Product Description

From one of television's pioneering creators, Norman Lear comes one of the most beloved families in television history, the Bunkers, starring Carroll O'Connor as Archie, Jean Stapleton as Edith, Rob Reiner as Mike "Meathead" Stivic and Sally Struthers as Gloria. Television was changed forever the night of January 12, 1971, when the premiere episode of "All in the Family" debuted. This three disc set contains the first complete season. The show's central character, Archie Bunker, is a working-class family man who holds bigoted, conservative views of the world. His viewpoints clash with nearly everyone he comes into contact with, especially his liberal son-in-law Mike Stivic (or, as Archie delights in calling him, "Meathead"). The two disagree about nearly everything: politics, minorities, sex, religion, economics, war, gun control, crime, free speech, women's rights, morality, philosophy and (so it seems) life in general. Archie's daughter, Gloria, often (but not always) sides with Mike, while his saintly wife, Edith, is the rock that holds the family together. Edith is as friendly, reserved, considerate and open-minded as Archie is bigoted, loud, rude and closed-minded; however, the love and faithfulness between them is undeniable. During the course of its remarkable eight-year run, All in the Family was nominated for an amazing 48 Emmy Awards, taking home 20 trophies with multiple wins for all of the lead characters as well as three wins for Outstanding Comedy Series. Numerous spin-off series resulted from All in the Family including the very successful "Maude" and "The Jeffersons."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10537 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2002-03-26
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 3
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 286 minutes

Amazon.com
Boy, the way the Beaver played. Ricky Nelson made the hit parade. Voices they were seldom raised. Those were the days. And then, on January 12, 1971, America met the Bunkers, and sitcoms would never be the same. The Bunkers were TV's first dysfunctional family: blue-collar bigot Archie (the late Carroll O'Connor in his iconic role), his long-suffering but loving wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), "little goil" Gloria (Sally Struthers), and her liberal husband "Meathead" Mike (Rob Reiner). Series creator Norman Lear broke near every rule and taboo in adapting the British series "Till Death Do Us Part" for American television. The series pilot, "Meet the Bunkers," was a bracing shocker that dared to find humor in prejudice. Archie dispenses racial epithets and ethnic slurs. Mike and Gloria clearly have an active sex life, while Edith, in the pilot at any rate, is more "pip" than "dingbat." In its first season, the series refused to, in Archie's words, "stifle" itself, tackling such hot-button topics as homophobia ("Judging Books by Covers"), racism ("Lionel Moves into the Neighborhood"), feminism ("Gloria Discovers Women's Lib"), and the generation gap (the touching "Success Story," with William Windom as Archie's former army buddy, a successful man who is revealed to be estranged from his son). All in the Family was a rich human comedy. Brought to life by a peerless ensemble, these characters would come to feel like family. Their foibles produced some of television's biggest laughs. They could also make us cry, as with the heartbreaking "Gloria's Pregnancy." Another series landmark is the season finale, "The First and Last Supper," in which we meet Isabel Sanford's Louise Jefferson (but, hilariously, not her husband, George). All in the Family was an instant lightning rod for controversy but went on to earn the comedy Emmy Award in its first year. This three-disc set has no extras (future sets will hopefully contain commentary by Lear or surviving cast members), but each episode is presented complete and uncut, restoring the funny, sometimes touching codas that were cut for syndication. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews

One of the best classic TV shows.
Debuting as a mid-season replacement series on January 12, 1971, All in the Family became one of the most influential comedies in TV history and made an immediate impact on the entire television industry. The sitcom revolves around blue-collar worker Archie Bunker (played by the beloved Carroll O'Connor) and his family. A bigot, Archie makes no bones about his racial and political views. His wife Edith, who he refers to as Dingbat, is ditzy, but her sweetness and good heart provide a perfect balance for the harsh character of Archie. Also residing in the Bunker house is Archie's daughter Gloria and her husband Michael. Some of the greatest commentary and comedic moments come from the verbal sparring between the narrow-minded Archie and the thoughtful, liberal Meathead.

In this collection, you'll be getting the following episodes:

1. "Meet The Bunkers"- It's Archie and Edith's wedding anniversary, so Gloria and Mike try to whip up a party atmosphere for them.

2. "Writing the President"- Upon learning that Mike has written a letter of criticism to President Nixon, Archie becomes so upset that he writes a letter of his own in praise of Nixon.

3. "Oh, My Aching Back"- Archie tries to sue for whiplash after a minor auto accident and seeks out a Jewish lawyer to fight the case for him.

4. "Archie Gives Blood"- Archie becomes a blood donor, but he insists on knowing who the blood will be going to because his theory is "black blood" is different from "white blood."

5. "Judging Books By Covers"- Archie ridicules one of Mike and Gloria's friends for being gay.

6. "Gloria's Pregnancy"- Archie goes through the ceiling when he finds out that Gloria is going to have a baby and Mike has no means of supporting the child.

7. "Mike's Hippie Friends Come To Visit"- Mike invites a young couple to spend the night at the Bunker house, but runs into objections when Archie finds out the visitors are not married.

8. "Lionel Moves Into The Neighborhood"- Archie tries to prevent a black family from moving into his neighborhood. The family turns out to be the Bunkers' friend Lionel Jefferson and his parents.

9. "Edith Has Jury Duty"- Over Archie's objection, Edith accepts a call to serve on a jury hearing a murder case which may keep her away from home for weeks.

10. "Archie Is Worried About His Job"- Archie spends a sleepless night worrying because he thinks he's about to lose his job.

11. "Gloria Discovers Women's Lib"- Gloria discovers Women's Lib and winds up moving out of the Bunker household after an argument with Mike during which she demands that he treat her as an equal.

12. "Success Story"- After Eddie Frazier, a wealthy friend of Archie's, arrives from Beverly Hills, Archie organizes a reunion of their old army buddies.

13. "The First And Last Supper"- At the same time that Archie is circulating a petition to keep more black families from moving into the neighborhood, Edith accepts an invitation to have dinner with the Jeffersons. So, Archie tries to get out of the engagement by claiming Edith has sprained her ankle.

A blue collar bigot makes television comedy relevant
When "All in the Family" premiered on CBS on January 12, 1971, "TV Guide" introduced it as "A Lighthearted Look at Prejudice," warning viewers "Situation comedy takes a giant step with this adult social satire." In retrospect, even that declaration is an incredible understatement. Other than the "Texaco Star Theater," which made Milton Berle "Mr. Television" and sold millions of television sets, there is not another show in the history of television as significant as "All in the Family." Before its abbreviated first season there were "idiot" situation comedies like "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Hogan's Heroes," and "My Mother the Car." After "All in the Family" came relevant shows like "Maude," "The Jeffersons," and "M*A*S*H" and nobody doubts that it was AITF that changed the rules of the game.

Produced by Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin, "All in the Family" was based on the British series "Till Death Do Us Part." The family in question were the Bunkers, which consisted of bigoted Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor), his kindly "dingbat" wife, Edith (Jean Stapleton), their naively idealistic daughter, Gloria (Sally Struthers), and her husband, Michael Stivic (Rob Reiner), an argumentative liberal "meathead" who sorely tries Archie's deeply conservative soul. Archie Bunker was unlike anything ever seen on television: he held every negative racial or ethic stereotype in the book and used slurs never before heard on television. But the series also dealt with serious issues. "All in the Family" is the only television series in history to finish 1st in the Nielsen's five years running and all four stars won multiple Emmys in their respective acting categories.

Included on this DVD are the thirteen episodes that made up the first season, when the show was a mid-season replacement: (1) "Meet the Bunkers," written by Norman Lear, where a surprise anniversary party for the Bunkers is just another excuse for Archie and Mike to have a fight; (2) "Writing the President" finds Mike and then Archie writing President Nixon on the state of the Union; (3) "Archie's Aching Back" finds Archie hiring a Jewish lawyer to get a large settlement in a minor traffic accident; (4) "Archie Gives Blood," although he is afraid his blood will get mixed with those of a different race; (5) "Judging Books by Covers," thinks one of Mike's friends is gay, but it turns out that it is one of Archie's drinking buddies instead; (6) "Gloria Is Pregnant," but suffers a tragic miscarriage in the first television show I remember making me cry; (7) "Now That You Know the Way, Let's Be Strangers," has Mike inviting a hippy friend to spend the night; (8) "Lionel Moves Into the Neighborhood" despite Archie's efforts to keep a black family from buying the house next door; (9) "Edith Has Jury Duty" in a sitcom version of "12 Angry Men"; (10) "Archie Is Worried About His Job" and nobody can sleep that night; (11) "Gloria Discovers Women's Lib" and angrily leaves the house when Mike refuses to treat her as an equal partner; (12) "Success Story" finds Archie reevaluating his definition of success when he runs into an old Army buddy; (13) "The First and Last Supper" has the Jeffersons coming to dinner at the Bunkers, except husband George (who is not seen until season 3) refuses to enter the house of his white neighbor.

"All in the Family" is one of the greatest television series of all time and I do not know of two many television critics or historians who do not have it down as one of the five best situation comedies ever aired. Too bad this DVD does not include the two failed pilots Lear put together for ABC, but the greater shame is that this is a bare boned edition with just the episodes. Yes, they are uncut, but a show as culturally important as "All in the Family" would certainly be worthy of commentary from the talented actors, writers and staff who changed television forever.

Good News: Archie Bunker's On DVD!
What a treat to have all of these famous Archie-isms now on DVD. Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker shall live forever as one of the finest characters ever created for the small screen. Always controversial, but always well-written, was the character of Archibald Bunker of 704 Houser Street in Queens.

These 13 first-season episodes of "All In The Family" (as well as nearly the entire batch of episodes contained in the Season Two follow-up DVD boxed set) are some of my favorites of the entire series (which ran for all or part of nine seasons, from January 1971 to April 1979).

The debut episode, which probably had the show's creators on pins and needles when it first aired, is a fabulous premiere program for Archie and his gang. Take note how Edith, in show #1, isn't quite the totally dominated housewife that she'd become in later episodes. She holds her own a few times with her hubby in the "Meet The Bunkers" debut. Such as her jab at Archie about the church service they just attended: "Mister religion here wasn't quite seeing eye to eye with the sermon". :)

You'll get to see the entire "epilogue" sequences for each program on these DVDs as well, rather than the usual trimmed-down-for-more-commercials versions that are likely to be shown on broadcast TV.

Other first-rate Season One episodic Archie adventures include such Classics as "Lionel Moves Into The Neighborhood" (which features the burst-out-loud hilarious "Watermelon Rinds" Archie-ism!); "Edith Has Jury Duty"; and "Archie Gives Blood".

The picture quality is, sadly, not very good on this set of DVDs. Not much better, if any, than VHS quality. Many scenes are downright blurry; and might have you rubbing your eyes. But keep in mind the age of these programs, and the added fact that the show was shot on "tape" in the first place (not "film"), which is bound to take the quality of any video release down a few notches.

No chapter stops are included either. Nor is a "slipcase" box for housing the fold-out package containing the actual discs. (But that latter point is just a picky one; for there's no real risk of the discs getting damaged by having no outer box/carton. My discs, thus far, have not burst into flames, nor have they fled to Cuba on their own, for lack of a more durable and appropriate outer package.) :)

Sound quality isn't really anything to write home about either. It's a mono soundtrack being utilized on the discs, and sounds quite "tinny" and harsh at times. But the dialogue, in general, is still very well understood, which is the most important thing.

Even with the negatives about the video quality, lack of extras (there's absolutely none here), no slipcase, and no chapter selections, this boxed set of the first thirteen episodes of "All In The Family" still comes very highly recommended by this Archie Bunker fan! Because, even a blurry and grainy Archie on DVD is certainly better than no Mr. Bunker whatsoever!