brian_m_hass This American sitcom is about a blue collar family living in New York. It is probably best remembered for Archie Bunker's racially-insensitive remarks as well as for the show's commentary about politically sensitive issues. The series broke new ground by tackling topics which were previously considered taboo on American television.The four main characters were Archie Bunker, his wife, his daughter, and his son-in-law; and, all four lived under the same roof. Archie was an often crass but basically decent working class family man who had a narrow view of the world; and, he frequently felt threatened by changes to that world. Edith Bunker was Archie's loyal wife whose comments frequently irritated Archie. Michael Stivic (often referred to by Archie as "Meathead") was Archie's liberal-minded son-in-law who frequently challenged Archie's ideas and served as Archie's main foil on the show. Gloria Stivic was Archie's loving daughter as well as Michael's devoted wife; and, she sometimes found herself caught between the worlds of Michael's idealism and her parents traditionalism.Although the series was remembered for its political commentary, it was usually at its best when it focused on the interactions of its characters. Although Archie often displayed his prejudices during his many rants, he was ultimately revealed to be a good man who was a bit rough around the edges. Archie and his son-in-law opposed each others world views and frequently engaged in heated arguments. However, the show's most endearing moments often involved Michael teasing and deliberately irritating Archie. Although Archie and Michael frequently engaged in very aggressive debates, the two characters ultimately felt a grudging affection for one another.This sitcom was one of the best remembered shows of the 1970's. It delved into subject matter which was previously forbidden on television. Viewers may agree or disagree with many of the ideas presented on the show; but, all will generally feel drawn to the show's colorful characters. This classic sitcom is highly recommended.

gkeith_1 Boy the way Glenn Miller played. Songs that made the hit parade. Guys like us we had it made. Those were the days.You meathead. You dingbat. Little girl. Archie tolerated Edith, and loved Gloria.Archie was old school. All the things in the opening song represented the old days, that would never come back. All the yearnings for an earlier time of big bands and LaSalle automobiles.Archie was blue collar, uneducated, sexist, bigoted, racist, etc. Lots of other characters tried to set him wise to the realities of modern life in the early nineteen seventies.The show was written by a liberal person. The right wing Archie was bombarded by enlightened women and forward thinking African Americans. Archie was so backward that in real life his favorite chair on the show was put into the Smithsonian Institution. This is not bad for the real meathead of All in the Family.Edith was the brilliant one. She had the last laugh. Archie would continue to run his mouth, trying to be the world's best authority on everything.8/10

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.

Greatornot The headline truly does say it all. You certainly did have ALL in this family. Conservative,uneducated bigot in Archie. Liberal smug college student in Mike,the son in law. Naive with her shining moments in Edith the housewife. Womens libber daughter Gloria. What a fun family. First 5 yrs impeccable. My 10 is based on those. Funny with clashes constantly. Bring in Lionel, the families young, black friend and you had full blown fits of laughter. As the show went on the feistiness and bluntness slowly seeped . The final season not even a shell of this wonderful show. Sometimes the show did get more serious after the initial 5 seasons. All in all this show was a microcosm and realistic picture of Americana in a working class mans home. Lots of humor eased tension on issues of the day, such as picketing,gun control, Vietnam,homosexuality,privacy rights, religion,political affiliation clash, race etc. Hmmm we have quite a few of these same issues today, go figure. In a nutshell, even though the show lost steam after the first 5 seasons, after the Stivics moved away from the Bunkers... It is still my favorite show of all time. In all fairness to AITF- I believe there must have been pressure to tone down due to political correctness rearing its ugly head= What a shame. Enjoy this show on DVD or TVLAND. At least the early seasons come out first on DVD.