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29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For Season 2 of All in the Family its personal not political, May 20, 2003
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.
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