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All in the Family: Season 05
Part of Series:
All in the Family [TV Series]
"The program you are about to see is All in the Family. It seeks to throw a humorous spotlight on our frailties, prejudices, and concerns. By making them a source of laughter, we hope to show -- in a mature fashion -- just how absurd they are." With this carefully worded disclaimer, the CBS television network ushered in a new era of television comedy on January 12, 1971, with the premiere of All in the Family. Inspired by the British sitcom Till Death Do Us Part, the series was proposed by producers Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin in early 1968, and a pilot episode titled "Those Were the Days" was commissioned by ABC. From the beginning, Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton were "set" as leading characters Archie and Edith Bunker (original last name: Justice), though two unknowns were cast as the couple's daughter, Gloria, and son-in-law, Mike Stivic. Also from the beginning, it had been decided to retain the controversial nature of the original British series, with bigoted hard-hat Archie forever at odds with his flaming liberal son-in-law. Alas, ABC had just been burned by the hostile reception afforded another hot-potato project, Turn-On, and had lost its taste for controversy, even when Lear and Yorkin toned down the venom in a second pilot. But in 1970, CBS, in desperate need of a hit for its sagging Tuesday-night lineup, decided to take a chance on "Those Were the Days," which by now had been christened All in the Family, and had added Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner to the cast as Gloria and Mike. Worried that audiences might be unkindly disposed to Archie Bunker's incessant harangues against "hebes," "spics," and "coloreds," CBS prefaced the first episode with the aforementioned disclaimer. Though the opener ended up an anemic 54th in the ratings (due primarily to the decision by several affiliates not to air the program, or to reschedule it to a "fringe" time slot), the first All in the Family was the topic of conversation in virtually every household and place of business in America before the week was out. By the time the series began in its second season in the fall of 1971, All in the Family was CBS' top-rated program, a status it enjoyed for the next five years. Archie Burnker, a loading-dock supervisor who resided at 704 Houser Street in Queens, NY, was a firm and immovable believer in America, right or wrong (but mostly far, far right). Offsetting Archie's racial slurs, antediluvian political beliefs, and incessant malapropisms was his somewhat foolish but fundamentally good-hearted wife, Edith (or "Dingbat," as Archie designated her); his budding-feminist daughter, Gloria; and Gloria's long-haired, radical husband, Michael Stivic (aka "Meathead" and "Polack"), who while attending graduate school lived with Archie and Edith, and all but ate them out of house and home. In virtually every episode, an Issue (with a capital "I") was brought to the forefront -- gun control, the sexual revolution, homosexuality, religion, integration, rape -- with Archie taking the diehard conservative viewpoint, Mike assuming the liberal stance, Gloria siding with Mike, and Edith sitting on the sidelines making inane (but sometimes surprisingly sensible) comments. Usually, Archie would be hoisted by his own bigoted petard, but sometimes Mike would be trapped in the morass of his good intentions. Whatever the case, All in the Family tackled subject matter that only a few years earlier would have been rejected out of hand on network television, using language that likewise had seldom if ever been heard on the small screen. In this respect, All in the Family can be regarded as the single most influential situation comedy in television history. Over the years, Archie's character mellowed a bit, but fundamentally he remained the same opinionated jerk he'd been in the first episode. Through it all, however, one never doubted that the members of the Bunker family all loved one another dearly and intensely. In addition to the "core" regulars, several other recurring characters paraded past Archie's beloved easy chair: Lionel Jefferson (Mike Evans), a black friend of Mike and Gloria's who, much to Archie's dismay, became their across-the-street neighbor (Lionel's upscale black family would later be spun-off into their own series, The Jeffersons); Irene and Frank Lorenzo (Betty Garrett and Vincent Gardenia), who were every bit as broad-minded as Archie was not; Bert Munson (Billy Halop), an employee at the cab company where Archie moonlighted; Archie's co-worker and lodge buddy Barney Hefner (Allan Melvin); and Tommy Kelsey (Brendan Dillon, and later Bob Hastings), owner of Kelsey's Bar, Archie's favorite hangout. At the beginning of the 1975-1976 season, Gloria and Mike moved next door to Archie and Edith, and in December of 1975, Gloria gave birth to her first child, a boy named Joey. During the 1976-1977 season, Archie met yet another sociological opponent in the form of Puerto Rican boarder Teresa Betancourt (Liz Torres). And as the 1977-1978 season began, Archie made the momentous decision to quit his job and purchase Kelsey's bar, which he renamed Archie Bunker's Place. This season ended with Mike, Gloria, and Joey bidding farewell to Archie and Edith when Mike landed a teaching job in California. The Stivics' former sleeping quarters were taken over in 1978 by Stephanie Mills (Danielle Brisebois), Edith's niece, who had been abandoned by her ne'er-do-well father. All in the Family per se came to an end with the final episode of the 1979-1980 season; thereafter the multi-award-winning series was known as Archie Bunker's Place. In addition to its prime-time run, All in the Family was seen in rerun form as part of the CBS daytime lineup from December 1975 to December 1979; and in 1991, selected episodes of All in the Family were run in tandem with a newer but much (much) less successful Norman Lear production, Sunday Dinner, which debuted and wrapped within a month. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Includes Seasons:
All in the Family: Season 05
Season five of All in the Family begins with a four-part story arc, in which Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) faces a long stretch of unemployment during a union strike, while the other members of the Bunker household -- including wife Edith (Jean Stapleton) -- attempt to either tighten or fatten the family's bank account. In a later multi-episode storyline, Archie disappears en route to a lodge convention in Buffalo, leading the family to believe that he has met with an accident -- possibly a fatal one. This story arc was developed while Carroll O'Connor was making noises about leaving All in the Family because of creative financial and creative difference with producer Norman Lear. In the event that O'Connor made good his threat to leave the show, the producers commissioned a script in which Archie is killed in a car accident. Once the dispute was settled and O'Connor returned to the series, the "death" script was shelved, only to be dragged out several years later and rewritten as an episode of Good Times to accommodate the exit from that series of actor John Amos. During All in the Family's fifth season, the series passed its 100-episode milestone. This event was celebrated with an hour-long retrospective special, hosted by Henry Fonda. A few episodes later, the Bunkers' black next-door neighbors "move on up" to a Manhattan high rise, thereby launching their own spin-off series, The Jeffersons. And in the season's final installment, Mike (Rob Reiner) and Gloria (Sally Struthers) decide to finally move out of the Bunker household -- and into the newly vacated Jefferson house! ~ All Movie Guide

Includes Episodes:
All in the Family: The Bunkers and Inflation
Season four of All in the Family began on September 14, 1974, with the first of the series' multipart stories. "The Bunkers and Inflation" gets under way with the news that Archie's union is going on strike. The action could not happen at a worse time; the Bunkers' bank account is at an all-time low and the cost of living is at an all-time high. The first installment of a four-episode story arc, "The Bunkers and Inflation" was written by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, and Bernie West. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
All in the Family: Archie Underfoot
In the second episode of a four-part story arc, Archie's union is still on strike, and the Bunkers' household debts continue to mount. When Archie isn't on the picket line, he is sitting around the house wallowing in self-pity. Edith tries to put on a happy face, but even she is pushed to the breaking point by Archie's constant moping and the ever-tightening money supply. Written by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, and Bernie West, "Archie Underfoot" first aired on September 21, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
All in the Family: Edith the Job Hunter
In the third episode of a four-part story arc, Archie is still out of work as union negotiations continue to go round and round in circles. Despite the Bunkers' nearly empty bank account, Archie is dead set against Edith going to work. When he finally relents, Edith lands a job with dry-cleaning king George Jefferson -- who by no stretch of the imagination could be regarded as Archie's favorite person. Written by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, and Bernie West, "Edith the Job Hunter" first aired on September 28, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
All in the Family: Lionel the Live-In
Lionel moves out of the Jefferson household after an argument with his parents. Normally, this domestic squabble would be of no concern to Archie Bunker, who would just as soon have all the Jeffersons move away. But Archie hadn't reckoned with Edith, who not only allows Lionel to move in with the Bunkers, but extends him every conceivable courtesy of the house. Scripted by Woody Kling from a story by Jeffrey Mackowsky, "Lionel the Live-In" originally aired on October 12, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
All in the Family: Archie's Helping Hand
Hoping to keep Irene Lorenzo from indoctrinating Edith with her "liberated" notions, Archie arranges for Irene to get a job down at the loading dock. This act of left-handed generosity backfires when Irene ends up operating the forklift, a "macho" position that Archie has always coveted. Worse still -- at least as far as Archie is concerned -- Edith has joined one of those "pinko" women's groups. Written by Norman Belkin and Harriet Belkin, "Archie's Helping Hand" was first telecast on October 19, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
All in the Family: Gloria's Shock
Gloria has always been aware that Mike is against overpopulation. Even so, she is shocked when Mike states, flat out, that he doesn't want any children. The ensuing argument spreads throughout the Bunker household, affecting not only Archie and Edith, but next-door neighbor Irene Lorenzo as well. Written by Dixie Brown Grossman, "Gloria's Shock" made its first CBS network appearance on October 26, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
All in the Family: Where's Archie?
This first episode of a three-part story arc finds Edith preparing for a Tupperware party while Archie is away attending a lodge convention in Buffalo. The tranquil mood in the Bunker household is shattered when Archie fails to call Edith as he promised, leading Edith, Mike, and Gloria to worry that Archie has met with an accident. Written by Barry Harman and Harve Brosten and originally broadcast on November 2, 1974, "Where's Archie?" was taped at the beginning of All in the Family's fourth season to compensate for Carroll O'Connor's walkout due to a salary dispute. Reportedly, producer Norman Lear intended to kill off Archie if negotiations with O'Connor fell through. As it turned out, the "death of Archie" episode was rewritten as an installment of the Lear-produced Good Times when star John Amos left that series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
All in the Family: Archie Is Missing
This second episode of a three-part story arc (which came about when Carroll O'Connor briefly ankled All in the Family over a salary dispute) finds the Bunker family deep in worry over the fact that Archie has been missing for 24 hours. At first, Edith thinks that Archie might have met with an accident or foul play. But mounting evidence suggests that Mr. Bunker has actually run off with another woman. The truth of the matter is not revealed until the very end of "Archie Is Missing," which was written by Lloyd Turner and Gordon Mitchell, and first aired on November 9, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
All in the Family: The Longest Kiss
In the conclusion of a three-part story arc, the Bunker household is relieved that Archie Bunker, reported missing from his lodge convention in Buffalo, has been found. It turns out that he had "one too many" with his buddies, and spent two days sleeping it off (as good an explanation as any for the absence of series star Carroll O'Connor, who had actually briefly walked off the set due to a salary dispute). In anticipation of Archie's return, the family holds all sorts of celebratory contests, with Gloria and Mike attempting to hold a kiss until Archie walks through the front door. Written by Lloyd Turner and Gordon Mitchell, "The Longest Kiss" originally aired on November 16, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
All in the Family: Archie and the Miracle
Never much of a churchgoer, Archie finally "sees the light" after a near-death experience at his job. Suddenly, there is no one more fervently religious than Archie -- and no bigger pain in the neck. Lloyd Turner and Gordon Mitchell's teleplay cleverly contrives to have the audience eagerly await the moment that Archie returns to his old self. "Archie and the Miracle" was originally telecast on November 23, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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ALL IN THE FAMILY 5TH SEASON (DVD/3 DISC/FF 1.33/MONO) DVD

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