With all the talk here about the merits of this show, I was curious what critics were saying back when it was on. Here is one of the very first reviews, written about the debut episode.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19751216&id=MJ0rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GPwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6939,3324035&hl=en

Here's not a review, but a look back:

http://www.ew.com/article/2013/03/02/the-one-day-at-a-time-legacy-one-mom-to-another

With all the talk here about the merits of this show, I was curious what critics were saying back when it was on. Here is one of the very first reviews, written about the debut episode.

Oh wow..."Jay" was probably completely flabbergasted over how "this turkey" of a show then went on to last for 9 seasons, LOL.

(But, Schneider as actually being a married man in the pilot?? I don't recall that being a thing...)

Oh wow..."Jay" was probably completely flabbergasted over how "this turkey" of a show then went on to last for 9 seasons, LOL.

(But, Schneider as actually being a married man in the pilot?? I don't recall that being a thing...)

Probably so. I've dug up initial reviews of a number of shows and sometimes they're quite funny to read in retrospect. For example, I came across one from 1970 comparing two new sitcoms based on Broadway hits: Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple. The reviewer predicted that Barefoot in the Park would be a hit and The Odd Couple would be a failure. Another had positive things to say about Arnie, but not so much for The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Another I read proclaimed that All in the Family was a loser. Oops!

The Critics didn't like the Love Boat either. And that ran a lot of seasons!!!

I love it when critics are wrong. Two of the biggest hits that critics hated were Three's Company and The Beverly Hillbillies.

I love it when critics are wrong. Two of the biggest hits that critics hated were Three's Company and The Beverly Hillbillies.

To be fair to the critics, Three's Company and The Beverly Hillbillies were two shows the critics never changed their minds about; they never gained critical respect. But sometimes, when a show is brand new, it's hard to imagine what direction it might take or how the actors might grow, so the critics are writing about their first impressions. In the case of All in the Family, I think they didn't know quite what to make of the show because nothing like it had ever been on the air before in the U.S. They didn't get what Norman Lear was trying to accomplish, but soon enough they did. Anyway, I just found where I posted those All in the Family reviews I was talking about, if you're interested. I can't believe it, but it was five years ago already that I posted them! Time flies.

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=262954&highlight=review

Reading the review again, I need to retract part of what I said as I was misremembering part of the review. The critic didn't call the show a lower, but said he thought it would succeed; however, he goes on to say some of the roles, like Archie, were no well cast.

With all the talk here about the merits of this show, I was curious what critics were saying back when it was on. Here is one of the very first reviews, written about the debut episode.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19751216&id=MJ0rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GPwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6939,3324035&hl=en

Wow, I just found the obituary for this critic. He died young.

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/03/obituaries/jay-f-sharbutt-ap-writer-51.html