Granted, I know she didn't die in real life, but she was such an integral part of the show. Should they have done a funeral episode and bring back several of the old characters including, the Stivics, The Jeffersons, The Lorenzos, Maude etc?

http://thephilter.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/edith_1.JPG

Well, Edith's death occured on Archie Bunker's Place, not AITF and while a funeral episode could have been very touching if done well, I think the ABP writers and Carroll O' Connor handled it well.

Had they done a funeral episode, they would have to have gotten Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers to return and there's a chance that doing a funeral episode might have been a bit morbid.

Actually I'm glad the did it the way they did, I think an episode wher she dies or even a funeral would have been TOO SAD!

And weren't Mike and Gloria split up by that time anyway, so I'd say it would only be Sally Struthers who would guest star.

Killing off Edith was only necessary if you think that going ahead with ABP was necessary, which IMHO it wasn't.

I HATE it when they sacrifice a character (in terms of life or just characterization) only because the producers are too greedy to just let a series end naturally. There's tons of examples, but this might be the most egregious one. :mad:

What could they have done? Always had Edith at home? Or at the Sunshine Home working? That would have been ridiculous. I think they had to kill Edith off. Even Jean Stapleton endorsed the move.

^Nope, they shouldn't have gotten greedy and should have done the dignified thing and ended the show when Mike and Gloria left.

For the sake of continuing the AITF universe without Edith, Mike or Gloria, you have a story that ends with Archie as a widower, Edith dead, and Mike and Gloria divorced.

Some happy ending for our beloved characters, huh?

I agree. In retrospect, they should have ended the show when Mike and Gloria left for California. Without Mike, the conflict between he and Archie, a major component that the show was built on, was gone.

Stephanie couldn't really replace Mike and the show got tame as time went on. Even Archie wasn't as prickly as he was in the early seasons.

Murray Klein became Archie's foil in lieu of Mike.

IDK, I kind of wished they would have done a funeral episode for Edith, but that's just me I guess. If a show kills off a loved one, why do it half ass?

Since most of the peisodes take place at the bar, I think it would have been ok to have Edith at home all the time, that's where she stayed the majority of the time anyway.