bh7812
12-01-2014, 10:39 PM
Earlier this year, I got a great deal on the All In The Family Complete Series box set. I finally got to it on my list of sitcoms left to see list a month ago and spent the last month watching through it completely. Just as I did after I completely finished Happy Days, I'd like to write out my thoughts on the show as clearly and concisely as possible.
Back when I was a kid, All In The Family was constantly in reruns through syndication here in the Chicago area. At the time, I didn't really have a lot of interest in it. Early this year I'd heard some people talking about it and I did some reading up on it. I thought if I ever found a good deal on the complete series set Id buy it. A few months back I finally got a crazy insane deal on it at a price I was ok with paying. Through this year I've been working through my monster stack of multi-cam sitcoms I've wanted to see, which has taken almost 5 years to do. I'm now down to the last 4 after having seen all of AITF. My initial thought was it was going to be a very long, gradual crawl through the series that might have taken me months. It only took a month due to me getting more than I ever expected to out of it.
Norman Lear had a hell of a lot of guts putting AITF on TV back in the early 70s and I feel it's a literal miracle he succeeded in getting a network to pick it up. It's bold, it's NOT shy and anything goes! EVERY conceivable topic or issue is addressed and explored throughout the series 9 seasons. I'm still shaking my head in amazement CBS let the whole thing fly. That would not ever happen now. If he were pitching it now-same characters, concept, everything there's no way in hell it'd get on the air. People say it's a dated show but other than the direct references to the Presidents in office through the series run, it's really not. We're still dealing with almost, if not all of the topics AITF touched on. Only difference is now some of those topics don't dare get touched on in conversation let alone get dealt with on TV! Where other shows would have stumbled and embarrassed themselves tackling the issues if they did at all, AITF deakt with every one of them with dignity and class in a way that made it okay for people to talk about what they'd seen after. The reason they were able to do that was thanks to the great writers and phenomenal ensemble cast. Here's my thoughts on the characters...
Archie- Due to having been in the war and injured, plus things that happened to him as he grew up, Archie ended up an extremely difficult man to be married to, live with and be friends with. He was uncensored. He gave his opinion on issues, topics, nationalities and races whether he was asked for them or not. He stood very strongly by his beliefs. He had a great deal of belief in and confidence in God. He was very patriotic. Though he had an extremely difficult time with it he loved his wife Edith though she drove him insane. As he days in the series finale he is nothing without her. He loves his daughter and later his grandson who he mellowed out quite a bit thanks to him. At least partially. He was a man of strong conviction and very little BS, common in his generation. For the few friends he had, and his family though, he'd do anything for them and often did. In Carroll's own words, Archie was rude, crude, hard to live with and quite unpleasant. I cannot see anyone else playing that character period let alone as well as he did. He did a phenomenal job. God bless him..he played that role for 13 years of his life, never missing a beat. Thank you, Carroll. You did outstanding.
Edith- What a nice lady! She was the opposite of Archie in every way, really. Everyone loved her, wanted to be her friend, and were only too happy to help her when she needed it because she helped them countless times. She had no problem expressing Her love for Archie and her family. She was not shy with that and expressed Her love for them all the time. She was a very kind hearted woman who seemed to be a simple lady at the surface but there was so much more to her. when she did have the courage to speak up, she told it like it was-and almost always the truth. Over the series she grew more and more courageous, finally standing up to Archie a few times! And herself too. She was way more street smart than book smart I thought. Thank you to Jean, too. She gave 9 years of her life to that character and no I e could have done it better. By the end, Archie and Edith were just as real as Carroll and Jean. Very hard to achieve and I forgot many times those 4 characters were just that.
Meathead- I loved Meathead!! He was my favorite of the 4. Though a stout Athiest, he never ever shoved that in people's faces. He respected greatly each persons right to their own beliefs, values, and religion. He may not agree with you, but he'd always respect your beliefs. We need more Mike "Meathead" Stivcs in the world. If we did, it would be much easier to be open to and respect other people's choices and beliefs. He always stood up to Archie and gave him a hell of a lot to think about. He showed him there's akways more than one way to look at things. Showed him he was never too old to open his mind up but Archie was pretty much a lost cause by then, too set in his ways. Though not perfect by any means, Meathead was a good guy. Rob Reiner did outstanding too. Though the whole ensemble was terrific, he and Carroll were the heart and soul of AITF.
Gloria- well, she is definitely Edith and Archie Bunker's daughter! She's caught in a forever struggle between her parents and Her loyalty to her husband. She loved all 3 so much she never wanted to hurt, disappoint, or say no to any of them. Sally did well but IMO Gloria was the weakest character of the 4. Still very good but not as prominent as the others.
The supporting cast varied greatly in quality. Barney Hefner was a loveable dope, didn't care for Irene or her husband too much, the Jeffersons were great as was Maude. Harry the bartender was a typical dictionary definition bartender. Loved Stephanie, she didn't take why of Archie's cfap. Though only 10 she was wise to all of it and stood up to him eye to eye which earned her his respect and love. Great final season.
To wrap this up, AITF is most definitely a must see TV show, period. Just as with Happy Days, Cosby, and several other huge sitcoms AITF is a show you should make time to see all of if you can. Phenomenal ensemble, mostly sharp writing, and the way it tackles all the issues make it must see TV and will leave you thinking long and hard about many of the topics dealt with long after the final episide. I'm really glad I gave the show an honest, full chance. Got far more out of it than I ever thought I would! A grade, 9/10 show.
Edit- please excuse the typos, I wrote all this on my iPad so theres bound to be mistakes!
Back when I was a kid, All In The Family was constantly in reruns through syndication here in the Chicago area. At the time, I didn't really have a lot of interest in it. Early this year I'd heard some people talking about it and I did some reading up on it. I thought if I ever found a good deal on the complete series set Id buy it. A few months back I finally got a crazy insane deal on it at a price I was ok with paying. Through this year I've been working through my monster stack of multi-cam sitcoms I've wanted to see, which has taken almost 5 years to do. I'm now down to the last 4 after having seen all of AITF. My initial thought was it was going to be a very long, gradual crawl through the series that might have taken me months. It only took a month due to me getting more than I ever expected to out of it.
Norman Lear had a hell of a lot of guts putting AITF on TV back in the early 70s and I feel it's a literal miracle he succeeded in getting a network to pick it up. It's bold, it's NOT shy and anything goes! EVERY conceivable topic or issue is addressed and explored throughout the series 9 seasons. I'm still shaking my head in amazement CBS let the whole thing fly. That would not ever happen now. If he were pitching it now-same characters, concept, everything there's no way in hell it'd get on the air. People say it's a dated show but other than the direct references to the Presidents in office through the series run, it's really not. We're still dealing with almost, if not all of the topics AITF touched on. Only difference is now some of those topics don't dare get touched on in conversation let alone get dealt with on TV! Where other shows would have stumbled and embarrassed themselves tackling the issues if they did at all, AITF deakt with every one of them with dignity and class in a way that made it okay for people to talk about what they'd seen after. The reason they were able to do that was thanks to the great writers and phenomenal ensemble cast. Here's my thoughts on the characters...
Archie- Due to having been in the war and injured, plus things that happened to him as he grew up, Archie ended up an extremely difficult man to be married to, live with and be friends with. He was uncensored. He gave his opinion on issues, topics, nationalities and races whether he was asked for them or not. He stood very strongly by his beliefs. He had a great deal of belief in and confidence in God. He was very patriotic. Though he had an extremely difficult time with it he loved his wife Edith though she drove him insane. As he days in the series finale he is nothing without her. He loves his daughter and later his grandson who he mellowed out quite a bit thanks to him. At least partially. He was a man of strong conviction and very little BS, common in his generation. For the few friends he had, and his family though, he'd do anything for them and often did. In Carroll's own words, Archie was rude, crude, hard to live with and quite unpleasant. I cannot see anyone else playing that character period let alone as well as he did. He did a phenomenal job. God bless him..he played that role for 13 years of his life, never missing a beat. Thank you, Carroll. You did outstanding.
Edith- What a nice lady! She was the opposite of Archie in every way, really. Everyone loved her, wanted to be her friend, and were only too happy to help her when she needed it because she helped them countless times. She had no problem expressing Her love for Archie and her family. She was not shy with that and expressed Her love for them all the time. She was a very kind hearted woman who seemed to be a simple lady at the surface but there was so much more to her. when she did have the courage to speak up, she told it like it was-and almost always the truth. Over the series she grew more and more courageous, finally standing up to Archie a few times! And herself too. She was way more street smart than book smart I thought. Thank you to Jean, too. She gave 9 years of her life to that character and no I e could have done it better. By the end, Archie and Edith were just as real as Carroll and Jean. Very hard to achieve and I forgot many times those 4 characters were just that.
Meathead- I loved Meathead!! He was my favorite of the 4. Though a stout Athiest, he never ever shoved that in people's faces. He respected greatly each persons right to their own beliefs, values, and religion. He may not agree with you, but he'd always respect your beliefs. We need more Mike "Meathead" Stivcs in the world. If we did, it would be much easier to be open to and respect other people's choices and beliefs. He always stood up to Archie and gave him a hell of a lot to think about. He showed him there's akways more than one way to look at things. Showed him he was never too old to open his mind up but Archie was pretty much a lost cause by then, too set in his ways. Though not perfect by any means, Meathead was a good guy. Rob Reiner did outstanding too. Though the whole ensemble was terrific, he and Carroll were the heart and soul of AITF.
Gloria- well, she is definitely Edith and Archie Bunker's daughter! She's caught in a forever struggle between her parents and Her loyalty to her husband. She loved all 3 so much she never wanted to hurt, disappoint, or say no to any of them. Sally did well but IMO Gloria was the weakest character of the 4. Still very good but not as prominent as the others.
The supporting cast varied greatly in quality. Barney Hefner was a loveable dope, didn't care for Irene or her husband too much, the Jeffersons were great as was Maude. Harry the bartender was a typical dictionary definition bartender. Loved Stephanie, she didn't take why of Archie's cfap. Though only 10 she was wise to all of it and stood up to him eye to eye which earned her his respect and love. Great final season.
To wrap this up, AITF is most definitely a must see TV show, period. Just as with Happy Days, Cosby, and several other huge sitcoms AITF is a show you should make time to see all of if you can. Phenomenal ensemble, mostly sharp writing, and the way it tackles all the issues make it must see TV and will leave you thinking long and hard about many of the topics dealt with long after the final episide. I'm really glad I gave the show an honest, full chance. Got far more out of it than I ever thought I would! A grade, 9/10 show.
Edit- please excuse the typos, I wrote all this on my iPad so theres bound to be mistakes!