dizexpat
During its first 5 seasons AITF was everything they said: groundbreaking, iconic and, without a doubt, funny.
The premise of the show was that of two couples, two generations, two ways of looking at life, trying to survive under the same roof.
Inevitably Mike and Gloria would one day move out of The Bunkers' home and into one of their own.
What a great point that would have been to end the show. But it just kept going on and on, after it had evolved into a very different show.
The characters, especially Archie and Edith, changed to such a degree that they really became different, far less interesting, people.
The first season after Mike and Gloria moved next door was still pretty good. But every season after that just kept getting worse and worse.
Skip the last 3 seasons altogether.
But those first 5 were something else!
gilligan1965
I watched this series all through the 1970s and 1980s; and, thereafter if I happened, or, happen, to see it listed while channel surfing.Archie Bunker was/is "AMAZING" and as funny as funny gets...what a great actor - Carroll O'Connor! :) Jean Stapleton is great, too...the high-pitched and somewhat nervous housewife who wishes so much to please her husband.EVERYONE, to some degree, has their petty prejudices and dislikes...whether it's applied to any or all of a race; religion; sexual orientation; form of government; political views; and, most everything in between and all the way down to someone's hairstyle or the shoes someone wears.Most of this is based upon stereotypes that can be thousands of years old, or, as young as yesterday.For instance, I'm half Swedish, and, the Finns call us 'Hurri' and B?G; and, we're also called 'Svennes,' 'Silver-tips,' 'Rutabagas,' 'Swedish Meatballs,' 'toeheads,' 'squareheads'...and, I laugh about it! I'm also half German who are called 'Heinees,' 'krauts,' 'boxheads,' 'blockheads,' 'Jerrys,' and, even more things, which makes me laugh even more. When Archie Bunker said 'kraut' or whatever, I didn't take offense.HOWEVER...these slurs are ALL based upon some action or event that 'someone else' saw a Swede or a German doing...so, there's 'some' fact to them even if ALL Swedes and Germans don't apply. Hee-hee...many Swedes and Germans 'DO' have somewhat box-and-square-like heads, there's no denying this! :DHowever, Swedes and Germans also have "Great" people, stereotypes, and, creations, as well. Swedes have Alfred Nobel (Nobel Prizes); Lennart Nilsson "A Child Is Born" (1965); Abba; Volvo; Saab; Ingmar Bergman; Ann-Margret; Husqvarna; the adjustable wrench; the pacemaker; the three-point seatbelt; Astrid Lindgren; etc...and, Germans have...Fritz Lang; Beethoven; Bach; Gutenberg; Handel; Kant; Engineering; Johann Galle; Wilhelm Emil Fein (electric hand drill); Grimm's Fairy Tales; The Christmas Tree; the clarinet; etc...and, I'm very proud!True stereotype - how many real-Germans don't like Bratwurst, Beer, and, strudel? How many Poles don't like perogis and galumpkis? A black friend of mine got me hooked on sweet potato pie...now, I make it a lot! Stereotypes like these bring people of different cultures together, and, I like that. How unhappy would the rest of the world be if Chinese restaurants suddenly disappeared!?!? Archie Bunker is just that kind of person who'd rank on Italians, but, if the corner pizza shop closed or moved, he'd miss it!?!?Some stereotypes are bad, and, some stereotypes are good...but, IT'S THE "INDIVIDUAL" WHO MAKES THE DIFFERENCE, or, the stereotype...and, it's not race-based, it's 'individuality'-based upon history! When people make fun of someone, or, discriminate against someone, as Archie Bunker does, it's sometimes funny, and, he's only making a fool of himself, which makes it even funnier.With "All In The Family, we have GOOD AND BAD STEREOTYPES...all brought together in one big package to be presented to the world on television. "All In The Family!" I LOVE IT! :) This series got it ALL out into the open where everyone can hear and see what he and she is saying about him and her! It brought into the open what most people only say in private.The spin-off of this, "The Jefferson's," is a black version of "All In The Family," and, it's funny, too. George Jefferson is a black version of Archie Bunker, and, he's funny. George Jefferson and Archie Bunker insulted one-another, but, deep-down, I believe that they actually liked one-another. They're both New York Mets fans...that's a start.If you are proud of where and whom you came from, as I am, you should be able to laugh at yourself, and...none of this hurts...it's just funny! :DThis Blockhead-Kraut gives "All In The Family" 10-out-of-10 stars...A+
AllInTheFamilySucks
I get that this show was supposed to challenge some of the prevailing norms of the time. It's not really controversial to say that most old people back then were ignorant, racist and loud like the character Archie is, and my dislike of the show isn't because I in any way sympathize with his views. My problem with the show rather is that the characters are all completely unlikeable. Archie sounds like he has down's syndrome (not to disrespect anyone with down's syndrome, but he really, really does sound mentally challenged, which is a problem since that's not intended and so it just sounds silly) - it's impossible for me to understand anything he's saying because the actor playing him (Carroll O'Connor) mumbles everything he says. It's as if he's trying to sound as dumb as possible when he says his lines. The actor playing Archie's wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) is constantly screeching, regardless of what emotion she's portraying. It actually hurts my ears to listen to her. Her character is also really one-dimensional - basically, she's always oblivious, no matter what the situation is. Most of the time she's oblivious to Archie's bigotry and stupidity, but when Archie isn't being a bigot, the writers usually find something else for her to be oblivious to. Their daughter Gloria is also one-dimensional; she parrots the liberal views of her husband (played by Rob Reiner, who I must say, has really put on a lot of weight since back then), but doesn't have the ability to form thoughts complex enough to understand them. As Archie and Edith's daughter, Gloria is convincing in that the actor portraying her combined a little bit of the down-syndromish voice of her father, and a little bit of the annoying shrieking of her mother. Like her mother, she's often fairly oblivious to what's going on. The laughtrack usually plays when one of them says something stupid (which is often), even if the situation isn't actually that funny. Her character is also literally a mouth breather. Don't watch this show.
