I actually thought Season 4 was very weak and I assumed it would dip from there. However, S5 and now on disc one of S6 the show is still in there swinging. Is this the last of the great ones?

I guess I would say Season 6. With the G&M moving out alot of the confontation ended and that is what made the series so great, the fighting of Mike and Archie. I do like to see a more independent Edith as we do in the later seasons but I don't much care for the episodes that focus on G&M. There are a few in Season 6 which just are not that interesting for me. I actually like ABP Season 1 much better than seasons 6 through 9 of AITF. There are still some classic episodes to come (Edith's Birthday, Edith gives up religion, Archie's Chair, and of course the final episode) but after Season 6 the fun seemed to drop out.

I would have to see season 6

I would say Season 5 is the last consistantly good season. While Season 6 is still great, there are a lot of filler episodes and the show becomes more of a sit-com. This has a lot to do with changes in the country; the end of Vietnam and the Nixon White House and changes in personnel behind the scenes. The new crew were TV veterans so the show starts to get a more old time feel to it and I don't think it ever bounced back from there. Whereas, say seasons 1-5 were more edgy, seasons 6-9 were more Honeymooners / I Love Lucy-esque in their approach overall with some powerful exceptions and the AITF touch.

I also notice that they seem to pepper the soundtrack more with laughs and applause starting with Season 6 which irritates me. It feels like when Scatman Cruthers would walk on in Chico and the Man and the whole audience would clap for him for what seemed an eternity. He and Jack Albertson would just look at each other, smile, and shake their heads until the applause died down. UGH! The scene in the season opener where Edith is running back and forth between Archie and Gloria is so irritating because of the applause. It had the feeling like the sign went on in the audience and they applauded.

The show (because of the behind the scenes changes) is filmed a little differently and not as 'stagy' as the first 5 seasons. You see more camera movement and also more 'inserts' that show the sides of the Bunkers house where the audience would normally be sitting. It definately has a feeling that there was more post-production going into this season (and through the end of the series) and I 'think' this is where you can trace the beginning of the applause that occur during a dissolve between two scenes (which I believe would happen in post-production as well) which I don't recall happening before this season.

The other thing I notice about Season 6 is that once G&M move out, there really doesn't seem to be a reason for either of them to visit. Gloria is missing from a few episodes and Rob Reiner seems to show up at the house just to remind the viewer that he's still on the show. The whole character has a Frank Burns feeling, post Margaret engagement. In several episodes, he comes in the house to annoy Archie, Archie gets irritated and throws him out, or Mike gets irritated and says he's gonna go home. Then, "boom" back to the story in progress.

And I agree...the episodes that focus on Mike and Gloria UGH!! I wonder if something came down from the network to film episodes like this to keep a younger viewership so the show wouldn't look 'old' (a criticism that would haunt AITF and ABP later in the run). I really don't find their relationship all that interesting and they act more like whiny kids with their problems instead of adults.

Still a strong season (as 7-9 are as well) but we start seeing a few dead spots in the overall episodes.

^gotta agree. The further I get into S6 the more I dislike it. Sad. The birth of Joey had such potential but is ruined by the "phone booth" humor that just doesn't work and M&G eps like the Gloria is Nervous border on unwatchable.

The last 4 eps on disc 2 are just not very good, though the first 4 were quite good. Take what you can get I guess.

The seasons prior to Season 6 where Mike and Gloria move next door were more upbeat and energetic. They were literially brighter. I think I read that they cut back on the lighting starting in Season 6 because of the Energy Crisis.

That is funny that you say that 'cause in ABP, the house is pretty dark in some spots.

To me, the show "jumped the shark" after season five

IMO the show never jumped. The best seasons were the early ones but every season including ABP was very enjoyable.

Season 5 was the last great season
that was before Both The Jeffersons and the Lorenzo move away and before Gloria and Mike moves out.
The first 5 season were the best and and much of the classic episode comes from these 5 years.

I also agree Season 5 was the last great season. Not sure if I want to collect season 7-9, although Edith's 50th bday would be worth it.

The only thing that bothers me about Edith's 50th Birthday are the slapstick shenanegans of the second half when Mike and Archie go back to the house.
It really hurts the overall episode although it is still among the strongest of those later seasons.

I think season 7 was the last really good season. After that, the show went into the tank.

I hope season 7 comes out on DVD soon. For a classic show like AITF, they release the seasons way too slow. Basically, they issue one season a year. Season 7 has many good episodes, including one of my favorites- Archie's Chair.

I always felt that Season 5 was the last great year for many of the reasons given above by other posters. With G&M next door, no more Vietnam, Watergate, Women's Lib, and all the other early '70s chaos in our country, they just simply ran out of steam. I know there were always other non-political/social episodes in the first 5 seasons, but they were done with an edge to them and always seemed to plug in whatever the current events of the time were.

After Season 5, they taped the show in another studio and had a much smaller audience. This is why we hear alot of canned laughter. There was also more of an intimacy with the set and the actors simular to a show that was filmed with no audience and with alot of post-production editing. I think the show went rapidly down hill after Season 5 with a few exceptions.

Season 6 is the last great season I liked it when Archie found out that Beverly Lasalle is a man the hard way.

For me, the entire series is very enjoyable all up until the final season. I think people got used to seeing the way things were in the early seasons and didn't like to see change. But, realistically, the show evolved. It couldn't go on the way it was right up until the very end. I think if it did, it would still have been frowned upon as never-changing and stale.

I'm looking forward to collecting all of the remaining seasons as they are released. I hope Sony announces Season 7 soon. Only 2 more to go after that. :)

I agree with both Sonny and Robert 13 that the series never "jumped the shark" like so many other shows do when they get into their later years. I think that AITF was still going strong in the 9th season. I know many people seem to think that the show was never the same after Mike and Gloria moved out and into the Jefferson's house, but I still think there were many great episodes after the move. Some that come to mind from the later seasons that I really like are "The Very Moving Day", "Archie's Civil Rights", "The Baby Parts 1 & 2", "Edith's 50th Birthday Parts 1 & 2", "The Stivics Go West" and "Stephanie's Conversation" among others.

I agree with both Sonny and Robert 13 that the series never "jumped the shark" like so many other shows do when they get into their later years. I think that AITF was still going strong in the 9th season. I know many people seem to think that the show was never the same after Mike and Gloria moved out and into the Jefferson's house, but I still think there were many great episodes after the move. Some that come to mind from the later seasons that I really like are "The Very Moving Day", "Archie's Civil Rights", "The Baby Parts 1 & 2", "Edith's 50th Birthday Parts 1 & 2", "The Stivics Go West" and "Stephanie's Conversation" among others.

"Archie's Civil Rights" is a great episode! "Stephanie's Conversion" is also one of my faves. It's very sweet when Archie gives Steffy that little gift at the end. It shows the change in his character where love is involved. Very important to the series, in my opinion.

"Archie's Civil Rights" is a great episode! "Stephanie's Conversion" is also one of my faves. It's very sweet when Archie gives Steffy that little gift at the end. It shows the change in his character where love is involved. Very important to the series, in my opinion.


"Stephanie's Conversation" is a really touching episode. It shows that no matter all his faults, Archie really was a great father. Which, of course, we saw with Gloria too. I like the final season because I like the relationship bwtween Archie and Stephanie. That is also one of this things I like best about Archie Bunker's Place. I think that Carroll O' Connor and Danielle Brisebois had great chemistry. Also, like my friend Katie (Summer Breeze) said in another thread, Stephanie wasn't annoying like so many children are on sitcoms.

I have to agree with the majority here. Season 5 was the last of the great seasons.