Was the 'Gloria' Spinoff A Case of Too Little Too Late?

[Brian Damage]

I've seen this spinoff and honestly it wasn't all that bad. It was a little hard seeing Gloria as a single mom and all, but the cast was ok and show did have some LOL moments. Was this a case of a spinoff that was too late in development as the whole 'All in the Family' phenomenom was wearing thin...Agree?

[Jude The Obscure]

I watched it and enjoyed it and it ranked #18 for the season and still CBS canceled it.....

[Stuck In The '70's]

I watched it and enjoyed it and it ranked #18 for the season and still CBS canceled it.....
That was the surprise cancellation of the season. It was a good show. I enjoyed it.

[Retro4Life]

I think Gloria would have had a hard road to hoe no matter when it premiered, since any of those characters on their own was much weaker than the whole ensemble, and of the four, Gloria had the least depth (through no fault of Sally Struthers who did wonders in the role).

But yeah, if they were going to do it it would have made a lot more sense to have done it right after Mike and Gloria moved out west.

[TVFactFan]

Maybe CBS felt #18 was too low for a show with All in the Family connections-lol

I think Networks expect to see results like what happened with Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley. Both shows were in the top 5 for mutiplte seasons and that's probably why 18 was too low

[Brian Damage]

Maybe CBS felt #18 was too low for a show with All in the Family connections-lol

I think Networks expect to see results like what happened with Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley. Both shows were in the top 5 for mutiplte seasons and that's probably why 18 was too low


What shows were surrounding Gloria?

[TVFactFan]

What shows were surrounding Gloria?


The same shows surrounding ABP, Matt Houston and Chips. But it actually did better than ABP since ABP was #23. So now this cancellation is really a mystery-lol

[Brian Damage]

The same shows surrounding ABP, Matt Houston and Chips. But it actually did better than ABP since ABP was #23. So now this cancellation is really a mystery-lol


I must delve deeper to find an answer to why this was canceled! :lol:

[Stuck In The '70's]

Maybe since CBS was cancelling ABP, they figured they'd end everything connected to the Bunkers all at once. In the fall of 1983 CBS brought back Alice on Sunday nights and the only new sitcom was Goodnight Beantown which had premiered as a midseason replacement the year before. It was cancelled by December.

[Brian Damage]

Maybe since CBS was cancelling ABP, they figured they'd end everything connected to the Bunkers all at once. In the fall of 1983 CBS brought back Alice on Sunday nights and the only new sitcom was Goodnight Beantown which had premiered as a midseason replacement the year before. It was cancelled by December.


I guess that makes sense in a way...However, ratings=money for the netwrks and 'Gloria' seemed to live up to its end.

[Robert 13]

This is actually one of my favorite short-lived series. I have inquired to Shout about including episodes on the forthcoming "All in the Family" season sets. But it doesn't look they are able to include them. Too bad though, it would give the sets a bit of "bonus feature" substance. :)

[onederboi779]

one thing i didnt understand was that if sally struthers was willing to reprise the role why didnt they just keep her on archie bunkers place?dont get me wrong ive seen a few episodes of gloria before and they were pretty good but i think it would have been better if they had her as a regular on archie bunkers place who knows it may have continued another season or more if they did that.

[cleverfun3000]

The show was #18 when CBS canceled it (source: IMDB.com/messageboard/GLORIA) but since Sally Struther's character simply couldn't carry an entire show, it was basically doomed from the start.

[HelloLarry]

There was some speculation that while Gloria and ABP were canceled, Alice and Dukes of Hazzard (which were rated lower) were renewed because they were Warner Brothers properties. Someone high up in CBS was also a chariman of Warner apparently.

ABP had pretty much run its course and it was amazing that they got 4 seasons out of it. By the 4th season all of Archie's antagonists were gone (Murray and Veronica), Edith was dead, and the stories shifted more to the kids probably to get more youthful viewers which has been a complaint about CBS programming for years (being geared to an older audience). While I watched until the end, it just kind of fizzled. It was a same too because overall, after 13 seasons between the two shows, it deserved a better exit. The last episode of the series (I'm Torn Here) is pretty average and underwhelming.

[Hughsgirl]

I have never watched the show so I can't really form an opinion on whether or not it came too late. So it's true that Mike and Gloria divorced and Mike joined a comune and dumped all his responsibilities as a father and became the loser I always said he was?

[dlemond]

Is Gloria available to watch online anywhere?

[queenFrostine278]

Is Gloria available to watch online anywhere?

I wanna see it too! How did you all see it? Do they ever air it on TV?

[TVFactFan]

I wanna see it too! How did you all see it? Do they ever air it on TV?


TV Land aired a episode of Gloria in August of 2002 as part of Norman Lear's 80th birthday celebration. That was the only episode I watched and recorded

[ThomasE]

I have episodes from a trade and I think I have that episode that TV LAND aired. IMO, the show wasn't all that. I was glad to see it but it was "eh" to me. Carroll O' Connor had cut all ties with Sally Struther and the show at this point from what I heard. Can anyone vouch for this?

[HelloLarry]

From what I understand, the original pilot was co-written by some writers involved in Archie Bunker's Place. That episode was rejected and dumped into the syndication package of Archie Bunker's Place. The series shifted production and they hired new writers. While it was still picked up Carrol O'Connor and crew were not consulted for the series and as a result, he refused to be involved with it at all.

As a sidenote, I hate those goofy explanations of when characters leave shows. Mike joining a commune? It just seemed silly when they could've used their marital problems from the season 9 All in the Family episode "California Here We Are" as a springboard for the split. That was the one time Archie finally sided with Mike in an argument and it was against his little girl. They could've done more with that but just used one of those dopy sitcom excuses 'cause they think it sounds funnier or something.