Mother and Son. Simply click on the interactive rating graph to explore the best and worst of Mother and Son's 42 episodes.
Best Episodes of Mother and Son
The Last Straw
S4 Ep7
9.0
14th Mar 1988
Arthur has finally had enough of Maggie, so walks out on her to go on a holiday..leaving Robert in charge...what will come of this arrangement?
The Card Game
S2 Ep6
9.0
8th Apr 1985
Arthur is having some friends over for a card game, and Maggie is shocked that she won't be joining them for the game. When the cards go missing, Maggie is the prime suspect and a whole house search is in order, and Maggie becomes the centre of Arthur's friends attention..in many bad ways.
The Trip
S6 Ep2
8.8
14th Feb 1994
We see the return of Maggie's younger sister, Lorna, who has just lost her husband, and wants to take Maggie to England, but will they even make it to the plane without fighting?
The Budgie
S5 Ep2
8.8
17th Feb 1992
Feeling that Maggie could use some companionship after a fight with Robert, Arthur brings home a budgie for her to look after...this is harder than it seems for Maggie, who decides to feed the bird some chicken.
The Morning After
S2 Ep7
8.8
15th Apr 1985
Arthur's girlfriend spends the night, which shocks Maggie. Enough for her to walk out and threaten to move in with Robert and Liz. Robert tries to steadily convince Arthur to take his girlfriend somewhere else to be alone, and also to convince Maggie not to move out.
The Lamingtons
S6 Ep5
8.7
7th Mar 1994
Maggie, without knowing it, promises to make 216 lamingtons for various groups at a cake stall, and at the same time must present herself on a jury.
Will she succeed in all this, which must be done in one day? Or will Arthur be forced to help?
The Family Feud
S6 Ep3
8.5
21st Feb 1994
Maggie and Lorna are about to return home from England, and Robert has moved in with Arthur since Liz kicked him out.
Once Robert finally leaves, and the sisters return home, Arthur is not surprised to find the sisters are not speaking, but it is over something that Lorna said about Arthur.
This prompts a family meeting with everyone, and they turn against poor Arthur, who discovers what his family really thinks of him.
The Big Sleep
S5 Ep3
8.5
24th Feb 1992
Maggie's having trouble falling asleep...causing Arthur sleepless nights too, for her fear of death has arisen once again.
She begins making several arrangements for her death..which prompts her to think about her husbands funeral, and how little she did for him.
The Fridge
S4 Ep6
8.5
7th Mar 1988
The fridge needs to be fixed, Maggie is working on her memoirs and at the same time, Robert begins to question his mothers love for him, compared to Arthur. Bitterness arises between the family.
The Friend
S4 Ep2
8.5
8th Feb 1988
Arthur feels Maggie needs a friend after he discovers she's talking to herself...so he hires a woman to help Maggie with the housework, as well as look after her.
The Last Will
S3 Ep5
8.5
24th Mar 1986
Maggie reads her last will to the family, and Arthur is shocked at what she has to say-but not so for Robert and Liz.
The Sign
S3 Ep2
8.5
3rd Mar 1986
Maggie becomes anxious about the whereabouts of her late husband, so she finds solace in religion, in the hope of meeting up with her husband in heaven, but to Arthur, Maggie is just, once again, being crazy...or is she?
The Ring Cycle
S6 Ep7
8.3
21st Mar 1994
It seems that Arthur and Deidre may be getting back together, and hopes Maggie will accept it.
Arthur tries to ship Maggie off to Robert and Liz's for one night so he and Deidre can sort things out, but this is interrupted when Maggie's wedding ring goes missing...
Worst Episodes of Mother and Son
The Illness
S1 Ep7
5.8
27th Feb 1984
Maggie thinks she's dying and finally wonders what to do about her will. After discovering Robert wants to sell the family home, she anxiously wishes to change her will... But finding the will is the problem for her and Arthur, who is looking for his own house to live in.
The Nursing Home
S1 Ep1
6.1
16th Jan 1984
Arthur begins to finally consider putting Maggie in a rest home after his wife leaves him.
The Tickets
S1 Ep4
6.7
6th Feb 1984
Arthur tries his best to get out of the house, and away from Maggie, for a holiday with a new girlfriend. But a series of misunderstandings leads his ex wife to believe he wants to take her on the holiday.
The Funeral
S2 Ep3
7.3
18th Mar 1985
Arthur's uncle dies, and not even a funeral can keep peace within the family. After Maggie buys a bag of oranges and drops them accidentally into the open grave, Arthur's other uncle visits him and Maggie...with an unexpected situation.
The Cruise
S3 Ep7
7.5
7th Apr 1986
Maggie and her new friend Claude make plans to go on a cruise, which surprises Arthur, and shocks Robert..but not is all as it seems for Claude.
The Medals
S4 Ep1
7.5
1st Feb 1988
Maggie assumes that it's ANZAC day, and tries her hardest to go and see the parade...but Arthur tries his hardest to convince her it isn't the day yet.
The Dog
S4 Ep5
7.5
29th Feb 1988
Robert needs to dump a dog that Liz doesn't want, so he gives it to Arthur and Maggie...who have more than a hard time looking after it.
The Sunday Roast
S5 Ep7
7.5
23rd Mar 1992
All Arthur wants is to bring home a girlfriend for Sunday lunch, but convincing Maggie is the trouble. So he disguises his girlfriend as a distant cousin who is visiting the family, and this impresses Maggie, who just loves the family.
Arthur gets the whole family together and lets Robert and Liz in on the secret, but they have a hard time keeping it from Maggie when an argument breaks out between Maggie and Liz.
The Picnic
S3 Ep3
7.6
10th Mar 1986
A day at the park with the whole family turns out to be a disaster as Maggie goes missing...only to wonder off on a bus, for an old folks home!
The Money
S2 Ep1
7.7
4th Mar 1985
After receiving a letter from the government, Maggie thinks they think she's dead, but in fact, they are investigating why she hasn't cashed in her pension cheques. Arthur wonders as well, and discovers she has been hiding the cheques...and other sums of money, around the house.
The Divorce
S2 Ep2
7.7
11th Mar 1985
The day of Arthur's divorce is approaching, and Maggie can't understand why he has to divorce. This prompts Robert to consider his marriage to Liz after they have a big argument.
The Aunt
S2 Ep5
7.7
1st Apr 1985
Maggie's sister Lorna visits, and the meeting is far from pleasant. Arthur is hoping Lorna's company will give him a chance to go out with his new girlfriend.
The Accident
S3 Ep4
7.7
17th Mar 1986
Arthur accidentally drops a typewriter on his foot, forcing him to stay home, and have Maggie as his carer...could things get any more worse for Arthur? Trying to buy a sandwich for Arthur lands Maggie in a baby clinic, and then at a hospital, where she meets a friend.
Mother and Son Episode Guide
The Nursing Home
S1 Ep1
6.1
16th Jan 1984
Arthur begins to finally consider putting Maggie in a rest home after his wife leaves him.
The Milk
S1 Ep2
8.0
23rd Jan 1984
After sending Maggie out for some milk 3 hours ago, Arthur discovers Maggie has been faking a broken wrist to get meals on wheels for free. This prompts the meals on wheels volunteer to think Arthur is incapable of looking after Maggie and sends a social worker to discuss the situation.
The Oysters
S1 Ep3
7.8
30th Jan 1984
Arthur discovers Maggie has been arriving home on the back of a garbage truck, and making a nuisance of herself at a local hospital. This forces Arthur to tell Maggie not to go out during the day any more, but to no avail.
The Tickets
S1 Ep4
6.7
6th Feb 1984
Arthur tries his best to get out of the house, and away from Maggie, for a holiday with a new girlfriend. But a series of misunderstandings leads his ex wife to believe he wants to take her on the holiday.
The Babysitter
S1 Ep5
8.0
13th Feb 1984
After spending several Saturday nights at home with Maggie, Arthur questions why he doesn't have a girlfriend. So he makes a date with Deidre, prompting Maggie to discover she hates to be left alone at night.
The Boyfriend
S1 Ep6
8.2
20th Feb 1984
It's Maggie's birthday and the entire family gets together to celebrate. Maggie sees the family gathering the perfect chance to bring home a new boyfriend, and tells Arthur she'd like to marry again.
The Illness
S1 Ep7
5.8
27th Feb 1984
Maggie thinks she's dying and finally wonders what to do about her will. After discovering Robert wants to sell the family home, she anxiously wishes to change her will... But finding the will is the problem for her and Arthur, who is looking for his own house to live in.
Mother and Son was a multiple Logie Award-winning Australian television sitcom produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 16 January 1984 until 21 March 1994. The show stars Ruth Cracknell, Garry McDonald, Henri Szeps and Judy Morris. It was created and written by Geoffrey Atherden AM. Its classic theme song features the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, playing to I Want a Girl, a jazz standard which was recorded by Al Jolson in the 1920s.
No network information is available for this show.
The best rated episodes of Mother and Son are:
The Last Straw S4E7 rated 9.0
The Card Game S2E6 rated 9.0
The Trip S6E2 rated 8.8
The Budgie S5E2 rated 8.8
The Morning After S2E7 rated 8.8
The Lamingtons S6E5 rated 8.7
The Family Feud S6E3 rated 8.5
The Big Sleep S5E3 rated 8.5
The Fridge S4E6 rated 8.5
The Friend S4E2 rated 8.5
The lowest rated episodes of Mother and Son are:
The Illness S1E7 rated 5.8
The Nursing Home S1E1 rated 6.1
The Tickets S1E4 rated 6.7
The Funeral S2E3 rated 7.3
The Cruise S3E7 rated 7.5
The Medals S4E1 rated 7.5
The Dog S4E5 rated 7.5
The Sunday Roast S5E7 rated 7.5
The Picnic S3E3 rated 7.6
The Money S2E1 rated 7.7
The first episode of Mother and Son aired on January 16, 1984.
The last episode of Mother and Son aired on March 21, 1994.
