I find that things really began to change when Edith passed on at the start of season two of ABP.Two years later,the Stivics divorced and we never saw"meathead"again.By that time the close knit family of the original four main principals was really a thing of the past.

there's a lot to be said for a show exiting on a crest...like Mary Tyler Moore did. It's a lot better to exit near the top than to let something great morph off into something that quickly goes stale.

So true Rich.....its also nice to have a real ending

I find that things really began to change when Edith passed on at the start of season two of ABP.Two years later,the Stivics divorced and we never saw"meathead"again.By that time the close knit family of the original four main principals was really a thing of the past.


That's so true. It really lost steam when the Stivic's moved to California. And then when Edith died that finished it off.

That's so true. It really lost steam when the Stivic's moved to California. And then when Edith died that finished it off.
That's true too. If you think about it, the All In The Family we all knew really started to change in 1975 or 1976, when the decade itself really started to change. It gave Archie and Mike (and Archie and everyone else) less things to argue about. I know some people didn't like when they would fight about certain issues, but those fights were at the heart of the show, IMO. I wouldn't go as far as saying that '75 or '76 were "The end of the AITF era," but things certainly started to change then. But change or not, it still remains one of TV's finest after 30+ years.

There was an episode where Archie, Edith & Stephanie flew to California to spend Christmas with Gloria, Mike & Joey. But, it turned out Gloria & Mike had separated and were not living together anymore, which her parents did not know. Mike & Gloria pretended that they were still living together but Gloria eventually told Edith (in the very green bathroom) that they were going to get a divorce. Anyone remember this episode? I'm not sure which season this is from.

I don't know...."AITF's" ninth season pretty much screamed "The magic is gone!"

There was an episode where Archie, Edith & Stephanie flew to California to spend Christmas with Gloria, Mike & Joey. But, it turned out Gloria & Mike had separated and were not living together anymore, which her parents did not know. Mike & Gloria pretended that they were still living together but Gloria eventually told Edith (in the very green bathroom) that they were going to get a divorce. Anyone remember this episode? I'm not sure which season this is from.
It was from season 9.
There was also another two part episode from the following season,which would be the first season of ABP,where Mike,Gloria and Joey came to spend Thanksgiving with Archie,Edith and Stephanie at the Bunker home.That episode turned out to be the very last time Archie,Edith,Mike and Gloria were together,before Edith passed away at the start of the season that followed.

This to me is a jump the shark question, the answer at least in my opinion was the day the Stivics moved next door. Mike and Archie were a classic comedy team. Opposites make for great comedy, fat and skinny (Laurel and Hardy), neat and sloppy (Oscar and Felix), Norton and Ralph and of course right vs. left (Archie and Mike). Trapped under one roof sharing one TV and one dinner table, one living room lead to countless confrontations and lots of laughts for the audience. Gloria and Mike living next door is a quiet zone, the explosive encounters once a natural part of the show become a series of contrived visits back and forth with a less intense feel.

The move was a necessary transition (how long could Mike go to school) but the show really lost it's edge after that.