Customer Reviews

All in the Family - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(75)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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.

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.

Let me say if I were to review the comedy alone contained within, this gets 6 stars, however this is a boxset and factoring that in, this is dismal. Every mistake in the book is here as far as how NOT to bring a classic series to dvd.

No Chapter Skips? Check.

No pilot? Check.

Poor transfer? Check.

Flimsy, awkward, (though nice looking) packaging? Check.

No remastered sound? Check.

No extras? Check.

I have a majority of these on the official Columbia House VHS series, and somehow the picture on those tends to be marginally better. Who woulda thought you could mess up perfection? The picture is sort of fuzzy, and every now and again you can see some digital imperfection. I am satisfied with the set because it is a space saver, but thats about it (other than the obvious quality of the perfomances). Why even take the time to bring these to dvd, then cut every corner in the book? Will I buy season 2? You betcha.

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!

This poor review is in no way a reflection on the content of the series. The shows are groundbreaking in their content. The series, however, has been ruined by Sony's rapaciousness. I purchase many series on DVD; this is the first that is so poorly packaged. Sony has stacked all the DVDs on top of one another in a single case sans a single sleeve or partition. This risks serious scratches befalling the DVDs even from normal and careful handling. Sony has used this type of irresponsible packaging for the entire series on DVD. Sony's greed is unacceptable!

"All in the Family" is one of television's true gems; not only was it groundbreaking in its content, but the cast and writing were brilliant. It is a show truly worthy of a DVD release.

This first season DVD set contains all 13 episodes of the first season. This includes the classic first episode, Gloria's miscarriage (which ends in a touching scene with Carroll O'Connor and Sally Struthers as father and daughter), and the hilarious attempt to invite the new neighbors, the Jeffersons (before their own series began) to dinner, in spite of Archie's objections.

Throughout its nine seasons, All in the Family willingly (and effectively) tackled issues previously undiscussed in the context of a situation comedy. But it would have been all for naught were it not for the perfect portrayal of Archie Bunker by Carroll O'Connor, who plays off his loving, understanding wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), whose kindness and tolerance is a perfect contrast to Archie's ignorance and bigotry. Mike (Rob Reiner) and Gloria (Sally Struthers) provide hilarious liberal counterpoints to Archie's reactionary conservatism.

I can't wait for season two, which provides such AITF gems as the death of Cousin Oscar, the two appearances of Cousin Maude (played by Bea Arthur in the role that got her a spinoff series, which would also be quite welcome on DVD), and, of course, a visit by some guy named Sammy Davis, Jr.

You absolutely need to buy this DVD set, even though extras are nonexistent and picture quality is only average (the show was shot on videotape, and the first season production values were always a little shaky). It would be shameful if Columbia TriStar only stopped at one season while leaving the rest to rot in badly-edited syndication versions like those which are on Nick at Nite.

Well, the content is great - an ensemble of phenomenal talents in a groundbreaking series. I agree with most every viewer so far on the high quality of the performances, the writing, and the overall series concepts. Really great work. I'm glad to see All In The Family and other classic series coming out on DVD.

I will jump to a bit of criticism though, because although the show was great, this collection is lacking...

Note you will hear piano accompaniment to reinforce touching moments. It may be that it is an addition to the original series done many years ago. This may sound odd to some of you; my friends and I don't recall these musical touches in the syndication versions.

The quality of the recordings - I don't know why it looks poor - the phrase "taped before a live studio audience" may give an indication (sounds like it wasn't "filmed" and so the quality of the originals may not be great). This surprises me however, because the currently broadcast versions (I saw "Gloria's Pregnancy" recently) look better on ordinary broadcast TV than from my new DVD versions. If they had trouble with the quality of the originals, I assume they would have provided notes indicating the archive process. (The quality is so vastly different that it's comparable to the South Park DVD - also with quality far below the broadcast versions). Given the quality, it is unclear why they are placing only four episodes on each of three disk instead of placing six episodes on each of two disks?

Finally, I'm surprised anyone is putting out classic series for a collector's audience without any extras. No commentary, no old tv commercials promoting the new show, no interviews with the writers or actors or producer, no documentaries featuring academics or later television ground breakers (seinfeld, cosby, lily tomlin, richard pryor, matt groening, john cleese or terry gilliam ...). A shame. I expected more.

When I was a kid growing up in the 1970s, my parents were forever trying to get me to read a 'good book' or go outside to get some fresh air and excercise (this didn't seem to stop me from lapping up endless episodes of "Mannix" & "Room 222"). "Boob-tubing" as my father like to call it, was seriously frowned apon. But every Saturday night, like clockwork, my whole family gathered around our little 19", b&w set with rabbit ears to view the further comedic TV exploits, that took place in the 704 Hauser St. living room between Archie, Edith, "Meathead" and the "Little Goil". My family and the rest of the American television viewing audience had never seen anything like "All in the Family". It was a well written, hilarious, TV sitcom performed by a talented group of actors about the serious issues of the day, using some very 'frank' language. This wasn't about if Mr. Clampett would take his money out of Mr. Drysdale's bank. Nor was it about creating a radio out of coconuts to get off of a tropical island. Instead Archie and the rest of the Bunkers screamed and argued about the Vietnam War, politics, the economy, race relations, women's lib, homosexuality, religion, student protest Etc. We had never seen anything like this. And you know what? It was really good! Norman Lear's teleplays were well written, emotionally moving and very funny as they drove home the topical issues of the day.This was a historic first in the world of TV sitcoms! It also helped that the show had one of the best television acting ensembles (with exception to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show") of the 1970s. The characters created by actors Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner & Sally Struthers will forever go down in television history. Now finally, the Emmy award winning show is being put out season by season to the DVD format. In this first season we get to see the early creation of the characters. Archie isn't as mellow as his later incarnations (he uses some pretty course, racist language). Edith isn't as sweet and 'dingbat-like' in her persona. We get great episodes like the premiere ("Meet the Bunkers") as well as comic classics like the episode where the Jeffersons move next door ("Lionel Moves into the Neighborhood"). My personal favorite is "Gloria's Pregnancy". In that episode we get to see a more tender side of Archie Bunker after Gloria suffers a miscarriage.As for the DVD itself, the picture quality is only fair. No extras are provided, which is a shame since I think fans would love to have some commentaries from Producer, Norman Lear and the cast. Even so, I would highly recommend this excellent, historic, TV comedy be made a part of any DVD collection!

...All in the Family has the original thirteen episodes with no extras. It does have episdoe selections and subtitles, but that's it and that's okay. If you have been watching DVD'S for a while you expect extras, but what extras can they put for a sitcom that first aired in the seventies. The fact that this classic is being released entirely on DVD should be enough on its own. All the episodes included are very funny and are essential to anyone who is a fan of the show.

The following episodes are included:
DISC ONE
Meet the Bunkers
In this pilot episode, it is Archie and Edith's 22nd wedding anniversary, and Mike and Gloria decide to throw a suprise brunch to celebrate the ocassion. However, a heated dicussion follows, that leads to the question of whether or not Archie is prejudice.

Writting the President
Mike decides to write President Nixon but when Archie finds out he decides to write to President Nixon himself-telling him what's right.

Oh, My Aching Back
When Archie finds out how much money George and Louise Jefferson got for being hit by a bus, he decides to sue a woman who he got into a fender-bender with, until the "token gentile" shows up at the Bunkers.

Judging Books By Covers
Archie thinks that Gloria and Mike's friend Roger is gay but it turns out Archie's beer buddy Steve is the one that's [gay].

DISC TWO
Archie Gives Blood
Archie and Mike go to the blood bank to give blood but a dicussion about the difference between white blood and black blood follows.

Gloria's Pregnancy
Gloria becomes pregnant but looses the baby just when Archie gets used to the idea of a grandchild.

Mike's Hippy Friends Visit
Mike and Gloria's hippie friend visit but Archie wants them out, bad.

Lionel Moves Into the Neighborhood
The Jeffersons buy a house in the Bunker's neighborhood, promting racist Archie to try to get them out by getting Lionel to tell them to leave, only to find out that Lionel is the one moving in.

DISC THREE
Edith Has Jury Duty
Edith is chosen for jury duty in an important case but Archie doesn't like her being away from home. And when Edith's lone not guilty vote delays the trial, there's no telling when the ding bat will be back.

Archie is Worried About His Job
Archie is afraid he may loose his job at the loading dock sohe stays up all night waiting for his spy on the inside, an eighty year old security guard, to find out if Archie is fired or not.

Gloria Discovers Women Lib
Gloria reads up on women's lib and tries to convince Mike that they are equal partners but Mike won't hear of it.

Success Story
One of Archie's army buddies shows up who is now a wealthy man on the outside, but as Mike finds out, he is bankrupt when it comes to family.

The First And Last Supper
Edith invites the Jeffersons over for dinner but Archie and George don't want to be around each other, at all.

The set is great and stars Carrol O' Conner as Archie, Jean Stapelton as the Dingbat, Rob Reiner as Meathad, and Salley Struthers as Gloria. This is the best show to come out of the seventies and a one of the funniest DVD sets available. I reccomend it to anyone who is even remotly a fan of All in the Family.

NBC loves to hang the moniker "greatest ____ ever" on its TV shows as if saying so makes it so. First, The Cosby Show was the greatest sitcom ever, then Seinfeld, then Friends. Of course, according to NBC, ER is the greatest program in the history of television, so we all have to discuss comedy programs in and of themselves. If NBC spent nearly as much time creating good new shows as it does in shamelessly overhyping their old shows, they probably would still be ahead of CBS in the ratings.

For my money, no sitcom will ever top the great All in the Family in any respect -- acting, writing and overall influence. To get an idea of what dire straits TV comedy was in before All in the Family, take a look at an episode of one of the other sitcoms that was on the air at the time: Family Affair, The Brady Bunch, the last, sad days of Bewitched, The Beverly Hillbillies. The country had grown up, but television sitcoms had stayed rooted in the same dated themes of the 1950's and 1960's: either sterilized white bread families or gimmicky hocus pocus that took the place of the quality writing of classics like I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Subjects like Vietnam, flower children, drugs, poverty, racism, homosexuality and rape were taboos.

Enter Archie, Edith, Mike and Gloria who dealt with all those issues and more head on in every episode. While Carol Brady scolded her children for saying the word "stinker," Archie Bunker held a lengthy dissertation on the phrase "god damn it." While Samantha Stevens was still dealing with her wacky witch and morlock relatives, the Bunkers were coming face to face with a transsexual. While the perpetually backwards residents of The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction and Green Acres discussed barn dances and pig raising, the Bunkers talked about the bombing of Cambodia and Watergate.

To be sure, Archie Bunker was a caricature -- a personification of all the old time, outdated prejudiced values that were so out of step in the early 70's. Creator Norman Lear's political perspective is cleary on the side of Mike and Gloria Stivic rather than Archie or Edith. However, Lear, who modeled the character of Archie on his father, wisely gave Archie Bunker a good soul. It's clear that deep down, Archie is a good person who can't deal with the changes in his life and the country without lashing out angrily at them.

The supreme achievement of All in the Family is that it takes all that anger and controversy and makes them funny. In the episode where the Jeffersons move into the neighborhood, for example, Archie's bigoted opposition to letting a black family could have made the situation ugly and very, very unfunny. However, Archie's opposition and fear is lampooned, making the point that discriminating on the basis of race is ridiculous. It's certainly deeper and more meaningful than Soup Nazis or finding out which two members of the Friends ensemble will sleep with each other next.

In addition, the cast is probably the best ever assembled for sitcom with the possible exceptions of The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Carroll O'Connor as Archie, Jean Stapleton as Edith, Rob Reiner as Mike Stivic and Sally Struthers as Gloria are absolute magic together and still manage to convey how much they love each other even while they argue about and disagree about everything. In addition, the supporting cast would later include so many great actors and actresses as so many great characters that All in the Family would spawn five spinoffs. A true measure of how much the characters come to mean to the audience is in the episode "Gloria's Pregnancy." When Gloria miscarries, Archie goes to comfort her. Even though he can't find the right words to say, the look that passes between Archie and Gloria is extremely moving and touching. The characters yell and scream the most horrible things at each other, but when push comes to shove, they are a real, loving family.

No matter how much NBC and other networks may hype their sitcoms as being the best ever, All in the Family will always be king. The show made television grow up and meet the issues of the day head on while still making the audience laugh and care.