Arcibaldo

When All In The Family first came on the air in 1971, you could say that tv was in it's infancy. I mean, when Lucille Ball became pregnant with Desi on her tv show they couldn't even say that word on the air. On the Dick Van Dyke show, they always showed Rob and Laura in seperate beds. All In The Family exploded like a bomb on this innocent world of tv. It showed subjects that were previously taboo like menopause, breast cancer, vasectomies, impotence, rape and even Archie taking a dump and flushing the toilet! Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers all were an amazing team that made tv history. People don't realize that Norman Lear actually based the character of Archie Bunker on his father Herman. His father was basically a good man, but he was very prejudiced like Archie was. He would tell his wife to "stifle herself" and there was a special chair in his house that he alone would sit in. He would tell his son that he "was the laziest white kid he ever knew". Norman grew up hating his father's prejudices while he still loved his father. Paul Harvey had that on one of his "Rest Of The Stories". Carroll O' Connor had started off his acting career in drama and playing Archie gave him the chance to be dramatic on many occasions. The one episode that I remember was one that came on while the Vietnam war was still being fought it was where Mike brought home a friend for Thanksgiving who was a draft dodger and that same night a friend of Archies came over who had lost a son in the war. Archie exploded in rage at Mike (usually on the show when he gets mad its funny because he is just making a fool of himself, but in this episode it is chilling!). There was another episode where Archie had a problem with drugs and delivered a tearful monologue to Edith and Gloria and Mike when they confronted him with his problem. All In The Family spawned the realistic tv shows that we see today and also led to the spin offs Maude and The Jeffersons. Norman Lear created such a wonderful television legacy for all time and it all started with Archie Bunker, America's favorite bigot and All In The Family. His original aim was to create a show that would allow us to look into our own hearts and souls and see our own fears and prejudices and be able to laugh at them. I guess that in a sense you could say that there is a little bit of Archie Bunker in all of us and that is why he remains so endearing and so popular. It is like we are looking into a mirror.

The series was a powder keg immediately from the start as Civil Rights unrest and equal rights not only for minorities, but also women dominated headlines. And then there was Vietnam and Watergate. There was total chaos still in places in the south and in larger metropolitan areas in the north. Could television bring these public affairs to light in a comical and thought-provoking way? The answer was a resounding yes as "All in the Family" tore down perpetual American television programming walls with brash views, crazed situations, envelope-pushing elements and dominant film-making techniques (even though this was a sitcom) which all merged to paint a canvass of programming superiority that lasted for 212 mind-blowing episodes over nine years from 1971 through 1979. "The Andy Griffith Show" in the 1960s displayed how Americans wanted life to be, while "All in the Family" in the 1970s showed how American life really was. The result was a ratings monster pretty much from the word go as people watched to be entertained, to be disgusted, to praise and to criticize. The show itself was about a blue-collared New York dock worker (Carroll O'Connor) who has bigoted expressions because life continues to slap him in the face. O'Connor was definitely anti-woman, anti-minority, anti-youth and anti-liberal. He also had crazed views that would show him as being pro-Nixon and pro-Vietnam (real hot button topics back then). The show struck cords the nation over, but comedy was always mixed in and the series thrived due to both its supporters and its detractors. "All in the Family" fought problems in the U.S. by poking fun at very serious issues instead of sweeping them under the carpet like other programs of the period did. Jean Stapleton was priceless as O'Connor's kind, naive and somewhat dumb housewife. Sally Struthers was their only child, a liberal who showed the viewpoints of the Baby Boom generation. She was also married to a young man (Rob Reiner) who was O'Connor's emotional and verbal sparring partner. Reiner was of a Polish descent and that only fueled more fire between the volatile pair. O'Connor's Archie Bunker is arguably the deepest and most unique television character of all time as his crazed and sometimes silly views overshadow the fact that he is a highly sensitive middle-class man who is doing the best for himself and those around him. He is someone who does not always think before he speaks and therein lied his greatest weakness. Eventually most who saw the program embraced him as a flawed and tortured hero (not because of who he was, but because of who he really wanted to be). The lasting effect of "All in the Family" is something to think about, even today. The program continues to be vitally important to 1970s art, society and history. The success of the program even led to spin-offs galore. "Maude", "The Jeffersons", "Archie Bunker's Place" and "Gloria" were all the birth-children of this innovative, smart and completely original taste of Americana that still lives on strong today through many cable channels. 5 stars out of 5.

Behold one of the most politically incorrect and yet uproarious sitcoms ever made. Here's the basic premise: bigoted AWG with a dutiful if slow-on-the-uptake wife lets his daughter and her far-far-far-*far*-left-wing husband live with them so he can finish school, and then the adventure begins! So, yes, Archie Bunker is a jerk. He's notorious for getting himself in way too deep in situations involving race, religion, orientation, and activism. His wife Edith serves as a naive voice of reason... usually to the annoyance of her husband. Daughter Gloria is proud of her husband Mike, to whom Archie always refers as "meathead" (dead from the neck up). And Archie can't move past the fact that Mike is Polish and liberal.

Adding other dimensions to the series are their neighbors, the Jeffersons (whose race frequently causes Archie to put himself in trouble with his ethnically-based comments), and, of course, among others, Cousin Maude-- Edith's no-nonsense cousin who shows up every so often just to push Archie's buttons. The writing is always fresh, the humor works nearly every time, and it's an absolute joy to see the cast at work-- the chemistry is perfect.

I really wish they could make a sitcom like this that actually works again.

"All in the Family" may have been one brilliant show,but it was also one of those that broke every TV standardize code ratings system and it was the backbone of such shows(or sitcoms)to follow years later down the line like "Sanford and Son", "The Jeffersons"(which were both under the supervision of producer-creator Norman Lear) "Married:With Children",and etc.

Carroll O'Connor's portrayal of Archie Bunker was electrifying to watch because the show had such a good content of the day's relevant issues(which were strictly taboo from TV before this show ever hit the airwaves) mixed with some slapstick and of course Archie's mouth and logic. It had subjects that were tackled head on including homosexuality,gender roles,racism,war, economy,women's rights,and the choice of abortion(which one episode dealt with that subject),suicide,and birth control, education,child custody and old age.

Even when the commentary of certain items were brought up in the Bunker home,it was always Archie and Micheal(played by Rob Reiner)who quarrel over certain issues in which Archie calls Micheal either a "meathead",or "polark" because of his European heritage,which in turn made Archie one of the most bigotists people ever made for television.

Its very informative that the commentary on life in America is sometimes light-hearted in a sense,but brings out the bigot in all of us,and makes us think very hard on what we're doing to ourselves and each other.

The show itself had some very powerful episodes here,including one where Edith loses a loved one over his gender(which Jean Stapleton won the emmy for that compelling episode),and the part where Archie falls apart over the death of his wife(very emotional and powerful episode in which Carroll O'Connor won two emmys for his work as Best Actor on the show,and one for Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner as well).

During its initial run on CBS(as "All In The Family" from 1971-1979,and as "Archie Bunker's Place" from 1979-1982),the show as a whole has a very strong significance and content that applies still to this day,and one of the most influential shows ever to come out of the golden decade of great TV: the 1970's. Kudos to Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton,wherever you are!

Catch the classics episodes on TV Land and Nick at Nite.

In today's politically correct environment, a show like this could not be made today. This show dealt with the prejudices that ALL of us have in us. I am African-American and I admit that at times I have said things about other races that I now regret. I get that from my late father who was a Black version of Archie, even down to the favorite easy chair. Anyone can be a bigot and I feel that this show pointed it out in its own unique way.

Also, this show really dealt with issues besides predjudice. In fact it was groundbreaking due to the fact it dealt with so many controversial issues such as Vietnam, menopause, impotence, gun control and rape. In fact, the episode that pretty much stands out in a lot of peoples minds is when Edith had to deal with the fact that she was nearly raped on her birthday and what she went through to face her worst fear.