Product Description

The life of bigot Archie Bunker and his family.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 4-FEB-2003
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30054 in DVD
• Brand: O'CONNOR,CARROLL
• Released on: 2003-02-04
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 3
• Dimensions: .60 pounds
• Running time: 528 minutes

Amazon.com
With a new time slot (8:00 p.m. Saturdays) and three first-season Emmys®, All in the Family was primed for greatness, and these 24 episodes represent the series at its best. Carroll O'Connor leads the perfect cast as blue-collar bigot Archie Bunker, and the standout classic is "Sammy's Visit," in which black, Jewish rat-packer Sammy Davis Jr. visits the Bunker home, where he's hilariously horrified by Archie's prejudicial ignorance. The script was written by comedian Bill ("José Jiminez") Dana, and to borrow Archie's phrase, it's a pip, as Sammy turns Archie's racist remarks on their ear to the delight of young liberals Gloria (Sally Struthers) and husband Mike (Rob Reiner). Sammy's parting kiss on Archie's cheek is one of the series' all-time highlights. Then there's Burt Styler's Emmy-winning script for "Edith's Problem," in which Archie's "Dingbat" wife experiences the mood swings of menopause (another first, along with impotence in "Mike's Problem," in the series' taboo-busting candor). A showcase for Jean Stapleton (who deservedly won her second consecutive Emmy), it also demonstrates (as does "Archie and Edith Alone") the hurtful repercussions of Archie's unintentional cruelty. Edith's Archie-baiting cousin Maude (Bea Arthur) is introduced ("Maude" is a pilot for the character's spin-off sitcom, which premiered in '72), and credit must be given to John Rich, who directed all 24 episodes (winning an Emmy for "Sammy's Visit") with a flawless sense of ensemble chemistry, precision timing, and lasting political relevance. This season earned seven Emmys overall, including awards for O'Connor and Struthers. Given such a wealth of sitcom glory, it's a shame these DVDs are devoid of retrospective features. --Jeff Shannon

From the Back Cover
Those were the days... and they still are. Norman Lear's landmark Emmy Award-winning comedy about the Bunkers, one of the most beloved families in television history, continues with this second season. Filled with more hysterical episodes including "Sammy's Visit" featuring Sammy Davis Jr. Starring Carroll O'Connor as Archie, Jean Stapleton as Edith, Rob Reiner as Mike "Meathead" Stivic, and Sally Struthers as Gloria, All in the Family is a timeless classic to cherish forever. END

Customer Reviews

'Bout time - Season Two ended it's year #1 in the ratings!!
At last, Season Two of "All in the Family," arguably the best comedy series ever made, is coming to DVD! Here are the episodes from season two, as they were aired and in the order they should be on on DVD:

#1 The Saga of Cousin Oscar -- Archie is incensed when his sponging cousin Oscar has the nerve to drop dead in the upstairs bedroom.

#2 Gloria Poses in the Nude -- Mike has second thoughts after he agrees to let Gloria pose as a nude model for one of his artist friends (David Soul).

#3 Archie in the Lock-Up -- Archie suffers his ultimate indignity when he's arrested along with a group of radicals at a protest rally.

#4 Edith Writes a Song -- SOOOO funny!! A pair of burglars (Cleavon Little and Demond Wilson, who would go on to be Lamont in "Sanford and Son") holds the family at bay with Archie's own pistol.

#5 Flashback: Mike Meets Archie -- On the Stivics' first wedding anniversary, the family recalls the day Archie and Michael met.

#6 The Election Story -- Mike and Gloria campaign for the liberal candidate in a local election, while Archie places himself in the opposing camp.

#7 Edith's Accident -- A priest pays a call to reward Edith's honesty for leaving a note on his car after she accidentally dents it with a large can of cling peaches.

#8 The Blockbuster -- An unscrupulous black real-estate salesman tempts Archie to sell his house to a black family at an inflated price.

#9 Mike's Problem -- Gloria is upset when Mike's nervousness over his grades causes him to become temporarily impotent.

#10 The Insurance Is Canceled -- Archie lays off a Puerto Rican worker during a cutback at the dock; and his homeowner's policy is canceled when his neighborhood is redlined as a bad risk.

#11 The Man in the Street -- Archie Bunker anticipates becoming the voice of the American working man when his man-on-the-street interview is scheduled to appear on Walter Cronkite's Evening News.

#12 Cousin Maude's Visit -- Edith's feisty cousin, Maude (Bea Arthur), drops in for a visit during a flu epidemic at the Bunker House.

#13 Christmas Day at the Bunkers -- Archie casts a pall on the family's Yuletide spirits when he complains that he was passed over for this year's Christmas bonus.

#14 The Elevator Story -- Archie gets caught in an elevator, along with a pregnant Puerto Rican and her husband, an aging hippie, and an erudite black businessman.

#15 Edith's Problem -- Edith is suddenly moody and irritable with the approach of menopause.

#16 Archie and the FBI -- Archie's paranoia during a mysterious government investigation drives him to betray a long-standing friendship.

#17 Mike's Mysterious Son -- An old girlfriend of Mike's suddenly arrives at the Bunkers' with a four-year-old boy who she claims is his son.

#18 Archie Sees a Mugging -- Archie refuses to get involved with the police, even though he's the only witness to a neighborhood mugging.

#19 Archie and Edith Alone -- The Bunkers are on their own for eight days after Mike and Gloria go off to spend a week at a commune.

#20 Edith Gets a Mink -- Archie is too proud to let Edith accept a mink stole from her cousin Amelia, until he sees a chance to make a $300 profit.

#21 Sammy's Visit -- Sammy Davis, Jr., encounters Archie Bunker in all his glory when the star ventures out to Queens to retrieve a briefcase he left in Munson's taxicab.

#22 Edith the Judge -- Edith arbitrates a dispute between Archie and the irate proprietor of a laundromat.

#23 Archie Is Jealous -- Archie is disturbed to discover that Edith once spent an entire weekend with an old beau.

#24 Maude -- The Bunkers attend the wedding of cousin Maude's daughter, Carol. This episode served as the pilot for "Maude".

The second season of "All in the Family" gave us a more sympathetic Archie to care about, and was also when the entire ensemble of actors came to work together, completely in their characters now. Few tv comedy shows ever came close to it, either before or since, and what a pleasure to have these on DVD! Let's hope maybe there are a few nice "extras" on this set though, as Season One had ZIP!

For Season 2 of All in the Family its personal not political
All things considered, the Second Season of "All in the Family" ends up being the best year of the classic situation comedy that gave birth to the Relevance Era of prime-time television programming. After all, the show was originally a mid-season replacement and there were only 13 episodes that first season. In 1971-72 "All in the Family" was the top-rated program on television, earning a 34.0 Nielsen rating, and winning second consecutive Emmy awards for Outstanding Series: Comedy and Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series: Jean Stapleton, as well as Carroll O'Connor's first Emmy for acting, one for Sally Strothers in her supporting role, and the awards for Directing (John Rich for "Sammy's Visit") and Writing (Burt Styler for "Edith's Problem"). Poor Rob Reiner, the forgotten figure in the ensemble (as if being Carl Reiner's son was not enough of an onus).

The second season continues to provide the ranting and raving of Archie Bunker, but it is the entire family that emerges in these two dozen episodes as we get beyond Archie arguing with Mike, telling Edith to stifle, and Gloria to stop crying . There are also the show's most notable guest stars in terms of Sammy Davis, Jr., David Soul, Cleavon Little, Beatrice Arthur, and, in one episode ("The Elevator Story," January 1, 1972) Roscoe Lee Brown, Eileen Brennan, and Hector Elizondo. Clearly this was the hottest show on television and the entire idea of Archie driving a cab part-time was used mainly to set up an excuse for Archie Bunker to meet Sammy Davis, Jr.

There are several possibilities for the key episode in Season Two, including "Flashback: Mike Meets Archie" (October 16, 1971) where we discover that even when Archie drove Mike from the house by singing "God Bless America," the conflict between the two is much more father and son-in-law than ideology. Life continues to deal Archie a series of blows at the start of the season as his sponging cousin Oscar drops dead in the bedroom upstairs ("The Saga of Cousin Oscar," September 18, 1971), he is arrested along with a group of radicals at a protest rally ("Archie in the Lock-Up," October 2, 1971), and his house is broken into ("Edith Writes a Song," October 9, 1971). But the biggest problems come from his wife, Edith, who suddenly becomes moody and irritable as she beings menopause ("Edith's Problem," January 8, 1972), and Edith's radical liberal cousin, Maude ("Cousin Maude's Visit," December 11, 1971). However, the sweetest moment of the season comes with the Bunkers dancing to "The Moonlight Serenade" after they are forced to live on their own for a week with the kids out of time ("Archie and Edith Alone," February 5, 1972).

Mike has enough troubles without taking into account his constant verbal sparring with Archie. Gloria poses in the nude for one of his artist friends ("Gloria Poses in the Nude," September 25, 1971), has an old girlfriend dumping off a four-year-old boy she claims is his son ("Mike's Mysterious Son," January 22, 1972), and becomes temporarily impotent worrying about his grades ("Mike's Problem," November 20, 1971), in what was the most controversial episode since the show's original pilot because of the, uh, touchy subject. Although it was a supporting part, the show did puncture Mike's liberal views the same way it did Archie's conservative diatribes.

If anyone emerges from Archie's shadow it was Edith, who asserts her individuality by leaving a note on a car after she accidentally dents it with a large can of cling peaches (in heavy syrup) ("Edith's Accident," November 6, 1971), and who ends up arbitrating a dispute between her husband and the owner of the Laundromat (Jack Weston), who knows Edith is honest, even if Archie does not ("Edith the Judge," February 26, 1972). I always thought that Carroll O'Connor's mugging grew over the years as an attempt to stop Jean Stapleton from constantly stealing every scene from him.

However, if there is anybody who takes Archie down a peg or two during the second season, it is Archie himself. It is Archie who has let his voter registration lapse ("The Election Story," October 30, 1971), Archie who lays off the wrong person at the loading dock when he picks the Puerto Rican instead of Stretch Cunningham ("The Insurance is Cancelled," November 27, 1971), Archie who loses his Christmas Bonus ("Christmas Day at the Bunkers," December 18, 1971), who betrays a long-standing friendship ("Archie and the FBI," January 15, 1972), and who refuses to get involved when he witnesses a mugging ("Archie Sees a Mugging," January 29, 1972). Still, there were those who thought Archie Bunker was the conscience of the nation, and applauded his conservative politics ("The Man in the Street," December 4, 1971).

By the time Season Two ended with what was the pilot for the spin-off series "Maude" (March 11, 1972), with the Bunkers attending the wedding of Maude's daughter Carole (who was played by Marcia Rodd and not Adrienne Barbeau at that point), "All in the Family" was the best show on television. It is the only series in the history of television to finish #1 in the Nielsen ratings five seasons in a row. "I Love Lucy" did not do that and neither did "Gunsmoke" or "The Cosby Show." But then all of those shows had an impact on their respective genres while "All in the Family" made relevant topics viable on every program on the tube.

Some good, and some not so good.
I have to give this set a split review. To do otherwise would be unfair.

First the material itself:

All In The Family, as you probably already know, was one of the greatest television shows ever. With simple architypal characters, the producers give us a lens to focus in on issues of the day.

The shows themselves are funny. Carroll O'Connor was a top rate performer (I find it really interesting that he was an English teacher before he went on to butcher the language as Archie). Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers are perfect as supporting characters.

This season received seven Emmy awards, including awards for O'Connor and Stapleton. Classic episodes in this season include apparences by Edith's cousin Maude (Beatrice Arthur) and others. Classic bits include Edith's accident with a can of cling peaches in heavy syrup, Archie appearing on Walter Cronkite's newscast only to find out that his television set is busted (and his pleading with an Orthodox Jewish television repairman to fix the set even though it's a Friday night and he can't work because it's the Sabbath!), Archie getting stuck in an elevator with an African-American and a Hispanic couple (who's wife is about to give birth in the elevator) and Edith's going through menopause. This was the season that really put All in the Family on the televison map.

Now the bad news.

First of all, there are no extras at all. But that's not so bad. The season sets of M*A*S*H have no extras too, but I can live with that. But at least the season sets of M*A*S*H have chapter stops in the episodes. In the AITF set, however, there are no stops at all (not even for the opening and closing credits). If you want to go to a specific spot in the episode, you have to fast forward all the way there. You can't even just skip the opening credits, you have to fast forward through "Those Were The Days." At the very least, a chapter stop after the opening credits would have been helpful. It's clear that whoever designed this set did not give much thought to how it would be viewed. Hopefully, they'll get it right for season three.

In addition, I've also noticed some glitches when the episodes are watched. Nothing that made the episode unwatchable, but nonetheless, the glitches were noticable.

So, content-wise, I give this DVD set 5 stars. Techincal-wise, it only rates 1 star. But if you're a true AITF fan, go for it.