Product Description

The hilarious landmark comedy series ALL IN THE FAMILY returns for Season Three with its flawless sense of ensemble chemistry precision timing and lasting political relevance intact (and went on to win both the Emmy® and Golden Globe® for Outstanding Comedy Series). By now these characters have come to feel like television's first dysfunctional family: blue-collar conservative Archie (Carroll O'Connor) his long-suffering but loving wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) "little girl" Gloria (Sally Struthers) and her liberal husband "Meathead" Mike (Rob Reiner). Series creator Normal Lear broke nearly every rule and taboo but their foibles produced some of television's biggest laughs. They could also make us cry as with the heartbreaking "Gloria the Victim" or shock us as with "The Bunkers & the Swingers" (1973 Emmy® for Writing in a Comedy Series).System Requirements:Starring: Carroll O'Conner Jean Stapleton Rob Reiner Sally Struthers Running Time: 610 Min. Copyright Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 2005Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 043396047624 Manufacturer No: 04762

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36634 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2004-07-20
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Dimensions: .55 pounds
• Running time: 610 minutes

Amazon.com
The enduring appeal of one of television's best and most controversial programs comes through loud (literally) and clear on All in the Family: The Complete Third Season, some 10 hours of compelling, entertaining viewing that serve as a timely reminder that even as TV in the new millennium has seemingly become more diverse and inclusive, with its many gay-themed shows and, gasp, proliferation of all manner of minorities, it has lost the kind of bite that the beloved (well, by some folks, anyway) bigot Archie Bunker used to bring to the small screen.

All 24 episodes (there is no bonus material or extra features) from the '72-'73 season of executive producer Norman Lear's sitcom are contained here, and those unfamiliar with the show may well find them a bit startling. The language is part of it; Archie's frequent use of terms like "gook" and "fag" would never pass muster in these politically correct times. Yet even more striking is All in the Family's subject matter. Again and again, serious themes like politics (the '72 presidential race, pitting Richard Nixon against George McGovern, is mentioned frequently), racism ("Archie in the Hospital" is just one episode dealing with that issue), the death penalty and violence in the name of religion ("Archie Is Branded"), sexual assault ("Gloria, the Victim"), and gun control ("Archie and the Editorial") are handled with remarkable frankness. At the center of it all, of course, is Carroll O'Connor's Archie, who remains belligerent, boorish, and downright mean to the bitter end. Whether he's bribing an IRS agent, cheating an insurance company, or just being pig-headed in general, Archie is utterly unrepentant; basically, he never does the right thing, a trait that's somehow both irritating and refreshing.

All in the Family is hardly perfect; the dysfunctional family's ceaseless squabbling and shouting--usually involving Archie and liberal son-in-law Mike Stivic (Rob Reiner), although wife Edith (the brilliant Jean Stapleton) and daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers) aren't immune--eventually becomes tiresome and shrill. But for the most part, the show's acting, writing (which manages to be very funny as well as incisive), and point of view make this set a must-have. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews

The Bunkers Are Back For Season Three On DVD!
"All In The Family" Season 3 comes to DVD with the introduction of this handsome 3-Disc set from Columbia/Tri-Star Home Entertainment.

This boxed set gives us all 24 episodes of the show's third season (which was its second FULL season, following the 13-episode half-campaign from Season One). Episode numbers 38 through 61 are here, divided among the three single-sided discs, and shown in their original video and audio presentation. Video ratio is Full-Frame (1.33:1); while the audio comes via Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono tracks (in English only). No DVD player-generated subtitles here though, which is odd since Seasons 1 and 2 included them.

Picture quality, generally-speaking, seems OK here. Far from perfect; but OK. These shows, like the first two seasons of the series as well, were shot on "Tape", and not film. And from past DVD releases of "taped" programs, this usually means a generally less-appealing and lower-quality transfer to the digital format.

Fans should be pleased by Columbia's addition of a "Play All" feature that has been incorporated into this 3rd-season DVD package. The first two seasons didn't have this helpful "marathon" option. Good to see they've added it for this release.

Special Features are totally absent here (except for some ads for other Columbia DVD products).

But, thank goodness, this third-season set DOES include chapter stops for all episodes. The first two seasonal sets of AITF didn't have any chapter breaks, which isn't a good thing, IMO. I prefer at least a minimal number of chapter breaks on DVD products, even for a half-hour sitcom.

Especially important, in my opinion, is the inclusion of a "break" immediately following a TV program's opening titles. Such breaks *are* included in this DVD set. A chapter break of this nature is all the more important to have on these "All In The Family" episodes, due to the rather "grating" nature of Archie and Edith's opening-song rendition. After hearing Edith belt this out for the umpteenth time, in that fingernails-on-a-chalkboard way she had, I find it useful to bypass the credits most of the time. (Nothing personal against Jean Stapleton, you understand. She was marvelous as Edith Bunker. But, let's face it, she's no Judy Garland.) LOL. :)

Season Three offers up some pretty humorous programs with Archie & Edith & Company, such as: "The Bunkers And The Swingers", "Edith's Winning Ticket", "Archie And The Editorial", "Edith Flips Her Wig", and the two-parter "Mike And Gloria's Wedding". All episodes are shown in full, uncut form -- each lasting between 25 and 26 minutes (approximately).

Packaging for this set blends nicely with the first two "All In The Family" sets. The three discs are housed in a multi-panel fold-out case, which then slides into an outer cardboard slipcover. (Although, IMO, the innards of the box slide out from the wrong end of the outer slipcase, but that's a minor quibble.)

There are two subtle packaging changes/improvements on this boxed set that I really like. One being the fact that the discs can be removed from their plastic trays/hubs quite easily (which is unlike some other multi-disc DVD releases, where it's almost necessary to bend discs to their breaking point before the things can be removed from their Digipack homes).

But this AITF third-season packaging seems to be more user-friendly with regard to removing the discs from the case. Perhaps this is a sign that the DVD makers (from various companies) are really listening to consumer feedback with regard to complaints and concerns people have expressed about previously-released boxed sets where the discs were just "too tight" and difficult to remove. I commend Columbia/Tri-Star for this better packaging design.

The other small change in the packaging that I think is a good idea is the location of the "booklet pocket". This set has the booklet "right up front" (so to speak). When you first open the inner case, the multi-page booklet is right there (without having to unfold the whole case). It's easier to get at.

This is another solid season of one of the best comedy series ever to come to American television. Make room on the shelf for this DVD collection -- right next to "All In The Family" Seasons One and Two.

Episode List
1. Archie and the Editorial

2. Archie's Fraud

3. The Threat

4. Gloria and the Riddle

5. Lionel Steps Out

6. Edith Flips Her Wig

7. The Bunkers and the Swingers

8. Mike Comes Into Money

9. Flashback: Mike and Glorias Wedding 1

10. Flashback: Mike and Glorias Wedding 2

11. The Locket

12. Mikes Appendix

13. Edith's Winning Ticket

14. Archhie and the Bowling Team

15. Archie in the Hospital

16. Oh say can you see

17. Archie Goes to Far

18. Class Reunion

19. Hot Watch

20. Archie is Branded

21. Everybody Tells the Truth

22. Archie Learns His Lesson

23. Gloria, The Victim

24. THe Battle of the Month

finally!!!!!!!!!!!!
I haven't seen it yet, since it hasn't been released. Nevertheless, I've already seen some episodes of season 3 on TV and it is hilarious, like the other seasons! A great timeless show, for which you keep laughing no matter how often you've seen it.
Finally, they brought another season on DVD, and I hope they will continu the series on dvd! I also hope they will release the other seasons in a faster rate. This is ridiculous, more than a year between the release of seasons!
Come on, columbia, let's get this release of the show in the second gear, and bring out the other seasons asap!