Customer Reviews

All in the Family: Complete Fifth Season

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

...the days of inflation and strikes, Lionel moving in, Archie going missing, the series' hundredth episode retrospective, "fair fighting", stealing from the workplace, the Jeffersons moving up and Mike finally graduating and he and Gloria making a move of their own. A nice season that still showcases some of the best comedy ever seen on sitcom television. In the fifth season the show was still a fan favorite, riding the wave of popularity it had established in the first season and built heavily on since the critically acclaimed second.

The fifth season contains the following 24 episodes:

The Bunkers and Inflation
Archie and Edith's 26th wedding anniversary coincides with worry that Archie's union will go on strike. Archie and Edith both learn of the strike separately and try to keep it from each other and their party guests.

The Bunkers and Inflation (2)/Archie Underfoot
With his union still on strike Archie is stuck at home trying to keep entertained. Meanwhile as family funds dwindle Edith tries to get the family by on a budget.

The Bunkers and Inflation (3)/Edith the Job Hunter
With Archie still out of work Edith and Mike both search for jobs. When Edith finally gets hired by George Jefferson Archie refuses to take his charity.

The Bunkers and Inflation (4)/Archie's Raise
Archie becomes a homemaker when everyone is working but him and he is at home alone all day. Then the strike is called off when his union gets an increased wage, but is Archie really better off?

Lionel the Live-In
The Jeffersons have been having loud arguments keeping the Bunkers up at night. When Lionel has had enough of George giving him grief about his girlfriend Jenny, who has mixed race parents, he moves in with the Bunkers and it's up to a fed up Archie to fix the relationship between father and son.

Archie's Helping Hand
With Frank Lorenzo so often away on work Irene Lorenzo has been around a lot lately. To get her out of his hair Archie attempts to get her a job as a secretary at his work but his plan backfires when she gets a job as forklift driver right alongside him on the dock.

Gloria's Shock
When Mike and Archie fight once again about national problems it is Gloria who is most shocked when she learns Mike doesn't want to have children.

Where's Archie? (1)
Edith prepares a speech for her first tupperware party while Mike and Gloria try to hide their concern over Archie not showing up at a union convention he is supposedly attending in Buffalo.
*As mentioned by another reviewer (and probably known by most reading this) this entire three parter was written when Carol O'Connor walked off the show. The writer's had a plan to kill off his character and have Stretch Cunningham move in with the family.

Archie is Missing (2)
With Archie still missing the family is concerned. Greater concern arises when Mike believes Archie could have run away with a woman from work named Mildred "boom-boom" Turner.

The Longest Kiss (3)
Archie finally sends news of where he has been and that he is coming home. While the family awaits his return (and the writer's kill time) Mike and Gloria try to kiss until he arrives while Edith, Irene, George and Louise end up having an impromtu party.

Archie and the Miracle
After a near death experience on the loading dock Archie has a new lease on life and vows to become a devout churchgoer, but attempting to follow through quickly finds him aggravated.

George and Archie Make a Deal
George has plans for his cleaning store and wants to run for Republican County Commission. When he needs Archie's signature on a petition first to convince other neighbours to sign he and Archie begin their bargaining.

Archie's Contract
Archie gets conned by a man who tells him putting aluminum siding on his house will be beneficial only for Mike and others to help him realize his mistake. Archie tries desperately to get out of the deal but in the end its his friends and family that come through for him.

Mike's Friend
When Mike's friend comes to visit Gloria feels treated as unintelligent when Mike won't include her in their conversations.

The Best of "All in the Family":
Henry Fonda hosts a look back at some of the best moments from the first 100 episodes of the series. A hilarious hour long special that showcases soem truly classic moments.

Prisoner in the House
Edith befriends a plumber's assisstant who also happens to be a convict in the work-release program. When Archie finds out about the man he becomes paranoid and feels unsafe leaving Edith or Gloria alone in the house with him.

The Jefferson' Move Up
Edith says goodbye to Louise Jefferson as Louise, George and Lionel all move on up to their deluxe apartment in the sky. Serves as a pilot for The Jeffersons.

All's Fair
Tired of feeling Edith is pushed around by Archie, Gloria convinces Edith to start "fair fighting". A process Gloria and Mike have been trying where they vent frustrations with each other respectfully. Things quickly erupt from there.

Amelia's Divorce
Archie's sunday is ruined when Edith's cousin Amelia and her husband Russel come to visit. Edith and Archie soon start to appreciate their relationship when they realize the poor state of Amelia and Russel's.

Everybody Does It
Archie 'borrows' some nails and a drill from work to build an overhang on the porch. He soon becomes the topic of a household debate on the definition of morality and then begins to worry Irene Lorenzo will turn him in to the boss.

Archie and the Quiz
A life expectancy quiz in a magazine has Archie rethinking his bad habits of drinking and smoking when he learns he is supposed to die in only seven years time.

Edith's Friend
Edith attends a family wedding without Archie only to run into an old family friend she was once smitten with.

No Smoking
Archie and Mike begin a competition to see who has more will power. Mike tries to go longer without eating than Archie can without a cigar.

Mike Makes His Move
After finally completing school Mike and Gloria are having trouble finding a suitable nearby apartment. When George Jefferson still needs to sell his house he offers it to Mike and Gloria at a reduced rate just to enrage Archie. After turning down the offer Mike eventually takes it when Archie provokes him.


A great season, though a much more mild one when compared to the previous three. Less actual controversial issues and more tame debates on morality, still hilarious and completely enjoyable though. If you've seen it and enjoy it the dvd is worth it, if for some reason you are new then I suggest you start with the second or third season to get a better feel for the show. The new snapcase sets aren't as nice as the original Sony digipaks but since Sony completely abandoned this property it's great that Shout! has picked it back up. Aside from that many studios now are repackaging their old releases in the new cheaper snapcase packaging (Fox has done so with King of the Hill and Family Guy as well as other properties), so there is no saying that had Sony finished what they started that they wouldn't have switched to this packaging as well.

Despite the snapcase you still get the same artwork and episode listing guide that you would have gotten to view with the digipak release. The audio and video are the same quality as watching the reruns on television, they are obviously old and shot on video but if you are a fan of this series you're likely used to the quality by now and even see it as part of the charm of the show. Five stars for the fifth season from me.

*For those interested in the behind the scenes controversy of All in the Family as showcased by Carol O'Connor's walk off during this season, I suggest the book Archie & Edith, Mike & Gloria: The Tumultuous History of All in the Family, it is a great read and is very informative, exploring how the series came to be through its entire run on television and beyond. Terrific.

"All In the Family" continued to be America's highest rated series in the fall of 1974 with over 20,000,000 viewers watching the Bunkers each week. The events that happened off-camera on "All In the Family" were just as exciting as any of the scripts as Carroll O'Connor walked off the series, demanding a substantial pay hike. After a well-publicized feud with producer and creator Norman Lear, O'Connor returned to the show becoming the highest-paid actor, at that point, in television history.

The fifth year began with a four-part episode entitled "The Bunkers and Inflation", which dealt with Archie being laid off from the dock plant and facing an unknown financial future. This is also the year the Jeffersons were spun off into their own weekly series. The pilot episode of "The Jeffersons" is included in this DVD set called "The Jeffersons Move On Up". There is also a wonderful retrospective show included called "The Best of "All In the Family"" hosted by Henry Fonda that features clips from some of the most popular episodes in the series' first four years. The final episode from season five (entitled "Mile Makes His Move") deals with Mike and Gloria moving into the Jefferson's old house next door. This plot twist enables the conflict to still exist between Archie and the Meathead for more seasons to come much to the chagrin of Mr. Bunker who thought Mike and Gloria were going to move since Mike finally graduated from college.

24 episodes are included in this set and like prvious releases no special features are included.

Sony has re-released this show in a regular dvd case with the 3 disc on top of each other. This is CHEAP and LAZY. Seek out the original packaging. It's pretty bad that a company -any company- tries to save money but at the same time sells something that will most likely be damaged or get damaged in a way they should have known before they manufactured it. LAZY and CHEAP.

All in the family is a comedy great from the seventies..this show stands apart from most comedy in that sometimes all it takes is a look on a characters face to set u laughing...this generation should really explore this comedy

Season 5 of "All In The Family" had some memorable episodes,such as the four-part season opener "The Bunkers Fight Inflation",in which Archie is laid off from his job at the loading dock & the series 100th episode which was hosted by Henry Fonda-It was a look back at memorable "AITF" moments (ie:Archie meeting Mike,Edith's menopause,Gloria's miscarriage).Season 5 also saw The Jeffersons leaving the neighborhood for their "deluxe apartment in the sky"-The pilot episode of "The Jeffersons" (1975-1985) also aired that season-All in all,this was a great season in more ways than one.

This was an interesting season in that it seems to tie up the beginning of the show and pave the way for changes.

While there were a few 2 part episdoes before, this 5th season had a 4 part episdoe ("Archie and Inflation") and a 3 parter ("Where's Archie?").

A real gem in this episdoe is "Archie's Helping Hand." He's tired of Irene and Edith running around together all the time. So he tries to (under the disguise of trying to help Irene) get her a job as an accountant at the loading docks. But his scheme back fires when she gets a 'fork lift job' working right with Archie.

NO DISRESPECT FOR CARROLL O'CONNOR INTENDED. One of my favorites in Season 5 was the 3 part "Where's Archie?" (Though part 3 is called "The Longest Kiss.") On a trip Archie fails to call from the hotel he was suppose to. And everyone wonders what has happened to him. (Good combination of comedy, suspense, and some honest concern.) And with just a single line at the end of Part 3, Archie commands respect.

Without ruining it, this has an ending that combines comedy and honest joyful sentiment well. Making George Jefferson drunk so he could be nice to Louise and happy about Archie's safe return worked well. See if you can not feel any joy when everyone runs up to hug Archie. (Even George Jefferson)

Another gem is "Amelia's Divorce." Edith thinks her friend is so happily married, and she finds out how miserable her friend is, and that she is on the verge of divorce. Ironically, Amelia's 'soon to be x husband' ends up underlining Archie's good and redeeming points.

"Everybody Does It" is also good. Edith, Michael, and Gloria point out to Archie that it is wrong to take supplies home from work. BUT, Archie shows Mike and Gloria that they aren't so innocent of what they are accusing him of.

Finally, in "Mike Makes His Move," Mike and Gloria decide to move into the Jefferson's old house. (The Jeffersons of course earlier left for their own show.)

SIDE NOTE: While we get the impression that Archie is annoyed that Michael and Gloria will be next door, he does later seem to appreciate that. In Season 7's "Mike the Pacifist," Mike and Gloria want to check out a house in the Bronx. And Archie tells them that they already have a perfectly good house next door.

Overall, it's a good season that accepted the fact that the beginning was over, and prepared us for some changes.

"All In The Family" first premiered in 1970 and it managed to break all the rules of television. With a classic cast and scripts that exisited in real time, these weekly televised plays could have won PObies and Tony's on stages in New York. The terms that came out of Archie Bunkers mouth would shock network Cernsors today. Archie Bunker said things that Roseanne's censors would nerver let her say. ("Pitching a trouser tent" indeed) Norman Lear tackled so many topics that remain current today and he did so using brilliant script writers and the finest actors alive at the time. (Jean Stapeltpon, an acteress with a high IQ, endeared herself to America as the very wise "dingbat." Always running, always loving.)

Watching "All In The Family" today brings about a whole new line of lessons: primarily that 40 years after the fact the only difference is that New York City is not as filthy as it was. (Mayor Guillianni shipped the homeless to the other four burroughs and mayor Bloomberg has shipped them to Jersey City and Newark)

I think that there's a bit more tolereance within the cities that lie on the coast- but here in the Finger Lakes of New York there is just as much inbtolerance for ALL minorities as there was when Archie and Edith performed on WSaturday evenings back in the mid 70's.

The fifth season is particularly brilliant, taking on subjects that will cause you to realize that there was less a difference between Archie and Mike than we thought and that it would do us all very well to watch this series again today, given the way our white culture looks upon the "minoriteis" (this word doesn't mean what it used to) we could all enjoy and leadrfn froim "All I n The Family", one of the finest pieces of art ever made.

Perhaps the greatest TV series of all time. This season was the only one where the DVD quality was poor, hence the 1 star rating. Unless you want the whole series, I suggest you don't bother with season 1.

I am adding to my dvd library. I loved this show! I like to go back and get some laughs with Archie. Carroll O' Conner was a great actor. Jean Stapleton and the rest of the cast really worked well together. I think I need 4 more seasons and I am done.

All in the Family teaches society so many things ranging from family relationships to racial divides. An excellent program for the entire family.