One of the reviewers hated this show it sounds like because Archie was just like his Dad… I loved the show because he did remind me of my Dad!! Archie said some really stupid things, mispronounced words and yes was and is the most famous bigot in TV history but that was the generation he came from. They grew up with those beliefs, and as far as his vocabulary Archie mentions many times on the show how he had to quit school and help out at home. He went to work at a young age because his family needed him to so he didn’t get the education that “meathead” or even his “little goil” had, Even Edith had a high school education. He did make life better for all of them by working hard. No one can say Archie didn’t work hard for what he had.

Another reviewer mentioned how much they hated it because it lost the innocence of the 50’s and 60’s sitcom shows except for their love of “Frasier”.. Ok your opinion but having grown up in the 70’s those kinds of sitcoms didn’t make it any more. We were in the midst of War, civil rights and a sexual revolution. Martians, genies in bottles and a bunch of idiots stranded on an island wasn’t going to cut it for us anymore. All in the family was what we needed and it broke the ground for not only TV to branch out but for people to talk about issues at hand and not leave your head in the sand. It let us laugh at uncomfortable subjects and think about them too. TV has been criticized for being stupid and mind numbing. All in the Family was the first of its kind to come along and not only entertain us, but get us to think about what was going around us.

Archie came from a generation that was proud of its country fought for it and didn’t question why. He supported it and was a staunch republican. Archie’s generation was segregated and that was the norm for them. They didn’t know anything different. Put yourself in that position and figure out how hard it was for Archie and his peers to adjust. Even though it was obvious Archie didn’t like it, he did adjust as best he could. This also went the other way. George Jefferson was as much a bigot as Archie. The comedy and the life lessons came with how Archie and George adjusted. After all if George and Archie can be neighbors why can’t everyone just “get along”? We laughed at the absurd things they said but did we see a little of “us” in Archie or George?

Edith was the one character that didn’t fit the norm of her generation. She felt all humans were God’s children no matter their beliefs or skin color. She tried to get along and make friends with everyone she met and everyone loved her for her innocence and her acceptance of who people were on the inside and not outside. Edith was not stupid, naive maybe but far from dumb. She loved Archie and he loved her, even if it was not obvious. She made the show work acting as a buffer between Archie’s gruffness, Gloria’s stubbornness, Mike’s liberalism.

This was not only a ground breaking show, after awhile you felt they were your family so the title fits it perfectly, even today.

The most groundbreaking sitcom of the decade. Both sides are presented.  Both sides are trashed.  I once read an article which pointed out that Edith is really the only open-minded main character.  It's interesting to view the show with that in mind.  It is true that it might be hard to understand what all the fuss was about when viewing the show now.  That's because this show opened doors which we now take for granted.

Classic situation comedy that pushed the limits dramatically in its day.  Wonderful characters, great interaction, it was the best.

Classic Comedy that change the way people thought

Archie was exactly like my father. Their views and their speech were very similar......ChiefEm

Pioneering in its attempt to make television entertainment that mattered and feature fully formed characters with real motivations.  It hit all of the hot buttons of the era, besides issues of inter-generational conflict and race relations it dealt with pretty much every other social-political question of the period.  Unfortunately, the fact that it was so current in its day has meant that it doesn't stand up as well as the slapstick comedies that preceeded it, except as a period curiosity, 35 years later.  Like a lot of programs of its era, it ran until the wheels fell off and the last couple of seasons don't serve the series' legacy well.

  All In The Family exposed the annoying self-satisfaction of liberal youth and the asinine prejudices of conservatives, all while giving us a laugh.

Would that current shows were as relevent.

It is, All in the Family, I feel which is to blame for the end of the golden era of the live-action situation comedy with very few exceptions after 1971 (Frasier being the gold nugget in a sea of mud). Before 1971, situation comedies had wonderfully imaginative concepts--genies, talking pigs, martians, stupid nazis losing every week, and so much more. They could be in the past, the future, or a fantasy world! They were innocent, fun, and comfortable while not being afraid to embrace and stick to a single concept. Then, as a mid-summer replacement, All in the Family came along with things that have plagued most sitcoms to this day: social relevance, hackneyed angst in the name of "realism," unappealing protagonists, boring and uncreative set and costume design, and the slaughter of the "concept" comedy. It also pretty much ended the fun verbal wit and slapstick (again, Frasier being the exception, as well as a couple of persistant shows like Here's Lucy) that sitcoms had embraced before. With its mean-spirited and unimaginative scripts somehow finding huge audiences--it led to numerous spinoffs that were equally tepid and uncreative. And, to this day, you will struggle to find a situation comedy without a) a louse male lead tolerated by his loving wife b) special episodes with very little laughs c) ordinary families with no talking animals/supernatual additions d) real-life present-day settings. e) "shocking" twists like deaths, abortions, etc. Just as I feel Law & Order turned mystery shows from Matlock to CSI, Millionaire shattered and splintered gameshows, and Survivor crushed creativity in general on the air, All in the Family is to blame for the death of the great concept situation comedy on TV. Here's hoping a new golden age of clean, imaginative, fun-loving, formula-embracing sitcoms will come soon!

I really never understood the importance of this show, I know it was "risque" for its time period, but they used the same lines over and over again and the show became the most predictable one there ever was on television. Boring!

The only problem had had with the show was that Archie and Edith were a little too poorly-spoken to be authentic. Many people of the post-war era held their views dear. And many of those people were well spoken and quite itelligent. They just happened to be bigots. Most of the beliefs Archie parroted on the show were widely held to be truths at the time. I know plenty of people who didn't see the comedic value of many of Archie's utterences as he was just speaking the truth as they had learned it growing up. Anyway it was a ground-breaking show and one which put most of the budget into writing and acting, not in the sets.

One of the original liberal offerings of biased, left-wing tv.

We all have met  Archie and Edith somewhere. Deja vu?

The social commentary that was written for this show is unmatched in anything that we have seen since. We kringe at some of the things that Archie Bunker said and we Kringed because sometimes we agrred with him. Not to leave behind the point this show was hysterically funny.

This was one of the best sitcoms from the 70s handsdown. Gene Stapleton was one of the best and so was Carol O'Connor. I love classic TV so much that I created a page at myspace.com/classicTVshows

Please stop by for a fun visit.  

thie show rates up there with the best, o'conner was great.

A very funny show which showed what many families were like in the 70's.

An outstanding show with powerful content.

No other TV show has made me laugh more over the years than All in the Family. Even now, 30 years later, the shows are still wonderful and hilarious, even if a little dated. I loved most of all the episodes where Meathead broke Archie's chair and Edith unknowingly invited the swinging couple over. They just don't make shows like this any more!

Another highly respected show that I could never get in to, "All In The Family" was admittedly groundbreaking for its day. Most likely the social issues tackled by the series (e.g. "racism" and "rape") were too serious for my younger age, but Jean Stapleton's voice irritated me, Sally Struthers was just too whiney, and the colors on the film stock always looked washed out to me. Ultimately, it was Carroll O'Connor and Rob Reiner who made the show work, and the latter would go on to greater things. It is my understanding that "All In The Family" spawned more spin-offs than any other show in television history, including "Maude" and "The Jeffersons".

Very funny stuff. 4 and a half stars

Still watch it on Tvland

There's a certain self-consciousness in all these ground-breaking shows from the 70s, including the original SNL, that make them a little hard to watch now. They all seem to be saying "look at us, we're breaking all these taboos". 'All in the Family' was certainly the best of the lot, though.

Archie is the mirror that so many of the working class fear.

A lot of people didn't get the intent of this show: it wasn't PROMOTING bigotry and racism, but LAMPOONING it, in the form of a character who was essentially a laughable and unbelievably ignorant dinosaur. Creator Norman Lear made Americans take a good hard look at what so many were trying to ignore or deny: that we were still a very racist society and had a long, LONG way to go. Still do today in 2006...

Edt 4, Robbo 59, and some of the others here summed up the importance and strengths of the show wonderfully. I never really saw it in it's heyday, I was just an infant when it came out, and, except for re-runs I missed it's prime years in the early to mid 70's. Astonishing one of a kind show, revolutionary and influential. Lots of great episodes and memories for me... his battles with George Jefferson, the time Dennis Patrick ( who played the character who sometimes had a brogue on "Dark Shadows" sometimes not! and the wealthy Compton in the sleeper "Joe") tried to screw him out of aluminum siding, the guy who played Sgt. Kowalski and Archie's friend as well as Sam the Butcher on The Brady Bunch, Lionel, and many, many other characters were memorable in addition to the 4 main characters. Great stuff!

A truly classic, groundbreaking TV-series. Absolutely hilarious in its earliest years, and nearly revolutionary in terms of the unflattering mirror it held up to "Nixon's Silent Majority" regarding its own ugliness and bigotry. Like "MASH", it stayed around far longer than it should have (the kinder, gentler Archie Bunker just wasn't very credible), but it's unlikely we'll ever see its likes again. Interesting note- they were originally considering Jackie Gleason for the part of Archie Bunker. The deal fell through allegedly because Gleason wasn't happy with the part. I'm a great Gleason fan, but I can't imagine anyone except Carroll O'Connor playing the character. Jean Stapleton and Rob Reiner were excellent in their supporting roles. Sally Struthers wasn't a great actress, but she handled her part well enough. If only Hollywood were still capable of putting out TV shows like this one...

I love you Archie Bunker!

Until the arrival of The Simpsons, this was the best show in the history of television. Somehow, it's comedic satire is lost on some that are still in the "concrete operations" stage, but to higher order thinkers each utterance out of the mouth of Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker is pure gold. This show typified the verbal (and all too often, in reality, physical) confrontations that took place between "baby boomers" and WWII generation members and was a preview of the world that the boomers would soon inherit. As the boomers become more like their elders and their kids look disdainfully upon the utopian vision that never became realized, All in the Family stands as a document that accurately depicts the ongoing generation gap that has always been apparent to us as a species. The performances in the first five years of this series are truly priceless and O'Connor's Archie picks up both verbally and physically, were Gleason's Ralph Kramden left off. A Ten out of Ten!!!

Cutting Edge and Timeless. Norman Lear and Caroll O'Connor did more for bringing issues to the forefront 30 years ago than anyone is willing to do today. We're all have our opinions, just speak up already! Archie = The Man.

Classic exchanges between meathead and archie,worth watching the tedium that surrounds the rest of the thinly vailed plots. Edith annoying but a comidic genius with talentless gloria.Typical Norman Lear Politically Correct dogma has meathead turn gay.Liberal soapbox for lear and his mindless agenda.

Did ANYONE besides me HATE the part of EDITH BUNKER?? I found her nauseating.. I guess because SO many women at home had had a very hard time prior to the seventies, and we were "TRYING" to break out of the very image that she portrayed..sorry.. I guess no one will agree.. She is a fine actress, but I hated THAT part.

All in the Family is a true classic, always a pleasure to watch. I am a sentimental and the sad shows are always deppressing for me to watch, but they give good meaning to the story. All in the Family will always be a true classic, Carroll O Connor will be greatly missed and the show will continue to go on for a long long time. 5 stars*****

carroll o'connor was a wonderful actor and he made archie bunker come alive. he was perfectly paired with jean stapleton who was hilarious as edith bunker.

When I was a kid i didn't like the show. I thought the writers were sayin' that blacks were bad. Now tht I'm older I understand and have watched the show. It's really good. I also like the way Edith has changed. At first she was a real dunderhead but her personality and lines increased and she ended the show being a strong woman. I didn't really like their daughter or her husband. I never liked the idea of people getting married and living with their parents. I guess a lot of people did that back in the day; heck my parents did the same thing.

set the bar for sit comedy ... is the standard for true ones .... a comedy with a underlining message always ... amazing show

Loved the show All in the Family. All the actors were great.Carrol O'Connor was terrific as Archie Bunker, the ignorant bigot.All In the FAmily crossed a lot of lines with their show. they brought up a lot of taboo subjects. they put bigotry right on the line .through Archie we got to see how foolish bigotry is.Jean Stapleton was wonderful as the ever patient Edith.who could be a bit nieve. I still like to watch this show. Carrol O'Connor was a wonderful actor. he will be missed.

I think that for originality and content, definitely a 5. However, the fact that the liberal characters were always portrayed as the intelligent, thinking, well mannered person, while the conservative characters were always portrayed as the lame-brained, uneducated bigot annoys me. I realize that there was a definite political undercurrent to the show, but they could have tried a little harder not to push one while condemning the other.

Funny as hell. . .true politically incorrect humor decades before it was trendy. Great characters.

Like it, love it or hate it it is a great comedy of all time. it crossed all boundries from racial to conventional wisdoms. The characters were extreme but then again so where the times.

This was based on Till Death do us Part, Alf made Archie look like a choir boy. All in the Family was funny but it was some what predictable and went down hill as it was slowly abandoned by its cast.

The BEST sitcom of all time. Carroll O' Connor was a genius. What I think I like most about this show is that, for better or worse, Archie and Edith remind me a lot of my late grandma and grandpa. I still watch the reruns, and am starting to collect the DVD's. Sad, but this show could never even be considered these days, because we're too dang politically correct and overly sensitive, and cannot separate fiction from reality. Bottom line is this was the greatest sitcom of all time. RIP Carroll.

Love it or hate it, it was a trailblazer of a whole new TV era. For that alone it deserves 5 stars. I just wish Archie would pop Meathead just once, god what an ingrate!

The show was good but I think that the meat head show of never had a baby.

So dated now but in the context of its time, it was a masterpiece

I hated this show the man was a close minded racist, why would anyone want to watch a show like this when all they had to do was go to grandpa's house and listen to all his idiotic crap he bestowed upon their grandma.

This show was brilliant, and probably one of the best things on TV in the early 70s. My family didn't watch much TV but this one was reliable.

For a few seasons it was very good. My memory says that it declined sharply after the first three or so seasons.

My feelings towards All in the Family are more like a 3.5. When I was younger, I loved All in the Family and found it hysterical...which, to some extent, I still do. But as time went by and I became better capable of understanding the content being discussed, I became somewhat disgusted with the ideology that was being promoted. Yeah, I know- it's only a sitcom but it just rubbed me the wrong way. Though I must concede, it was funny during much of it's run; afterwards it just became dull.

Edith Bunker was hysterical but that's about it. All they did was yell their fool heads off on this show and it gets on my nerves. I don't watch the reruns.

Archie should've been unanimously elected director of all organizations claiming to represent various groups of races,ethnicities,etc...The US would be much saner...People from different backgrounds would feel freer to talk/argue with each other directly-rather than through these organizations.