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A red-letter day everyone's forgetting

B

bpatrick

January 12, 1971: All In The Family debuts on CBS.
CBS was so wary of this show, which was so different
from anything else on in those days (Archie's racial
slurs, remarks about Meathead and Gloria's sex life,
the overall use of current events to fuel the arguments
between Archie and Meathead) that it scheduled it in
a time slot dominated by ABC, Tuesdays at 9:30 (ET).
Eye network executives were pleasantly surprised when
critics and viewers were almost uniformly complimentary
of the show; many viewers felt that, for once, they were
watching a sitcom family like their own.

In the fall of '71, AITF moved to Saturdays at 8 and was
the number-one show for the next five years. Even in other
time slots it continued to do well, even after the format
change to Archie Bunker's Place in 1979.

TVLand is running an AITF marathon this weekend to celebrate
the show's 35th anniversary.

All In The Family changed the face of sitcoms and was perhaps
more responsible than any other show for bringing realism to
primetime entertainment.
 
> January 12, 1971: All In The Family debuts on CBS.
> CBS was so wary of this show, which was so different
> from anything else on in those days (Archie's racial
> slurs, remarks about Meathead and Gloria's sex life,
> the overall use of current events to fuel the arguments
> between Archie and Meathead) that it scheduled it in
> a time slot dominated by ABC, Tuesdays at 9:30 (ET).
> Eye network executives were pleasantly surprised when
> critics and viewers were almost uniformly complimentary
> of the show; many viewers felt that, for once, they were
> watching a sitcom family like their own.

It was not an instant hit at first on Tuesday nights airing after Hee Haw. As a matter of fact,the first episode in the beginning of the show CBS aired a warning about the show that it would shock people and it certainly did. When they reaired the first 13 episodes that summer,ratings shot up and when it moved to Saturday nights that fall it skyrocketed. By today's standards,All In The Family and the subjects it tackled(such as homosexuality,menopause,rape,etc.) would be considered tame today as they were back in the 1970's when they were very controversial.

> In the fall of '71, AITF moved to Saturdays at 8 and was
> the number-one show for the next five years. Even in other
> time slots it continued to do well, even after the format
> change to Archie Bunker's Place in 1979.

Actually when Mike and Gloria moved to California in the last episode of the 1977-1978 season was technically the end of All In The Family as we knew it although the last season when it was called All In The Family, Mike and Gloria appeared in the Christmas episode where Archie,Edith and Stephanie came to California to join them for Christmas.

As for Archie Bunker's Place,I always thought of the show as All In The Family under a new name and that it wasn't a spinoff at all. Brooks and Marsh as a matter of fact treats it as a continuation of All In The Family as well adding the 4 seasons of Archie Bunker's Place to All In The Family's total and also in the top shows of all time lists All In The Family and Archie Bunker's Place together.
 
All In the Family/Archie Bunker's Place

> As for Archie Bunker's Place,I always thought of the show
> as All In The Family under a new name and that it wasn't a
> spinoff at all. Brooks and Marsh as a matter of fact treats
> it as a continuation of All In The Family as well adding the
> 4 seasons of Archie Bunker's Place to All In The Family's
> total and also in the top shows of all time lists All In The
> Family and Archie Bunker's Place together.
>
Wasn't "Archie Bunker's Place" eventually added into the "All In the Family" syndication package?<P ID="signature">______________
"I look out for me and mine."-Capt. Malcom "Mal" Reynolds in Serenity</P>
 
Re: All In the Family/Archie Bunker's Place

> > As for Archie Bunker's Place,I always thought of the
> show
> > as All In The Family under a new name and that it wasn't a
>
> > spinoff at all. Brooks and Marsh as a matter of fact
> treats
> > it as a continuation of All In The Family as well adding
> the
> > 4 seasons of Archie Bunker's Place to All In The Family's
> > total and also in the top shows of all time lists All In
> The
> > Family and Archie Bunker's Place together.
> >
> Wasn't "Archie Bunker's Place" eventually added into the
> "All In the Family" syndication package?
>
I'm not implying that Archie Bunker's Place was a spinoff;
just a change in format, with most of the action taking place
at Archie's bar, not in his living room.
 
> > January 12, 1971: All In The Family debuts on CBS.
> > CBS was so wary of this show, which was so different
> > from anything else on in those days (Archie's racial
> > slurs, remarks about Meathead and Gloria's sex life,
> > the overall use of current events to fuel the arguments
> > between Archie and Meathead) that it scheduled it in
> > a time slot dominated by ABC, Tuesdays at 9:30 (ET).
> > Eye network executives were pleasantly surprised when
> > critics and viewers were almost uniformly complimentary
> > of the show; many viewers felt that, for once, they were
> > watching a sitcom family like their own.
>
> It was not an instant hit at first on Tuesday nights
> airing after Hee Haw. As a matter of fact,the first episode
> in the beginning of the show CBS aired a warning about the
> show that it would shock people and it certainly did. When
> they reaired the first 13 episodes that summer,ratings shot
> up and when it moved to Saturday nights that fall it
> skyrocketed. By today's standards,All In The Family and the
> subjects it tackled(such as
> homosexuality,menopause,rape,etc.) would be considered tame
> today as they were back in the 1970's when they were very
> controversial.

In fact, the disclaimer was used throughout that first half-season.
You're correct that AITF was not a hit at first; it never ranked
higher than 54th during its first thirteen weeks (and I can imagine
how some people who had been watching Hee Haw reacted when AITF
came on). AITF was the talk of the 1971 Emmy Awards show as well,
and that (like Hill Street Blues a decade later) may have gotten
people to tune in. But, as I say, most critics were favorable
from the beginning, and CBS was pleasantly surprised that there
was relatively little negative viewer response in the form of
phone calls, letters, etc.
>
> > > >
 
Re: All In the Family/Archie Bunker's Place

> Wasn't "Archie Bunker's Place" eventually added into the
> "All In the Family" syndication package?

Not at first. Viacom had the original syndication rights to "All In The Family" while TAT held on to "Archie Bunker's Place". This was evident in Chicago, where WFLD-32 had "AITF" while WGN-9 aired "ABP".

Today Sony owns all rights to every Norman Lear/Tadem/TAT programs, including "All In The Family" and "Archie Bunker's Place", but they haven't put them together as a package even though some stations and countries have aired the shows as if they were one.
 
B. Patrick noted:

> ("All In The Family") was the talk of the 1971 (Priemtime)
> Emmy Awards show as well, and that (like "Hill Street Blues"
> a decade later) may have gotten people to tune in.

According to the list of primetime Emmy winners in Brooks and Marsh, the 1971 Primetime Emmy ceremonies were held May 9th, 1971 (I suspect that back then, the "year" for purposes of the primetime Emmy's, ran March 1st to Ferbuary 28th, 29th in leap years).

If my memory serves me correct, "All In The Family"'s first season had either ended or was about to end at the time the Emmy's were given out. After the Emmy's, ratings for "All In The Family" shot up. By midsummer, it had become the top-rated primetime show on television. In fact, more viewers saw the first season reruns than saw the episodes when they were originally broadcast.
 
Re: "All In the Family"

My favorite episode was the one where Sammy Davis, Jr. guest-starred.

At the end, he kissed Archie Bunker while a picture was being snapped!

I have heard that the kiss was not part of the original script, but a bit Davis and Carroll O'Connor did during rehearsal. Reportdely, producer Norman Lear saw them do it during the rehearsal, thought it was great, and had them do it when the show was taped.
 
>
> According to the list of primetime Emmy winners in Brooks
> and Marsh, the 1971 Primetime Emmy ceremonies were held May
> 9th, 1971 (I suspect that back then, the "year" for purposes
> of the primetime Emmy's, ran March 1st to Ferbuary 28th,
> 29th in leap years).
>
> If my memory serves me correct, "All In The Family"'s first
> season had either ended or was about to end at the time the
> Emmy's were given out. After the Emmy's, ratings for "All In
> The Family" shot up. By midsummer, it had become the
> top-rated primetime show on television. In fact, more
> viewers saw the first season reruns than saw the episodes
> when they were originally broadcast.

In fact it won 3 Emmy's that very first season(1970-1971) alone: Outstanding Series-Comedy,Outstanding New Series and Best Actress In A Leading Role In A Comedy Series for Jean Stapleton. I wonder how many nominations it received all together that season. And what shows were nominated with All In The Family that season? I am pretty sure that The Mary Tyler Moore Show was nominated for both Outstanding Series-Comedy and Outstanding New Series and also Mary Tyler Moore was nominated as well.
 
Re: "All In the Family"

> My favorite episode was the one where Sammy Davis, Jr.
> guest-starred.
>
> At the end, he kissed Archie Bunker while a picture was
> being snapped!
>
> I have heard that the kiss was not part of the original
> script, but a bit Davis and Carroll O'Connor did during
> rehearsal. Reportdely, producer Norman Lear saw them do it
> during the rehearsal, thought it was great, and had them do
> it when the show was taped.
>


I remember hearing once that during the taping, that kissed caused such an audience reaction, they had to stop taping for several minutes to allow the audience to calm down.. I believe the applause set a record too... <P ID="signature">______________
Bob Colon
www.bobs-world.net
"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today"-James Dean</P>
 
> January 12, 1971: All In The Family debuts on CBS.
> CBS was so wary of this show... that it scheduled it in
> a time slot dominated by ABC, Tuesdays at 9:30 (ET).

In addition, because of the subject matter and the mere fact that AITF was a sitcom like no other, the first few episodes included a disclaimer, practically reminding viewers that the sitcom they were about to watch was more "real" than standard sitcoms.
 
Re: "All In the Family"

> I remember hearing once that during the taping, that kissed
> caused such an audience reaction, they had to stop taping
> for several minutes to allow the audience to calm down.. I
> believe the applause set a record too...
>
Sammy Davis Jr appeared again on "Archie Bunker's Place." Funny though when he came on "Archie Bunker's Place" Barney remembered him. He met him before on "All In The Family."

Ironically although Louise Jefferson met Sammy Davis Jr on "All In The Family," on her own show "The Jeffersons," she forgot she had previously met him.

I consider "Archie Bunker's Place" a spin off. Just like "Mayberry RFD" is a spin off of "Andy Griffith" even though it's in actuality a continuation of that show.

<P ID="signature">______________
Once I figured out the meaning of life....Then I forgot to write it down.</P>
 
Re: "All In the Family"

> > I remember hearing once that during the taping, that
> kissed
> > caused such an audience reaction, they had to stop taping
> > for several minutes to allow the audience to calm down..
> I
> > believe the applause set a record too...
> >
> Sammy Davis Jr appeared again on "Archie Bunker's Place."
> Funny though when he came on "Archie Bunker's Place" Barney
> remembered him. He met him before on "All In The Family."
>
> Ironically although Louise Jefferson met Sammy Davis Jr on
> "All In The Family," on her own show "The Jeffersons," she
> forgot she had previously met him.
>
> I consider "Archie Bunker's Place" a spin off. Just like
> "Mayberry RFD" is a spin off of "Andy Griffith" even though
> it's in actuality a continuation of that show.
>
The difference is that, although "Mayberry RFD" retained most
of the supporting cast of "Andy Griffith," it was still Ken
Berry's show; his character of Sam Jones was the focus of the
show. "Archie Bunker's Place" did at least retain Carroll
O'Connor as Archie Bunker, only in a different setting. A
spinoff generally means a supporting character from one show gets his or
her own (Rhoda, Phyllis, and Lou Grant from "Mary Tyler Moore"
got their own shows, "Laverne and Shirley" and "Mork and Mindy" began
as episodes of "Happy Days," "Frasier" took a character from
"Cheers" into a different setting. With "Archie Bunker's Place,"
it's a transformation of the MAIN character; Archie, as I recall,
had wanted to own his own bar for years. The show is STILL about
Archie Bunker.
 
Re: "All In the Family"

> > I remember hearing once that during the taping, that
> kissed
> > caused such an audience reaction, they had to stop taping
> > for several minutes to allow the audience to calm down..
> I
> > believe the applause set a record too...
> >
> Sammy Davis Jr appeared again on "Archie Bunker's Place."
> Funny though when he came on "Archie Bunker's Place" Barney
> remembered him. He met him before on "All In The Family."
>
> Ironically although Louise Jefferson met Sammy Davis Jr on
> "All In The Family," on her own show "The Jeffersons," she
> forgot she had previously met him.
>
> I consider "Archie Bunker's Place" a spin off. Just like
> "Mayberry RFD" is a spin off of "Andy Griffith" even though
> it's in actuality a continuation of that show.
>
The difference is that, although "Mayberry RFD" retained most
of the supporting cast of "Andy Griffith," it was still Ken
Berry's show; his character of Sam Jones was the focus of the
show. "Archie Bunker's Place" did at least retain Carroll
O'Connor as Archie Bunker, only in a different setting. A
spinoff generally means a supporting character from one show gets his or
her own (Rhoda, Phyllis, and Lou Grant from "Mary Tyler Moore"
got their own shows, "Laverne and Shirley" and "Mork and Mindy" began
as episodes of "Happy Days," "Frasier" took a character from
"Cheers" into a different setting. With "Archie Bunker's Place,"
it's a transformation of the MAIN character; Archie, as I recall,
had wanted to own his own bar for years. The show is STILL about
Archie Bunker. "Mayberry RFD" was a spinoff; Sam Jones had been
introduced in the last few episodes of "Andy Griffith"; "Archie
Bunker's Place" is "All In The Family" with a new name. <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by bpatrick on 01/14/06 04:48 PM.</FONT></P>
 
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