All In the Family "Edith's Crisis Of Faith"

[alphanguy74]

Normally, I'm not a big fan of All the Family, but I saw this episode tonight for the first time, and it was one of the most moving things I've ever seen. It originally aired Christmas day, 1977.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdCdOSZb95M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDJZd9cZq3c

[quartermainefan]

wow AITF was one of the greatest shows ever, why dont you like it much?

[alphanguy74]

Well... the characters are so "shrill". And the sets are so dingy and dirty looking. I know theyr'e not supposed to have money, but you'd think Edith could have scrubbed her walls just ONCE. There are some episodes that I've seen that I really enjoy, though. Like the one where Archie has to have an operation, and gets a blood transfusion from the black doctor. I love when she leans over him and says "When you wake up, you may get a strange craving for watermelon!". But like I said... the episode above is amazing, Jean Stapelton gives a performance without equal.

[quartermainefan]

This is an episode I always liked. It's a Mike centric episode and Rob Reiner is perfect in it.

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[Shawn]

This show was so brilliant. It deserved the dozens of Emmys that it got over the years.

[Max]

My major complaint with All in the Family was Norman Lear's not-so-subtle suggestion that all Republicans were bigots like Archie Bunker. That being said, however, there's no denying that this show was funny as hell as well as a brilliant piece of entertainment. In fact, I don't have a problem watching shows whose purpose is to promote a political agenda so long as the quality of such shows are good. (And I think that this is a view that the majority of American's share: because without "All in the Family's" great quality, it would have only been watched by a hard-core liberal audience, which--of course--would not have been enough to make it the number one primetime show for five seasons.)

In 2002, CBS aired a primetime special celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of CBS Television City (where All in the Family was taped). Below is a segment that focuses on All in the Family, and serves as a highlight reel of the sitcom:

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[DRW50]

All in the Family did more for bigotry than anything else ever could have at this time. Archie was presented as a loveable and proud man, flawed, but good. His racist comments were toned down for TV, which meant the full impact of racism wasn't seen. Gloria and Mike were usually one-note morons spouting tired catchphrases.

The constant yelling got on my nerves. That was the Norman Lear way I guess.

[alphanguy74]

I think Lear was brilliant in making Archie bigoted by means of ignorance, and not malice. Otherwise, the character would be irredeemable, and therefore, unwatchable. Of all Norman Lear's shows, I liked One Day At A Time and Maude the best, though.

[Max]

I agree that the racist comments on AITF were toned down for TV. However, this is not automatically a bad thing, because not all bigots desire to be members of the KKK or Nazi Party. Rather, a lot of bigotry exists because people are ignorant (they lack education and/or just don't know many minorities).

While Archie was the main subject of ridicule, I give Lear a lot of credit for also having the courage to poke fun at liberals. For instance, Mike could be very sexist in his attitudes towards Gloria. Also, there was an episode where a black man robbed the Bunker household at gunpoint, and Mike tries to reason with the robber by stating that "you'll have to forgive Archie [for making a fuss], as he doesn't understand what it's like to be a poor, black man." In an attack against Ivory Tower/intellectual liberalism, Lear has the robber respond to Mike by stating: "Oh! And, you do [know what it is like]!" (Please note that these quotes are not verbatim.)

I'm actually not that familar with either of these two television classics. I did think the concept of The Jeffersons--a show that focused on a racist, black man--was brilliant. In the 90's, there was a very short-lived sitcom called 704 Hauser (named after the same address where the Bunker's lived); it focused on a black family--that moved into the old Bunker house--whose father was a liberal Democrat and whose son was a conservative Republican.

Here's the second part of the 2002 CBS Television City special (the portion that focused on sitcoms). Clips of many vintage shows are displayed, including One Day at a Time and Maude:

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[quartermainefan]

I don't know if there is a single article or list of classic sitcoms that would cite One Day At A Time. The show was just a lot of yelling, running from one side of the set to the other, and unfunny wisecracks.