User reviews

Even though it took three years and three pilots to get All in the Family on network TV, it has become one of the most classic 70s sitcoms as well as the show that broke the genteel world of comedies like Ozzie and Harriet, Father Knows Best and Leave it to Beaver by featuring subjects that weren't explored on those shows. Subjects like bigotry, racism and menopause were controversial topics that were finally brought out of the closet and used as the basis for a number of episodes.

The four main actors, Carroll O'Connor as Archie, Jean Stapleton as Edith, Rob Reiner as Mike and Sally Struthers as Gloria had great chemistry but it was O'Connor's portrayal of Archie is what made the show a major hit after a slow start. His bigoted rants and numerous malaprops stood out and were very funny. Also, the many scenes with Archie and Mike clashing on a lot of subjects were also extremely funny, especially in the flashback episode where Archie met mike for the first time.

All in the Family's success paved the way for more shows with more controversial topics such as Maude and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Besides Maude, the show also had two other spinoffs, the hit sitcom The Jeffersons and the not so successful Gloria.

As the years went by, I felt the show jumped the shark when Archie became a lot mellower after buying Kelsey's Bar and when Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers left the show. The episode about Mike and Gloria leaving for California was one of the saddest sitcom episodes I ever saw but it remains a classic. Mike and Gloria leaving also lost most of the show's edge since the Archie-Mike conflict was one of the show's centerpieces. Another shark jump was the addition of Edith's niece Stephanie, another example of a sitcom adding another kid.

All in the Family, despite all the racial slurs was one of my all-time sitcom favorites. There well never be another show like it.

When All In The Family premiered in 1971 it took some chances. Remember that the CBS lineup at the time included The Beverly Hillbillies, Gunsmoke, and Green Acres - hardly the stuff of controversy. Controversial "Laugh-In" had been racking up big ratings for a couple of years, but second-rate NBC had nothing to lose by taking chances.

Besides broaching all of the controversial topics of the day - abortion, the Vietnam War, homosexuality, and race relations, the show dared to say something that was seldom said on stage or screen before - that bigotry and racism thrived north of the Mason Dixon line, and found particularly safe harbors in some of the urban areas of what is normally thought of as the heart of liberalism. In this case, the Bunker household is in Queens, New York.

The year is 1971, and before outsourcing is even a word, Archie Bunker is able to maintain a middle class lifestyle in New York City with a blue collar job and a stay-at-home wife, Edith. He will never be anything more than he is right then. Archie holds very conservative though not well thought out - or at least not well articulated - viewpoints. And then his 18 year old daughter Gloria marries a liberal. Mike is an atheist with a Polish Catholic background, and stands for everything Archie is against. The icing on the cake - he's a penniless student and he will be a guest in Archie's home for the next several years while he finishes the university degree that will enable him to look down on Archie forever afterwords. It's funny this last point is brought up only once, by the observant if subservient Edith, Archie's wife.

For a few seasons all was well, and then this show and MASH suffered a series of crushing blows - the Vietnam War ended, Nixon was disgraced, and the controversial views held by Archie's son-in-law Mike began to enter the mainstream. Thus the show had to come up with new angles to stay fresh, and it did that, even managing to negotiate the loss of three of the four main characters and a neighboring family that played an important supporting role, the African-American Jeffersons.

Today it looks somewhat tie-dyed, but it's still worth studying just to see mainstream viewpoints change before your eyes.

Still one of the best shows ever!!!!!!!! You can watch it over and over again, and never get sick of it.

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.

Simply no other show dealt racism, sexism, liberal elitism, class, homophobia, the generation gap and reality as it is on the ground in America better than "All In The Family" did. It blew the door off the hinges of any remaining concept of a sanitized "family hour" on television. The gritty, dirty, messy, tragic and yet hilarious lives of the working class in 1970s America was laid out and dissected with surgical precision. A lot of painful, infected boils were lanced, which had bee. laid bare by the Vietnam war and the race riots of the 1970s. Viewing AITF was and still is a form of socio-political catharsis. In the 70s, older adults and their children and grandchildren saw each other more honestly by sharing the laughter of this unique, groundbreaking sitcom. Nothing before or since has been equal.

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.

Total change - that's the only way to describe it. I remember sitting in the living room with my parents and my aunt and uncle (who in many ways reminded me of Archie Bunker) and we watched history being made on the night of January 11, 1971. It reminded me of watching "The Ed Sullivan Show" on February 8, 1964. My mother went "oooh" when Archie used his first slur, then put her hand over her mouth. I never thought they'd watch it again, but sure enough their curiosity overcame them and next week they watched again, and again. Total classic TV, broke the way for all that was to follow! Within 18 months, the last of the older-style sitcoms that were on from the 1960's (Bewitched, My Three Sons) would go off the air, to be replaced by groundbreaking Norman Lear shows such as Maude, Good Times, etc. Finally TV caught up to the times, as music had seven years earlier!

I won't rehash what everyone else has written, as by now everyone knows the premise, characters, and significance of this classic pop-culture institution. But do want to discuss "All In The Family"'s groundbreaking synthesis of razor-sharp contemporary comedy and hard-hitting, sometimes heartbreaking drama--a Norman Lear specialty, as it turned out. The series as a whole could reasonably be considered the origin of the infamous "Very Special Episode" phenomenon of a decade later but no other series ever rode that fine tightrope as successfully...some of those attempts were incredibly cringe worthy (which as an '80s child I remember all too well, and wish I didn't!). When the show would shift gears into Serious Mode the effect could be very uncomfortable, and as I recall the scales tipped more and more in that direction in later seasons, but it never seemed gratuitous or grotesque as, say, dramatic episodes of "Diff'rent Strokes" (or any episode of "House Of Payne"). This was a show that routinely dealt with hot-button subjects, the onscreen tension was always high, and often the only thing separating a laugh from a gasp of horror was the presence or absence of an Archie malapropism, a smug put-down from Meathead, or a dingbat remark from Edith. If I remember correctly they even managed to get a small, nervous giggle from a horrified audience watching a man attempting to rape Edith. The eruptive cheering as she escapes her attacker is testament to the powerful writing this crew was capable of, when they weren't thinking up zingers for Archie and Mike to bat around.

The show's writers and cast were smart, maybe too smart for a sitcom. They realized that the best comedy arises from drama and vice versa in a graceful dance; you can't just stick a serious story into an otherwise lighthearted or buffoonish series without giving the audience emotional whiplash. Many sitcoms have tried, few have succeeded, and I'd argue (with "M*A*S*H*" being a close second) that none has ever nailed the formula like the one that started it all.

When this show premiered, the American television audience had never witnessed anything like it before!! Archie Bunker became a household word... His whole mindset was that of the straight and narrow philosophy which reflected the introductory song to this series "Those Were The Days"...."All in the Family" had a two pronged attack on realism in television programming which was acrimonious as well as groundbreaking!! First of all, this show pointed out how not every American was a spawn of lace curtain living!! Your average Joe lived in a very modest house, one similar to Achie Bunker's!! Secondly, the changing times of the sixties and seventies brought on mores of behavior that cultural conservatives such as Archie Bunker could not really deal with!! New York City brought on a bevy of cultural stereotypes who compounded Archie's difficulty to cope with a changing era!! The characters in "All in the Family" were all well fortified by firmly entrenched political viewpoints which evoked a compelling aura of ignorance and blissful stubbornness!! Eventually, each and every one of them became the recipients of political indiscretions just by virtue of the fact that they were victims of their own hypocrisy!! Archie (Carroll O'Connor) was the bigoted non-dimensional plebeian whom people viewed as irascible and not very easy to understand!! While Archie appeared very cantankerous and closed minded, he was not alone, and was far more common and run of the mill than most people would like to believe!! Edith (Jean Stapleton) his wife, was the simpleton whose good nature prevailed throughout one dose of modern philosophy and spousal rudeness after the next!! Mike (Rob Reiner) the confused and arrogant liberal, (He was my favorite character on the show!!) He thought solutions to real life problems could be attained in text books!! Finally, Gloria (Sally Struthers) was the whining and closely guarded daughter, who took in an egalitarian approach to different lifestyles, as a way of rebelling against her father!! The chemistry with the actors, and actresses and producers and directors of this show became a masterful blend of effective programming through a deliberately flawed and injured comedy!! Almost no other show was fully able to accomplish this!! "The Honeymooners" is about the only one I can think of off hand!! I saw an episode last night where Archie saved "a woman's" life by giving her mouth to mouth resuscitation, only to find out that this "woman" was a transvestite!! It was situations such as these that made this show so popular!! When issues about race, social adversity, sexual preferences and unusual lifestyles are taboo, they cultivate a precarious curiosity which the television audience has, and wants to satisfy!! The conundrum being: Why are these aspects of American culture so hush hush anyway!! "All in the Family" was more popular than almost any other T.V. Show in the history of television, and it was because it broke ground on purveying an accurate portrayal about so many social issues....When a sitcom like "All in the Family" has had so much success, your hat has to go off to it!! I feel that "All in the Family" has made assertive progress in establishing better television... This is not easy to do!!

Norman Lear's "All In The Family" is the best, TV's greatest sitcom, and the greatest show in the sixty year history of television. This show beats out "I Love Lucy", "The Honeymooners", "Father Knows Best", "Burns and Allen", "The Cosby Show", and yes, "Seinfeld". And those are only the sitcoms that take a back seat to "All In The Family".

"All In The Family" was a groundbreaking sitcom, an original, that brought to the forefront many of the problems in society in the 1970's, most of which still exist today. Ageism, racism, sexism, nuclear disarmament, Richard Nixon, the Vietnam War, and even homophobia were deeply examined in this groundbreaking sitcom, as television was no longer relegated to the good old days of perfect nuclear family television. i.e. "Father Knows Best", "Make Room For Daddy","The Donna Reed Show" and yes, "The Brady Bunch".

Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) is a hard working, lower middle class average Joe, with a loud mouth and silly bigoted views. Many people label Archie as a racist, but he didn't really meet the profile of a true racist. He would never join the KKK, although in a later episode his foolishness nearly got him unwillingly initiated into the group.

Archie is not a true racist because he doesn't have a mean streak. Yes he'll make fun of blacks, Puerto Ricans, Jews, Italians, Hungarians, and gays, but they're always guests in his little home on 704 Hauser Street in Flushing, Queens.

Archie doesn't hate, he fears. He has just enough financial resources to support "the dingbat", his slow witted but honest and kind wife Edith, his "little goil", spunky and feminist daughter Gloria, and "the meathead", his educated, rabble rousing and ultra liberal son-in-law Mike Stivic.

Mike "The meathead" Stivic (Rob Reiner) is highly educated but doesn't often use good common sense, or social smarts. Archie supports him with food, shelter, and entertainment, pays his way through college, lets him have sex with his daughter Gloria up in their bedroom, and even bails "the meathead" out of trouble a few times. And all Meathead does is chastise Archie for his vices (ultra-right wing and racist views), never commends him for his virtues (the fact that "Meathead couldn't survive if Archie didn't work to support him.) He starts so many silly arguments with Archie like the "Star Spangled Banner" and even uses Archie's telephone to call the Fair Housing Commision to get Archie into trouble for circulating a petition to keep blacks and Puerto Ricans out of the neighborhood.

Archie's wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) with her "straight from the dingbat" comment of "I don't think you should go where angels fear to tread", meaning to mind your own business. Meathead should mind his own business. Yes, Archie shouldn't be circulating a petition to keep undesirables out of the neighborhood, nor should he bad mouth blacks, Puerto Ricans, Asians, Jews, etc. But that doesn't make it educated college boy's business to interfere with Archie's. If Mike would assert himself more intelligently with Archie instead of all of these silly arguments, there would be less tension in the Bunker household. But unfortunately, "All In The Family" then wouldn't have been the great situation comedy that it was.

If you have to pick the smartest person in the Bunker household, your first pick would probably be Mike "Meathead" Stivic or his wife and Archie's daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), because they are the most worldly and racially tolerant. However the true brain of the Bunker household is really Edith. She likes people and she knows how to get along with everyone. No one but occasionally Archie gets angry with Edith, because she is tolerant, kind, honest, and considerate. However, sometimes she's too honest and this drives Archie batty.

There is a self-defense technique called jujitsu in which you throw people in the way they are already headed. Edith unconsciously uses this technique against Archie. He'll make some wild racial slur to get the CBS studio audience balling with laughter, and then Edith will top him with some dingbatty punchline. Normally she's slow witted but often she gets the better word on Archie.

For example: Archie: "In my day there was nothing, I mean nothing until the wedding night." Edith: "Even Then." Archie: "You have the nerve, Michael Stivic Meathead, to write a letter to the president about your rash!" Edith: "Maybe he knows a good skin man." Then there was the episode when Archie's niece Linda was dating Lionel, his black neighbor and friend. Edith is frantically trying to hide the portrait of Linda and Lionel together. Edith out dingbats herself. Archie sees the picture and goes ballistic.

One of the funniest episodes was "Edith's Problem" when she's going through menopause, is flipping out and turns on Archie. She orders him to "Stifle", like he's told her to do hundreds of times.

I have one more thing to add about "All In The Family". I have worked in many warehouse/ loading dock jobs like Archie does. And from this great sitcom, I never heard the terms, "pallet", "pallet jack", "skinny", "skid", or "conveyor belt". What I mean is that even even on this great show, work is like non-existent. That is the problem with television. I would have liked to learn more about Archie's work, not just his blatantly outspoken, bigoted personality.

However, "All in the Family" had very few flaws, was somewhat educational, and had wall-to-wall laughter. I encourage everyone, especially a new generation who wasn't born until after the 1970's, to buy these great DVD sets of "All In The Family" seasons one through four. Carroll O' Connor as Archie Bunker was a one-of-a kind talent. "All In The Family" now shown on TV Land was the best program ever put on television.

I must have seen some of the earlier seasons but I cannot remember them. I recently watched several of the later seasons just to see what it was like to see those later episodes again. I had a mixed reaction to it. A lot of people think that Jean Stapleton's acting was excellent-and maybe it was-but I found her character hard going at times-especially when the show went from heavy dramatic moment to light comedic moment rapidly. It is like a blasphemy to some people if they hear criticism of the show which is too bad because there are a lot of different elements in this show and I think that some elements work better than others. There are no interactions with Mikes family-sort of like he fell from space. That might sound like splitting hairs but I think if it was real life there would be at least discussion of that subject. Kind of a comedy-kind of tragicomedy. Too many people put the 1970's on a pedestal when it was just ordinary in terms of what it was like to live through it-in my opinion. Maybe I am just not best critic.

A show that brought out the stupidity of bigotry by showing how crazy it could really be.

Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker epitomized such bigotry. Archie would let all the groups have it equally. You could never say that he was for one specific group.With his extremely liberal son-in-law, Rob Reiner, the conflicts between the two were absolutely memorable.

As the long suffering, naive wife, Jean Stapleton added plenty of humor with those sardonic looks. When Archie said that the Hebs tended to name their sons Abe, Edith replied,"I didn't know that Lincoln was Jewish!"

Remember the beginning theme song that had to be done over since the line: Gee,our old LaSalle ran great could not be readily understood.

Pity poor Sally Struthers, the daughter of Archie and Edith who was wed to the Meathead Reiner. She had to walk a fine line from her ultra Conservative father and liberal father. Remember her hair-do? She looked like Orphan Annie.

Richard Nixon being president at the time certainly added the necessary ingredients for this show to succeed. Could the show have worked well had Ike been in the White House? You have to wonder about that one.

What memories with Sammy Davis Jr., the Ku Klux Klan, Frank and Irene Lorenzo, the Jeffersons, Cousin Maude. Those certainly were the days.

This series was the series which led to even more code breaking shows later. In fact, it led to Maude as a spin off which went on to considerable success in defending the women's movement. This one, broke a lot of long standing taboos in family sit-com comedy.

"They way Glenn Miller Played" from the theme song Those Were The Days for All In the Family inspired the theme song for the animated series Family Guy now on FOX.

This is the first series to do bathroom humor (& led to Roseanne getting even more raunchy later on). This show took racism & portrayed it more accurately the the mainstream media has since. In this series, a white Catholic family accepted all races into their lives when they encountered them. The mainstream media still can not do that today.

Caroll O'Conner really found his lifetime role in this show. He had done quite a few films prior to this, even some TV (notably a great guest shot on the Wild Wild West comes to mind). This show highlighted all his talents.

Maureen Stapleton was already a great live theater actress when she came here. In this show, she proved why she was also a great TV actress. She brings a perfect realism to Caroll's Archie.

Thanks to these two talents, Sally Struthers & Rob Reiner developed their careers on this show. They learned their craft from the veterans, though Rob went more into directing & producing, while Sally never seemed to duplicate her success here.

What is a shame is that this show illustrates how well a real family can deal with difficult issues. It has not been done better since.

I get that this show was supposed to challenge some of the prevailing norms of the time. It's not really controversial to say that most old people back then were ignorant, racist and loud like the character Archie is, and my dislike of the show isn't because I in any way sympathize with his views. My problem with the show rather is that the characters are all completely unlikeable. Archie sounds like he has down's syndrome (not to disrespect anyone with down's syndrome, but he really, really does sound mentally challenged, which is a problem since that's not intended and so it just sounds silly) - it's impossible for me to understand anything he's saying because the actor playing him (Carroll O'Connor) mumbles everything he says. It's as if he's trying to sound as dumb as possible when he says his lines. The actor playing Archie's wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) is constantly screeching, regardless of what emotion she's portraying. It actually hurts my ears to listen to her. Her character is also really one-dimensional - basically, she's always oblivious, no matter what the situation is. Most of the time she's oblivious to Archie's bigotry and stupidity, but when Archie isn't being a bigot, the writers usually find something else for her to be oblivious to. Their daughter Gloria is also one-dimensional; she parrots the liberal views of her husband (played by Rob Reiner, who I must say, has really put on a lot of weight since back then), but doesn't have the ability to form thoughts complex enough to understand them. As Archie and Edith's daughter, Gloria is convincing in that the actor portraying her combined a little bit of the down-syndromish voice of her father, and a little bit of the annoying shrieking of her mother. Like her mother, she's often fairly oblivious to what's going on. The laughtrack usually plays when one of them says something stupid (which is often), even if the situation isn't actually that funny. Her character is also literally a mouth breather. Don't watch this show.

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.

The headline truly does say it all. You certainly did have ALL in this family. Conservative,uneducated bigot in Archie. Liberal smug college student in Mike,the son in law. Naive with her shining moments in Edith the housewife. Womens libber daughter Gloria. What a fun family. First 5 yrs impeccable. My 10 is based on those. Funny with clashes constantly. Bring in Lionel, the families young, black friend and you had full blown fits of laughter. As the show went on the feistiness and bluntness slowly seeped . The final season not even a shell of this wonderful show. Sometimes the show did get more serious after the initial 5 seasons. All in all this show was a microcosm and realistic picture of Americana in a working class mans home. Lots of humor eased tension on issues of the day, such as picketing,gun control, Vietnam,homosexuality,privacy rights, religion,political affiliation clash, race etc. Hmmm we have quite a few of these same issues today, go figure. In a nutshell, even though the show lost steam after the first 5 seasons, after the Stivics moved away from the Bunkers... It is still my favorite show of all time. In all fairness to AITF- I believe there must have been pressure to tone down due to political correctness rearing its ugly head= What a shame. Enjoy this show on DVD or TVLAND. At least the early seasons come out first on DVD.

There was nothing like All in the Family before it debuted in 1971 on television and honestly nothing like it has been able to duplicate the excellent casting, writing, and directing. This show was a phenomenon in the 1970s and it's affect on popular culture is still with us today. We all know about "All in the Family" with the beloved Carroll O'Connor as bigoted Archie Bunker, his dingbat wife Edith played by the wonderful Jean Stapleton, his daughter played by Sally Struthers, and his son-in-law played by actor turned director Rob Reiner. The show had guest appearances by Oscar winning actress Estelle Parsons, Betty Garrett, Philip Carey, Isabel Sanford, Sherman Helmsley, Beatrice Arthur, etc. This show spawned off "The Jeffersons" which was equally famous in it's own right and lasted just as long. Beatrice Arthur's character Maude became her own show and her maid played by the beloved Esther Rolle would star in her own sitcom, Good Times, which was famous as Maude as well. All in the Family had it's problems but I think the cast and characters truly loved and respected each other. Norman Lear gave birth to a phenomenon which remains untouched to this day. Archie Bunker may have had his prejudices at least in language and attitude but not so much in behavior. No different than most men of his time. In some ways, he reminds us a little of our fathers. Archie Bunker was an American original who was not Father knows Best. He was a real character with a very narrow point of view which I don't really believe he was every that prejudiced. He did allow the Jeffersons into his home and family life. He allowed Edith to work and have a transsexual friends. He also showed that despite the obvious character flaws that ARchie was truly human. He was still a good father, a loving husband, and grandfather. He may have argued and called his son-in-law "a Pinky Meathead," but he did it with love. I think the show should have ended when Jean Stapleton left because I didn't like them killing her off.

Pound for pound this is the greatest show in the history of television. Archie Bunker is the greatest character in the history of American television. Trailblazing, hilarious, great acting, great storylines, and they addressed every possible issue under the sun and dealt with relevant issues. This show made television what it is today.

During the early days of television sitcoms was pretty much very safe especially during the Eisenhower Era then in the mid 60's sitcoms went camp and silly. Then in the 70's along came All In The Family which changed TV forever. AITF took on many of the social issues such as Vietnam War, civil rights, and women rights. The first five years was the most successful then the dynamic changed when Mike graduated and moved next door and the Stivics had Joey. I gave All In The Family a 9 because the show should have ended when Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers left.

The funniest show then, now and forever!!!!! Way ahead of its time. If you allow yourself to set your mind free. And read the deeper message. I'm a minority and love this show!!!!!

Its Non-PC, funny and it revolutionized the game. If you thought Al Bundy was the guy. Haha. No doubt Al Bundy was the guy but before Bundy there was Archie, Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Sanford.

Great show. You will be Relaxtained.

What can be learned? How you laugh out loud and maybe how to roll on floor laughing.

Verdict: iCONIC.

Archie bunker is a character that will nevre be forgotten . Watching this show now is a bit cringy but in reality it was ahead of its time with its unapologtic approach to politics and racism. Love him or hate him, Archie Bunker is a character that will never be forgotten, even if he is remembered for being a pessimistic bigot!

A timeless classic!!! It is as relevant today as it was in the 70s

This series began just as an earlier era of beautiful genies and witches was ending; Bewitched was in its last or next to last season when AITF began. What a contrast! Personally, I much prefer the Bewitched type of show. Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton were very talented actors. Clearly they were the foundation of the show. As for the then-topical political jibes that Archie and Meathead would hurl back and forth, that sort of thing does not age well. While a very good actor, O'Connor in my opinion was not a naturally comic actor, such as Jackie Gleason, Dick Van Dyke or Bob Newhart. They could elicit laughs from the audience with ease. O'Connor, as with most actors in sitcoms, had to rely on good writing. Stapleton was much more of a naturally comic performer. She got the most comic punch from her line delivery. The show made a big impact when it first came on, because it was so different. The central couple were not svelte of figure and well-coiffed and dressed. The setting of the Bunker house, to me, made them look like they were barely getting by financially. Drabness was the big keynote. And, of course, every week would see some "hot button" social or political controversy batted around. That sort of thing is such a big bore to me, I'm now surprised that I saw so many of the episodes. Perhaps I watched from inertia. I often watched the show when it first aired, so long ago now! I haven't watched it since. In retrospect, I find it an off-putting show, due to: the heavy-handed and condescending moralizing tone; the dingy, depressing interior of the Bunker residence--an instance of more condescension, in my view; and the grating nature of the weekly shout-fests. For entertainment, I'll choose Samantha (witch) or Jeannie (genie) any time.

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.