All in the Family - The Complete Second Season

     Those were the days. Norman Lear's landmark comedy featured 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 "All In The Family" remains an Emmy?ﾮ Award-winning treasure. Watch this ground-breaking first season for yourself and just try to stifle your laughter!

      With a new time slot (8:00 p.m. Saturdays) and three first-season Emmys?ﾮ, All in the Family was primed for greatness, and these 24 episodes represent the series at its best. Carroll O'Connor leads the perfect cast as blue-collar bigot Archie Bunker, and the standout classic is "Sammy's Visit," in which black, Jewish rat-packer Sammy Davis Jr. visits the Bunker home, where he's hilariously horrified by Archie's prejudicial ignorance. The script was written by comedian Bill ("Jose Jiminez") Dana, and to borrow Archie's phrase, it's a pip, as Sammy turns Archie's racist remarks on their ear to the delight of young liberals Gloria (Sally Struthers) and husband Mike (Rob Reiner). Sammy's parting kiss on Archie's cheek is one of the series' all-time highlights. Then there's Burt Styler's Emmy-winning script for "Edith's Problem," in which Archie's "Dingbat" wife experiences the mood swings of menopause (another first, along with impotence in "Mike's Problem," in the series' taboo-busting candor). A showcase for Jean Stapleton (who deservedly won her second consecutive Emmy), it also demonstrates (as does "Archie and Edith Alone") the hurtful repercussions of Archie's unintentional cruelty. Edith's Archie-baiting cousin Maude (Bea Arthur) is introduced ("Maude" is a pilot for the character's spin-off sitcom, which premiered in '72), and credit must be given to John Rich, who directed all 24 episodes (winning an Emmy for "Sammy's Visit") with a flawless sense of ensemble chemistry, precision timing, and lasting political relevance. This season earned seven Emmys overall, including awards for O'Connor and Struthers. Given such a wealth of sitcom glory, it's a shame these DVDs are devoid of retrospective features.

Comment:
    This is a great season. You can't beat Archie in rare form along with Edith, Gloria and have course, Meathead! There are so many classics lines and episodes in this set. Definitely worth buying!All In The Family is a wonderful, relaxing way to laugh about clean things. We all need to lighten up and laugh more often; I highly recommend the joys of Arche Bunker to find some comic relief in your life.I can't give All in the Family (2nd Season) any less than 5 stars, even though the DVD set has a few quirks, which really aren't that bad. Pros: - The show is amazing. Cleverly written and perfectly acted. You can't go wrong with seasons 1 through 4. After that, it starts going downhill, in my opinion, because they start changing the template (like Gloria and Mike moving out, for instance). - You get to see stuff that's been cut out for broadcast timeslots. I've got to admit, though, here in Canada the versions we get on TV have been trimmed with great respect. They obviously put work into choosing bits that don't really contribute much to the show. Almost as if those parts were padding to meet the original timeslots. CONS: - For this particular set (and season one, too, but not three or four) the opening theme is part of the first chapter, so you can't skip it. I love the opening, but not *everytime* I want to watch an episode. - Probably due to the original tape format, the cuts are very rough, with a bit of artifacting at each edit. Probably, though, most people wouldn't notice this. I'm a video editor, so I'm very sensitive to such things (a curse, really). I'm really glad they put this series out on DVD. I watch my sets all the time.I really like All In The Family Second Season is great I really like this Sit-ComMaybe it's because I'm not burnt out from seeing the show in reruns EVERYDAY on cable like a lot of other shows, but these discs will literally make you laugh out loud, even if you are watching by yourself. Such a brilliantly written comedy in its use of humor with lovable Archie to highlight the ignorance and simplicity of many social, economic, political and racial views of the time. Quite simply though, the laughs are there on numerous levels. This was a great season for one of the greatest sitcoms of all time. If it's been years since you've seen the show, or if you want to introduce someone from a younger generation to this show, you won't be disappointed in this purchase.