All in the Family

All in the Family

All in the Family is an American sitcom TV-series that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971 to April 8, 1979. The following September, it was continued with the spin-off series Archie Bunker's Place, which picked up where All in the Family had ended and ran for four more seasons. All in the Family was produced by Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin. It starred Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Sally Struthers, and Rob Reiner. The show revolves around the life of a working-class bigot and his family. The show broke ground in its depiction of issues previously considered unsuitable for a U.S. network television comedy, such as racism, antisemitism, infidelity, homosexuality, women's liberation, rape, religion, miscarriages, abortion, breast cancer, the Vietnam War, menopause, and impotence. Through depicting these controversial issues, the series became arguably one of television's most influential comedic programs, as it injected the sitcom format with more dramatic moments and realistic, topical conflicts. The show was an American version of an earlier British show, the BBC sitcom Till Death Us Do Part, with Archie Bunker modeled after his British counterpart, Alf Garnett. All in the Family is often regarded in the United States as one of the greatest television series of all time. Following a lackluster first season, the show soon became the most watched show in the United States during summer reruns and afterwards ranked number one in the yearly Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976. It became the first television series to reach the milestone of having topped the Nielsen ratings for five consecutive years. The episode "Sammy's Visit" was ranked number 13 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time ranked All in the Family as number four. Bravo also named the show's protagonist, Archie Bunker, TV's greatest character of all time. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked All in the Family the fourth-best written TV series ever, and TV Guide ranked it as the fourth-greatest show of all time.

Genre: Adult
Year:
1971
17,502 Views

Archie Bunker:
[trying to get a hysterical Edith to explain what happened] Here, here, take it easy. So a man came over to the house, lookin' for a man, and he said he was the man he was lookin' for. What is that?

Edith Bunker:
He... he had a gun.

Archie Bunker:
HE HAD A GUN?

Edith Bunker:
He said... he was gonna kill me!

Archie Bunker:
DID HE?

Edith Bunker:
NO!

Archie Bunker:
[feeling foolish over his obvious gaffe] Yeah yeah, he didn't, he didn't... but what did he do?

Edith Bunker:
He... he... [she can't bring herself to say the words]

Archie Bunker:
...What, what, WHAT?

Edith Bunker:
...He... HE...

Archie Bunker:
[frustrated, but scared]... Come on, Edith, what did he WANT?

Edith Bunker:
[barely a whisper]... Me. [looks away]

Archie Bunker:
[confused] You? Well, what'd you tell him, Edith, did you...? [realizing what she means, suddenly panicked] The guy... [can't say the word, mouths it instead] RAPED [speaks again] you?

Edith Bunker:
NO... no... he tried to.

Archie Bunker:
He TRIED? W-w-w-w-what happened, what'd he do?

Edith Bunker:
[breaks down sobbing] It was awful. It was awful. I thought he was gonna kill me...

Archie Bunker:
Oh geez, Edith. Oh my God, Edith. You... you need to lie down for a little bit here. [she shakes her head "No"] Well well, maybe something hot to drink. [keeps shaking her head "No"] Somethin' cold? [keeps shaking her head "No"] Yeah, first things first, don't drink nothin. [heads for the phone]

Edith Bunker:
[hoarsely] Where are you going?

Archie Bunker:
Well, I gotta phone someone, call an ambulance, phone a doctor. [Edith keeps protesting "No", Archie is totally frustrated] "No, no, no, no"... okay, best thing is to stay offa the phone. [takes Edith hands in his] Well, geez, Edith... look, we gotta do something, Edith. I mean, if we don't phone nobody important, if we don't drink nothin' tasty, what the hell are we gonna do?

Edith Bunker:
HOLD ME!

Archie Bunker:
That's the best thing, I can do that, all right! [hugs her tight] Edith... how did you get away from the lousy bum?

Edith Bunker:
Cake... I... I... I hit him with the cake... I was baking.

Archie Bunker:
Thank god you had something heavy around. [realizing again the circumstances] Wait a minute, wait a minute... he must've been over there when I come lookin' for the punchbowl. But why didn't you say somethin'?

Edith Bunker:
He - he said he would... do somethin' to you.

Archie Bunker:
Do somethin' to me? What the hell? Was he a fruit, too?

[Edith is going through menopause, and Archie is planning a trip]

Edith Bunker:
I wanna talk about where we're going.

Archie Bunker:
Well, that's fine, there, Edith. If you want to talk about Florida, let's talk about Florida. And by the way, we ain't confirmed about going there yet.

Edith Bunker:
No, no, no! Not Florida! I want to go to Scranton.

Archie Bunker:
Scranton? Edith, uh, what is in Scranton?

Edith Bunker:
My cousin Emily.

Archie Bunker:
Your cousin Emily?

Edith Bunker:
You hate Emily!

Archie Bunker:
No, no, no, no, I don't, Edith. I don't hate Emily. I never said that, I never said that at all. No, I like her, and I like their little home in Scranton, there, and those four cute teenagers. I think her husband is a real nice guy, and I, I can't say that... I can't go on like this, that's one thing I can't do! I can't believe a word of anything I'm saying around here! This ain't natural! No, I don't like her, and I don't like her husband! He's a bum, and he always was, and she's a crank, and she always was! And I hate their four rotten kids! And the only way you're gettin' me to go to Scranton is if some screwball hijacks the airplane! I know all about your women's troubles there, Edith, but when I had the hernia that time I didn't make you wear the truss!

Michael 'Meathead' Stivic:
Come on, Archie!

Gloria Bunker-Stivic:
Daddy!

Archie Bunker:
No, no, no, Edith! If you're gonna have the change of life, you gotta do it right now! I'm gonna give you just thirty seconds. Now, come on, change!

Michael 'Meathead' Stivic:
Look, Arch, what David did took a lot of guts!

Archie Bunker:
What do you mean, a lot of guts?

David Brewster:
My own father couldn't understand, why should he?

Michael 'Meathead' Stivic:
When the hell are you going to admit that the war was wrong?

Archie Bunker:
I ain't talkin' about that war!Goddammit I don't want to talk about that Goddamn war no more! I'm talkin' about somethin' else! And what he done was wrong! Sayin' he won't go! Whaddya think, the old people of this country can say whether or not they wanna go to war? You couldn't get a decent war off the ground that way! All the young people would say no - sure they would! Cause they don't wanna get killed! And that's why we leave it to the Congress, cause them old quacks ain't gonna get killed! And they're gonna do the right thing, and get behind the president and vote yes!

Pinky Peterson:
Arch, if my opinion is of any importance...

Archie Bunker:
Certainly your opinion is important! Gold Star Father. Your opinion is more important than anyone else in this room. And I wanna hear that opinion - I want these young people here to hear that opinion! Now you tell 'em, Pinky, you tell 'em.

Pinky Peterson:
I understand how you feel, Arch. My kid hated the war, too. But he did what he thought he had to do. And David here did what he thought he had to do. But David's alive to share Christmas dinner with us. And if Steve were here he would want to sit down with him. And that's what I want to do.

[offering his hand to David]

Pinky Peterson:
Merry Christmas, David.

David Brewster:
Merry Christmas, sir.


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