Shout Factory | 1976 | 600 mins. | NR
Upon its debut in January of 1971, All in the Family represented truly groundbreaking television. Created by Norman Lear, the series didn’t shy away from controversial subjects or issues once thought taboo for television. The storylines centered on Bunker family, living in Queens, New York. A working-class bigot and World War II veteran, Archie (Caroll O’Connor) seems to be terminally angry about the changes in society around him. Contrasting Archie’s gruff demeanor, was his sweet but flighty “dingbat” wife, Edith (Jean Stapleton). Always looking to avoid confrontation, once or twice an episode Edith would say something to let you know she was smarter than it seemed. The Bunker’s had one child, Gloria (Sally Struthers), who lived in the Bunker home with her husband, Mike (“Meathead”) Stivic (Rob Reiner) a liberal college student.
For five years, All in the Family was the top-rated show on American television, and the winner of four consecutive Emmy Awards as Outstanding Comedy Series. However, by the seventh season, the series was beginning to show its age. Gloria, the mother of one-year-old son (and beloved grandson of Archie and Edith), Joey, lives right next door to the Bunkers. Gloria’s ultra-liberal husband, Mike “Meathead”, is now a college professor, experiencing with Gloria all of the usual tribulations associated with young marrieds living on their own.
By now, everything was starting to seem all too familiar. The series ability to shock had long since passed, and many of the jokes feel played out. When the show tries to cover some familiar ground, one can’t help but notice a drop in quality. For example, female impersonator Beverly Lasalle (Lori Shannon), who left quite an impression the season before in Archie the Hero, comes back in Beverly Rides Again, but to almost no effect. The joke was already played out. The arrival of a boarder, in the form of Puerto Rican nurse Teresa Betancourt (Liz Torres), was an obvious attempt to insert a new irritant into the Bunker household, but it quickly degenerates into jokes about mispronounced words and slamming doors. Further, episodes like Fire (a standard “Archie tries to pull a fast one on the system and gets creamed in the process episode we’ve seen too many times before), and Mike and Gloria Split (Gloria thinks she’s dumb, because Mike treats her that way), all play like episodes from other sitcoms, all which further erodes All in the Family’s reputation as cutting edge television.
Though I sound like I’m being overly critical, it’s important to point out that All in the Family was still a quality show. For instance, in a three part story arc at the beginning of the season titled “Archie’s Brief Encounter,” the Bunker’s marriage is in serious jeopardy when Edith learns that Archie dated a waitress while she was volunteering at the Sunshine Home. While the series was still fairly top flight stuff by 1976 standards, there’s little denying that the show simply couldn’t match the effectiveness of its first five seasons.
Whatever one might think of the seventh season’s episodes, few will deny that Caroll O’Connor led an extremely talented cast. All adept at comedy, but able to show dramatic chops when necessary, O’Connor and cast make the ups and downs of this season well worth watching for any fan of the series.
The video here looks surprisingly good. These full screen, 1.33:1 transfers aren’t as vibrant as current shows but still show impressive color and solid contrast.
The English mono audio track is transferred at a good level, with all dialogue heard clearly. Hiss from the original elements can be heard, but it’s not distracting. Close-captions are available.
There are no special features.
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