What a depressing series!

[GenesisOne010]

I haven't been able to watch the entire series, but I'm thinking I really don't want to. It's really depressing how things ended up for the Bunkers and the Stivics in this continuation of All in the Family.

First, Edith dies, and Archie, and that house, are left without the Dynamic and Devoted Dingbat and that is just a painful thing to watch. The two shared so many touching and hilarious moments in All in the Family and that's all missing in this series, except for a few select episodes in season one, and even those aren't exactly exceptional. I wish that the writers would have come up with a different way of explaining her absence rather than killing the character, even if it means losing the truly compelling and outstanding "Archie Alone" two-parter.

Second, Mike leaves Gloria and Joey. Seriously, that was unbelievable and so out of character. Mike promised Archie, on more than one occasion, that he'd take care of them, and he ends up abandoning them. They completely destroyed Mike's character because regardless of how strong he felt about an issue, in All in the Family, he clearly deeply loved his wife and son. He actually hooks up with another woman and they go off together. Again, unbelievable, and also, real saddening.

Much like All in the Family, Archie Bunker's Place is "true to life" in its storylines. Loved ones dying suddenly and marriages ending are all too common in the real world. To see it happen to these characters, characters that I and so many others formed an emotional connection with over the years All in the Family aired, is incredibly hurtful. I guess these events were too "real" for my liking and I would've preferred a happy ending for these characters since happy endings are too few and far in between in real life.

Even listening to the opening makes me feel sad. I actually find it very pleasant to the ears and it's catchy, but it's also depressing because with the updated instrumental and new shots, it only reiterates that time has moved on and characters that we've grown to love and look forward to seeing are gone.

It would've been great if during the "Thanksgiving Reunion" episodes it had been decided that Mike and Gloria would return to living in the neighborhood (since there was nothing left for them in California). Then, Edith not being home often could have been explained by saying she was either working (oddly enough, there's an episode in season one where she lands a job yet we never get to see her work there, still a great follow-up episode though to the All in the Family episode where she gets fired from the Sunshine Home) or babysitting while Joey's parents worked. At least then, there would be no death and separation episodes. Plus, we could have an episode here and there with all four All in the Family characters together again. That would've made the series better, I think, cause as the series went on, I have to say, it ultimately ended up feeling very little like a continuation of All in the Family.

Just my thoughts.