I always had an ironic laugh about that opening theme from All In The Family. The reforms of the New Deal allowed millions like Archie Bunker to climb into middle class respectability. They could most certainly not use a man like Herbert Hoover again. I doubt Archie really thought hard about those lyrics.All In The Family marked Norman Lear's breakthrough as a producer of comedies drawn from real life. Archie Bunker was an edgier version of that other working class hero Chester A. Riley from the 40s on radio and 50s on television. What happened in the 60s. We wanted out TV comedies most escapist. Bewitched, Gilligan's Island, and My Mother The Car were what we were looking for.Archie reminded quite a lot about my uncles, blood and married who would come out with just the kind of stuff Archie said. Their kids loved them, but certainly recognized their frailties. They also appreciated the hard work their parents put in in giving them the comforts they had.Which is something that son-in-law Mike Stivic never did. Carroll O'Connor as Archie and Rob Reiner as Mike argued in every episode about social and political issues. Archie didn't deal well with change, but Mike known to the world through Archie as the 'meathead' never really understood Archie and the better educated Mike never really made an attempt. Maybe Archie wasn't far wrong.The women provided the show's heart. Sally Struthers was the Bunkers' one and only child Gloria. She was uncomfortably at times between her father and husband. Edith Bunker who exasperated Archie no end was Jean Stapleton. As often as his son-in-law was 'meathead', she was 'dingbat'. Edith could be dingy at times, but you caught a few nuggets of wisdom there that sometimes went completely over Archie's head. Stapleton as Edith Bunker was as loving as June Cleaver, but as scatterbrained as Gracie Allen in the same character. Not easy to do.Norman Lear tilted the show toward Reiner. But he also never let Archie become a total caricature. That would have robbed the show of its effectiveness.All In The Family, what TV family comedy is all about.

In dedication to watching the best TV shows ever made, over the last few months, I have watched every single All in the Family ever made. It ran from 1971-79. I can't begin to tell you how wonderful this show is, but I'll try. It's contemporary, even now. It put a face on hatred, bigotry, ignorance, and it squashed it with humor. It gave a voice to a generation through Mike and Gloria. It was ground-breaking and innovative. They NAILED the laughter through tears emotion, repeatedly. There is nothing like it on television today. Jean Stapleton died last year, in June. She won Emmys and Golden Globes for her portrayal of Edith. Seriously fine actor. Through her character they were able to address women's rights, rape, the subservience of the "housewife", and uncover the fact that while she may be a "dingbat", she was altruistic and endlessly loving. There was so much yelling! Archie yelled at Mike, and Mike never backed down. Gloria yelled at Mike and Archie and the best yelling ever was when Edith lost her composure and yelled at anyone. Through arguments and lough-out-loud comedy they addressed race, religion, politics, war, sex, the economy, and very current events of the time. Can you imagine? A 2014 Mike Stivic (Meathead) would be picketing against Monsanto, mainstream media corruption and the One Percent. Hell, in 1971 they had an episode in which Mike and Gloria are campaigning for politician Claire Packer, who comes to the house and talks with Archie. After declaring he didn't want to hear about her "progressive pinko welfare ideas... giving welfare to families who couldn't be related to him for 'complexionary' reasons..." (huck, huck) Claire responds by asking if he was related to any of the executives at Lockheed, because they are receiving the largest amounts of welfare. Government subsidy. Welfare to the rich. Does this sound familiar? I would love to see that on TV today. Thought provoking and meaningful. Arguably one of the most important television shows of all time.

Premiering on January 12,1971,the situation controversial comedy series "All In The Family" made it's television debut on CBS-TV. At the time of it's airing,the show marked the first time since Jackie Gleason's "The Honeymooners",that a weekly comedy series was videotaped live in front of a live-studio audience. Created and Produced by Norman Lear along with producer Bud Yorkin,"All In The Family" actually changed the course of situation comedy(Loosely based on the 1960's British sitcom "Till Death Do Us Part" written and created by Johnny Speight). So successful that it remained the Number One show on television for the first five consecutive seasons of it's phenomenal nine year-run.It was CBS' top-rated show that was nominated for an impressive 22 Emmys and winning 6 Prime-Time Emmys for Best Actor,Best Actress,Best Original Writing,and Best Comedy Series. It accomplished a feat by winning 8 Golden Globes for Best Actor,Best Actress,Best Supporting Actor and Actress,and Outstanding Best Comedy Series."All In The Family" ran for an astounding nine seasons on CBS producing 208 episodes from it's debut on January 12,1971 until the final episode on April 8,1979. When it premiered in 1971,audiences had to adjust to the outrageous blunt humor of the show where it faced almost considerable publicity(and even close to being canceled within it's first season,but viewers response saved it from the cancellation axe)about Archie Bunker's railings against minorities,religious groups, and political agendas,something that was never even heard of for a weekly television series. By July of 1971,it was saved from the cancellation axe,and became a controversial phenomenon colossal hit making Archie Bunker the most liberalistic bigot in the history of television. By it's second season it soared to the top of the Nielsens,making it the Number One show on television....a position it conquered for the five seasons(1971-1976) of it's nine year-run when it dethrone "Laugh-In" off the top spot in television. By the 1976-1977 season it became the Number Two show on television when ABC's "Happy Days" dethrone CBS' top rated show from the Number One spot. Lovable,but liberalistic bigot Archie Bunker(Carroll O'Connor),his wife Edith(Jean Stapleton),Archie's sweet and lovable childish-adult daughter Gloria(Sally Struthers),and her live-in boyfriend and later on her political pushing/protesting husband Michael(Rob Reiner).Archie's sayings like "Meathead!",and others became staples within the American culture. The phenomenal success of "All In The Family" spun six spinoffs that were under the supervision of Norman Lear himself. The first of the six spinoffs that were associated with "All In The Family" were "Maude",(1972-1978),followed by the spin off from "Maude" titled,"Good Times"(1974-1979). "The Jeffersons"(1975-1986) the third spin off from "All In The Family", became the most successful and the longest running spanning 11 seasons. "Archie Bunker's Place",the follow up after Carroll O' Connor's original series ended lasted from 1979- 1982. "Checking In",which was the spin off of "The Jeffersons",by way of "All In The Family"(starring Marla Gibbs)premiered in 1981 and lasted four episodes. "Gloria" starring Sally Struthers was the next spin off that featured Archie Bunker's daughter as a divorce parent starting a new life lasted two seasons from 1982-1984. The last and final spin off to "All In The Family" titled,"704 Hauser Street",that lasted six episodes in 1994 starred former "Good Times" actor John Amos. The commentary has been reedited on January 12, 2016 to commemorate the show's golden 45th anniversary.

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.